When you’re getting ready to move to a new house, you’ll want to make sure you’re also moving your favorite grill with you so that you can continue to enjoy fun BBQ gatherings in the backyard of the new place.
Above all, you’ll want to know how to move a grill safely to ensure the wellbeing of everyone involved in the move and the safety of the barbecue grill as well.
As in the case of most home appliances, the preparation stage is critical for the success of the entire grill relocation operation. Grills are not cheap by any means, so you wouldn’t want to see anything bad happen to your backyard essential during the haul.
Here’s how to move a grill to a new house, quickly and safely.
How to prepare your grill for moving
There are several steps you have to follow to prepare your BBQ grill for safe moving:
Preparation step 1. Wait until the grill cools down
One of the most important things when moving a grill to a new house is to make sure the BBQ appliance has not been used for at least one full day (24 hours) so that it has had enough time to cool down properly.
You should never try to move a grill shortly after you’ve used it simply because most of its components (especially its base) can reach very high temperatures during use and it takes hours for those heated parts to fully cool down.
Preparation step 2. Remove the propane tank or charcoal
When the barbeque grill cools down completely, it’s time to remove the propane tank or get rid of the charcoal inside the BBQ appliance.
If you own a gas grill, disconnect carefully the propane tank that’s attached to the base of the appliance. Bear in mind that you are not allowed to transport a propane tank to a new home due to its hazardous nature. Professional movers will not move any combustible or flammable items in their truck either, so you must dispose of the propane tank before you move out. Needless to say, the easiest way to do it is to give away the propane tank to your neighbors.
If you own a charcoal grill, then remove the briquettes from underneath the rack and clean out the dust that remains.
Preparation step 3. Clean your grill well
Find some time in your busy schedule to clean your BBQ grill thoroughly. The reason is obvious enough – you don’t want any remaining food particles, grease, or char to get into the moving truck, and then transfer onto your other things or make it all the way to the new house.
Clean the grill using a wire grill brush dipped in water. Make sure you’re wearing protective gloves to avoid hurting your fingers or hands. Use an old towel to rub off any remaining residue on the grill.
Clean the cooking chamber following the manufacturer’s instructions. Depending on the exact type of grill you own, the cleaning procedure can differ slightly and some cleaning solutions will be more appropriate and safe than others.
See also: Do’s and don’ts when moving in the summer
How to pack your grill for moving
Once you’ve prepared the barbecue grill for moving, it’s time to follow a few simple steps to pack it up safely for the haul. In fact, it’s these packing steps that will ensure your grill reaches the new house perfectly intact.
Packing step 1. Pack up your grill components
Remove any detachable parts from the grill such as racks, utensils, pans, and other grill accessories. If the lid of your BBQ grill can be removed, take it off too.
Wrap all those grill parts and accessories in soft packing paper and transfer them into separate pre-padded boxes of the right size. Label the boxes appropriately so that you can reassemble your grill quickly after arriving in the new house.
Most of the time, all grill components and accessories should be able to fit into one large cardboard box. If not, use more than one container to pack them up.
Packing step 2. Wrap the grill in furniture blankets
Once you’ve packed up the grill components safely, it’s time to protect the BBQ grill itself.
If you haven’t removed the lid of the grill for some reason, then use a bit of masking tape to secure it and keep it from accidentally opening during transport. Then, wrap the entire body of the grill in thick furniture blankets to ensure it stays well protected until it reaches the new house. Then, use packing tape to keep the padding blankets in place.
If your barbecue grill has wheels on its base, keep them uncovered so that you can push with ease the BBQ appliance towards the moving vehicle.
Read also: Packing timeline for moving
How to move your grill
In most cases, you shouldn’t have any problems moving the grill to the moving truck and loading it inside the vehicle. Why? Barbecue grills are not usually too heavy so they can be handled safely by one or two persons at the most.
When moving your wheeled grill on your own, it’s better to pull the BBQ appliance from the front instead of trying to push it by yourself from the back. But if you have a helper, then one of you should be pushing the wheeled BBQ grill from the back while the other one is pulling the appliance from the front section.
When moving a grill with handles, then use those handles to lift the grilling machine slightly off the ground and carry it slowly to the awaiting vehicle.
When you reach the truck, use the loading ramp to get your grill inside the back of the vehicle. Once there, use straps to secure the appliance to the side of the truck – make sure it cannot shift around during transport. Also, do not place any items on the top of the grill to keep it safe until it reaches its destination.
Finally, load into the vehicle the boxes containing the disassembled grill parts and accessories and place them near your BBQ grill for easier identification when the new house is reached.
