I just bought myself a bright green Weber BBQ and was thinking to myself why are most BBQs are black.

OK, I know black things emit more heat so my green BBQ should keep more heat inside and get a little hotter. (+1 for green)

The only downside I can see is a black BBQ will have a greater temperature differential across the lid due to more heat radiation therefore the outside should be a little cooler (assuming the inside temp is the same) so it would be less likely to cause a burn if you touch it. (+1 for black)

Is this correct and can any physicists comment on how much hotter my green BBQ would get with vs. a black BBQ and how much hotter the outside of the lid would be vs a black one.

suspect this would only be a few degrees but interested to know!

ps unsure of the wavelength of my green BBQ but pretty close to kermit the frog

why are most BBQs are black.

They’re black so they don’t have to clean them all the time?

Because black goes with everything?

You can’t really tell, from the colour, how well it emits Infra Red, as we just see the visible spectrum. A lot of outdoor Telecoms kit is painted white, but the paint they use is a very good IR emitter, which is how the kit keeps cool (convection and radiation).

Because black goes with everything?

And it’s soooooo slimming, dahling.

Radiated heat is pretty inefficient. The radiators in your house actually work by convection not radiation, so if the trading standards people had any say they should be called convectors not radiators. So not sure why BBQ’s tend to be black but one thing is for sure – it’s nothing to do with physics or thermodynamics.

…not sure why BBQ’s tend to be black…

Soot.

HTH.

Why is most BBQ paint black? Is it because most BBQs are black or because heat resistant paint originally only came in black? And hence most BBQs are black?

Tradition.
Hides the dirt.