Informative video however I would highly recommend getting a couple of adjustable wrenches (Crescents) instead of using pliers on anything that has hex or 2 flats on it. Pliers damage the hex and can create burrs that can cut or even go into your skin. Appliance technician for 18 years, mechanic since I was 5.😉
You also don't need to open the valve very much. The valve will flow FAR more gas than the regulator will anyway, so there's no point to opening the valve all the way. Just crack it enough to cook with. That will make the safety device far less likely to kick in, and if there's an emergency that requires you to close the valve, you don't want to spend several seconds closing the valve. Just crack it, and it takes a split second to turn off the gas.
Had the Low Flame problem. Weber Corporation was located in Palatine, IL and had a small retail store. Went to buy a new Regulator and Weber Employee told me about the problem and the “slow turn” Solution. Saved me a new Regulator purchase. Great Company and Employees.
Ok.. So as a propane station manager and also a parts supplier for my local area of 16+ years . Let me add 2 things: #1 being that as long as your tank is in good condition and not leaking it can be refilled while still having the Old style water faucet type valve you simply need to write on it with a permanent marker ( For Torch use only ) in large print. That makes it legal for it to be filled by a filling station . #2 slowly turn on the valve as directed by the Video to about 3/4 of a turn and leave it . There's no benefit in turning it on any further as you will not get any more or any better gas flow and its quite likely you will trip the flow sensor (the click described in the video) and the only way to reset the sensor is to totally disconnect the hose from the tank and start over if you trip the sensor. Also if you find you have one of the cylinders that are very touchy about this you can always swap it @ a cylinder exchange the next time around . Just be aware that the exchanges only give you 15 pounds (3 gallons in the tank) while a dealer that refills the tank @ a station will fill it to the 20 pounds (4 gallons) that is the manufacturers intended 80% fill for that size cylinder so you get roughly 25% more product by having them refilled as trading them out and usually its around the same price sometimes cheaper.
....EXCELLENT !... I recently purchased a new BBQ and was disappointed in the poor amount of heat. I had glanced at the instructions which with hindsight actually states that the bottle tap should be turned on slowly (but no explanation as to reason). After noticing your video amongst UA-cam's suggestions, I went out and tried turning it on reeeel slowly. Voila ... Thank's mate, bloody beaut!
I accidentally discovered this problem, not on my grill, but on my fire table. Thanks for the information. I always find your videos quite enlightening.
This video was so helpful. I’ve been gas grilling for decades and I’ve never heard of this. Other viewers have commented that this channel puts out more great content like this, so I’m subscribing!
Great Tips! I have that same model Weber and thier customer support talked me into replacing the regulator. Your suggestions would have saved me the hassle. Also it was nice that you explained the possible issues with the overfill protection device on the current tanks. My propane place is old school and the guy cracks open that screw every time he fills the tank to make sure the scale is reading correctly. When the tank is full - the liquid propane squirts out the screw and then he closes it. He said that ensures a correct fill, because the OPD can kick off before the tank is full.
Another reason for your grill not burning properly is spider webs or mud dauber nests inside the venturi valves. My regulator has an adjustment valve for flow as well. I think this additional valve might prevent the safety feature from tripping. I went out and tried to make it trip but wasn't able to.
Thank you for the video. FIVE DAYS AGO I watched a video by -- "Pleasant Valley Outdoors" -- by the title -- "Propane Generator Fail". It covered this EXACT subject! He had a small duel-fuel generator that "sometimes" would only run with the choke wide open and then when he put a load on it it would die. THIS exact cause. The "Slug Valve" membrane gets inverted in the regulator(something like this I am not an expert). He only found the answer because a VERY helpful person on the customer assistance line helped him. She was NOT the first person he talked to and the others told him things like "buy a new regulator" or "get the generator serviced". SHE in the entire company was the ONLY one pushing to add this instruction to the user manual. OPEN VALVE SLOWLY. So THANKS for covering this. OPEN the valve SLOWLY. Saved my sanity.
Within the last 6 months I've had to replace the propane regulators in my RV camper and on my Weber grill. This has unequivocally resolved my issues in both cases. Moral of the story: If the same problem keeps occurring even using different tanks, look at the regulator. They DO fail.
Every abbreviated agency is corrupt...irs, fbi, Cia, fda, cdc....etc, etc,. When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked man rules, people groan. - Proverbs 29:2 *REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND*
Great video. Maybe a word is in order about the unique risks of propane due to its being heavier than air and its tendency to accumulate in low spaces.
FYI you're holding those pliers upsidedown, relying on your hand strength to keep them gripped on the fitting. If you flip them over so the small inner jaw is the direction you're pulling, the pliers mechanical advantage will help tighten the jaws around the fitting. For reference, in the video both pliers are upside down as you loosen the fitting. But when you're tightening the fitting the blue pliers are correct while the red ones on top are upside down.
This is true, why it's not common knowledge is a mystery. I found out only a few years ago, this should be in any and all propane appliances but I have only found one device with some of this information
Yeah, nice one. I've had to reset the tank valve recently after hearing the click and experiencing low flow. I did not know about the low flow safety valve, just muddled through by trial and error. Thanks for the informative and educational video.
Dave If you turn on valve and leave grill off and wait a couple of minutes the line will equalize and the valve will reset. They use the same type of valve in your gas service so if you cut the line it will shut off gas to a light flow until it is shut off or repaired. We called them flow limiters and are installed on most plastic services.
I agree about opening the valves second after turning on the tank but I turn on just one burner knob at at time. That seems to help to not ‘shock’ the propane system. Great video. Thanks.
Most of the time, its at a party where you are moving quick and dont even realize it until the grill seems super super slow to cook. Glad the video was helpful, it can make a big difference and save frustration
Thanks for the great info. Also worth mentioning is the jet can get clogged if you get some contaminated propane. The jet is typically the tiny but the sprays the gas out downstream from each valve on the grill. The hole is way too small to poke out but a solvent like carb cleaner or compressed air could blow out a partial clog.
