British BBQ Society Forums

Hi there, I am currently designing a portable BBQ in my product design class for A level. I was wondering what key features you guys would think would be necessary if you were going to purchase one. Advice on what materials I should use and how I can fuel it is also welcome.

Any suggestions will be valued greatly !

Cheers

For me it would:

Have to have a lid
Run on coal but also wood if you want to burn a few logs around it having beers afterwards, so possibly a removable lid so it doesn't get in the way
Enough room to be able to offset the coal and also still put a decent food offering on it
Be easy to pack in the car (so rectangular rather than round)
Easy to carry solution, ergonomic shape and maybe with a bag, heat resistant bag maybe for carrying BACK if the BBQ is still warm
Vents (intake and exhaust)

I would think made of steel but not too thick, I think 1mm would murder it you could put some creases in to to re-enforce it, just depends on how robust it needs to be.


Oh yeah, a garage and a helipad too

first of all - amazing username.

Here's a few ideas off the top of my head:

If it's a portable BBQ then the use case would be slightly different to a standard one. I think I'd want it to be generally a bit quicker - quick to set up, quick to heat up and quick to cool down for packing away and quick to clean up - ideally able to clean it before packing it up and taking it home. Not like a BBQ at home where I'm happy to spend all day drinking beer and waiting for meat.

I would say essential features would be:
A lid with adjustable vent
Adjustable air intake under the coals
Legs to raise it off the ground so you don't burn the grass in a park
Ability to seal it air-tight, cutting off oxygen so it can burn out quickly when I'm done cooking.

Nice to have features:
Easy clean up - some way of emptying the ashes out without them going everywhere. Maybe into a carrier bag? (after they've cooled down obvs)
Way to add coals without having to find somewhere to put down the grill grate. Maybe a hinged grate like Weber do, or a rack/stand/some kind of attachment where you could put the grate (with the meat still on) which wouldn't contaminate the meat.
Separate the charcoal area so there's an area for indirect cooking
Easy clean grills - maybe some kind of ceramic coating?

Fuel - charcoal or gtfo.
Materials - I would think steel with some kind of greaseproof / rust proof coating. Ideally not a coating that chips or scratches easily, so I can throw it in the car without having to be too precious.

If you are only designing it...the sky is the limit, however if you are going to build or prove it can be manufactured that's a different story. So which is it?

gingerchris wrote:Fuel - charcoal or gtfo

thankyou so much for the replies! your advice has been extremely helpful