First of all, an electric chafing dish is a newer option, as the origins of the gas powered chafing dishes go back a few centuries, believe it or not.  You’d think that newer innovations will usually bring improvements in the way we use things, but some are steadfast about their preference for ones that burn gas.

The fundamental difference between an electric chafing dish and the other kinds is the way that it heats the food.  Traditional chafing dishes are powered by a gas flame that uses gel, propane, or some other form of energy to heat the food.  Think of it as similar to the functionality of a gas stove.

On the other hand, the electric chafing dish heats food with an electric flame, just like an electric stove does if you’ve ever used one for yourself.

The biggest factor to keep in mind about units powered by gas is that each gas cartridge will generally only last a few hours.  This means that new gas must be purchased for each use.  If your chafing dishes are intended for settings like buffets or other regular events that involve the consistent serving of food, you can see how these costs may add up greatly over time.  Food heated all day can cost several dollars to heat due to the costs of gas, which adds up to thousands of dollars over a number of years.  With an electric chafing dish, the only cost to be considered is the cost for the electricity that heats the food.

With an electric chafing dish, the heat will be easily adjustable, and many people praise the ability to do this more easily than they can with one that’s comprised of gas.  While the units generally cost several hundred dollars more, the cost savings demonstrated above clearly support the fact that more money will be saved over time with regular use.

If you’re just looking to use your chafing dish just occasionally, you may want to consider going with gas, as you’ll only really enjoy the cost savings if you’re using these frequently.  Still, some people simply feel more secure with something electric as opposed to something made of gas, so the electric chafing dish may help you out in that regard.

Keep in mind that you’ll need access to an outlet if you intend to use this for outdoor settings like picnics and other events.  If this is the case, you may be better off with gas.

All in all, there are plenty of places to find an electric chafing dish online.  Prices will usually start at $450 and up, but you can get some great value for your money spent relative to what they’d cost locally.  Take advantage of some of the major online retailers, in addition to the comparison services that offer you many possible options as far as buying goes.

There are a number of reasons that you may want to consider going with a copper chafing dish, assuming it falls within your budget.

First of all, copper has antibacterial properties, as it’s known to be self cleansing and resistant to many germs.  A copper chafing dish will give you the best protection from bacteria and other germs that could effect the quality of the food being served.  It will also give those you’re serving some peace of mind if they’re privy to this knowledge.

On a cosmetic level, copper also has a number of attractive properties.  Due to the chemical composition of copper in general, it’s one of those substances whose look tends to improve over time.  Unlike other metal that may rust and fade, the metallic shine of copper only improves, making it very resistant to weathering and anything else that could negatively affect the look and feel of your dish.  This gives the copper chafing dish a longevity factor that a stainless steel chafing dish or an all clad chafing dish may lack.

There are two possible ways you can go as far as the look and feel of a copper chafing dish is concerned.  There are antique style copper chafing dishes, and more modern ones as well.  Which one you get will depend on your personal tastes.  The antique copper chafing dish will generally resemble the ones used in the days of lore, as the origins of the chafing dish date back hundreds of years.  Newer ones will have a more robust shine that almost resembles gold plated material.

The copper chafing dish will come in a variety of sizes.  Depending on how much food you’re looking to serve, you may want to go with a 4 quart device, a 6 quart copper chafing dish, or one that holds up to 12 quarts or more.  This really depends on the size of your intended audience, and such a decision regarding chafing dish dimensions should be based around this.  Prices will rise, depending upon how many quarts of food they’re able to hold at once.

Make sure that you get ample chafing dish fuel with your copper chafing dish as well.  The larger the device, the more fuel you’ll need in order to keep your food hot.  This should be easy to find, but you’ll want to plan ahead of any events to make sure that you’ll have an adequate supply.  The last thing that you’ll want is cold food being served inside such a beautiful dish.

Prices for a copper chafing dish will vary by size, but you should expect to pay somewhere between $150 and $300 for a medium sized copper chafing dish.  Look online to some leading retailers and you’ll typically see markdowns.  Therein lies the opportunity to get your hands on a beautiful piece of dishware that lasts you a very long time.

Depending on the unit that you buy, there may be some chafing dish fuel included in the cost of purchase with a stainless steel chafing dish or other device.  More often than not, you’ll have to buy this separately.  Even when it does come included, your fuel supply will typically run out after a few uses and you’ll need to buy refills.

Where should you get chafing dish fuel, what should you look for specifically, and how much should you expect to pay for it?  Let’s answer those questions one at a time from here.

First of all, you’ll have two options as far as getting chafing dish fuel go.  You can buy locally from a hardware store or other supplier, which many people prefer to do because of the convenience factors involved.  You don’t have to wait for shipping, and you don’t have to pay for shipping either.

On the other hand, running a search online for chafing dish fuel will yield many competitors vying to compete for the best prices, and you’ll generally find that you can get the best deals online.  If you have the foresight to place an order before you need some the very next day, you’ll benefit from planning ahead of time and ordering up some chafing dish fuel online.

Chafing dish fuel is measured in two different ways.  Some sellers will tell you how many ounces you’re getting, and some will present it in more practical terms by telling you how long the chafing dish fuel should last.  This is the preferred means of looking for it, though you should generally see some imprint on the product label, or information in the product description, that tells you how many hours the fuel will last for.

