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How to use a camping gas barbecue

Updated: 16.10.2026

The barbecue is already in the boot, the pitch is booked, and you want the sequence for lighting it outdoors. This is how to use a camping gas barbecue once the model is chosen: outside, on level ground, with the cartridge or cylinder the instructions name, and with a flame you can see. The steps follow the Party Grill 200 sheet, the Scouts’ stove guidance and the Club safety page, plus UK review symptoms from 15 October 2026. The [camping gas barbecue comparison](/hub/portable-grills/camping-gas-barbecue) is where the model was picked. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. If the canister is the wrong family, stop before you twist anything.

The barbecue is already in the boot, the pitch is booked, and you want the sequence for lighting it outdoors.

Our top picks

Campingaz Campingaz Party Grill 400 CV

Best overall

Campingaz Campingaz Party Grill 400 CV
9.2/10about £96.01
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Campingaz Campingaz Party Grill 200 CV

Preis-Tipp

Campingaz Campingaz Party Grill 200 CV
9.0/10about £56.01
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Char-Broil Char-Broil X200 Grill2Go

Alternative

Char-Broil Char-Broil X200 Grill2Go
6.3/10about £157.97
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On this page
  1. 1.Set it outside before the gas goes on
  2. 2.Click, do not force
  3. 3.If the flame disappears
  4. 4.Pack it only once it is cold

Set it outside before the gas goes on

Stand the barbecue outside, on level ground, clear of the tent wall, with the control off, before you attach the gas. The Party Grill 200 sheet says to fit the cartridge with no flame nearby. The Scouts want a portable stove outdoors, attended, and never in a tent, including while it cools. The Club safety page says a barbecue produces carbon monoxide, so you do not cook in a tent or an awning. A Gas Safe engineer is for a caravan’s fixed gas system. Clipping a camping cartridge is a different job. The campsite page holds the pitch rule if a warden is stricter.

Click, do not force

On a Party Grill 200, fit the CV cartridge outside, turn it about one sixth of a turn until it clicks, and stop. Forcing it breaks the plastic lugs. The sheet allows CV 470 Plus and CV 300 Plus only, and says other brands may be dangerous. A run time on that sheet belongs to that model only. The Foreman connection you can point at is a UK hose and regulator, fitted with the control off. If the piezo does nothing, reviews say keep a lighter as a backup for a dead spark. A lighter is not a leak test. A piezo that arrived loose, or died on the second use, is a return.
Campingaz Campingaz Party Grill 400 CV

Testsieger

Campingaz Campingaz Party Grill 400 CV
9.2/10about £96.01
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If the flame disappears

Look at the flame before food goes on. A flame you cannot see is a stop. If it disappears, shut the control and the cartridge or cylinder, then relight only when you can see the gas burn. One UK review of the Party Grill 400 says the flame went out under the griddle. The bullets describe no flame-failure cut-off. Char-Broil reviews, 40 of them from the UK, repeat a regulator that sticks, will not lock, blows out, or popped off. If the regulator will not lock or shut, stop and leave it assembled for the retailer. This page does not describe opening one.

Pack it only once it is cold

Turn the gas off and let the plate cool before the boot. Party Grill reviews use the water tray as a grease catch. These notes print no fill volume, so follow the mark on your tray and empty it cold. On the original Party Grill the legs are hard to unclip once they snap in. Fit them before you light it. The 200 bullets use the lid for transport and list no bag. The 400 bullets claim a bag. A piezo dead on arrival sits under the 30-day short-term right to reject, against the retailer.

Common questions

How does the CV cartridge go on?
Outdoors, with the control off and no flame nearby, seat the CV cartridge the Party Grill 200 sheet names and turn it about one sixth of a turn until it clicks. Stop there. The sheet allows CV 470 Plus and CV 300 Plus, and it says other brands may be dangerous. If it will not click, the can is the wrong pattern or the valve is faulty. Forcing it is the step that breaks the lugs.
What if the piezo does not click?
Keep a lighter for a piezo that will not spark, which is a repeated Party Grill review, and light only at the point the instructions show. A lighter does not tell you whether a joint is leaking. A piezo that arrived loose, or died on the second use, is a faulty unit. Send it back inside the 30-day window, and leave the igniter assembled. Taking it apart on the pitch is not the repair these reviews support.
What if the flame blows out?
Turn the control off and shut the cartridge or cylinder. Wait, check the wind, and relight only when you can see the flame. Party Grill reviews ask for a windbreak. A Char-Broil flame that a breeze puts out, or a regulator that will not lock, is a stop. Leave the regulator closed and intact. An unseen flame under a lid is a reason to shut the gas off.
How much water goes in the Party Grill tray?
These notes print no millilitre fill. Party Grill reviews treat the tray as the grease catch that makes cleaning easier, sometimes called a water reservoir. Use the mark on the tray in your box. Empty it only when the metal is cold, before the grill goes into the car, so a hot tray does not tip into the boot or the bag. A full tray, still hot, is the spill those reviews are avoiding.
Can I finish cooking in the awning if it rains?
The Club’s camping-safety page says you do not cook in a tent or an awning, because a barbecue produces carbon monoxide even when it is working. Rain does not add an exception. An open door is not a workaround this page supports, and the Scouts’ page still wants the stove outside while it cools. Move the food, or wait for a gap in the weather, and leave the barbecue outside on level ground. A pitch rule can be stricter still.
When do I stop and send it back?
Stop when the valve will not click without force, when the piezo is dead from the first lighting, when a regulator will not lock or shut, or when a flame goes out where you cannot see it. Those are returns, not pitch repairs. The 30-day short-term right to reject a faulty unit sits against the retailer. A domed plate that lets sausages roll, or a cartridge missing from the 400 box, is a limitation you can read beforehand. A unit that will not light is the fault.

Related pages

Cartridge or cylinder

Camping gas barbecue buying guide

Lighting a gas barbecue in wind

Camping gas barbecue

Best camping gas bbq: who it suits, and who skips it

Gas BBQ rules on a UK campsite: raised and outside

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings checked on 15 October 2026. Retrieved 15 October 2026.

  1. Camping and Caravanning Club site policies (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  2. Camping and Caravanning Club camping safety (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  3. BSI BS EN 521:2019 scope (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  4. BSI BS EN 498:2012 scope (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  5. GOV.UK gas appliances enforcement (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  6. HSE carbon monoxide FAQ (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  7. Scouts, using stoves safely (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  8. Campingaz Party Grill 200 instructions (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  9. Cheshire Fire camping safety (retrieved 15.10.2026)