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Electric barbecue buying guide: type before watts

Updated: 23 October 2026

You already know you want mains heat, and amazon.co.uk has piled a kitchen contact grill, a pellet smoker and a cheap open plate into one search. An electric barbecue buying guide has to separate those machines before it talks about watts. The eight listings sit on the [Electric BBQ comparison](/hub/grills-and-barbecues/electric-bbq). Leave knowing whether you want an outdoor lidded grate, a pellet box, a water-tray plate, or a worktop contact grill. Shelf prices here run from about £30 to £56 for the plates and the contact grill, and up to £389 for the larger Weber Lumin. Updated 23 October 2026 by Peter F., DIY and tools editor. Listing lines only, not a lab cook.

You already know you want mains heat, and amazon.co.uk has piled a kitchen contact grill, a pellet smoker and a cheap open plate into one search.

Our top picks

Ninja Ninja Woodfire OG701UK

Best overall

Ninja Ninja Woodfire OG701UK
9.4/10about £259.99
View offer
George Foreman George Foreman Large Fit Grill 25820

Rank 2

George Foreman George Foreman Large Fit Grill 25820
9.2/10about £55.99
View offer
Weber Weber Lumin

Rank 3

Weber Weber Lumin
8.6/10about £389
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Where you can plug it in
  2. 2.Four kinds of electric grill
  3. 3.Power, area and heat
  4. 4.Tray, warranty and rank

Where you can plug it in

Start with the room, not the wattage. The Ninja Woodfire OG701UK and both Weber Lumin listings are outdoor cookers. Ninja's UK guidance is outdoor household use only, because the pellet box burns, including under a cover. Weber marks use as outdoor. A balcony photo does not rewrite a lease. If that is the limit, read electric BBQ on a balcony before you buy. The indoor machine is the George Foreman 25820: about £55.99, 2,400 W, one heat setting, for a kitchen counter. Outdoor manuals ask for an earthed socket and an RCD not exceeding 30 mA. Stated inputs sit around 1,800–2,400 W, so the grill wants the socket to itself. The Ninja listing does not state wattage. A 220 V line means read the rating plate.

Four kinds of electric grill

Score these as different products. A lidded grate is the Weber Lumin at about £389, 2,300 W and 33 × 49 cm, with a plancha, and the Compact at about £271.81 with a title area of 43 × 32 cm. Both claim heat over 315°C and a five-year warranty, on five reviews and a single 5.0. A pellet grill is the Ninja OG701UK at about £259.99, 4.7 from 1,060 reviews, with IPX4 and a UK plug. IPX4 is splash resistance, not rain. Open plates run from the Luqixcey at about £29.99, whose UK reviews include melted feet, to the FIMEI at about £49.99. The George Foreman is the contact grill: 4.6 from 7,831 reviews, and no pellet smoke.
Ninja Ninja Woodfire OG701UK

Testsieger

Ninja Ninja Woodfire OG701UK
9.4/10about £259.99
View offer

Power, area and heat

Wattage is electrical input, not a flavour score. Read the area in centimetres. The full Lumin states 33 × 49 cm, 1,561 cm². The Compact's title says 43 × 32 cm, while a spec field says 43 cm². That figure cannot describe the rectangle. Treat it as a listing error until Weber confirms it. Weber says over 315°C. The Luqixcey says up to 350°C on a 1.65 kg plate, beside reviews of melted plastic. Those are not one lab. Which? notes that charcoal reaches higher temperatures than the electric barbecues it has looked at. Running cost sits on electric BBQ vs gas. Do not turn that scene into an hourly tariff.

Tray, warranty and rank

Weber listings include a front grease tray. Do not immerse the body. Open plates often want water first: Mihoho says cold water, Gobanwei says never cook dry, and FIMEI says 200 ml. Food still smokes. A Luqixcey review says oil in the tray can flame. Warranty runs from Weber's five years and the George Foreman's three years to Mihoho's three months. Gobanwei's field is N/a. New Weber review counts are still single figures. Bestseller rank is a sales snapshot. On this capture Mihoho was number 1 among plates around £30 to £40. If a grill melts on first use, that is a faulty-goods problem under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Common questions

What wattage do I need for an electric BBQ?
Stated inputs in this set sit between 1,800 W and 2,400 W if the grill has the socket to itself. That is not a person-count. A 2,000 W plate at 1.65 kg is not the same table as a 2,300 W Weber at 33 × 49 cm. The Ninja file does not state watts. Match the rating plate, and do not guess.
How many people does a 33 × 49 cm grate actually feed?
The full Weber Lumin states 33 × 49 cm, 1,561 cm²: a small household cook, not a large party. The Ninja listing says eight burgers, 16 sausages or two racks of ribs. The FIMEI plate is 25.5 × 35.5 cm, and UK reviews treat it as a small dinner grill. Leave gaps so a packed plate does not cook unevenly.
Do I need a UK 3-pin plug?
Yes. Look for a BS 1363 3-pin plug and fuse, and a rating plate you can read. The Ninja bullets include a UK plug. Electrical Safety First says buy from a reputable retailer, because reviews can be faked, and register the appliance for recalls. A two-pin lead, or a line that only says 220 V, is a reason to stop.
Is a contact grill the same as an electric barbecue?
No. The George Foreman 25820 cooks from a hinged plate on a kitchen counter, with one setting. A Weber Lumin is a lidded outdoor grate. A Ninja also burns pellets. An open plate is a third shape. The search shows all of them. The job of cooking is not the same, and a balcony line on a listing is not outdoor permission.
Does a higher temperature claim mean better food?
No. Weber’s over 315°C is a searing claim on a lidded outdoor grill. Luqixcey’s up to 350°C sits on a light plate whose UK reviews include melted feet. The George Foreman has no dial. Which? notes that charcoal still runs hotter than the electric barbecues it has looked at. Use each claim only inside its own listing.
Should I trust an Electric Barbecues bestseller rank?
Use rank as a sales snapshot, not a test. On this capture the node was led by open plates around £30 to £40. Mihoho at number 1 still has a three-month warranty and a one-use failure in the reviews. The Compact showed at £210.03 and £271.81 the same day, so rank does not freeze the price.

Related pages

Best electric barbecue

Electric BBQ

Electric BBQ on a balcony: lease before the listing

How to use an electric BBQ: tray, RCD and fat fires

Electric BBQ vs gas: running cost, flavour, cylinders

Sources

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

  1. Electrical Safety First: portable grills (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. London Fire Brigade: barbecue safety leaflet, April 2024 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: fire safety in flats (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Ninja UK: OG701UK outdoor use FAQ (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. Weber: Lumin owner’s guide (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Energy Saving Trust: summer energy saving (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 22 October 2026)