26,000 BTUs or 35,000BTUs? I plan on buying a gas grill, is there that much difference? What are btus anyways?
Question:These are the grills I am considering at Lowes:
Charbroil sku# 242264 at 35,000
Charbroil sku#140390 at 26,500
These are the grills I am considering at HD:
Charbroil @129.00 at 40,000 (2burner)
Charbroil @149.00 @40,000 (4burner)
Answers:
First - check out the grilles at Sears before you buy (grade 304 stainless steel, etc.). Second - btu stands for British Thermal Unit, which is a measure of heat. The more btu's - the hotter the grille. BTW, unless you have a very small family and are never planning to have a party involving a cook-out - forget the 2-burner grille.
bigger is best, the more cooking area the happy you will be, esp with the 20 dollar price,, a BTU is a measurement of how much output the fire will have when on high, British thermal unit,
BTU's are British thermal units. specifically it is the amount of heat that it takes to heat one cubic foot of water one degree. There is an advantage in having a grill that burns hotter. Searing the outside of meat quickly helps it retain the juices, and therefore taste better.
The bigger, the better---difference b/w 26K BTU & 35K BTU= 9K BTU's--- "BTU"
From Derrick Riches,
Your Guide to Barbecues & Grilling.
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Definition: A British Thermal Unit (BTU) is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree F. This is the standard measurement used to state the amount of energy that a fuel has as well as the amount of output of any heat generating device.
You might be able to imagine it this way. Take one gallon (8 pounds) of water and put it on your stove. If the water it 60 degrees F. and you want to bring it to a boil (212 degrees F.) then you will need about 1,200 BTUs to do this.
All combustible materials have a BTU rating. For instance, propane has about 15,000 BTUs per pound. Charcoal has about 9,000 BTUs per pound and wood (dry) has about 7,000 BTUs per pound. This gives you an idea of how much fuel you'd need to, say, cook something.
When it comes to gas grills they all have a maximum BTU rating per hour. If you see a 35,000 BTU gas grill that means that that grill puts out 35,000 BTUs from all its main burners combined in one hour, or uses a little more than 2 pounds of propane an hour. While the BTU rating on a gas grill doesn't necessarily tell you how much heat it will produce, it does give you an idea and it tells you how much fuel you'll be burning.
Also Known As: British thermal unit, BTU, Btu, B.Th.U.
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