What’s the Deal with Stainless Steel?

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Grill Girl

Original Publish Date 02-15-2013

There’s a lot of disappointment floating around when it comes to one material currently on the market: stainless steel.

The two main issues are:
1) Why does my “stainless steel” rust?
2) Why is my “stainless steel” magnetic?

I put stainless steel in quotation marks because that’s how most people would phrase the questions. If either of the two above things were accurate, our customers would believe their item must not be stainless steel…

Right?

No, actually that’s not correct. There are different grades of stainless steel and they all act differently when introduced to either heat or water. In our grilling cases, that would be BOTH!!!

To clear it up, the General Manager at GrillPartsSearch.com has written up a guest blog explanation.

Take it away Will!!!

There are two general series of stainless steel grades used in the gas grill industry: 300 series and 400 series.

The 300 series group of alloys are non-magnetic and the basic 300 alloy contains 18% chromium and 8% nickel.
The 400 Series group of alloys are magnetic and the basic 400 alloy contains 11% chromium and 1% manganese. This series offers a much lower cost option in stainless steel parts.
-The 300 series is subject to corrosion at crevice points, while the 400 series has a considerably lower resistance to corrosion in general.

Knowing that, we choose the parts we sell to our customers very carefully! We try to gain as much information as possible about the grades of stainless steel we offer our customers so we can help them know what to expect from the parts they purchase.

Here’s how that information translates in grilling terms:

Cooking grids are exposed to more liquids and less heat, compared to other parts in a grill. In the case of cooking grids, the extra expense of the 300 series can be worth it. 300 series stainless is less prone to rust but the less than ideal conditions inside a grill will definitely degrade even the highest quality stainless steel. 304 is the most common type of stainless steel in the world, while 316 is generally the highest grade stainless you will find in ordinary applications, and both will degrade in a grill. While we used to carry a limited few grids made from 316 series stainless steel, manufacturers of grill parts worldwide have slowly removed these offerings from their lines of parts. We no longer have any 316 series grids, but carry multiple 304 series grids. You can check them out here and view by material type.

As for burners and heat plates, they certainly are exposed to moisture but are exposed to much more heat.

Heat is just as much of an enemy to steel, if not more so, as moisture and oxygen. Heating and cooling are used in the production of metals to actually change the chemical/molecular bonds and subsequent performance of the metal. It is no different inside your grill. While 300 series stainless will technically last longer than a 400 series plate of equal thickness, the benefit is only marginal. That marginal benefit compared to the substantial increase in cost doesn’t really pay off. We have found by spending a little more to make the plate out of a thicker 400 series stainless, you gain close to the same amount of life you would get out of a 300 series product at a fraction of the cost.

If you ever have any other questions about stainless steel or the applications of such in your grill, we’d love to help!

Just give reach out via email [email protected], phone 678-272-2451, or this helpful form!!!

Thanks so much Will!!!

That’s all for now,

Happy Friday!

-GG

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Nexgrill Grillmaster Before & After

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Grill Girl

Grill Girl Here! Today we have a special post inspired by one of our customers!

He purchased a Grill Master grill made by Nexgrill off a craigslist ad for just $30! It needed almost all new parts and so he came to us. He purchased brand new burners, heat plates, and cooking grids and is cooking with an essentially new system! That is an awesome way to save some money and get a great grill on your back porch – not to mention the fact he kept this grill out of a land fill.

Burners, heat plates, cooking grids Used Grill Master Burners Heat Plates Cooking Grids Nexgrill

In the pictures above you can see the old parts. There are rusted burners, heat plates and the old cooking grids. One of the burners had a big hole in it, so our customer decided to replace all three at the same time. You can also see that the heat plates were very rusty and the holes were starting to get bigger. These heat plates probably weren’t protecting the burners very well. Whenever one of our customers buys a used grill, I always suggest getting a brand new cooking grid. Who wants to cook on top of someone else’s old food? Yuck.

