Propane Grill Help!

[mbcijim]

I have a propane grill that doesn't burn on high anymore. It only burns on low heat. I used to be able to get temps 450*-500*, now, I am lucky with 300*. It's a good grill, clean her good every year. I took the burners out and sprayed a compressed air hose in them. The burners are cast iron and almost indestructible. They are $220 to replace so I don't really want to do that, and I don't think they are the problem.

I've tried 3 different propane tanks, so the tank isn't the problem. Anyone have any suggestion? I don't really want to replace it. Mechanically & Physically it is in good condition.

 

[woodsman23]

Maybe the feed lp line is plugged or the fitting that attaches to the tank has an object stuck in there. I would also think it is the regulator either plugged or broken sometimes they freeze up when bad. I would check lines then regulator. Regulators are cheap to replace.

 

[mayhem]

When you open the valve on the tank, open it really slowly. The newer valves have an anti leak cutoff of some sort that will barely allow a trickle of gas to come out if you open the valve too quickly. Happened to my brother's grill, on a Sunday family dinner of course. He couldn't get any heat out of the thing...after cooking our shish-kebab's for about an hour and they stil weren't done we checked the valve and presto! the thing fired right up and we were eating in 10 minutes.

 

[mbcijim]

Thanks guys. I'm going to try both suggestions.

Should have thought of the regulator issue myself. They cause a ton of problems every winter with our rooftop natural gas units.

I paid $500 for the grill 7 years ago and take meticulus care of the thing. Probably better than my car. It bothers me that it isn't working right!

 

[triptester]

I agree on openning the tank valve slowly, also spider webs in the air mixture area. My son had a Charbroil SS grill with the cast iron burners about the same age and the burners started to crack. They have a lifetime warranty. No charge, the cost of other replacement parts will make you consider a whole new grill.

 

[gpcollen1]

MIne does that occasionally and it is the regulator. I turn off the gas, tap the regulator then turn the gas back on.

 

[Metal]

Same thing here on my Weber. If you open it too fast, just wait a minute or two before starting the grill (pressure has to build up on the back side of the regulator to reset the valve) and it should be fine.

 

[mbcijim]

OK guys -
Bought & Installed a new regulator (and about the first 4' of gas line). Didn't work.
Tried the slow gas thing. That didn't work either. Replaced the tank. That didn't work.

Here's what happens. I have 3 cast iron burners. I turn on the gas & close the lid. With 1 burner lit I can get up to 170* or so. If I turn the 2nd burner on it goes down to about 150-160*. Sometimes the 3rd burner lights, sometimes it doesn't. Same thing happens no matter which burner I light, in other words it doesn't seem like a particular burner is causing the problem.

If I try to light all 3 at once, it really struggles. It seems like the more burners I have lit, the pressure goes down significantly. Even with just one burner lit, it's not getting enough pressure either. I think their is somekind of pressure problem???? And it is before the burner and after the tank. I'm not smelling propane anywhere. It doesn't seem like it has a leak.

HELP PLEASE!

 

[woodsman23]

Has to be something pulgging the line some where.

 

[DAKSY]

Pull the burners, remove the orifices & get the spider's nests out of the feed lines...

 

[Corey]

Switch to charcoal

 

[mbcijim]

Pull the burners, remove the orifices & get the spider's nests out of the feed lines...

I'm really not mechanical so thanks everyone for their help. I clean the burners occasionally, and took them after this happened. I blew air through them. They are cast iron and Charbroil wants $210 to replace them. I guess I could blow compressed air through the lines too. The burners are a male/female connection but they just sit in there. Nothing is holding or forcing them together. Any other suggestions anyone?

 

[Gooserider]

It sounds to me like you must have a blockage in the main line or the distribution manifold... Follow the gas line from the tank through the regulator, to the burner valves - at some point it has to split up to send gas to each valve, and from the valve to the burners... What it sounds like is that you aren't getting enough gas volume through the line or manifold to feed all three burners at the same time - but any one burner runs on high by itself...

I'm not a plumber, but logic says to me that if the blockage was after the manifold split up, you would have a problem with just one specific burner. Since it's not specific to any one burner, the problem must be in the line before it splits up to feed the different burners. - I'd take all those lines apart and make sure they are clear. Needless to say, be careful when putting things back together that you get a good seal, gas leaks are NOT acceptable...

Just as another possibility, have you tried different tanks? (it seems like if there was a problem with the tank valve you might get a similar symptom...) If you haven't tried a different tank, that might be a quick and easy thing to try first.

Gooserider

 

[mbcijim]

Thanks. I'll try that next.

Yes, tried different tanks.

 

[Gooserider]

Thanks. I'll try that next.

Yes, tried different tanks.

Missed that earlier...

Another place to check - when you changed regulators, did you replace the part that connects to the tank? Many inlet stems have filter screens built into them, and a blockage there could produce your symptom...

Gooserider

 

[drizler]

You might try rodding out the burner jets carefully then blowing back through them with air pressure with the bottle disconnected. Not sure but it might work. One thing you want to do is make sure you don't leave the bottle disconnected for long. If you must then plug the inlet of the stove with either a piece of tape or something similar. Mud dubbers, spiders and all sort of critters seem to just love the smell of that stuff and try to settle in there. It might not plug it all the way but the small bits of mud are just like concrete and can jam up the works like you wouldn't believe.

 

[mbcijim]

Thanks guys, it was the regulator and the way I was turning on the grill. Never knew that before!

Really appreciate it.

 

[wenger7446]

Thanks for the feed back.....i learned someting today.