Turn the burners off before closing the propane bottle’s valve. This will help keep some pressure in the lines and will help prevent the issue with opening the propane valve too quickly tripping the regulator in the valve or the hose.
Ah, I’ll try this. I always turn off the tank and make sure all the burners go out due to lack of gas. I likened this as a safety feature knowing that the gas was completely turned off at the tank.
This is like the most important thing to know, yet the one absolutely nobody knows about. Took me like 12 years of using propane, 3 regulator replacements, numerous blowing out lines with air pressure and soaking the fittings etc. It wasn't till finally after looking up at least 10-15 videos on what else could be wrong after replacing my last regulator that I ran in to a video just like this one but with hardly any activity. Haven't had any problems since. Aldo I think when that safety device pops, you can smell the propane slightly by the regulator weep hole, that's one reason I kept replacing crap. Seems like every dad should know this or tell you this the very first day of propane use. But nobody knows about this at all. Hank Hill at a minimum, could have let this out.
Another reason the government should stay out of design, this causes so much waste, / pollution people constantly throwing out perfectly good grills every couple years , & actually creates a far more dangerous situation than thier trying to prevent
@@ericschulze5641 like the worst is DEF and the mountains of billions of plastic jugs in landfills all over this country to save a little bit of black smoke. Smoke particulates that gets purged right back out of the system into the atmosphere during regens anyways. Stupidest crap I've ever heard of. Plus you waste about 25-40% more diesel now because of it.
@@MichaelRei99 that's very inconvenient for most people and not always true. There's only 2 that I know of in okc area and one is 45 minutes away out of city limits in the far southwest of okc, the other is 35 minutes away in a small town nw of here called Crescent. Ive been to both to do one thing and they were not the most Hank Hill that ive ever seen and neither fixed my single issue. The one in okc was a counter sales lady in a desk that seemed cranky just to take your order, and the filler guy looked like he was spun out on Adderall. They didn't even have in stock a new flapper valve to re-stamp my 30 lb tank(the only reason I drove out that far) so I filled up my (3) 20s and left with a still-unusable un-swappable 30 lb'er. The one in Crescent was still using 1970s methods of processing your order on generic sales carbon copy sheets and the guy that filled up my tank couldnt even tell me what size i had in pounds, just knew how much to charge per tank by what they looked like. Unable to fix my valve as well so I gave that 30 to a neighbor to scrap.
Mike Judge should slip this into an episode because it's on brand for Hank. He can be complaining about the govern ment making them have these newfangl'd regYOUlators and Boomerhaue can be agreein' 'bout th' dang gol dang gol govment.
Thank You! You are spot on! I would have never guessed that and I was opening my valve rather quickly. I actually thought my thermometer wasn’t working until today when I opened the valve slowly after watching your video!!! Thanks again, very helpful!
I am so proud of you for having the grates on correct side up. The sharp edge goes down. Almost every store I've been in has them on upside down making the buyer think that is correct. ( Weber only... I don't know what other manufacturers intended).
I acquired that specific grill from an individual for the price of $40. The flame exhibited an entirely orange hue, and the food items possessed a distinct gas-like flavor. Consequently, I proceeded to modify the burner settings situated beneath the knobs. Excellent video content!
I would only add one thing to this great video, never use pliers on those those fittings always use open wrenches or crescent. Wrenches, don’t skin up your fittings like you did.
Absolutely! I always use adjustable wrenches on brass or chrome fittings. Also, it drives me nuts to see someone using slip joint pliers, aka Channelocks, backwards. They were designed to be pulled not pushed. When you push against against them the pliers are forced open. Turn them around and pull on them. Only not on brass fittings at all.
@@michaelallen5505 I think every hack plumber that ever touched a chrome urinal thought to only bring one big pipe wrench. Haha. The red Knipex is smooth jaw, so he was right to hold to the grill-side. And yea, those Channelocks were technically backwards.
Wish I had seen this helpful tip about a week ago, I just bought a new gas regulator from Amazon. For my Black Stone griddle. After I saw you video I went out and checked. Well hell you were right. Thanks you mucho for the tip. 🍻😎
I got given a $750 Marine BBQ that had a weak flame. Propane can pick up fragments of the inside of the hose and carry them to the orfice that feeds the propane into the burner tubes clogging it. A little disassembly and a poke with a sewing needle and I have a really nice propane BBQ that won't embarrass me with that propane taste in my chicken. Regulators do get stuck and even seized with disuse. Especially around salt water. When this happens remove it from the propane cylinder and grab a trusty PLASTIC or rubber mallet and tap it all over to loosen the aluminum rust. This doesn't work on a regulator with a blown diaphragm. Just a stuck/seized one. My cozy cabin propane heater clogged it's orfice all the time. I eventually went and bought some COPPER wool and stuffed a bunch of it in the brass fitting between the hose and the appliance and cleaned out the orfice. That was the end of my clogging problem. Leaks in flare fittings can be sealed using polysulfide putty during assembly. Only use it on fittings with damaged flare seals that otherwise cannot be sealed. There is a tiny hole in your regulator's cover that allows atmospheric pressure to control the diaphragm of your regulator. If this is clogged or blocked it can cause inconsistent flame. Check it for rust or some bug's cocoon. I hope this helps.
It's great to finally understand this. I've had it happen a handful of times, always at the worst moment, and with time just came to my own assumptions and workarounds without ever really looking to hard into it. Turns out I think I was mostly right, in that I assumed it had something to do with too much flow, too fast, triggering something or stopping up the works. Having observed that it almost always happened after trying to light all three burners in quick succession, I found that turning everything off and starting again more slowly almost always solved the problem.
Just to add to this, the hotter it is, the slower you want to go. One way to go is to crack the valve and stop as soon as you hear flow. Wait for it to fully presurize the system (assuming you aren't open to air) then open it on up. The excess flow valve gets tripped by the pressure differential. So if you let both sides of the valve come to the same pressure then you can open it on up without tripping it. This trick works with anything with an excess flow valve.
i figured this out a while ago.... you would think the store where i bought a new regulator would have told me about the safety..... excellent vid!!!!!