Grillmaster by Nexgrill Tube Burner BMGKTB1 Grillmaster by Nexgrill Heat plate GMNGHP1

Here are the new burners and heat plates. Don’t they look so great? Both of these parts are stainless steel and when they heat up for the first time, they will get some discoloration from the heat. Still, the both parts are an exact fit, plus the heat plates are fully stainless instead of the original porcelain coated steel plates that were in the grill. This is an example of how you really can upgrade your grill by purchasing new parts from us!

Grillmaster by Nexgrill new parts fixed

Here is the final shot of the grill before it was used for the first time. Lookin’ Good!

Congratulations on your rebuilt grill! We love helping customers do projects like this. Thanks for sending us the pics!

-GrillGirl

July Fourth Gas Grill Checklist

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Grill Girl

Are you grilling on a gas grill for the Fourth of July this weekend? Do this checklist TODAY:
1 – Remove and inspect the cooking grids and heat shields. Excessive rust or holes in these parts warrants replacing them!

Rust on the surface of your cooking grids, the area where you place your food, is gross at best. If you have a lot of rust or deterioration, get a new set! It’s amazing how a new cooking surface can affect your grilled food. Additionally, holes or excessive rust on the heat plates (heat shields, vap-o-riser bars, flavorizer bars, etc) can impact how the heat in your grill cooks your food. If you want an evenly heated grill, you need to have this system in good working order!

2 – Check the level of propane in your tank. Nothing dampens a party like running out of fuel.

You know you don’t want to have to leave your party to search for a new gas tank so you can finish cooking everyone’s food! If you have your grill hooked up to natural gas, of course this doesn’t apply to you. It’s easy to check the level of gas in your LP tank. Get some warm water and pour it over one side of the tank. The fuel inside will absorb the heat from the water, so when you run your hand down the side of the tank, it will feel warm and then cool. Wherever the tank starts feeling cool, that’s where your fuel level is. If it’s close to the bottom, go ahead and pick up an extra tank before your party!

3 – Before you put the other parts back in, visually inspect your burners (without removing them). Light them up using your ignition system. Are they burning evenly? Is the flame blue at the base?

You’ll want to make sure you don’t have any large holes or ares of flame coming out of your burners. If that is apparent, it is definitely time to replace the gas burners. More commonly, you will notice low areas of flame. If a visual inspection does not reveal any damage to the burners themselves, you may need to replace the regulator and hose that bring gas from the liquid propane tank to your grill. The regulator usually closes down over time so you will notice your grill heating up less and less. The good news is it’s an easy fix and definitely something we can get to you in a few days!

And if you have any questions at all, give us a call! We want to make sure your party is a success (but there is very little we can do the day before to help).
877-244-0737

Happy Fourth! -Grill Girl

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

Repair Your Gas Grill or Replace It?

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Grill Girl

Are you trying to decide if you should repair your gas grill or replace it all together?

As a grill part guru, I tend to lean toward replacing everything in your grill as long as possible. This keeps the grill you love in your backyard and out of a landfill.

However, there are times when even the best grill needs the ol’ heave-ho. (If you have to replace your beloved grill, do it a favor and get something worthy to fill the empty spot on your patio)

Here are a few things to keep in mind.

**If you open the hood of your grill and it looks gross, REPAIR!! (or even, just clean!)

**If your cooking grids, heat plates, or burners are rusted, REPAIR!

**Knobs, ignition parts, regulators, handles are all easy fixes: REPAIR!

**If your valve system is bent or broken, you will need to find a replacement valve to REPAIR your grill. However, sometimes valves are no longer available. You cannot use the wrong valve for your grill, so I recommend at that point: REPLACE.

**Major damage to the main body of your grill requires you to REPLACE it. This includes the hood of your grill.

**If you have a grill mounted in the ground with a post that requires a new post, REPAIR!! You can buy a new post and save your grill!

Checklist if you should repair your gas grill or replace it

If you have any specific questions, feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll answer as quickly as possible!

You can also call 678-272-2451 for friendly help to repair your gas grill and all things grills!

-GG

(Is it warm yet!? Gracious!!)