Looks like I need new burners for my gas grill

Bob in St. Louis · « **on:** 20 Oct 2008, 05:36 pm »

I've had my gas grill for about two years now. I'm SOOOooooo not impressed with gas.

It's only had about three tanks of propane run through this $600 pile of crap and here's what last nights steak dinner looked like:

Not sure what five new burners cost, but this shiney stainless steel "tank" may get rolled out to the curb.

I suppose I could look at the silver lining here.....I can cook one steak for two people, one half medium rare, the other half well done.

Bob

satfrat · « **Reply #1 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 05:48 pm »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 20 Oct 2008, 05:36 pm

I've had my gas grill for about two years now. I'm SOOOooooo not impressed with gas.
It's only had about three tanks of propane run through this $600 pile of crap and here's what last nights steak dinner looked like:

Not sure what five new burners cost, but this shiney stainless steel "tank" may get rolled out to the curb.
I suppose I could look at the silver lining here.....I can cook one steak for two people, one half medium rare, the other half well done.

Bob

Replacing the burner(s) is no biggie Bob, if your model isn't 20 years old like mine is. I had to do to my local Suburban Propane Co to order a new burner for mine. Before replacing it tho, try taking the buner out and running a vacuum cleaner on the flame holes. Ir might be that they're just plugged up. Of course if you find the burner body is have eaten away, then it's a new burner for you.

Cheers,
Robin

MaxCast · « **Reply #2 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 06:17 pm »

Yeah, check out the burners. I've had both, clogged burners and one continuous burner.

Andrikos · « **Reply #3 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 06:42 pm »

Pull the burners out and replace them with charcoal.
Fixed!

woodsyi · « **Reply #4 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 06:45 pm »

Bob,

You got 5 round burners, right? They are easy enough to replace but I don't like them. I like the Weber style "line source" flames. You get "constant directivity" with thin line source whereas you get "lobing" with round burners.

satfrat · « **Reply #5 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 06:56 pm »

Quote from: woodsyi on 20 Oct 2008, 06:45 pm

Bob,

You got 5 round burners, right? They are easy enough to replace but I don't like them. I like the Weber style "line source" flames. You get "constant directivity" with thin line source whereas you get "lobing" with round burners.

That makes a whole lotta sense but what if Bob's grill isn't built for line source burners? Modright maybe?

Cheers,
Robin

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #6 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 07:14 pm »

I think I like Andrikos solution the best.

Woodsyi, I've got five burners, but they're full width front to rear type. Not the round one's.

Since starting this thread, I've done a little "Googling", and found thougsands and thousands of people that absolutely HATE their "Charmglow" grill. There are three models, a three burner, four burner, and a five burner. I've found nothing but folks wanting class action law suits, houses caught on fire, and burnt arms. Looks like I'm one of the lucky one's.

Geez man, Google "Charmglow" and look at all the pissed off people. WOW.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/charmglow.html

Seems there's a recall for the three burner models, but nothing for mine yet.

Bob

Andrikos · « **Reply #7 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 07:19 pm »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 20 Oct 2008, 07:14 pm

I think I like Andrikos solution the best.

Bob

Believe it or not, that's exactly what I did with mine.
I did buy a proper smoker/charcoal grill and never looked back.

Gas grills are more convenient, but, hey, so are automatic transmissions.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #8 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 07:31 pm »

HA HA. You said it Brother. I agree 100%

woodsyi · « **Reply #9 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 07:56 pm »

Bob,

Charcoal grill/smoker is analogous to what vinyl is for music you know -- great taste and very inconvenient to use. Are you prepared to start an hour earlier every time? Pay for artisan charcoals and flavor chips?

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #10 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 08:07 pm »

I didn't care for the wait time for charcoal, which is why I chose the propane. But I think you're right, I'll go back to "analog BBQing".

Bob

jules · « **Reply #11 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 09:54 pm »

Excellent fix-it challenge Bob

It looks as though fat/grease from the grill can drip down onto the burners? If that's the case you're always going to have problems unless you replace the grid type plate with something solid like a piece of 3/8 plate.

The best burner's I've used are the cast iron ones. All burners deteriorate slowly by clogging, which can be cleaned but also by gradual rusting out. The pressed metal type burners are hopeless in this respect as they rust very fast. Even stainless steel pressed metal is not immune to rusting out.

If you've got blocked holes in the burner you'll need something like a drill bit to clean them out. The burnt on rubbish is tough! You might also find that the [brass] jet which feeds gas into the burner [from the on-off tap assembly] needs a clean out. These are quite fine. You might get away with using a fine needle but a drill bit will be too big.

If the gas jet burner holes have burnt out and become too large you've certainly got a lemon on your hands.

jules

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #12 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 10:15 pm »

Good advise Jules, but to be quite honest I've really scared the Hell out myself with this unit. The internet is full of stories of burnt down houses and decks not to mention the occational seared forearm due to these (POS's) units malfunctioning.

Charcoal is sounding better all the time. I'll admit, the best I've cooked on this unit still pales in comparison to what I used to accomplish on my old charcoal rig.

By the way, here's the beast:

Bob

jules · « **Reply #13 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 10:31 pm »

Quote

the best I've cooked on this unit still pales in comparison to what I used to accomplish on my old charcoal rig.

... I have to agree with that.

jules

Bigfish · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 Oct 2008, 10:47 pm »

Bob:

Order yourself a Grill Dome (www.grilldome.com) grill and you will never think about another gas grill. I have owned several different gas grills and a few charcoal grills. With gas grills I would always have to change a tank during a cook, constantly had igniter problems and had to replace gas burners every couple of years (both stainless steel and cast iron types). I have owned the Grill Dome for a couple of years and it is like comparing a Lexus to a an old beat up VW. If you visit the Grill Dome Website please be sure to check our their owner discussion forum.

Good Luck,

Ken

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #15 on:** 21 Oct 2008, 04:12 pm »

Thanks for the link those look very cool, but I haven't found anyone with balls enough to tell my wife we need to spend another $600 after a year and a half.

(I did verify with her how long we've have the unit, turns out it wasn't as long as I thought).

Might have to see this thing to the end of it's life by using it as a charcoal rig for the time being.

Bob

p.s. Anybody wanna come over for a little BBQ action? aa

TomS · « **Reply #16 on:** 21 Oct 2008, 04:35 pm »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 21 Oct 2008, 04:12 pm

Thanks for the link those look very cool, but I haven't found anyone with balls enough to tell my wife we need to spend another $600 after a year and a half.
(I did verify with her how long we've have the unit, turns out it wasn't as long as I thought).

Might have to see this thing to the end of it's life by using it as a charcoal rig for the time being.

Bob

p.s. Anybody wanna come over for a little BBQ action? aa

Your grill needs to have a convenient halloween accident...

some young guy · « **Reply #17 on:** 21 Oct 2008, 04:44 pm »

I love this set-up and it cost me less than $200.

ebag4 · « **Reply #18 on:** 21 Oct 2008, 04:48 pm »

Quote from: some young guy on 21 Oct 2008, 04:44 pm

I love this set-up and it cost me less than $200.

This is the same unit I have and I love mine as well. BTW, if you use charcoal the chimney starters allow you to be up and running in 20-30 minutes and no lighter fluid required, just a couple sheets of newspaper.

Best,
Ed

some young guy · « **Reply #19 on:** 21 Oct 2008, 04:49 pm »

BTW you should also be able to burn-out your burner plates by placing the on top of an ignited burned for 10-15 minutes. Let them cool, then tap them on the ground to release the grunge.