Yep, it never occurred to me to turn on burners before turning on the gas. I’ve never seen this issue. I guess some people turn off their grill by just turning off the gas?
@@Tom-uw2ok Because it's one more valve in between you and a leak. And if there is a leak it will only drain the line and then stop (assuming the tank valve works). Also protective against accidental disconnection, damage etc. It's just a little bit safer. I wouldn't do it for home heat for a long list of reasons, but for a grill, turning off the valve when not in use is probably the safer choice. Cylinders usually do have a check valve aka excess flow valve, but it's usually not fast enough to prevent cryogenic injury and they often fail (I used to deliver propane, I have often seen check valve failures first hand). Off is safest for grill cylinders.
I just ran into this problem, and now I'm getting this popping up randomly on UA-cam without searching for it, but I was talking to my wife about it tells me that my smart phone is listening to me
This happened to me several years ago when I brought my Weber 5000 over to my Brothers house for a 4th of July Party. The grill wouldn't get over 250. I think the person doing the grilling turned on the grill before opening the valve on the tank hence the low propane flow.
I purchased a Little Griddle from Amazon a while back. I had heard from their own website, as well as other reviewers, that sometimes you'll need to removed the drip shield from over the burners. They cut way down on the heat delivered to the griddle above. So I ordered a variable regulator from Amazon at the same time. $15 and now I leave my grill alone and just kick up the flow from around 15 psi to about 30. I now adjust a single knob to adjust for any kind of cooking, including slow smoking. The Little Griddle is great, but the convenience the adjustable regulator makes it a consistent pleasure. For some reason, the adjustable regulator defeats the auto-restrictor on the tank.
We bought a Ducane gas grill 25 years ago. It replaced a Coleman that rotted to pieces. We had nothing but problems with it. We replaced burners, regulators & such. It was from poor gas flow. Like you it was just heating the food instead of cooking it. We suffered with it for 8 long years of constant heat issues. I decided enough playing around. We bought the last gas grill we'll ever buy. A 30" Solaire infrared grill. We were in the market for a Weber Genesis. Once I saw the Solaire at a colleagues house I knew we found the right grill! It heats up in 5 minutes no matter the outside temperature. It sears meat at up to 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. It can cook fish & vegetables as well on low. It uses half the propane & cooks at half the time. It's 18 years old & still looks brand new. I highly recommend their gas grills if you like Pittsburgh blue steaks. It chars the outside of the steak & inside the steak is blue rare. Ofcourse we get our steaks cut 2" thick at the butcher. Great content! I'm looking forward to your next video!
I sure wish I had seen this two weeks ago. My niece was having trouble with her grill because of insufficient gas flow. When she tried to relight it, it flashed into her face. While she lost a fair amount of hair, her skin wasn't burned. A very close call. Thanks for the advice! Liked and subscribed
Happened to me too. Forgot to open the grill lid when lighting it and the gas built up inside and when it finally lit the flames lifted the lid and flames spit out charing my hair a little.😂
Thanks for the help, tried all your suggestions and no luck. Started tracing through system by disconnecting each joint leading away from tank and listening for the flow. Turned out some mud producing insect pugged up the jet into the air mixer. A shape pointy tool cleaned it right out. I blow a little compress air through it just to make sure.
This explains a lot. I thought I bought a defective grill. I had an old grill that I used for over 30 years. It used a regulator with male threads that went inside the valve. The old star handle tank. I hadnt used the grill for a number of years and imagine my surprise when I go to get the tank filled and get told that my tank is illegal. He fills it for me "this one time." I decide new tank new grill. The new grill works great, then one day I am grilling some burgers and I open the lid and the flame is low and the meat uncooked. After struggling to get everything to work I give up. Fast forward 5 years and I find this video that explains what is going on. I just might fire up that grill again.
The safety device you are talking about is not inside the regulator, its inside the tank valve itself. Its called an Excess Flow Valve. The CLICK you hear is the valve setting itself. It operates exactly as you described.
this is probably why i thought i had a low tank one time. i probably opened the valve too fast. interesting video, you did a good job explaining things!
Use the right wrench. The hold back one was alright but using the Channelock with pipe wrench teeth is not as it damages the nut use an adjustable wrench instead. Another point is you were using the Channelock backwards as you want the teeth facing the direction you are trying to unscrew the nut. Doing that the teeth dig into the metal gripping the object better than the backward style causing the jaws to slip around the nut damaging it.
I also noticed the Channel loc pliers being used in the "wrong direction". Besides yourself and me, over 90% of DIY'ers are using these Channel loc pliers the wrong way...
Not only is he using the wrong tools, he’s using them backwards. He needs to reverse the pliers so the bulk of the torque goes on the fixed jaw, not the adjustable jaw. Same thing applies to adjustable wrenches
I learned this with my weed torch which uses tank pressure and a long line so it needs a slow opening. Similarly with patio heaters that have that long line and usually it's cold so the air in the line is less dense and compresses tripping the high flow. Eventually the bleed through will equalize the pressure and allow reset but only if you leave it alone. Better to do the resets as described in the video.
I love charcoal and use it when I can, but most people (me included) don't always have an hour to waste cooking with charcoal. By the time my charcoal chimney would be ready to dump, I could have half a dozen chicken breasts already cooked and done from my propane grill.
Do you remember the times Square bomber? He put I think 4 propane tanks in his car, opened the valves and lit some road flares. It did not explode because of these safety valves.
