OT gas barbecue grill problem/question

About the only thing left is to replace the regulator. I have never replaced one, but I see lots of them on the shelf at the hardware stores. So must be a fairly common repair item.

Paul

anybody have experience with this? i have a ducane grill, maybe 5 or so years old. the flame, when it's on HIGH is lower than it would be (if it were functioning properly) if it was on LOW. i think this has been a cumulative problem happening slowly over the course of a few years (like the boiling frogs analogy). i called ducane about this a year or two ago, i really don't think teh lady was very helpful, she was giving me like consumer grade advice. i just called them again, the lady gave me instructions on how to reset the OPD valve safety. to me that's consumer grade advice. a year or so ago i removed the on/off valve (on the grill) and disassembled it, rinsed it out with acetone, reassembled it, teh problem remained. a couple days ago i took off the regulator, removed the "in" and "out" brass nipples, was able to peer inside it and it looked perfectly clean. the air intake mesh is clean on the burner tube (i'm assuming even if it were dirty that wouldn't restrict the flow of the propane, it would just cause the flame to burn yellow). when i disassembled the on/off valve i also wire brushed the burner tube to be sure the little holes weren't at all restricted. this grill cost over $400, there's still plenty of life left in the burner tube, it's stainless, i don't see any point in throwing the grill away if there's a simple fix.

any advice? (besides throwing the grill away)

b.w.

I think that it is the regulator. My exprience, I was deep frying a batch of whitting for a church dinner. I couldn't get the oil up to the 250 degree that is needed, I turhed the regulator all the way in, to no avail. I then replace the tank, (not convently at 7 pm) I could then get the oil up to about 225 degree. I finish he cooking at that level. I back the regulator all the way out ans left it to rest. About a week later I need to cook again, I borrowed a complete unit for backup, but my regulator works fine then and now.

It sounds like the regulator has failed. Not an uncommon thing. When I converted by Weber over to feed off the big tank I removed the small factory regulator and fed it using the primary tank unit. I can finally control it and actually have the grill controls operate over the full range. I use the grill year around even with lot's of snow. Next year I plan on a new patio with a built in cook-top and larger grill. It will be more like an outdoor kitchen. That way when I do sauce, large batch cooking and have the family around I don't have to burn down the house.... May even toss in a wood fired pizza oven.......

Open the screw on cover of your regulator and with a screw driver..adjust the valve inside until the flame is where you want it.

Gunner

"Aren't cats Libertarian? They just want to be left alone. I think our dog is a Democrat, as he is always looking for a handout" Unknown Usnet Poster

Heh, heh, I'm pretty sure my dog is a liberal - he has no balls. Keyton

Around here, regulators get clogged up by spider webs. They're very hard to see.

As the others have said..... Regulater going/gone bad. I replaced mine this summer. Got it a local hardware store for less than $20 dollars. You may or may not be able to use a generic brand from a hardward store as the come with new hoses which may not suit your needs..

Regulator is dead. Or someone monkeyed with the settings.

If you want to be sure, you can install a tee and a presure gauge right before the control valves, either temporary or permanent. Mounting one permanently is a good diagnostic tool, and an instant confirmation that the LP tank just ran dry.

If this is a standard "Convertable" LP or Natural Gas grille with the switchable regulator, it should be running about 4" Water Column on Natural, and about 11" WC on Propane.

The regulator on the convertable BBQ's has a cap that flips over with the right spring setting for LP on one side and Natural on the other - if someone flipped it to Natural accidentally (or a 3 year old was "Helping!" you...) the burner will run Way Low on LP.

The "King Kooker" pots run at a higher burner pressure, up to 5 PSI or so. Read The Friendly Manual, and that'll tell you what range of pressure gauge to buy.

On both systems, you want the gauge to be about 200% of your target full pressure, so halfway is correct - for the 4" to 11" range, you want one that reads about 20" WC full scale. McMaster and your favorite suppliers have them.

-->--

hey guys, thanks so much for your help. i don't know what i did but it's working ok now. i think perhaps, to my great embarrassment, the "consumer grade" advice i got from teh ducane lady was what did it. she said to open the gas tank valve "all the way" with the grill off and leave it for "one minute". i'd been under the assumption i fairly well had OPD valves figured out. when i run my roofing burner i open the valve (it instantly fills the hose and of course that activates teh safety) i hear a "PLINK", close the valve for a second or two and hear another "PLINK" and that tells me the valve reset itself and then crack open the valve and bring the (turned off) burner up to pressure, then i can open the burner valve and light it. sometimes i have to do it twice. i figured the same was true with the bbq. this problem occured even if i changed the tanks, so i was assuming it wasn't that i was triggering the OPD safety it was something was wrong with the grill. what ended up happpening was i opened the valve all the way and then got distracted by one of the other multiple projects i've got going here. when i came back to the grill and lit it, it seemed fine. oh, but i also took out the burner and wire brushed it and ran it though the dishwasher (to get the venturi screen totally clean) (the dishwasher worked well). well, so, sorry for the trouble. thanks!

b.w.

btw, this seems like a good place, just remembered a story. a few months ago i put an entire (expensive) pork loin on the grill, and then FORGOT about it, for like maybe 4 hours, it might've even been longer, 5 hours, or more?! the grill was on "low". when i remembered i was like "OH SHIT!!!" and dashed out SURE that i was going to open the grill and see a cylindrical shaped charcoal log but no. i put the loin on a "insulated baking sheet" i created. it worked! it worked great! i had a cookie sheet, has a 1/2 inch deep lip, and i have some left over 1/2 inch thick ceramic wool, cut a section and put it in the cookie sheet and put heavy duty aluminum foil over it. i cut the loin in half and put it on a seperate cookie sheet and put that on top of my insulated cookie sheet and put the whole thing on the grill. i believe that's what prevented teh loin from catching on fire and burning up. the loin was cooked with hot air instead of that direct heat. works good. actually that was the best loin i'd ever cooked. came out kinda like it would if it were properly barbecued, slow cooked, except without the wood smoke flavor. i just wanted to mention this insulated cookie sheet thing while we were on bbq's. (don't know if i toxified myself by having that ceramic wool gizmo in with my food.) (lol, i'd imagine ceramic wool is intert, except if you are breathing the airborne fibers.)