Burner Maintenance
Wait A Minute, I Can’t Just Scrub The Grates and Empty The Drip Pan?
Nope… Whether you clean your grill yourself or hire a professional like SBGC; burner maintenance is one of the biggest contributors to maintaining your grill and having a positive cooking experience. If we had to give our honest opinion on how many grill owners actually look under their grates, we would probably sit somewhere around the 10-20% mark. We get numerous calls with clogged burners, complaints of uneven heating, flashback, etc.
What Causes These Burner Issues?
What causes clogged/cracked burners; uneven heating; flames on one side only; flashback; etc.? Insects like spiders; age of the grill; expansion/contraction from cold/heat can all contribute. With that said, the MAJORITY of the time it’s simply from not being cleaned.
What To Do About It?
Burner maintenance is something we recommend doing every 6 months for most homeowners, possibly more if your grill is a bit older and you utilize it often. Not only does this significantly increase the life and safety of your burners; it allows you to see other grill components that lie beneath the grates which may need replacing.
Actual burners from a homeowner who was experiencing “uneven heating and flare-ups.” Failure to maintain burners can be a major hazard.
Below is a generic overview of what you are trying to accomplish. With many different types of grills/burners on the market, we recommend referring to your owners manual or contacting a grill cleaning service for specifics.
✔ Shutoff your gas/propane supply.
✔ Remove burners according to your owners manual.
✔ Most burners you can take a brush and scrub off the gunk/surface rust. We like a strong wire brush. Do not use any liquids while cleaning the burners as it can get inside and promotes rust.
✔ Check the burner for any noticeable splits/cracks. If you have splits/cracks, the burner needs to be replaced.
✔ Examine all the ports (small holes that let flame through). Any clogged holes will need to be cleared. You can do this via something as simple as a paper clip, or it may require drilling out the holes. Always use a tool that is the same diameter as the original hole.
✔ For certain style burners, you will have a crossover which allows the flame to cross and ignite on both sides of the burner. Depending on your model, this can be cleared with a putty knife, razor blade, etc. At some point it may develop enough rust a saw will be needed.
✔ Next, utilizing a venturi brush that is the right size for your burner, run it inside your burner tube to remove any insect nests and internal debris. Once you do this a few times shake the burner over a trash dispenser to push out any lasting debris.
✔ Reinstall all burners according to your owners manual and check that all ports are emitting a flame and the burner is working correctly.
Haven’t Looked At Your Burners In A While or Still Not Confident To DIY
Give us a call. With each deep clean we inspect your burners and go through all of the steps we outlined above. We also give you an idea of their condition and point you in the right direction should they need replacement.
469-470-0583 or shoot us an email via Contact Us