@@jeremycrisp4488 Ya , a lot of the safety measures are great, but law making has become a to much like a knee jerk reaction to problems , people are getting hurt on ebikes so they make them without throttles , and force people to pedal. If they want to improve safety they should clean the bike lane . Bicycles need power to avoid getting ran over, but they should have larger brakes like on mopeds so they can slow down fast and consistently. If I was a law maker the laws wouldn't be so retarded . It's like when people board up there windows to survive a hurricane and drown because they couldn't escape out a window 😢
Great VJO! Had this happen on the 4th July, I knew what to do and I had cooked 1st half of the food already and when I turned gas back on I tripped regulator slow cooked a burger for 10 min and figured it out. The other thing you addressed and it can be scary is, some times they over fill the tank ( does not happen on exchange because they only give you 15lbs not 20 lbs) when the tank has been over filled typically with a heater but it can be device the flame will act erratic and may even flare up. Again you just have to get some gas out of the tank as shown or you can burn some off and then do the regulator reset as shown. Great Video, back in the day I thought I had a bad 20 lb canon my hands.....
My grill was low flame from the beginning. I ordered an aftermarket regulator and WoW! I can adjust it to be way high or down to what it was before. No problem getting up to 600f for searing.
Sorry, but those aren't wrenches...those are pliers(fancy slip joint pliers, but still pliers). Use a real wrench and you won't tear up your connectors.
It is a travesty that this guy is using channel locks/pliers on hex brass fittings...At least use a dam adjustable crescent wrench if you dont have the correct size box end wrench to keep from marring up the the brass fittings.
Favorite Wrench (Red) : amzn.to/3VASXQb - Cheap Favorite Wrench (Blue): amzn.to/4eAaBfy - Universal Regulator: Universal Regulator: amzn.to/3zfKcDG (Fits most grills, check with manufacturer to be sure)
thanks for sharing... it is easy to believe to a guy with such good tools on his hands (PS: I also love your screwdriver by the way!!!)
What about a guy who doesn't know a wrench from a pair of pliers?@@PepesUnderWater
@@VladimirPutin-p3tIKR?? 😂
Informative video however I would highly recommend getting a couple of adjustable wrenches (Crescents) instead of using pliers on anything that has hex or 2 flats on it. Pliers damage the hex and can create burrs that can cut or even go into your skin. Appliance technician for 18 years, mechanic since I was 5.😉
You also don't need to open the valve very much. The valve will flow FAR more gas than the regulator will anyway, so there's no point to opening the valve all the way. Just crack it enough to cook with. That will make the safety device far less likely to kick in, and if there's an emergency that requires you to close the valve, you don't want to spend several seconds closing the valve. Just crack it, and it takes a split second to turn off the gas.
Had the Low Flame problem. Weber Corporation was located in Palatine, IL and had a small retail store. Went to buy a new Regulator and Weber Employee told me about the problem and the “slow turn” Solution. Saved me a new Regulator purchase.
Great Company and Employees.
It's sad they closed that store down though. Bought a few scratch and dent items there over the years.
My 18in WSM is 9 yo. I have added a hinge.. No rust, nothing. Outside looks 1 yo old.
I helped built that place
Used to buy a grill every couple years but got a nice weber as a gift and it's held up to years of abuse
This is HUGE! I’ve replaced two grills because of this. My current grill has the same issue as I’ve been opening the valve too quickly. Thank you!!
Man, every video like this you make is actually helpful, for issues that nobody talks about or even knows is going on. Thank you (:
I really appreciate that, the guy at the propane supplier told me he estimates 90% of all regulators sold are unncessary due to this stuff
Yes this is the best part of UA-cam. Sure the other stuff is entertaining, but videos like this are what make life better!
Ok.. So as a propane station manager and also a parts supplier for my local area of 16+ years . Let me add 2 things: #1 being that as long as your tank is in good condition and not leaking it can be refilled while still having the Old style water faucet type valve you simply need to write on it with a permanent marker ( For Torch use only ) in large print. That makes it legal for it to be filled by a filling station . #2 slowly turn on the valve as directed by the Video to about 3/4 of a turn and leave it . There's no benefit in turning it on any further as you will not get any more or any better gas flow and its quite likely you will trip the flow sensor (the click described in the video) and the only way to reset the sensor is to totally disconnect the hose from the tank and start over if you trip the sensor. Also if you find you have one of the cylinders that are very touchy about this you can always swap it @ a cylinder exchange the next time around . Just be aware that the exchanges only give you 15 pounds (3 gallons in the tank) while a dealer that refills the tank @ a station will fill it to the 20 pounds (4 gallons) that is the manufacturers intended 80% fill for that size cylinder so you get roughly 25% more product by having them refilled as trading them out and usually its around the same price sometimes cheaper.
....EXCELLENT !... I recently purchased a new BBQ and was disappointed in the poor amount of heat. I had glanced at the instructions which with hindsight actually states that the bottle tap should be turned on slowly (but no explanation as to reason). After noticing your video amongst UA-cam's suggestions, I went out and tried turning it on reeeel slowly. Voila ... Thank's mate, bloody beaut!
Well spoken, quick, to the point and no babble speak with useless info! Great video with excellent safety warnings and tips.
I accidentally discovered this problem, not on my grill, but on my fire table. Thanks for the information. I always find your videos quite enlightening.
This video was so helpful. I’ve been gas grilling for decades and I’ve never heard of this. Other viewers have commented that this channel puts out more great content like this, so I’m subscribing!
Great Tips! I have that same model Weber and thier customer support talked me into replacing the regulator. Your suggestions would have saved me the hassle. Also it was nice that you explained the possible issues with the overfill protection device on the current tanks. My propane place is old school and the guy cracks open that screw every time he fills the tank to make sure the scale is reading correctly. When the tank is full - the liquid propane squirts out the screw and then he closes it. He said that ensures a correct fill, because the OPD can kick off before the tank is full.
Believe it or not, my local TSC does this as well!
They're all supposed to open that "Bleeder Screw", it removes any possible air and also allows the tank to be filled completely.
I already knew about this problem but watched your video anyway, and I learned new things. Thanks, great info!
I’ve had this happen often and I knew it was a safety feature but I had no idea opening the valve too quickly could cause it. This is good to know!
Another reason for your grill not burning properly is spider webs or mud dauber nests inside the venturi valves.
My regulator has an adjustment valve for flow as well. I think this additional valve might prevent the safety feature from tripping. I went out and tried to make it trip but wasn't able to.
