Grilling is one of the best ways to cook meat and vegetables. Regardless of what time of year, it can be a great way to have minimal cleanup and great taste. There are also many ways you can use a grill which you may not have thought of, such as making pizza. But what do you do when it’s raining and you don’t want to go out into the cold and wet to use your grill? Can you use a propane grill indoors?
Can You Use A Propane Grill Indoors?
When considering the question can you use a propane grill indoors the first question to ask yourself is why? The grill is intended for use outdoors only, where you have a fully ventilated and safe environment to work in. You can find some grills which can be installed indoors with the proper ventilation systems. However, these are typically restaurant quality cooking surfaces and are extremely expensive to properly install.
There is no circumstance where it is safe and appropriate to use a portable propane grill indoors. Absolutely none. The use of a propane grill indoors has numerous risk factors.
Risks Of Using A Propane Grill Indoors
You need to understand the four major reasons why using a propane grill indoors is dangerous. Even if you’re left unconvinced upon reading them, please don’t try it. There are plenty of indoor grill options, but a propane grill is not one of them.
Grease Fire
First, there’s the chance you may have a grease fire on the grill. Which, when cooking outdoors, is easy to neutralize. You would just turn off the gas and let it burn itself out. Or if it’s a bad grease fire, maybe you have to douse it with the fire extinguisher. In any event, the fire is isolated to the grill. If you’re indoors you may not have time to put it out before it has lit something else on fire and caused noxious fumes to fill the space.
Tipping Over
Additional risks involve the grill tipping over. Again, when you’re outdoors a wind gust may come up, or someone catching a football could bang into the grill and knock it over. Again, most likely it’ll be really annoying, make a giant mess, maybe someone gets burned, but most likely will not cause a fire to get out of control. If you’re inside and the grill gets tipped over by a clumsy dog, the fire may get out of control before you know it.
Carbon Monoxide Poison
The next great risk of a propane grill indoors is carbon monoxide poisoning. The combustion of the propane gives off a byproduct called carbon monoxide. You can’t smell or taste this gas, but it displaces the oxygen we breathe, and can eventually lead to lightheadedness, passing out, and death.
Propane Leak
Next is probably the last one you would think of, but another great risk to health and life, is a propane leak. With a propane leak there’s the obvious risk of explosion. This is very dangerous. However, another unexpected risk is the propane gas being heavier than air. Unlike it’s cousin, natural gas which is lighter than air and will dissipate if you open a window, propane will do no such thing.
Propane is heavier than air so will settle to the low spot. If you have a basement, the propane will make its way to the basement. What this means is even if you don’t have an explosion, breathing propane is extremely dangerous. According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, first there will be rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, clumsiness, and emotional fatigue. Then vomiting, nausea, collapse, and convulsions leading to coma, then death will occur. You need to be very careful with propane.
Can You Use A Propane Grill Indoors Summary
To sum up, the answer to can you use a propane grill indoors is absolutely not. If you don’t have a permanently installed grill which has met all the requirements of the building code and the National Fire Protection Association, you must not use your grill inside the house, garage, or any other enclosed space.
