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The difference between a natural gas and an LPG barbecue comes down to the fuel and the hardware tuned for it. LPG, the bottled gas in the swap cylinder, is stored under pressure and burns at a higher supply pressure through smaller injectors. Natural gas arrives through your home’s line at lower pressure and needs larger injectors to deliver the same heat. The sausages can’t tell the difference; the burners absolutely can, which is why a BBQ must be built or properly converted for the gas it runs on, and why conversion is licensed gasfitting work in Victoria rather than a job for a spanner and optimism.
If you’re weighing up ditching the bottle, here’s the full picture.
Which fuel suits you?
LPG earns its keep if the BBQ moves around the yard or goes camping, or your home has no natural gas connection. The price is the bottle routine: swaps, refills, and the cylinder that runs dry with a flat of sausages half-cooked, an experience every Australian has exactly once before learning to keep a spare.
Natural gas wins if the house is connected and the BBQ lives in one spot. Endless supply, no bottles, cheaper running costs, in exchange for being tethered to a wall point by a hose.
Most BBQs here are sold as LPG, with many models offering a natural gas version or an approved conversion kit. And for the long-range planners: Victoria’s home electrification rules target hot water and new buildings; they don’t change gas cooking in existing homes, and LPG is untouched, so an existing connection can keep feeding the barbecue for the life of the house.
Can I connect a BBQ to natural gas in Australia?
Yes, and the mechanism is tidier than people expect. A licensed gasfitter runs a branch from your supply to an outdoor bayonet point, a quick-connect socket mounted on the wall near the BBQ spot. The BBQ, in its natural gas configuration, connects to the bayonet with an approved hose: plug in to cook, unplug to put it away. Installing the point involves working on gas pipework, sizing the line so the BBQ and the rest of the house both breathe properly, and pressure testing the lot, which is routine work for our gas fitting team. A straightforward Melbourne bayonet installation typically lands around $350 to $700, with long pipe runs or tricky access adding to it.
Can you convert an LPG BBQ to natural gas?
Often, under two conditions. The manufacturer must offer an approved conversion kit for your exact model, because converting means changing injectors and regulator settings for the different pressure. And a licensed gasfitter must do it. Run an unconverted LPG BBQ on natural gas and it burns weakly; run the reverse and it burns dangerously large and sooty. Some cheaper BBQs have no approved conversion path at all, and there the honest advice is to buy the natural gas version outright rather than improvise, because appliance conversions carry additional licensing requirements in Victoria for the excellent reason that getting the gas type wrong is one of the more hazardous mistakes a backyard can offer.
The same rules cover the rest of the outdoor kitchen. Patio heaters, pizza ovens and built-in BBQs plumbed to the house supply are all gasfitting work with the appropriate certification, and when an appliance moves or goes, the line gets properly capped, never valved off and forgotten behind a wall for the next owner to find. If you ever smell gas around the connection, close the bayonet and any cylinder and have it checked: soapy water finds many hose leaks, and our gas leak detection team finds the rest. Building a full outdoor kitchen? Our appliance installation crew can handle the lot in one visit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a natural gas and LPG BBQ? Fuel pressure and injectors. LPG runs higher pressure through smaller jets; natural gas runs lower pressure through larger ones, so every BBQ must be set up for its specific gas.
Can I connect a BBQ to natural gas in Australia? Yes, through an outdoor bayonet point installed by a licensed gasfitter, with the BBQ in natural gas configuration on an approved hose.
Can you convert an LPG BBQ to natural gas? Only if the manufacturer makes an approved kit for your model, and only by a licensed gasfitter. No kit, no conversion, no exceptions worth having.
What gas is used for a barbecue in Australia? Most BBQs sell as LPG on the 9kg swap bottle. Homes with natural gas can run a natural gas BBQ from a bayonet point and retire the bottle entirely.
Keen to make this the last summer of bottle swaps? Call O’Shea Plumbing on 03 8566 8450 or book a bayonet installation before the first proper barbecue Saturday of spring.
