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Gas grill questions?


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Forgive my ignorance. I've always been a charcoal guy.聽馃檮

My disabled friend recently bought a small, used propane grill. Its in good shape, but aren't there supposed to be rocks in the bottom? I think they're called lava rocks? Exactly what is their purpose and do you have to have them? I see on-line that Home Depot does sell them. But its about $25 a bag and her money is tight.聽

She'll also need a propane bottle. I figure her best bet is to get one of the exchange bottles they have at聽convenience stores. But she won't have a trade in for the first time. Anybody know what the current going rate for that is?聽

Her birthday is in a couple of weeks and she wants to have a cook out. I'm trying to help her get set up. Any and all advice is welcome.聽馃槈

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In my part of the world, propane tanks (filled) cost about $50 new, then roughly $20 thereafter to fill.聽 I keep 2, as they always seem to run out in the middle of a cooking session.聽 As for the lava rocks, some grills use them, some don't.聽 I suppose they will work in any gas grill.聽 Their purpose it to more evenly distribute and retain heat, much like charcoal does (I think).聽 As with most things, initial cost is typically "buy once, cry once", in that it seems you get what you pay for.聽 I buy cheap grills, and pay (cry) every few years ...

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How big of a small grill is it-some of the picnic table grills just use the small LP cylinders such as the Coleman.

The larger grills use a standard 20 pound cylinder-which are around $25.00 deposit plus around $20.00 to fill.

Some of the grills use lava rock but for the most part they use some sort of heat plate in place of the rocks.

A picture of the grill would go a long ways.

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2 minutes ago, No_0ne said:

In my part of the world, propane tanks (filled) cost about $50 new, then roughly $20 thereafter to fill.聽 I keep 2, as they always seem to run out in the middle of a cooking session.聽 As for the lava rocks, some grills use them, some don't.聽 I suppose they will work in any gas grill.聽 Their purpose it to more evenly distribute and retain heat, much like charcoal does (I think).聽 As with most things, initial cost is typically "buy once, cry once", in that it seems you get what you pay for.聽 I buy cheap grills, and pay (cry) every few years ...

Seems we were posting at the same time

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I went over to her house and took a look. This is the first time I've actually examined the thing myself. What I knew before was just from a phone call.聽馃檮

Ok, no need for rocks. The burners are located high just under the grill with聽deflectors. Grill surface聽is roughly 18" X 14".聽 Has a place in the back for a standard propane tank. Looks to be a pretty good brand, but has some age and rust. But she got it dirt cheap and it'll meet her needs.聽

There doesn't seem to be any kind of catch pan for drippings. Should there be one?聽

Anyway, here tis!

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24 minutes ago, Grayfox54 said:

There doesn't seem to be any kind of catch pan for drippings. Should there be one?聽

mlx2CcV.jpg

Some older and smaller grills like that have a circular clip with a hook that you attach a jar to and then hang underneath that hole you see in the middle.

Edited by Garufa
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Google the brand of the grill and you can probably get replacement parts online, or find a parts diagram which would indicate the drip pan and holder, etc.聽 Maybe make one out of a coat hanger and the foil pans at wally world may work.聽 GL

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1 hour ago, Grayfox54 said:

I went over to her house and took a look. This is the first time I've actually examined the thing myself. What I knew before was just from a phone call.聽馃檮

Ok, no need for rocks. The burners are located high just under the grill with聽deflectors. Grill surface聽is roughly 18" X 14".聽 Has a place in the back for a standard propane tank. Looks to be a pretty good brand, but has some age and rust. But she got it dirt cheap and it'll meet her needs.聽

There doesn't seem to be any kind of catch pan for drippings. Should there be one?聽

Anyway, here tis!

nIHt7hF.jpg

80uzY0D.jpg

mlx2CcV.jpg

OewBOfa.jpg

The catch pan is the rusted pan under the burners and the hole in the center is for the grease run off. Looks to be missing the catch can. As mentioned above she can buy a factory made catch can or you could save her some money and make one out of a soup can and a metal coat hanger. Since it's not been used in a while id use goo be gone and remove that sticker on the underside of the lid because that will be a nasty mess when you fire it off the first time. Grill grates also look rusted up. I'd fire it up on high for 10 minutes with the lid closed and let it get to 500掳+. Have a clean wire brush, veg spray oil and a clean damp聽rag handy. Kill the flame, open the lid and hit the grates with a wire brush followed by the spray oil then the damp rag. Fire it back up and she should be ready to make some good grilled goodies.聽

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49 minutes ago, Grayfox54 said:

Actually, i was just thinking of putting a sheet of聽聽aluminum foil in the bottom. When done and cool, just wad it up and throw it away.聽馃槈

If the grease doesn't have anywhere to run to and forms a puddle under the food and any flame gets near it she will have a grease fire. Ask me how that turns out 馃ぃ

  • Like 2
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1 hour ago, Garufa said:

I think the heat deflectors over the burners might be upside down.

It's possible that the automatic starter doesn't work and somebody flipped them on purpose.聽 On some of these, when the starter is out, the deflectors make starting with a match kind of a pain ...

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The heat deflectors are upside down, weber calls those bars "flavorizer bars", should be indentations on the shelf where they are currently sitting for the edges to be in to hold them in place and distribute the heat more evenly.聽 聽I would fire it up and let it heat up for longer than 10min myself.聽

If the bottom portion of the grill is caked up with grease from use, just remove the grates and bars, use a paint scraper to scrape all the gunk down into the grease drip hole.聽 Then use some of the spray grill cleaner to remove most of the grease, and re-install everything.聽 Fire it back up and cook off the cleaner if used.聽聽

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