When it comes to which kind of patio barbecues you want for your own backyard you have two basic choices. You can either go for one that uses gas or one, which uses charcoal. But both kinds have their advantages and disadvantages and the one that you choose will be down to your own personal preference.

Of the two kinds of barbecues that you can buy today, the ones, which use gas, are increasing in popularity over the charcoal ones. Below we will take a look now at some of the advantages along with some of the disadvantages to be had from owning either type of barbecue.

1. Gas barbecues are proving more popular simply because they are easy to operate and you do not have to bother with messy charcoal or starting fluid when using it. However, you will need to purchase the right sorts of coals for your gas barbecue and these can prove to be quite expensive in comparison to charcoal.

2. A charcoal version is a lot less expensive to buy than the gas versions and other than buying charcoals and starting fluid this is the only other expense you will have with such barbecues. But with a gas one you will need to know where you can get the gas bottles from unless yours is connected to your home gas supply.

3. The big disadvantage that a charcoal barbecue has over a gas one is the actual time it takes before you can actually start cooking. On a gas one once the flames have been ignited you only have to wait a matter of a couple of minutes before the coals inside are hot enough for them to be able to cook the food properly. However, with a charcoal one you need to wait quite a while after lighting the charcoals, as the flames need to die down and only then are they hot enough to be able to cook the food correctly.

4. A big advantage that a gas barbecue has over the charcoal ones is that you can buy a number of additional pieces of equipment to go with it. In some cases, you will find that often the gas version comes with a side burner, which allows you the chance to cook sauces or side dishes at the same time as the main food are being cooked. But along with the side burner for a gas barbecue, you can also get rotisseries, smokers and pan roasters that can be attached to them.

5. When it comes to the taste of the food that these types of barbecues provide there is no real difference whatsoever. The ceramic briquettes or lava rock, which you use in a gas one, provides the same heat as that which the charcoal in a more traditional style barbecue produces.

So you can see from above it does not really matter which type of patio barbecues it is you choose to purchase. As long as you make sure that, it has been made using high quality steel and comes with a good warranty then you should be fine. Ideally look for one that has warranty that says you will get around 10 years of grilling from it.