Cleaning Propane Grill Burners

[dooleysm]

I was doing some cleaning on my Weber propane grill last night and found the burners very dirty. A wire brush did a remarkable job cleaning the burners off and opening up most of the clogged holes on the burners. There are still a significant number that are clogged though. They appear to be open, but no flame. Any advice on opening those clogged holes?

They are pretty small, I don't think I have a tool small enough to get down in there. Maybe something like a dental scraper kind of thing would work. My first thought was carb cleaner, but I kind of feel like that would be bad for a couple reasons. Is there some household cleaner that works for this? Something like vinegar maybe?

 

[jdfire]

Can you remove the burner from the grill? Most burners are fairly easy to remove. Then you could work on it better. I've had success before with a small drill bit to open the holes up. If all else fails, burner replacements aren't usually too expensive.

 

[Scooby074]

I dont have a webber, but i usually just take them out and hit them with the grinder and a wire brush.

Any problem holes get a piece of wire or a small finish nail. There are tube brushes for the inside of the tubes as well. I ve seen them but havent given them a try

 

[moored4]

Try a O/A tip cleaner. :thumbsup:

 

[MicroPilot]

I did this last year with a small drill bit. Made a huge difference in the heat on the grill. Burners went from producing yellow flames, to hot blue flames, and eliminated the blow back problem.

 

[JDgreen227]

I did this last year with a small drill bit. Made a huge difference in the heat on the grill. Burners went from producing yellow flames, to hot blue flames, and eliminated the blow back problem.

Did the same thing as you did with my old '89 vintage Sears gas grill about ten years ago, and it burnt a LOT hotter, but the gas tank ran down much faster. Current grill is only about 5 years old and I try to keep burner holes clear by wire brushing by habd every spring.

 

[jinman]

My Weber has "flavorizer bars" that cover the tube burners. Is that a relatively new thing? The bars on mine catch all the drippings and then they smoke and become carbonized on the bars. Oven cleaner will remove carbon if the "flavor" becomes too intense.

 

[dooleysm]

Mine has the 'flavorizer bars' as well, but there was a quarter inch of 'gunk' covering the burners in spite of that. My dad has had a Weber gas grill for close to 20 years and never had to replace his burners, or even cleaned them. I've already replaced mine once and have only owned the grill for about 5 years. I'm fairly disappointed in my model, given the cost and my dad's experience. I would not buy another.

 

[jinman]

Yep, you expect a $650 Weber Genesis grill to be bulletproof, but that's probably a pipe dream. I can count the number of times I've cooked on mine with one hand. I'm lookin' forward to this year. What is the biggest disappointment to me is the low burner heat. There must be some regulation limiting the BTUs of these things. Years ago, it seems you could get a flame thrower if you turned the burners to maximum. It takes 20 minutes for my new grill to heat up to 650 on the temperature gage, longer if there is a stiff breeze blowing. If I get it good and preheated, it does have nice even heat all over the quite large grill surface, so maybe I'm just whining about a non-issue.:ashamed:

 

[dooleysm]

I don't expect bulletproof, but I do expect it to at least keep pace with a 20 year old model. I also expect it to outlast the $100 walmart special I got when I graduated from college. It has failed both of those tests.

I guess that's been a common theme around here though, you can't even pay for quality in today's world. Nobody is out there making quality stuff at ANY price point.