Grill Maintenance???

[FinanceDude]

I bought a Weber Genesis grill almost 12 years ago.. Although I clean it every year, I have yet to replace the "flavorizer bars" or burners............

Last week, it had a lot of trouble heating up above 325 degrees. Usually it goes to 400-450 and stays there....

Could the burners be shot? How hard are they to replace?

Any help would be, well, helpful..............

 

[73ss454]

They make a brush to clean out some of the lines on your grill. Could be the burners are shot though.
Spiders are a big problem with grills. But the brush and clean out the lines and see if that works first. The burners and flavor bars can run into some money. '

By the way with all the money you saved not buying the extended warrant on your Jeep you can get the new burners and flavor bars.

 

[runchman]

Disclaimer: I have a charcoal grill


An individual at work here says when he gets a new gas grill, he buys a bunch of cheap cuts of various types of meat, loads em all up with barbecue sauce, fills up his grill and cooks the piss out of them.

Supposedly this coats the inside of the grill with all kinds of wonderful flavoring elements that will last for the life of the grill.

Then again, this guy is a bit of a whacko so it could all be baloney.

- John

 

[73ss454]

Hey John, was this guy also drinking during this grilling episode?

 

[saluki9]

FD

You're looking at $35 to replace the burner tubes. (you have to pull them in pairs) If I can do it, it isn't hard.

http://www.weberstuff.com/Replacement-Parts/Gas-Grill-Parts/Stainless-Burner-Tube-Set.html

 

[TromboneAl]

Look at the burner tubes, and check that a little blue flame is coming out of each hole. If not, shut it down, and brush with a steel brush. Also do some percussive maintenance (rap with screwdriver).

 

[treypar]

I had a similar problem with low heating on my Genesis Weber grill. It turned out to be a defective regulator. I called Weber and they sent me a replacement at no charge. I would suggest that you call their customer support.

 

[SteveR]

What Al said.

I have a 15 year old Weber Genesis and I have "rebuilt" it three times with new burners (once), flavorizer bars (3 times), plastic cover (3 of them) and grill surface (once). It has always been kept on the deck or patio and covered but is gets buried in snow in the winter for months at a time (until I shovel it off to cook a steak a few times during the winter).

Every Spring I take off the cover. Clean out the cobwebs. Take out the bars and check the burners buy removing them and looking for debris. Run the flavorizer bars in the dishwasher (or not); fire up the grill and let it burn off all the "critter" that moved in there over the winter. Then I am ready for another season of grilling.

 

[My Dream]

I tried washing the flavour bars of the Vermount Castings BBQ and they didn't come out that clean. The BBQ is 1 year old and I removed most of the large deposit's first. Keep in mind that we BBQ about 3 times a week. Any one else try cleaning the flavour bars?

 

[runchman]

Hey John, was this guy also drinking during this grilling episode?

I presume so, this wasn't witnessed in person, just a story he told.

I joke to people that he's going to write a book:

"Stories about me"

(he tends to be a talker)

- John

 

[FinanceDude]

By the way with all the money you saved not buying the extended warrant on your Jeep you can get the new burners and flavor bars.

BTW, it's a CHRYSLER..............if it was a Jeep with the beloved "Quadradrive", I would have bought whatever warranty they wanted me to for as much money as they wanted.............

 

[saluki9]

I tried washing the flavour bars of the Vermount Castings BBQ and they didn't come out that clean. The BBQ is 1 year old and I removed most of the large deposit's first. Keep in mind that we BBQ about 3 times a week. Any one else try cleaning the flavour bars?

Please, let us use the correct terminology here

If there is a direct flame, high heat, or no wood smoke it's grilling, not BBQ

 

[My Dream]

Please, let us use the correct terminology here

If there is a direct flame, high heat, or no wood smoke it's grilling, not BBQ

And now that you were so generous as to correct me on my terminology, how about trying to answer my question?