A proven fact that propane odour attracts spiders. That is why they go into the venturi tubes
This has happened to me. Turned out to be a spiderweb.
If you want to make your safety valve trip, the easiest way is to have your gas valves open when you open your tank (quickly).
Thank you for this great info on the "slow open" method. I never knew this. Wish I had over the years.
WATCH AND LEARN WHEN THIS INFORMATION IS DE-MONITIZED BY THE SAME GOVERNMENT THAT EDUCATED YOU : "IGNORANT"!
Thank you for the video.
FIVE DAYS AGO I watched a video by -- "Pleasant Valley Outdoors" -- by the title -- "Propane Generator Fail".
It covered this EXACT subject! He had a small duel-fuel generator that "sometimes" would only run with the choke wide open and then when he put a load on it it would die.
THIS exact cause. The "Slug Valve" membrane gets inverted in the regulator(something like this I am not an expert). He only found the answer because a VERY helpful person on the customer assistance line helped him. She was NOT the first person he talked to and the others told him things like "buy a new regulator" or "get the generator serviced". SHE in the entire company was the ONLY one pushing to add this instruction to the user manual. OPEN VALVE SLOWLY.
So THANKS for covering this. OPEN the valve SLOWLY. Saved my sanity.
Within the last 6 months I've had to replace the propane regulators in my RV camper and on my Weber grill. This has unequivocally resolved my issues in both cases. Moral of the story: If the same problem keeps occurring even using different tanks, look at the regulator. They DO fail.
Great vid......I restore Weber grills as a hobby and have seen this issue so many times.....very well demonstrated in this vid.
Thank you EPA for fixing gas cans and barbeque grills, what would we do without you.
Not blow up?
Every abbreviated agency is corrupt...irs, fbi, Cia, fda, cdc....etc, etc,.
When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,
But when a wicked man rules, people groan.
- Proverbs 29:2
*REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND*
YES EXACTLY! Thank goodness the government has stepped in to save us all from the exploding propane BBQ epidemic.
@@davearonow65
EPA is essentially a worthless, useless bureaucracy.
As are all of the alphabet agencies.
Try pouring gas without getting it everywhere but your target now.
Very helpful tips. You've solved some of the mysteries I've encountered over the years with my grill. Thanks for all the information.
Thank you! Last weekend I thought I had a bad tank due to a low flame. After watching your video, I gave it a try and that fixed it.
I'm a big fan and regular youtube watcher. This is one of the best and well produced videos I have seen. Superb job Cymbal!
This channel has so many great gems of information, I don't even own a home or a grill but I watch every video.
What a great video. Experienced some of these issues and never knew why. Now I can react appropriately and get back to cooking....
I would add, use the correct wrenches on brass fittings instead of pliers. Good video, thanks.
The red handle tool are Knipex pliers which are good for fittings, but the blue handle tool are channel locks which are not so much good for fittings.
@@rong1924no pliers are a good idea to use on hex nuts... ESPECIALLY on soft brass fittings!
@@VladimirPutin-p3t wrong
Flare nut wrenches
Well, my grill wasn’t firing up at all. I tried this and it worked. My grill fired up and is working again. Thank you.
Great video. Maybe a word is in order about the unique risks of propane due to its being heavier than air and its tendency to accumulate in low spaces.
Chris, you consistently surprise me with amazing content. Fantastic information I never knew!
FYI you're holding those pliers upsidedown, relying on your hand strength to keep them gripped on the fitting. If you flip them over so the small inner jaw is the direction you're pulling, the pliers mechanical advantage will help tighten the jaws around the fitting. For reference, in the video both pliers are upside down as you loosen the fitting. But when you're tightening the fitting the blue pliers are correct while the red ones on top are upside down.
I saw that as well and considered commenting
@avocares Me too. It's one of my bug bears. People using tools that they have no idea how to!
50 years in the automotive repair business, there is no excuse to use pliers when both fittings have hexagon nuts. You will destroy the soft brass.
Why use pliers at all? He even says to use a wrench...as he whips out the channel locks!
@@jimfiles3307Exactly. As much as I dislike them a crescent wrench is far better than pliers on anything with flats.
I just had this problem last night, and today this video is in my feed. Thanks for the great information.
Ever get the feeling we are being watched?
This is dad level knowledge I never knew I needed. I can't wait for one of my friends to have this issue so I can do a power move.
You'll be a hero!
This is true, why it's not common knowledge is a mystery. I found out only a few years ago, this should be in any and all propane appliances but I have only found one device with some of this information
like the Geico commercial you're becoming your parents
Yeah, nice one. I've had to reset the tank valve recently after hearing the click and experiencing low flow. I did not know about the low flow safety valve, just muddled through by trial and error. Thanks for the informative and educational video.
Dave
If you turn on valve and leave grill off and wait a couple of minutes the line will equalize and the valve will reset. They use the same type of valve in your gas service so if you cut the line it will shut off gas to a light flow until it is shut off or repaired. We called them flow limiters and are installed on most plastic services.
In the Navy they were called pneumatic fuse (on air lines). Serve the same purpose.
I agree about opening the valves second after turning on the tank but I turn on just one burner knob at at time. That seems to help to not ‘shock’ the propane system. Great video. Thanks.
Wow I honestly had no idea this was a thing. Explains some of the symptoms I've had in the past with my Weber grill. Thanks for sharing
Most of the time, its at a party where you are moving quick and dont even realize it until the grill seems super super slow to cook. Glad the video was helpful, it can make a big difference and save frustration
I always open my tank slowly at first like I do with any other type of valve, but I never knew about that regulator until now. Very good info.
NOW WHAT ELSE HAS OUR BIG BROTHERING GOVERNMENT MEDIA AMPLIFIED TO CITIZENS FOR BEHAVIOR CONTROL?
Thanks for the great info. Also worth mentioning is the jet can get clogged if you get some contaminated propane. The jet is typically the tiny but the sprays the gas out downstream from each valve on the grill. The hole is way too small to poke out but a solvent like carb cleaner or compressed air could blow out a partial clog.
