Gas grill issues

[Flexon Phil]

My newish grill (Kenmore) cannot get above 200 deg with a full tank. How and where do I troubleshoot this issue?

*note, this has been an intermitted problem. No consistancy, but usually at the most inopportune time.

[skiingsamurai]

-bad nozzle on the talk
-kink in the fuel line
-issue with the burner its self. clogged or defective

could be one or more of these

[Flexon Phil]

-bad nozzle on the talk
-kink in the fuel line
-issue with the burner its self. clogged or defective

could be one or more of these

It is all the burners, knock that out. How can I check the nozzle? I think it must be that, the side burner cannot get water to boil.

[refried]

Bad regulator

[XXX-er]

try a different tank ?

[RaccoonFace]

Cold tank? My grill used to get a little weird if I didn't let the tank sit in the sun of a bit to warm up. I use it in the winter with mixed results.

okbye

[Flexon Phil]

Bad regulator

How can I tell?


As far as the tank being too cold...it is still in the 60-70's here. For a future note, If I plan on BBQing through the winter, should I keep the tank indoors?

[XXX-er]

swap parts one by one till you know which was the problem SO you swap the easiest stuff 1st ,do the tank 1st then borrow or buy a regulator

in -20C the tank/reg might sometimes run a little funny and even make noise ,i don't usually barbecue in winter cuz its just too cold to go outside /let in cold air /barbecueing is differnt in the cold

[igBand]

I experienced the same problem last summer. It ended up being a bad valve at the tank that seemed to cause an improperly seated connection with the hose.

Sometimes re-connecting the hose to the tank would help, but wasn't 100%. In the end, I ended up just trading it in for another (told the guys at ACE hardware of the issue), and have been problem free since then.

[Snow Dog]

Look at the flame on the burner -- it should be even and blue all the way around. make sure the carburator is open (where the hose connects to the burner is a jet or two and an open section of pipe where air is drawn in). Or the regulator is kaput (likely if none of the burners are working). Propane will gasify down to -40F but your bbq won't be able to stay hot or even warm. NEVER store your propane tank inside. Propane is heavier than air and will slowly fill your home until it reaches an ignition source. Then house go BOOM.

[XXX-er]

yeah there is a GOOD reason why propane tanks are on the outside of buildings & RV's

I doubt this is his problem but an FYI: I got one of those half SS /half cast iron burners in an old grill and the cast iron part rusts and makes the holes smaller which seems to alter the gas mix ...I need to pull it apart and run a small drill bit thru the burner holes every spring

[skiingsamurai]

It is all the burners, knock that out. How can I check the nozzle? I think it must be that, the side burner cannot get water to boil.

first, with the tank closed and disconnected, turn the tank upside down. There is a new devise in the tank to prevent over filling. Sometimes they get stuck. Flip it back to normal, reconnect and try that.
If that doesn't work, time for a new tank

[avacadotoast]

Bad regulator

Could just be the regulator was 'tripped' (or whatever the proper terminology is). Mine did this a few times and it's an easy fix. Just unhook the tank and then turn the burners to high for a few seconds to clear out any pressure in the line. Rehook and go. Worth a shot.

[MrZach]

Bad regulator

2nded

How can I tell?

Turn on one of your burners and note the level of flame, then turn on a second - if the flame "volume" gets smaller, then you have a bad regulator. It's purpose in life is to maintain a constant volume of gas regardless of the number of burners running. If it's bad, it will "stick" and only output a fixed volume, causing a noted decrease in flame level as you turn more burners on. If the flame level does stay constant as you light multiple burners (but fails to get "higher" as you crank up the knobs), you may have a plugged orifice which is restricting gas flow to the burners. In either case, you can buy a replacement regulator for about $10 from your local hardware store (as well as a replacement orifice, but they're easily cleaned with whitegas, carb-cleaner, etc. and "knocked" to dislodge gunk stuck in there).

[birdman829]

Your problem is that you bought a gas grill instead of charcoal. Duh........

[skiingsamurai]

Your problem is that you bought a gas grill instead of charcoal. Duh........

agreed, this is the true problem

[Cono Este]

My newish grill (Kenmore) cannot get above 200 deg with a full tank. How and where do I troubleshoot this issue?

*note, this has been an intermitted problem. No consistancy, but usually at the most inopportune time.

Ive had the same problem with my last 3 webbers. This sounds wasteful but it is not. Keep you propane tank open!! Ive had one tank all yr, and not a problem since. Something obviously gets in there, spiders, dunno.

[Yeti]

My bet: your regulator is in bypass mode.

http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/support/gasfaq.aspx#hotter

Basically, it thinks there's a leak, so it curtails flow rates. Avoid this problem (largely) by turning the tank valve on s.l.o.w.l.y, wait a few seconds, then turn on the grill's knobs. If you crank the tank open quickly, or turn the tank on while the grill's knobs are on, you may cause bypass.

[uglymoney]

Something obviously gets in there, spiders, dunno.

This was my original thought. Get a venturi brush and run it through all your tubes to get rid of any spider webs. I ruined a set of valves once this way. Spider webs were clogging the main tubes and so there was backpressure to the control valves on the front of the grill, they got hot and melted out. I run natural gas though which pretty much eliminates worrying about tank valve problems.

You should be able to get a nice long brush anywhere that sells grilling supplies for five or ten bucks. Its good to have for maintenance even if this isn't your problemo.

[Shin-to-Win]

My money is on a bad tank. If they don't purge & fill it right the first time, it can cause flow problems down the road. Try the flip it upside down approach, that seem just so stupid that it might actually work.

[Core Shot]

My bet: your regulator is in bypass mode.

http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/support/gasfaq.aspx#hotter

Basically, it thinks there's a leak, so it curtails flow rates. Avoid this problem (largely) by turning the tank valve on s.l.o.w.l.y, wait a few seconds, then turn on the grill's knobs. If you crank the tank open quickly, or turn the tank on while the grill's knobs are on, you may cause bypass.

that was my first thought.
The kenmore may be a re-badged Webber grill.

QUICK FIX:
1) close tank valve
2) open all burners on high
3) wait a minute or 2 for the safety valve to release
4) close burners
5) turn on tank valve SLOWLY

done.