 

[brewer12345]

And now that you were so generous as to correct me on my terminology, how about trying to answer my question?

What are the bars made out of? Stainless steel?

I would try soaking them overnight in something called "PBW", which you can buy from just about any homebrew supply store. After that, scrub them with a brush. That should take the greasy, nasty mess off.

 

[saluki9]

And now that you were so generous as to correct me on my terminology, how about trying to answer my question?

Sorry! (I can hear my father in my ear telling me "don't criticize unless you're coming up with the solution"

1. I'm not sure why you would need to clean them

2. If you do, soap, warm water, and a wire brush should probably do it.

 

[My Dream]

What are the bars made out of? Stainless steel?

I would try soaking them overnight in something called "PBW", which you can buy from just about any homebrew supply store. After that, scrub them with a brush. That should take the greasy, nasty mess off.

Yes these flavor bars are made out of 304 type stainless material which means that they won't rust. There are types of Stainless that actually do rust somewhat. One way to check is to use a magnet on the stainless, if it sticks then it's the lower quality and has the capacity to
rust.


What does PBW stand for?

The reason I prefer to clean them is because there is so much debris left on these flavor bars that when I cook beef, I get the smell and aroma of pork flavor onto the beef. Also when it gets really dirty the heat build up is reduced. I guess another reason is simply appearance.



Thanks for the replies.

 

[brewer12345]

What does PBW stand for?

PBW is what it is sold as. I think it originally stood for "Powdered Brewery Wash". It is a mildly caustic cleaner taht I have used on glass and stainless steel, and it does a good job of cleaning stuff that I can't even reach to r eally scrup (iside of galss carboys, etc.).

 

[sailor]

I have 8 y.o. Weber Spirit and had similar problem last year.
Check burners first, but in my case it turned out to be a rusted pressure regulator ($15)
I'm assuming that you checked that the propane tank is not empty

 

[FinanceDude]

I have 8 y.o. Weber Spirit and had similar problem last year.
Check burners first, but in my case it turned out to be a rusted pressure regulator ($15)
I'm assuming that you checked that the propane tank is not empty

Propane tank is 3/4 full.

Burners still burn blue...........

Must be the pressure regulator............hard to fix??

 

[brewer12345]

Sometimes it amazes me how lackadaisical we all are (myself included) with an appliance that uses an explosive gas as fuel...

 

[FinanceDude]

Sometimes it amazes me how lackadaisical we all are (myself included) with an appliance that uses an explosive gas as fuel...

Well, after watching "Over the hedge" I got to see a propane tank used as a rocket...........

 

[brewer12345]

Well, after watching "Over the hedge" I got to see a propane tank used as a rocket...........

Hey, my brewing system is a 7 foot high steel stand with three 175,000 BTU burners strpped to it. Pretty close to a propane rocket...

 

[saluki9]

Sometimes it amazes me how lackadaisical we all are (myself included) with an appliance that uses an explosive gas as fuel...

It only really gets fun when you use to power the turkey fryer and throw 5 gallons of boiling oil into the mix.

 

[sailor]

Must be the pressure regulator............hard to fix??

Mine was easy to fix - unscrew the old one - screw the new one in.
Weber had mine for $29.99 (I bought it cheaper on eBay)
http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/shop/product/view.aspx?ProductID=1022

 

[My Dream]

Gas pressure regulators are difficult to repair and should not be attempted. However replacement is easy, as mentioned they screw on but keep in mind that you should use a white compound that seals the thread to prevent leaks. The white thick product with a nickname gunk can be purchased at Home Depot and other hardware outlets. Once the regulator has been replaced, it is VERY important to check for leaks. Use a spray bottle with a mixture of water and soap and while there is pressure in the lines spray all the joints and check for bubbles. Do this procedure several times to be absolutely sure there are no leaks. If you do find a leak shut everything down immediately and retighten or reinstall depending on how severe the leak is. Then repeat the process until there are no more leaks.

Good Luck