Buyer's Guide for Park Grills


buyer's guide for park grills

Buyer's Guide for Park Grills

Buyer's Guide for Park Grills - What's Inside:

  • More Pitmasters Require More Park Grills
  • Choosing Top Quality Components
  • Grill Sizes
  • Be Sure to Provide ADA Park Grills
  • Types of Fire Rings
  • Grill and Fire Ring Installation
  • Grilling Tips
  • Summary
  • Resources

Barbecuing Grows in Popularity

Grilling outdoors has become more popular than ever. Cooking shows and barbecue superstars such as Bobbie Flay have inspired many individuals to pick up the thongs and bags of charcoal in an attempt to become hometown grilling stars of their own. According to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, more than 200 million Americans enjoy outdoor cooking.

Walk through a park on a weekend and you will be seduced by all the amazing and savory smells coming from local park grills.

The challenge for park and facility managers today is, “Are you keeping up with the demand from all these amateur pitmasters?”

It is becoming harder and harder for families to find an outdoor charcoal grill at parks and other facilities. In addition, with all the heavy usage, are your park grills up to date and in good shape? After all, people are eating off of these grills so you want to be sure that equipment is working properly and safe.

In the following guide, we will discuss the various components of park grills and how you can select the proper grill for your location.

Park grills must be able to stand up to the elements and continuous public use while resisting rust and corrosion. Whether visitors to your facility are having a day outing, attending an organized activity, camping out or celebrating a family get together, a quality, easy to use grill will ensure your guests are treated to an easy, comfortable way to grill their food, making their event, at your facility, memorable.

Quality Components

covered park grill

Covered park grill

Quality components, from the handles and fireboxes to the cooking grates and support structures, are essential, and should be the highest priority.  Quality grills have cooking surfaces of high temp enamel, able to withstand the abuse of daily exposure to high heat.

When attached to the grill, you are assured that the grates stay with the grill, retaining functionality and usefulness. Handles should be long lasting and retain the ability to safely stay cool to the touch during cooking.

Quality, cool-coil handles, with spring grips of coiled steel bar are an excellent choice. Strong support posts keep grills functional, made of sturdy, galvanized steel, with theft proof bases.

Safe and sturdy fireboxes are crucial, no matter if the user is a seasoned vet on the grill, or a first timer just firing up his first batch of charcoal. Quality, durable containment construction by way of curved and lipped fireboxes, along with ample room for coals to be moved around safely is a must for safe grilling, keeping the hot coals and embers where they’re supposed to be.

Also, make sure the grill pieces can be lifted for easy clean out and ash removal. When it comes to permanent grills, you don't want to skimp on quality manufacturing.

Need A Specific Grill Size?

Pedestal park grill

Pedestal park grill

Your choices of commercial charcoal grills must take into account the needs and preferences of consumer and end user alike. There are cooking platforms for every space and venue, from campground grills, public park grills, and commercial grills for large event venues, ballparks and conference facilities. A grill suited to a specific space or location will make them more user friendly, culminating in a higher user satisfaction rating, and also a better return rate. A small grill in a space that will hold many people is a recipe for disappointment. (And the possibly of people venting on Yelp or Google+). A large capacity grill in a small capacity venue is a waste, and can ultimately cause poor performance.

Pedestal Grills

Popular pedestal style grills are perfect for average spaces needing a quality grill for daily use. Featuring cooking areas from 250 – 300 square inches, (think 12-15 normal burgers), they are available in either a powder coat or galvanized finish. Features such as 360-degree rotations with adjustable, attached grill grates for flexibility make these a classic choice for your venue.

  

Premium Grills

premium park grill

Premium park grill

For spaces more likely to attract larger crowds, like family gatherings, public events, or sporting tournaments, look towards premier commercial charcoal grills with an expanded cooking area and available utility shelf for holding necessary cooking items. With the average 4-inch burger using just over 20 square inches, a premier grill with an area of up to 1350 square inches of cooking space can crank out burgers for a hungry crowd of 60 plus in one full grill.

Height adjustable fire grates allow control of the fire, and the 360-degree rotational base installation accommodates multiple users, and makes loading and unloading of the grill easy. With a triple grill layout, you can extend your grilling area to a length of more than 8 feet.

