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How to use a gas BBQ

Updated: 23 October 2026

The hose is new, the cylinder is upright outdoors, and you have not lit anything yet. How to use a gas BBQ is a short outdoor sequence: connect with the knobs off, leak-test with soapy water, light with the lid open, shut the cylinder first when you finish, and cool the grill outside. It is not a ranking of models, and it is not permission to cook on a balcony the fire service advises against. The [balcony gas BBQ comparison](/hub/grills-and-barbecues/balcony-gas-bbq) holds the ten listings. The steps follow Cadac UK, Weber UK, Calor, London Fire Brigade, and GOV.UK. We did not light these units. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The hose is new, the cylinder is upright outdoors, and you have not lit anything yet.

Our top picks

CosmoGrill CosmoGrill compact stainless

Best overall

CosmoGrill CosmoGrill compact stainless
8.4/10about £119.99
View offer
George Foreman George Foreman GFSBBQ1

Alternative

George Foreman George Foreman GFSBBQ1
8.6/10about £125.00
View offer
Char-Broil Char-Broil X200 Grill2Go

Rank 3

Char-Broil Char-Broil X200 Grill2Go
8.9/10about £157.97
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Connect outdoors, with the knobs off
  2. 2.Leak-test with soapy water, not a match
  3. 3.Light with the lid open, then cook
  4. 4.Shut the cylinder, then cool outside

Connect outdoors, with the knobs off

Work outside, away from doorways that pull smoke indoors. Turn every burner knob to off before you touch the cylinder. For a patio-gas bottle, Calor and Weber UK describe a 27 mm clip-on regulator that presses on until it clicks, with the hose hand-tightened to the barbecue inlet. Keep the cylinder upright. Do not use a flame to find a joint. Cartridge models in this comparison do not use that patio click. The Char-Broil X200 sells a 16.4 oz disposable liquid propane cylinder separately. Weber UK states EN 417 cartridges for the Go-Anywhere Gas and the Q 1200N. Follow the cartridge cap and thread in the manual for those units. If the included line never named a regulator, stop and match the fitting on the propane or butane BBQ page before you invent an adapter from the shed.

Leak-test with soapy water, not a match

Mix washing-up liquid with water. Open the cylinder valve with the burners still off. Brush or spray the soapy mix on every joint you can see: regulator to bottle, hose ends, and the inlet on the grill. Cadac UK's safe-use advice is the same shape: outdoors, knobs off, look for bubbles. Weber UK asks you to watch for about thirty seconds with no bubbles before you light. If bubbles appear or grow, close the cylinder valve at once. Do not light the burners. Refit or replace the joint, then retest. Bubbles that return after a second careful connection mean stop. Suspected faults and anything on fixed pipework are professional territory, not a new knob. Replace a damaged hose or regulator rather than taping it. Cadac's five-year replacement guidance is a manufacturer habit worth treating seriously. First damage is enough reason to change the part sooner.
CosmoGrill CosmoGrill compact stainless

Testsieger

CosmoGrill CosmoGrill compact stainless
8.4/10about £119.99
View offer

Light with the lid open, then cook

Only light after a clear leak test. Open the lid. Open the cylinder if it is still closed after the test. Use the ignition the listing actually has: piezo on the George Foreman and both CosmoGrill compacts, electronic on the Char-Broil and the Q 1200N, push-button on the Go-Anywhere. If the burner does not light, turn the knobs and the cylinder off, wait the pause your manual names, then retry. Stay with the grill while it is lit. Wind can blow a portable flame out, so shelter without enclosing the cook. GOV.UK fire safety outdoors is clear: never use a barbecue indoors, in a tent, under an awning, or in a caravan. London Fire Brigade's April 2024 leaflet adds that you change cylinders outdoors and do not bring the barbecue inside, because of carbon monoxide. A balcony the Brigade advises against is not a loophole in that outdoor rule. The split between advice, the lease, and nuisance is on balcony BBQ rules UK.

Shut the cylinder, then cool outside

When the food is done, turn the burner knobs off first, then close the cylinder valve. Let the grill cool outdoors on a stable surface. Do not carry a hot barbecue into the kitchen to finish cooling. Grease trays on the CosmoGrill tabletops need emptying once they are cool enough to handle. Fatty cooks fill them quickly in UK notes. Store the cylinder outdoors according to the supplier and your building rules. Brigade advice is not to store gas cylinders on a balcony. If your lease bans bottles on that balcony, the cook was never allowed there in the first place. That is the whole procedure: connect, soap-test, light only if clear, shut the bottle, cool outside. If the soap test fails twice, get help or return the unit rather than lighting just once.

Common questions

How do I connect a patio-gas regulator?
With the knobs off outdoors, press a matching 27 mm clip-on regulator onto the patio cylinder until it clicks, then hand-tighten the hose to the barbecue. Calor and Weber UK both describe that click-on step for patio gas. It is not the cartridge method.
How do I leak-test without a flame?
Brush soapy water on the joints with the cylinder open and the burners off. No bubbles for roughly half a minute means you can move on. Bubbles mean close the cylinder and fix the joint.
What if bubbles appear?
Close the cylinder valve immediately. Do not light. Refit or replace the connection, retest, and stop if bubbles return. That is the Cadac and Weber UK stop rule in plain English.
How do I light a piezo or a push-button burner?
Lid open, leak test clear, then use the piezo, electronic, or push-button control your model ships with. If it fails to light, knobs and cylinder off, wait as the manual says, then try again.
Can I cool the grill in the kitchen?
No. London Fire Brigade and GOV.UK both treat bringing a barbecue indoors as a carbon monoxide and fire risk. Cool it outdoors. Turn the burner knobs off first, then the cylinder valve.
Does this apply to a screw-on cartridge?
The outdoor rule and the soapy-water habit still apply. The physical connection follows the cartridge manual, not the patio 27 mm clip. Char-Broil's 16.4 oz cylinder and Weber's EN 417 cartridges are not the same can.

Related pages

Balcony gas BBQ buying guide

Balcony gas BBQ

Balcony BBQ rules UK: advice, the lease, and smoke

Best balcony gas BBQ: short list if gas is allowed

Propane or butane BBQ: patio gas, clips, cartridges

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures for these ASINs. Retrieved 22 October 2026.

  1. London Fire Brigade: barbecue safety (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. London Fire Brigade: barbecue safety leaflet, April 2024 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: fire safety outdoors (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: nuisance smoke (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Liquid Gas UK: Consumer Guidance Sheet 39 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Calor: butane and propane (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Lockton: the risks of balcony barbecues (retrieved 22 October 2026)