Turn the burners off before closing the propane bottle’s valve. This will help keep some pressure in the lines and will help prevent the issue with opening the propane valve too quickly tripping the regulator in the valve or the hose.
took far too many comments to get to this one, this is probably most peoples problem, the sequence of events.
Ah, I’ll try this. I always turn off the tank and make sure all the burners go out due to lack of gas. I likened this as a safety feature knowing that the gas was completely turned off at the tank.
Great information. Perfect video, I have been making the same mistake for years. I would turn on the burners then opne the LP valve. Thanks!!
This is like the most important thing to know, yet the one absolutely nobody knows about. Took me like 12 years of using propane, 3 regulator replacements, numerous blowing out lines with air pressure and soaking the fittings etc. It wasn't till finally after looking up at least 10-15 videos on what else could be wrong after replacing my last regulator that I ran in to a video just like this one but with hardly any activity. Haven't had any problems since. Aldo I think when that safety device pops, you can smell the propane slightly by the regulator weep hole, that's one reason I kept replacing crap.
Seems like every dad should know this or tell you this the very first day of propane use. But nobody knows about this at all. Hank Hill at a minimum, could have let this out.
Another reason the government should stay out of design, this causes so much waste, / pollution people constantly throwing out perfectly good grills every couple years , & actually creates a far more dangerous situation than thier trying to prevent
@@ericschulze5641 like the worst is DEF and the mountains of billions of plastic jugs in landfills all over this country to save a little bit of black smoke. Smoke particulates that gets purged right back out of the system into the atmosphere during regens anyways. Stupidest crap I've ever heard of. Plus you waste about 25-40% more diesel now because of it.
7:17 😊@@ericschulze5641
@@MichaelRei99 that's very inconvenient for most people and not always true. There's only 2 that I know of in okc area and one is 45 minutes away out of city limits in the far southwest of okc, the other is 35 minutes away in a small town nw of here called Crescent. Ive been to both to do one thing and they were not the most Hank Hill that ive ever seen and neither fixed my single issue.
The one in okc was a counter sales lady in a desk that seemed cranky just to take your order, and the filler guy looked like he was spun out on Adderall. They didn't even have in stock a new flapper valve to re-stamp my 30 lb tank(the only reason I drove out that far) so I filled up my (3) 20s and left with a still-unusable un-swappable 30 lb'er.
The one in Crescent was still using 1970s methods of processing your order on generic sales carbon copy sheets and the guy that filled up my tank couldnt even tell me what size i had in pounds, just knew how much to charge per tank by what they looked like. Unable to fix my valve as well so I gave that 30 to a neighbor to scrap.
Mike Judge should slip this into an episode because it's on brand for Hank. He can be complaining about the govern ment making them have these newfangl'd regYOUlators and Boomerhaue can be agreein' 'bout th' dang gol dang gol govment.
Thank You! You are spot on! I would have never guessed that and I was opening my valve rather quickly. I actually thought my thermometer wasn’t working until today when I opened the valve slowly after watching your video!!! Thanks again, very helpful!
I am so proud of you for having the grates on correct side up. The sharp edge goes down. Almost every store I've been in has them on upside down making the buyer think that is correct. ( Weber only... I don't know what other manufacturers intended).
This is the best explanation and example I’ve ever seen about propane connections
Great advice Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
I acquired that specific grill from an individual for the price of $40. The flame exhibited an entirely orange hue, and the food items possessed a distinct gas-like flavor. Consequently, I proceeded to modify the burner settings situated beneath the knobs. Excellent video content!
Just had this low flow problem. Will try this now. Thanks!
I'm assuming with your grill 😉
You're a good teacher my man. Great video.👍
I would only add one thing to this great video, never use pliers on those those fittings always use open wrenches or crescent. Wrenches, don’t skin up your fittings like you did.
Absolutely! I always use adjustable wrenches on brass or chrome fittings. Also, it drives me nuts to see someone using slip joint pliers, aka Channelocks, backwards. They were designed to be pulled not pushed. When you push against against them the pliers are forced open. Turn them around and pull on them. Only not on brass fittings at all.
@@michaelallen5505 tyvm
@@michaelallen5505 I think every hack plumber that ever touched a chrome urinal thought to only bring one big pipe wrench. Haha. The red Knipex is smooth jaw, so he was right to hold to the grill-side. And yea, those Channelocks were technically backwards.
If your going to use a channel lock, at least learn which direction to use it.
Yeah, and using pliers backwards. LoL
Wish I had seen this helpful tip about a week ago, I just bought a new gas regulator from Amazon. For my Black Stone griddle. After I saw you video I went out and checked. Well hell you were right. Thanks you mucho for the tip. 🍻😎
As a plumber watching him use the channel locks backwards is triggering lol
I was just about to make the same comment. No shop class in school, but they have drag queen story hour
@@joecummings1260ain't that the truth
@@joecummings1260 exactly why fatherhood is so important
I cringe at pliers on brass anyway. Plus they are facing the wrong way of the work. Amateur!!
He used them wrong both on removal and install. Great tip, but showing how to do things correctly is always better.
Converted my BBQ to natural gas, awesome in every way! Also converted my outdoor IR heater to NG, was harder but sooo convenient.
I got given a $750 Marine BBQ that had a weak flame. Propane can pick up fragments of the inside of the hose and carry them to the orfice that feeds the propane into the burner tubes clogging it.
A little disassembly and a poke with a sewing needle and I have a really nice propane BBQ that won't embarrass me with that propane taste in my chicken.
Regulators do get stuck and even seized with disuse. Especially around salt water. When this happens remove it from the propane cylinder and grab a trusty PLASTIC or rubber mallet and tap it all over to loosen the aluminum rust. This doesn't work on a regulator with a blown diaphragm. Just a stuck/seized one.
My cozy cabin propane heater clogged it's orfice all the time. I eventually went and bought some COPPER wool and stuffed a bunch of it in the brass fitting between the hose and the appliance and cleaned out the orfice. That was the end of my clogging problem.