If you don’t see this, you might be better off moving on to another fuel set, as it’s crucial that you know exactly how much fuel you’ll need in advance.  Lacking this knowledge can make things really difficult, and the last thing you want is a bunch of cold food served to your guests.

In general, each can will last anywhere from around 2 hours to 6 hours.  The more chafing dish fuel you buy at once, the better price per hour you’ll get.  Shoot for a rate of 50 cents per hour or less when all is said and done, which you should have no problem finding online – especially if you buy in bulk.

You’ll also want to buy chafing dish fuel that offers adjustable heat.  This is important being that certain foods might require varying degrees of heat.  Make sure that you can adjust the wick of the flame, or else you’ll be left with some rigid gel fuel that simply doesn’t get the job done.

Finding chafing dishes for sale should be a very easy task if you’re looking for them online.  There’s a wide variety of stuff out there, and there are dozens of retailers anxious to make a sale in this economy.  Purchases of things like chafing dishes have definitely slowed with these economic times, and many sellers simply have excess inventory sitting around that they’re love nothing more than to unload.

You can also buy chafing dishes for sale on the secondary market.  If you’re looking to do this, a great place to start would be eBay, where you can probably find one of hundreds of different chafing dishes for sale any time that you search.  Prices will really range, depending on the quality of the unit, the age of the unit, and the size and other specs, but if you run into a desperate seller, you can potentially get a nice stainless steel chafing dish or a set of catering chafing dishes for a steal of a price.

You can also look on Craigslist should you decide that you’d rather look locally for chafing dishes for sale.  Of course, the benefit to this is the fact that you may be able to see the units in person before forking over the money for the purchase.  On the other hand, there’s an obvious drawback here.  Your selection won’t be as wide as it otherwise would have been through a mass marketplace like eBay.

Of course, some people prefer to buy their dishes new, especially in the case of chafing dishes.  Since all clad chafing dishes and other variations are a lot more affordable (relatively) than they’ve ever been, there are some chafing dishes for sale that can be bought for prices as low as 35 dollars per dish.

This almost sounds too good to be true, but you’d be surprised at what a bad economy can do to prices for disposable items like these.  You can essentially find a 9 quart chafing dish made of stainless steel for anywhere from 35 to 50 dollars (I’ve seen a few on sale for 35, so look for these online if you can).

With such low prices in place, there’s not as much incentive to buy a used chafing dish for sale unless you’re looking to buy a larger set, or a higher end chafing dish.  Either way, some of the nicer individual chafing dishes can be bought for $100 or less.

On the other hand, high ticketed chafing dishes for sale, like the copper chafing dish or a heavy duty one, may sell for over $1,000.  Of course, these are engineered to feed the masses and you’ll get a lot of mileage out of them  Look to retailers like Amazon, Sam’s Club, and other large stores to see if you can find some great deals.  Typically, I’ve found that prices online for chafing dishes (as well as chafing dish fuel) beat any others that you’ll find at home.

The origins of the chafing dish date back a few centuries, as it was popular in 16th century England, and even traces back to the early origins of colonial America.  Things have obviously come a very long way since then, but the underlying purpose of them remains the same:  to keep food warm in a dish that amply provides an adequate supply of food to those eating from it.

These days, you’ll be able to find chafing dishes in a wide variety of compositions.  Some are made of copper, some of silver, and some of stainless steel.  Some are electric and aren’t fueled with a flame.  Other lower cost chafing dishes are disposable, making for a convenient short-term fix.

A chafing dish can also come in a variety of different shapes.  The most popular form is probably the rectangular chafing dish, as there seem to be more of these for sale than any other kind.  However, you should have no problem finding a round top chafing dish, which essentially provides you with a circular shaped dish to store and serve your food from.  There’s also something called the roll top chafing dish.  This form of dish is basically a hybrid between a round top and a rectangular dish, as the chafing dish is rectangular in shape, but the top “rolls” off, making for easy access when the dish is opened and closed.

A chafing dish will often be used in restaurants, particularly those that serve buffets.  You’ll also commonly see them at formally catered events like weddings, corporate events, and more.

Other things that you’ll to look for when getting a chafing dish include making sure that the fuel holder that’s included is a high quality one.  You’ll want it to provide adequate adjustable features that allow you to change the temperature of the flame that’s powering your chafing dish.  Different foods will need to be served at different temperatures, so getting this part right is important.

You’ll also want to make sure that the metallic surface of your chafing dish doesn’t end up tarnishing over time.  If you get something with a lacquer finish, you’ll most likely have the adequate protection that you need as far as this issue is concerned.

If you’re not into the idea of going with something gel-powered as far as fuel goes, you might want to look into getting an electric chafing dish.  While the idea of this does provide convenience, there are some drawbacks to going this route as well.  First of all, you’ll need access to a wall outlet if you intend to use yours for outdoor situations.  Secondly, they’ll come some more money (usually around $250+ instead of the $100-200 average cost you’ll otherwise find).  Lastly, some people simply prefer the taste of food that’s cooked with gas, just as they might feel about using an electric stove vs. a gas powered one.

Take advantage of the many retailers selling chafing dish sets online, and proceed from there.  Read reviews to get user feedback, and you’ll maximize your chances of finding the best dish for your situation.

Whether it’s a copper chafing dish, a silver one, a stainless steel chafing dish, a disposable one, or any other variety, we’ll go into some details to let you know what you should expect to pay, and where you may be best off looking.

Use this information wisely, and we hope you’ll end up finding yourself some great dishes.