Today you have two basic choices when you are selecting which kinds of patio barbecues it is you want for your backyard. You could either select to go for one that runs on gas or you can go the more traditional route and buy one that uses charcoal in order to cook the food. But as you will soon learn both types have their advantages and disadvantage and which one you buy will come down to the one that you prefer the most.

Certainly, of the two styles of barbecues that one can now purchase the gas versions are increasing in popularity over the more traditional charcoal ones. Below we take a look at just what are some of the advantages and disadvantages to be had from either owning a gas or a charcoal barbecue for your patio.

1. The gas barbecues have become more popular as not only are they much easier to use but they create far less mess compared to the charcoal style ones. However, the coals that are used in the gas ones are far more expensive to the charcoal that you need to buy for the other kind of barbecue.

2. The actual cost of buying a charcoal barbecue over a gas one is much less. Remember with a charcoal one all you need to then purchase are the charcoals and starting fluid. Whilst with a gas one you need to get the coals (lava rock or ceramic briquettes) along with a gas cylinder.

3. A big disadvantage that comes with owning a charcoal barbecue compared to the gas barbecues is the time it actually takes before you are able to start cooking on one. With a charcoal patio barbecue, you need to light the charcoals and then wait for the flames to disappear before the coals are hot enough to cook with. This can take as much as 15 to 30 minutes before the coals have gained sufficient heat in them. Whereas with a gas barbecue you just make sure that, the gas is lit and then wait for a few minutes for the coals to heat up enough.

4. One of the biggest advantages that the gas barbecue has over the charcoal version is that it has a lot more accessories that you can use with it. Many of the gas patio barbecues you see for sale today come with a side burner that allows you to cook side dishes or sauces whilst the main food is cooking on the barbecue. Also, you can now get for these barbecues pan roasters, rotisseries and smokers if you want.

5. Above we have shown you a number of the advantages and disadvantages to be had from owning either kind of barbecue. But there is one thing that you will not really see any difference with when you cook on either type and that is the way that the food tastes. In fact, there is very little difference that you will notice in just how great the good tastes whether being cooked using gas or charcoal.

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.

As you can see there are a wide range of patio barbecues to pick from and many are sold from online stores at very good prices. The good thing about these barbecues as well is that they are easy to build and maintain.