ADA Certified

ADA compliant park grill

ADA-compliant park grill

Make sure you’re serving all of your guests with ADA approved and qualified grills. ADA certified park grills have cooking surface heights between the required 15 and 34 inches. ADA certified grills may be adjustable beyond this range, but by law, must include adjustments within the above-specified range.

Additionally, in order to be ADA compliant, the individual parts of the grill must be operable using one hand without tightly grasping, pinching, or twisting the wrist, and with no more than 5 pounds of force. Our grills are compliant, maintaining the same expected quality and usefulness in an in ground base for additional safety.

Fire Rings

Own or manage a campground? You’ll want to choose a fire ring with adjustable grills or flip grates in several different sizes including our large group fire ring with a combined spacious cooking area and fire pit.

Campground favorites come in a variety of options, from your basic steel campfire rings to ADA accessible fire rings. Quality construction means they are made of the same heavy-gauge steel as our grills, and are able to withstand high temperatures and repeated use by the public.

Adjustable Fire Rings

fire ring with adjustable flip grill

Fire ring with adjustable flip grill

ADA Approved Fire Rings

ada fire ring with grate

ADA-compliant fire with grate

Campfire Cooksites

camp fire rings cooksites

Campfire ring with cooking grate

Residential Fire Rings and Accessories

residential fire ring

Residential fire ring with cut-out images

Grill and Fire Ring Installation

Sample park grill installation instructions. Check spec sheets for each product.

Sample park grill installation instructions. Check spec sheets for each product.

Installation of your new park grill selection shouldn’t be a hassle, demanding a team of engineers, mathematicians and contractors to get your new products up and running. Park grills should come with installation instructions that are easy and straight forward, offering in-ground and theft proof, surface mount options.

Both installation options require a concrete footing, with surface mount requiring concrete expansion bolts.

Recommendations for installation vary by location, but widely accepted principles of public grill installation include the areas where people will normally congregate.

Install your charcoal grills near picnic areas and tables, but at least 15 feet away from pavilions, cabins, playgrounds, and any other structure or area that is likely to produce a gathering of people.

Cleaning

Park charcoal grills, by design, are easy to clean. The open designs on the fireboxes allow easy access to remove ash left from previous users. This ash, if left in the firebox and allowed to mix with rainwater, can cause premature rust and corrosion to accumulate in the firebox.

Regular ash removal and disposal will go a long way in keeping your park grill functional and appealing.

If there are signs of rust in your grill, a stiff wire brush and repainting with high heat, grill paint will thwart the corrosion. The grill grates, with normal use, require very little additional seasoning, using the natural fats and grease from the meats to keep the metal lubricated and rust free. Wire brushing the grate is recommended to remove leftover food particles. If needed, cooking oil can be used to wipe and protect the grates from the elements.

Grilling Tips

  1. Preheat these heavy gauge grills thoroughly. This is invaluable and will have a direct effect on the outcome of the food.
  2. If the public is leery about grilling directly on the grill after previous users, a cast iron pan on the grill is an acceptable substitute, or a sheet of aluminum foil laid over the grates will work as well. Just be sure to poke holes in the foil to allow the grease to drain through
  3. A water bottle kept nearby is recommended to keep flames at bay.
  4. Adjust the height of the cooking grates to control cooking temperature.
commercial charcoal grills

Clean, dependable and durable park grills will keep families coming back to your park or facility.

Summary

The bottom line when it comes to the public and barbecuing – make sure you have a sufficient supply of working, quality park grills and commercial charcoal grills available at your location. Visiting pitmasters will be happy and more importantly, so will their hungry families and friends. When you are looking for permanent grills, make sure you focus on quality manufacturers.

About The Park and Facilities Catalog

The Park and Facilities Catalog is headquartered in Boca Raton, FL. In business since 2001, the company is a national provider of commercial-grade park grills, commercial charcoal grills of several sizes from small to large and ADA-compliant grills.

Other outdoor site furnishings such as bicycle parking racks, park benches, aluminum bleachers, lockers, receptacles, picnic tables, and other Division 10 and 12 construction items. Our thousands of clients include municipalities, parks, businesses, contractors, architects, schools, universities, multi-family communities, shopping centers and office buildings from around the country.

Contact one of our expert team members to find the appropriate park grills for your needs and location. For more information call 1-800-695-3503 or visit the website at https://www.theparkcatalog.com/grills.