Leaks in flare fittings can be sealed using polysulfide putty during assembly. Only use it on fittings with damaged flare seals that otherwise cannot be sealed.
There is a tiny hole in your regulator's cover that allows atmospheric pressure to control the diaphragm of your regulator. If this is clogged or blocked it can cause inconsistent flame. Check it for rust or some bug's cocoon.
I hope this helps.
Excellent video. I've psyched myself out before thinking I had a faulty regulator! Thanks for the great information.
Timely! I am having this problem right now.
Thanks. I really appreciate not only the information... but taking the time to proficiently demonstrate the technology.
It's great to finally understand this. I've had it happen a handful of times, always at the worst moment, and with time just came to my own assumptions and workarounds without ever really looking to hard into it. Turns out I think I was mostly right, in that I assumed it had something to do with too much flow, too fast, triggering something or stopping up the works. Having observed that it almost always happened after trying to light all three burners in quick succession, I found that turning everything off and starting again more slowly almost always solved the problem.
Brilliant. I have a Charbroil grill that has suffered from this issue since I've owned it. This little tricked fixed it perfectly. Thank you!
Just to add to this, the hotter it is, the slower you want to go. One way to go is to crack the valve and stop as soon as you hear flow. Wait for it to fully presurize the system (assuming you aren't open to air) then open it on up. The excess flow valve gets tripped by the pressure differential. So if you let both sides of the valve come to the same pressure then you can open it on up without tripping it. This trick works with anything with an excess flow valve.
i figured this out a while ago.... you would think the store where i bought a new regulator would have told me about the safety..... excellent vid!!!!!
Turning on the burners BEFORE opening the gas valve is the problem 99% of the time! Drove me to FITS before I figured it out.😮
Yep, it never occurred to me to turn on burners before turning on the gas. I’ve never seen this issue.
I guess some people turn off their grill by just turning off the gas?
Yah, that'd do it lol. You burn up all the propane on one side of the valve and now there's a pressure difference.
The only time I shut the tank valve is when I take it to get filled. Why do people shut them off?
@@Tom-uw2ok Because it's one more valve in between you and a leak. And if there is a leak it will only drain the line and then stop (assuming the tank valve works). Also protective against accidental disconnection, damage etc. It's just a little bit safer. I wouldn't do it for home heat for a long list of reasons, but for a grill, turning off the valve when not in use is probably the safer choice. Cylinders usually do have a check valve aka excess flow valve, but it's usually not fast enough to prevent cryogenic injury and they often fail (I used to deliver propane, I have often seen check valve failures first hand). Off is safest for grill cylinders.
@@RobC1999and turn off the bbq valves before shutting the tank valve.
Great video, Chris! I'll keep this in mind if I ever see this issue. I always open the valve slowly, then the burners so I haven't see this yet.
I just ran into this problem, and now I'm getting this popping up randomly on UA-cam without searching for it, but I was talking to my wife about it tells me that my smart phone is listening to me
Literally was trying to figure this out the other day and you saved me a trip to the store/ amazon getting a new reg. Thank you
This happened to me several years ago when I brought my Weber 5000 over to my Brothers house for a 4th of July Party. The grill wouldn't get over 250. I think the person doing the grilling turned on the grill before opening the valve on the tank hence the low propane flow.
I purchased a Little Griddle from Amazon a while back. I had heard from their own website, as well as other reviewers, that sometimes you'll need to removed the drip shield from over the burners. They cut way down on the heat delivered to the griddle above. So I ordered a variable regulator from Amazon at the same time. $15 and now I leave my grill alone and just kick up the flow from around 15 psi to about 30. I now adjust a single knob to adjust for any kind of cooking, including slow smoking. The Little Griddle is great, but the convenience the adjustable regulator makes it a consistent pleasure. For some reason, the adjustable regulator defeats the auto-restrictor on the tank.
How does UA-cam know I needed to know this?
Gps tracking you to your BBQ grill repair center. 😂😂
Tnx I have a smoker and would get very low flame that kept going out. Nice to see there are a couple of fixes for it.
Just had this same issue when using propane with my generator durring a power outage.
We bought a Ducane gas grill 25 years ago. It replaced a Coleman that rotted to pieces. We had nothing but problems with it. We replaced burners, regulators & such. It was from poor gas flow. Like you it was just heating the food instead of cooking it. We suffered with it for 8 long years of constant heat issues.
I decided enough playing around. We bought the last gas grill we'll ever buy. A 30" Solaire infrared grill. We were in the market for a Weber Genesis. Once I saw the Solaire at a colleagues house I knew we found the right grill! It heats up in 5 minutes no matter the outside temperature. It sears meat at up to 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. It can cook fish & vegetables as well on low. It uses half the propane & cooks at half the time. It's 18 years old & still looks brand new.
I highly recommend their gas grills if you like Pittsburgh blue steaks. It chars the outside of the steak & inside the steak is blue rare. Ofcourse we get our steaks cut 2" thick at the butcher.
Great content! I'm looking forward to your next video!
Best content on UA-cam
Great tips! I unfortunately recently donated to the regulator industry, but next time I will try these tricks.
More proof that SC knows all and explains it all so well!
I sure wish I had seen this two weeks ago. My niece was having trouble with her grill because of insufficient gas flow. When she tried to relight it, it flashed into her face. While she lost a fair amount of hair, her skin wasn't burned. A very close call.
Thanks for the advice!
Liked and subscribed
Happened to me too. Forgot to open the grill lid when lighting it and the gas built up inside and when it finally lit the flames lifted the lid and flames spit out charing my hair a little.😂
Those are pliers, not wrenches.
Knipex (the silver and red one) calls them a "Pliers Wrench".
They’re also both being used backwards.
lol, true. Also the lower channel lock was used backwards.
@@avocares The blue ones are just channel locks,
@@jj3449This guy giving advice is scary!
Wow, SUPER helpful! I'm sharing this video with all my friends right now.
