It’s Warm(ER)! Go Grill Something!

Posted on March 9, 2015 by Grill Girl

Hello fellow grill fanatics and welcome to the first warm breath of air in 2015! Was this weekend not beautiful!?

I cannot wait to get our grill back into working order for the Spring and Summer seasons! Did you know that right now is the best time to pull out your grill and check it for working parts?

Keep the grill you love in your backyard and out of the landfill this year by replacing the old parts instead of the whole grill! You will save money and, in many cases, end up with a grill that works better than ever!

Here’s your checklist for Grill Spring Cleaning:

Remove cover (carefully) and make sure there are no bugs who used it as their cover over the winter! Don’t have a cover for your grill? You should definitely get one! Covering your grill will help it cook better for longer!
Look on the back of the grill for a model number. This will help immensely as you look for replacement parts on the internet.
Take the cooking grids off your grill and inspect them. Your grid could be cast iron, steel bar, or stainless steel and coated in a variety of things. It might be hard to determine any of that if you have rusting or other corrosion. Clean the grids with a Brass Bristled Brush. If you notice a large amount of rusting or any breakage, put them on your list to replace!
Under the grids you’ll see some system that covers the actual flame of the grill burners. This could be metal heat plates, shields, angles, or another grate that holds briquettes. Drippings and the heat of normal grilling will cause these to discolor and corrode. Since your food doesn’t go on these directly, you don’t need to worry about rust. However, if your heat plates have large holes, are breaking or if your grates don’t hold up the briquettes, it’s time to replace those as well.
Remove the heat plates or briquettes and you should be looking down on the burner system in your grill. With the hood open, light your grill. The burners should each light up and produce a consistent blue flame all along the outside of the burner. If you have any extra large flames, yellow flames, or burners that don’t light fully, you should may need to replace the burners. Any large holes or major corrosion is cause to replace these pieces. If the burners look great, but you’re not getting enough flame, it could be your gas source, valve or regulator.

Call our customer service to help you today! If you can’t find your gas grill model number, measure the parts you need to replace. Our phone number is 877-244-0737.

And as always – Happy Grilling! –GG

How to Find Your Grill Manual Online

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Grill Girl

Wondering how to find your grill manual if you misplaced the paper copy?

As you pull your beloved grill from its winter storage, you may find yourself with some uncertainties. Did this part always look like this? How do I clean this? When should I replace that? You might try to find your grill manual only to discover…you’ve misplaced it. Then again, you might know you’ve never had one or lost it years ago.

I think cities and states across the country are FINALLY ready to start grilling. Of course, I’ve been grilling since January, but you know, I’m kinda weird.

Most grills are fairly simple and straight forward. With a little bit of time, patience and maybe a measuring tape you can solve most grill dilemmas. But we live in an age of convenience and there are a few time saving resources to help you out when your manual has gone missing.

A lot of times you can find your grill manual online in a .pdf format. This might be available from your manufacturer directly, or from another third party manual supplier. A quick online search of the brand name and the word “manual,” or the extension “.pdf” should bring up the correct site.

However, we now offer a manual printing service. The cost is $14.97 which includes postage. You need to provide your model number and grill manufacturer. We will do all the searching for you. If your manual is available, we will find it!

Then, we print it, bind it and ship it to you. Voila!

Beware of independent manual sellers on Amazon.com. We do not recommend purchasing through these dealers. These manuals may be outdated or in poor condition. The seller may have made a mistake and listed the manual under the incorrect model number even the incorrect brand. In other words, ordering a grill manual through a third-party source is your riskiest option.

And even if your manual is no longer available anywhere, we can also help you troubleshoot some issues with your grill.

Shoot us an email [email protected] or call 678-272-2451 with your questions!

We’re here to get you back to grillin’, manual or no!!

-GG

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What Do I Need to Know About Gas Grill Regulators?

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Grill Girl

What are gas grill regulators and do you need to replace yours?

The term “regulator” is usually used in the grill world to describe the gas grill regulators, hoses and fittings that bring gas from your LP tank and connects it to your grill.

Technically, the regulator is the silver colored disc part that looks like this:
Gas Grill Regulators

The hose connects it to the brass fitting which is the part that screws onto your grill. Right next to the regulator is a collar that twists freely. That’s the part that screws onto the LP tank. Though you should always turn off your LP tank when you’re done cooking or when you’re changing the regulator, LP tanks are made with an automatic shut off valve. It will only work when a regulator hose is connected to it.

How do you know when it’s time to replace your regulator?

