Do you use a gas grill? Read on for common gas grill regulator problems you are likely to encounter as well as their solutions.
A gas grill is always a fun purchase. With it comes endless opportunities of days spent out in the sun, eating good food and enjoying with your friends.
But as is normal with anything that requires power, it is common for faults to appear fairly early on in your gas grills life.
As long as your grill is new and was in excellent condition when you bought it, the chances are that these faults are minor and can be easily solved with some home fixes.
These problems normally develop due to an issue with the supply of gas and identifying these issues usually relies on you observing something strange with the flame.
A gas grill that is in good condition will heat up quickly, and a healthy flame will burn blue with yellow tips. The grill should provide heat evenly across its surface, and the temperature should change when you alter the temperature gauge.
If your grill is not operating like this, there is a fair chance that there is a problem with your grill. Solving that problem will likely be easy, but finding them, not so much.
Gas Grill Regulator Problems & Solutions
But don’t worry, we’ve put together this quick guide which is full of common problems that could be affecting your gas grill, and some easy solutions that can be used to fix these issues.
1. The flame is low
You may also notice that the flame of your gas grill appears lower than it is supposed to be. This is incredibly common with gas grills and the normal fault causing this is an issue with the fuel line regulator.
Regulators are sticky in their design and this can limit the amount of gas that can get access to the grill. Luckily for you, this common issue is easy to solve, and your grill will be operating as new in no time at all.
To restore the fuel flow, you first need to open the lid of your grill. You should then turn off the gas supply directly at the propane tank, and then disconnect the gas tank from the grill.
With the gas disconnected, you should then turn all the valves to high including the side burner. Leave it for a minute before switching all of the valves off. You can then reconnect the gas line and slowly turn on the gas supply on the tank.
Once the gas is on, you can then turn on your grill. Your flame should now have returned to normal, and the grill should have a steady gas supply so that you can safely use your grill to cook again.
2. Hot and cold spots
Another common problem that you may observe with your gas grill is that it is not heating up evenly. It is incredibly common for grills to develop hot spots which result in food that is cooked on the grill cooking unevenly.
The most common cause for hot and cold spots developing on your grill is a blocked burner. The burner which is part of your grill will have lots of holes along its surface, holes which can easily become blocked by drippings from the grill.
You will be able to see if any of these holes are blocked simply by looking at them, and if you do notice any blockages there is no need to worry because they are easy to fix.
All you need is a wire brush, and you can simply push the deposits out of the holes so that they are no longer blocked.
Once they have been removed, the normal gas flow should resume and you will no longer observe hot or cold spots on the surface of your gas grill.
3. The flame is no longer blue
As we have already mentioned, the flame that is heating your gas grill should burn blue, if it is no longer burning blue this could be what is causing the issue with your grill.
Most commonly, a flame that is not burning blue will either burn orange or yellow instead. But the color of the flame is just a sign of a problem, the problem itself actually lies in the control valves and tubes which direct gas to the burner.
If you notice this issue with your grill, you should check the alignment of the venturi tubes which are connected to the gas canister.
The venturi tubes may not be properly aligned or the shutters might require adjusting and this could be what is causing the color of the flame to change. To adjust the venturi tubes you need to first locate the screw that adjusts the shutters of the tubes.
Once you have found the screw, you should turn on your grill and set it to low heat. You should then begin to loosen the screw as this will open the shutters.
Once the flame turns blue you should stop loosening the screw and turn off the gas. You will then need to tighten the adjustment screw so that the tubes and shutters stay in this position.
You can then switch off the grill until the time that you want to use it next.
4. My grill is smoking
Finally, you may notice that your grill is smoking a lot. Smoke coming from your grill is usually caused by an excess amount of grease that has built up over time.
If you notice an excessive amount of smoke coming from your grill, the first thing that you need to do is switch it off.
Once the grill is cool, you should then proceed to give it a good and thorough cleaning. Instead of drying the grill off after you have cleaned it, you should instead set it to preheat and leave it like that for 15 minutes.
This will not only burn off any leftover cleaning fluid, but it will also burn off any leftover grease. You will be left with a clean grill that is not coated with grease and so it should no longer smoke when you turn it on. It is then safe to use like normal.
Summary
In short, several issues could develop in your grill that mainly surround the gas regulators.
But thankfully, these issues are quick and easy to fix and can usually be safely done by yourself, leaving your grill ready to use once more.
