Grills Outdoor

How To Put Out Charcoal Grill – Easy Guide

Written by George Arthur

Putting Out Charcoal Grill

There has been a lot of confusion about how to put out charcoal grill fittingly. Who doesn’t like to add incredible depth and piquancy to their food using charcoal grills? Even hearing the word ‘barbecue’ comes in with an imagination of charcoal embers under the starry sky with the tantalizing aroma of coal and meat. But what after being done? Have you ever given yourself a little thought about this? What will you do with flashes of fiery flames and ashes?

Grills do not have buttons to turn them on or off. It is of paramount importance to put out a charcoal grill. Not only it’s about the messy debris, but also it can be perilous, especially if your kids and pets are around. Letting coal burn causes fuel wastage with the probability of flaring up any flammables close by into the bargain.

Some newbies even try to douse blazing coals with water. Putting out a charcoal grill with water is the worst you can do to your grill and yourself. Water will turn into vapors causing steam burns to you and cracks in your grill. Some charcoal grills come with lids. Lids cover the grill and cut out the oxygen supply necessary for combustion purposes. This process may take up to 36-48 hours for coals to cool down. After cooling, you can dispose of ashes and clean your grill for future use.

There is a diversity of methods used to put out charcoal grills. Give this article a good read to know more!

How to put out the charcoal grill With a Lid and Without a Lid

You can extinguish charcoal grills with or without a lid. Most of the charcoal grills come with metal lids. But if your grill does not have a cover, you need not worry. Copious departmental stores come up with lid replacements for different grill models. Nonetheless, if you still doubting about a charcoal grill without a lid, here you go! All the steps are here and you just need to follow them

  1. Let The Fuel Burn
  2. All you need are heat-resistant gloves or oven mitts. As you are working with coals directly, you are in dire need of protecting yourself from burning. Get the grates or rack out of the grill and place it carefully at a place where no flammables are around. Keep it out of the reach of the children and pets. Soon, the entire fuel will burn out and turn to ashes. Sit tight until it cools down and chuck away the ashes later.

  3. Smoother Coals Elsewhere
  4. Another method to put out a charcoal grill without a lid is to do smoother coals at some other place. Dislodge the grates or tray, which bears stacked coals using oven mitts. Get a metal pot with a lid and tongs.

    Remove coals one by one from the tray and transfer them to the other metal pot. Careful! Try not to drop the coal or crunch it as it may cause a fire to break out. After transferring all the coals to the metal pot, cover it and let it sit for a day or two. If you don’t want to keep these coals, you can throw this metal pot at a place where ashes cannot trigger any fire. Transferring coals one at a time is a time-consuming and hectic task.

  5. Let The Lid Kill Oxygen
  6. You already have read about this above, but it is worth reading in detail. Venting the air out is the best and recommended method. Also, it is safe. Place the grill in a safe place and cover it with the lid. Let the air vent and coals stop burning. It takes almost two days for coals to cool down, and then you can clean the grill for future use.

Pouring Water on Charcoal

Putting out a charcoal grill with water is the worst you can do to your grill and yourself. Spilling water over a charcoal grill induces a massive splash of vapors. These vapors can knock at your skin instantly to produce steam burns.

Pouring water too quickly can cause ember ashes to flow out of the grill. These ashes can start a fire nearby inducing a big disaster.

The other reason not to pour water to put out a grill is that it will turn your grill into shambles. The mud mess is too arduous to handle. And by the same token, cold water and flaming coals are the worst combinations. The thermal shock can cause cracks in your grill, and it will no longer be of any use.

Need to Know About Charcoal Grills?

Thinking about hanging out with friends and having a barbecue night in the backyard? Are you prepared? Do you know what things you need for a barbecue? If you want to know, you reached the right place, pal. Here is the list of barbecue night ingredients

  1. Oven Mitts
  2. Fire Extinguisher (In case of fire breakout)
  3. Aluminum foil
  4. A pair of tongs
  5. Baking soda
  6. Spatula
  7. Charcoal grill
  8. Coals
  9. Oil
  10. Brush

A few important points to keep in mind when you put out a charcoal grill:

  • When you finish, make sure you put out the grill. Letting coals burn is dangerous. A kid, a pet, or wind can knock out the grill, which breaks out the fire.
  • If you don’t put out the grill, You’ll waste the barbecue fuel you can use later.
  • Also, unnecessary burning coal means adding carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide to the air.

Put Out a Charcoal Grill With the Top Two Methods

There isn’t only one right way of how to put out charcoal grill. People try different ways, but what are the best and safe ways? Using these two top methods will not disappoint you.

  1. Traditional Way
  2. This is a long-drawn and time-consuming task, but it is worth it. All you need is aluminum foil, heat-resistant gloves, an ash scoop, and long tongs. Cover the grill with the lid and let it sit for 48 hours minimum. Even after 48 hours, you should be careful because there might be some hot coals. Remove ash and briquettes from grates using an ash scoop. Discard the ashes in an outdoor trash bin. Clean your grill

  3. The Quick way
  4. This is the fast way to put out the charcoal grill. Things you need for this method are heat-resistant gloves, a large bucket of water, tongs, a grill brush. Cover the grill with the lid and wait for an hour. After an hour, remove grates from the grill. Using tongs, dump coals one by one into the water bucket. After a minute, transfer coal to the aluminum foil. You have to work with one coal at a time. You can save coals for future use or you may discard it.

About the author

George Arthur

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