For this week’s review I was sent the CharBQ from Mikel Draghici at CharBQ.
Co-creators and longtime friends, John Ingrassia and Mikel Draghici, created the CharBQ in 2009.
The CharBQ is a great way to temporarily convert your existing gas grill into a charcoal grill. The CharBQ is made of stainless steel and is fully adjustable to fit most gas grills on the market today.
One CharBQ will fit in grills as small as 14″L x 10.5″W to as big as 28″L x 22″W and any dimensions in between since it’s adjustable in both directions, length and width.
The CharBQ has 4 separate sections which you then overlap to form the size you want to fit the inside of your gas grill. It also comes with 2 removable handles which can be inserted into the holes on both sides of the CharBQ for easy removal from your gas grill.
This product can also be used to convert your gas grill into a smoker with the included CharBQ smoker lid.
For this review I used the CharBQ in my Weber gas grill to grill up some yummy Johnsonville Cheddar Bratwurst Patties and hot dogs.
The first thing I did was go outside and disconnect the propane tank from the grill since you don’t use gas at all while using the CharBQ. After that I removed the grill grates and flavorizer bars.
Once that was done I placed one of the 4 sections of the CharBQ in the top left corner inside the grill.
Then I placed another section in the bottom left corner overlapping the top left one, followed by one in the top right corner overlapping both the top and bottom left sections. Last but not least I placed the last section in the bottom right corner.
After I made final adjustments in the sizing of the CharBQ, I made sure there was a wall overlap of at least one hole on each side of the CharBQ for stability. Once I did that I used the included wing nuts and bolts to connect all four sides. One on each side of the CharBQ is all that’s needed. (Make sure to only hand tighten.)
I then filled the CharBQ with some Kingsford Charcoal (roughly about 1/3 of an 8.3lb bag). After that I lit the charcoal using my Looftlighter and got the coals nice and hot. Once the grill was up to temp it was time to put on the patties and hot dogs.
After flipping the patties and turning the hot dogs I let them cook a little longer and then it was time to take them off the grill to eat.
I let the coals in the CharBQ cool off for a little over 24 hours and then dumped them into a garbage bag and used a small handheld broom to brush out what ash was left inside the CharBQ. As you can see in the one picture below it cleaned up pretty well that way.
Final Thoughts
The CharBQ worked really well and it did a great job of containing all the charcoal and ash inside of it for easy cleanup the next day.
I like that the CharBQ is made of stainless steel so it won’t rust. Plus it’s adjustable for use in all different brands of gas grills which I think is a great feature too.
The CharBQ was very easy to setup and I was cooking in no time at all.
This is a great product for someone who owns a gas grill and wants to change it up every once in a while and cook with charcoal instead of gas.
This would also be great for someone who has a gas grill that is on its last leg. You could use this product to turn that old gas grill into a permanent charcoal grill. My Weber gas grill is one of those grills and I will be using the CharBQ to convert it into a charcoal grill so I can get a few more years out of it.
You can purchase the CharBQ on the manufacturer’s website here.
For more information on the CharBQ please visit their Facebook & Twitter pages as well as their Website.
Make sure to check back soon for another BBQ Tools & Tech Review!
Thanks!
Jay Prince
@Prince_of_Q
This reminds me of my days in college when we took an old Sunbeam Gas Grill, that had burned out burners and we just dumped charcoal in there. I would have never thought of coming up with a product like this to convert gas grill to charcoal when ever you want. Very cool product there Jay.
Thanks Kevin! I have a few more products that I need to review on my Weber gas grill and then I am permanently converting it into a charcoal grill with the CharBQ. It’s a really cool product!