I've never owned a gas grill, but now I think I could hold up my end of a conversation about grill troubleshooting. 👍
Thanks for the help, tried all your suggestions and no luck. Started tracing through system by disconnecting each joint leading away from tank and listening for the flow. Turned out some mud producing insect pugged up the jet into the air mixer. A shape pointy tool cleaned it right out. I blow a little compress air through it just to make sure.
This explains a lot. I thought I bought a defective grill. I had an old grill that I used for over 30 years. It used a regulator with male threads that went inside the valve. The old star handle tank. I hadnt used the grill for a number of years and imagine my surprise when I go to get the tank filled and get told that my tank is illegal. He fills it for me "this one time." I decide new tank new grill. The new grill works great, then one day I am grilling some burgers and I open the lid and the flame is low and the meat uncooked. After struggling to get everything to work I give up. Fast forward 5 years and I find this video that explains what is going on. I just might fire up that grill again.
Amazing! Well done video! I wish I'd seen this before I got frustrated and chucked my two year old gas grill and went back to charcoal!
The safety device you are talking about is not inside the regulator, its inside the tank valve itself. Its called an Excess Flow Valve. The CLICK you hear is the valve setting itself. It operates exactly as you described.
Very informative video, well made, short and good speech pattern.
A lot of useful information but please don't ues pliers!. An adjustable wrench at least.
this is probably why i thought i had a low tank one time. i probably opened the valve too fast. interesting video, you did a good job explaining things!
Use the right wrench. The hold back one was alright but using the Channelock with pipe wrench teeth is not as it damages the nut use an adjustable wrench instead. Another point is you were using the Channelock backwards as you want the teeth facing the direction you are trying to unscrew the nut. Doing that the teeth dig into the metal gripping the object better than the backward style causing the jaws to slip around the nut damaging it.
I also noticed the Channel loc pliers being used in the "wrong direction". Besides yourself and me, over 90% of DIY'ers are using these Channel loc pliers the wrong way...
I learned a lot from this video because I was having the same issues! Thanks for the great video!
pliers are not a wrench. get proper wrenches... it will stop you wrecking the nut.
Pliers are definitely wrenches, you are just using the wrong pliers.
Came here to say the same thing ! Pliers are not wrenches.
@@saltsea9499 The only other tool you need is a hammer ...Right?
@@bobdevreeze4741 why? you already have an adjustable hammer 😉
Not only is he using the wrong tools, he’s using them backwards. He needs to reverse the pliers so the bulk of the torque goes on the fixed jaw, not the adjustable jaw. Same thing applies to adjustable wrenches
I learned this with my weed torch which uses tank pressure and a long line so it needs a slow opening. Similarly with patio heaters that have that long line and usually it's cold so the air in the line is less dense and compresses tripping the high flow.
Eventually the bleed through will equalize the pressure and allow reset but only if you leave it alone. Better to do the resets as described in the video.
Just another reason to use charcoal.😊
Charcoal taste can never been replaced, its seriously in our DNA for tasting grilled foods. I need to get into that again
😂
BWAAAAAAAH!!!
I love charcoal and use it when I can, but most people (me included) don't always have an hour to waste cooking with charcoal. By the time my charcoal chimney would be ready to dump, I could have half a dozen chicken breasts already cooked and done from my propane grill.
I've salvaged a few grills using charcoal. Gas is for yuppies.
Great video 👍👍👍
So just like gas cans, the government safety has made things worse.
You mean like ebikes with no throttles ?
Do you remember the times Square bomber? He put I think 4 propane tanks in his car, opened the valves and lit some road flares. It did not explode because of these safety valves.
@@jeremycrisp4488 Ya , a lot of the safety measures are great, but law making has become a to much like a knee jerk reaction to problems , people are getting hurt on ebikes so they make them without throttles , and force people to pedal. If they want to improve safety they should clean the bike lane . Bicycles need power to avoid getting ran over, but they should have larger brakes like on mopeds so they can slow down fast and consistently. If I was a law maker the laws wouldn't be so retarded . It's like when people board up there windows to survive a hurricane and drown because they couldn't escape out a window 😢
Great VJO! Had this happen on the 4th July, I knew what to do and I had cooked 1st half of the food already and when I turned gas back on I tripped regulator slow cooked a burger for 10 min and figured it out. The other thing you addressed and it can be scary is, some times they over fill the tank ( does not happen on exchange because they only give you 15lbs not 20 lbs) when the tank has been over filled typically with a heater but it can be device the flame will act erratic and may even flare up. Again you just have to get some gas out of the tank as shown or you can burn some off and then do the regulator reset as shown. Great Video, back in the day I thought I had a bad 20 lb canon my hands.....
Whys it take 7 mins to explain a 30 sec fix.
Because this is a youtube long video.
Should help with almost everything that has to do with a bad regulator
Because you're not only clueless but ungrateful
Why don't you take a minute to learn something and appreciate the work that goes into making the video.
Great point !
My grill was low flame from the beginning. I ordered an aftermarket regulator and WoW! I can adjust it to be way high or down to what it was before.
No problem getting up to 600f for searing.
First they make gas containers "better" now they make propane tanks "better". UGH 😑
Been struggling with this forever, thank you so much!!!!
*_This guy doesn't know what a wrench is. He's using pliers. Don't use pliers. Use a real wrench that fits the nuts._*
Thanks so much! My problem was tripping the safety, just needed to open propane valve slowly.
Sorry, but those aren't wrenches...those are pliers(fancy slip joint pliers, but still pliers). Use a real wrench and you won't tear up your connectors.
Well actually!! 🤓
I bet this dude is fun at parties
The red ones are Knipex pliers wrench, but yeah the other is a wrench.
Had this problem on my smoker yesterday...tried this slow go and it worked! thx!!
It is a travesty that this guy is using channel locks/pliers on hex brass fittings...At least use a dam adjustable crescent wrench if you dont have the correct size box end wrench to keep from marring up the the brass fittings.
First time hearing about this, thanks for the great video. Seems a lot of us experienced this common problem and didn’t know why.