As I mentioned, the regulator brings gas to your grill burners. Here are some indicators you need a new gas grill regulator

Low heat coming from your burners when your gas is turned on high. Do a visual check on your burners to make sure they are all in one piece and there are no obvious holes or problems.
Your burners light up unevenly. For example, if the burner on the far right flickers or hardly lights, the middle burner has low flame, and the left burner has a normal looking flame.
Over time your grill gets less and less hot. Last week it took 10 minutes to grill some burgers, but today it took 15 to grill the same burgers.

WHY? Regulators, for safety reasons, close down slowly over time as they “go bad.” You probably won’t notice one day your grill is perfect and the next it doesn’t light at all. The burner closest to the source of gas will light up better than those farther down the manifold. Your grill will get to lower and lower temperatures over time, even on “high” heat. The main indicator of needing a new regulator is low heat or low flames, especially if it’s getting worse over time.

What else could go wrong?

Keep in mind that you may also have a problem running along the hose. Be aware of the smell of gas even when your grill is off or a tiny hissing sound.

Some animals like to chew on the sun-baked rubber hoses. (Don’t knock it ’til you try it?) If this is a problem for you, they have invented handy-dandy hose guards. Check them out.

If you think there’s a leak, but you’re not sure, you can check the hose with some very soapy water. Rub the suds all the way along the line of the hose. Turn on the gas tank. If there is gas escaping, it will cause the soapy water to bubble at the point of the leak.

What are the differences in gas grill regulators?

A single-hosed, standard regulator is the most commonly used part on grills. It’s the picture I used above. These regulators let out up to 60,000 BTUs of gas.

If you have a side burner, check out this dual-hosed standard regulator. There is one regulator (remember that’s the disc) and there are two separate hoses. Sometimes one hose comes off the regulator and splits into two hoses, forming a Y shape, and sometimes there are two hoses coming directly out of the regulator itself. Either will work and they are interchangeable.

Updated June 2021: Many of our gas grill regulators now support high-flow needs (let out up to 90,000 BTUs of gas). These are compatible with grills that originally used a standard flow. However, please note that your high setting might give you more heat than before. Pay attention the first time you grill with a new regulator and take note of the cook temps!

How do you know?

Usually, the removal and visual inspection of your regulator determines which replacement you need. It’s also a good idea to measure the existing hose and/or the space a hose needs to stretch to reach from the tank to the valve or manifold. If you’re not sure, call 678-272-2451. The staff at GrillPartsSearch.com is always happy to help.

Special Cases

Keep in mind, a standard regulator and hose will not work if you have:

Natural gas grill (NG)
A crimped hose onto the valve or manifold in your grill. You will know because you won’t be able to unscrew the hose from your grill. In this case, you need to contact your manufacturer to replace the entire valve system.
Male fitting on the end of the hose that connects to the grill.
Hose fitting larger or smaller than a 3/8″ flare, which translates to about a 5/8″ inner diameter measurement of the opening at the end of the fitting.

Here’s a picture of the fitting:

You can’t measure the 3/8.” It’s confusing, I know. Like I said, check for a 5/8″ measurement.

The good news is that this can be the easiest, cheapest part of your grill to fix!

Remember, not all regulators are created equal. Lower quality rubber will degrade and break more easily in the sun. A lower quality regulator can go bad more quickly.

(This theme came from our FAQs. Let me know if you have a question in our comments section and I can answer it there or even write a blog for you!!)

Spring is coming!!!
-GG

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Refurbish Your Grill – Get Ready for Spring Grilling!

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Grill Girl

This Refurbish Your grill Article was updated june 2021

Hello Fellow Grillers!! It’s January and freezing temperatures even down south here in Georgia. Still, I can’t stop thinking about getting out the grill for the spring. (True true, we never really “put it away”). The very best time in the whole entire year to refurbish your grill is early spring. There are a few reasons for this.

Why Refurbish Your Grill in Early Spring?

Even though you haven’t used your grill much over the cold months, the moisture and cold temperatures have still affected your grill parts.

Most people only replace their grill parts when they try to use their grill and can’t for some reason. That creates a lot more volume in the spring and summer months for grill part companies. In other words, buy now and you’ll get more in depth service, better stocked parts inventory, and faster processing/shipping times.

Don’t put yourself in a situation where you have 1 or 2 days to get the replacement parts you need. If you run out of propane during a party, at least you can run to the nearest gas station and replace it. Not so with most grill part replacements.

And let’s be honest, it’s very satisfying to get into your grill, determine the problems, get the parts needed, and then refurbish your grill yourself. If it seems like a daunting task, I can promise you there’s no better ally than the customer service dept at GrillPartsSearch.com. I know because I worked with them for years. They want to help you keep your grill out of a landfill and get back to grilling again!!

(Here are some tips on finding your model number)

So what are you waiting for!? Go get rusty!!!

Then, get in touch!

Have fun you! -GG