Buying a New BBQ

[ABMax24]

I don’t understand the above. I would think with 4 burners going there is an even amount of NG gong to each one. If you shut one or two off, shouldn’t the other burners have a bigger flame was there is more gas? Or is it because of the size of the orifice not letting in more gas/

What this does is test for restriction in the gas line. If there is a restriction (pressure drop) the flames will be smaller than they should be. When you start turning off the other burners, in a proper setup the remaining burners should keep the flames the same height. If the flame gets bigger it's because there is less pressure drop in the line due to a lower demand for gas, because the line has a restriction or is undersized.

 

[ABMax24]

The other way to test this is to get a gas manometer and check the the pressure on the line (at the BBQ) when the BBQ is off and when running. To verify the pressure drop.

My assumption is the house regulator is set correctly, otherwise there would be issues with the other gas appliances in the house.

 

[armascott]

^^ thank you for the suggestion I am going to light it up and check the flame height. I do have a gas guy coming next week to check gas flow. Just kinda curious as the last bbq worked so good and this is happening with the new one. I do understand that it’s 25% more in BTU but I wouldn’t think it would make that much difference and if so you think the sales guy a the bbq shop would mention the possibility of needing to increase the gas line size.

 

[ABMax24]

^^ thank you for the suggestion I am going to light it up and check the flame height. I do have a gas guy coming next week to check gas flow. Just kinda curious as the last bbq worked so good and this is happening with the new one. I do understand that it’s 25% more in BTU but I wouldn’t think it would make that much difference and if so you think the sales guy a the bbq shop would mention the possibility of needing to increase the gas line size.

Do you know what size gas line is feeding the BBQ and how far the line runs? Ive got a chart on my computer that will give a good idea of the pressure drop and if it meets the CSA gas code based on that data.

Hopefully you have 3/4" pipe, 1/2" by code would be undersized if the run is 20ft or longer from the meter.

 

[Caper11]

^^ thank you for the suggestion I am going to light it up and check the flame height. I do have a gas guy coming next week to check gas flow. Just kinda curious as the last bbq worked so good and this is happening with the new one. I do understand that it’s 25% more in BTU but I wouldn’t think it would make that much difference and if so you think the sales guy a the bbq shop would mention the possibility of needing to increase the gas line size.

Unfortunately it does make a difference, when it comes to the length of the gas line and the Inside diameter of it. It is possible that your old BBQ was at the limit for the current line size and you didn’t notice an issue.
It will also get worse when the house is using gas as the same time as the BBQ, another test would be have all your burners of the BBQ on max and turn the furnace on. If the flame gets smaller and quieter, on the BBQ you have a supply issue.

Is your BBQ gas line run through the house with the yellow jacket flex line? Or is it buried outside?


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[sirkdev]

So I must be the odd one out.. I have a fisher reg at on my BBQ supply line which then transitions to a hose about 6ft away from BBQ. I am not a gas fitter but I would assume you are only allowed low pressure gas inside the house?

 

[armascott]

Thanks for the info, I’m thinking the line might be undersize by the sounds of it. It is a 1/2” line hardline that goes to the quick connect and a 1/2” hose to the bbq itself. I’m assuming it’s 1/2” the whole way we have a finished basement and of course the line is in the ceiling, but the line could be tee’d off our gas range which is only 10’ ish from the bbq connection. Gas meter is on the NW corner of the house and bbq is on the SE corner lol I’m guessing about a 50’ run ish. I did check to see if the burner height changed when turning off burners etc it didn’t seem to make a difference. Grilled a couple burgers last night to try it again used the left 2 burners, on high the bbq barely got above 300 degrees

 

[ferniesnow]

Great information above.
I am going to have to do some investigation on my system.

 

[sirkdev]

Thanks for the info, I’m thinking the line might be undersize by the sounds of it. It is a 1/2” line hardline that goes to the quick connect and a 1/2” hose to the bbq itself. I’m assuming it’s 1/2” the whole way we have a finished basement and of course the line is in the ceiling, but the line could be tee’d off our gas range which is only 10’ ish from the bbq connection. Gas meter is on the NW corner of the house and bbq is on the SE corner lol I’m guessing about a 50’ run ish. I did check to see if the burner height changed when turning off burners etc it didn’t seem to make a difference. Grilled a couple burgers last night to try it again used the left 2 burners, on high the bbq barely got above 300 degrees

I would assume that if there is separate runs from supply to stove and supply to bbq is this a code thing I wonder? Kinda of crazy not to do a trunk line and branch off as you suggest but Im sure there is a reason..

 

[ABMax24]

Thanks for the info, I’m thinking the line might be undersize by the sounds of it. It is a 1/2” line hardline that goes to the quick connect and a 1/2” hose to the bbq itself. I’m assuming it’s 1/2” the whole way we have a finished basement and of course the line is in the ceiling, but the line could be tee’d off our gas range which is only 10’ ish from the bbq connection. Gas meter is on the NW corner of the house and bbq is on the SE corner lol I’m guessing about a 50’ run ish. I did check to see if the burner height changed when turning off burners etc it didn’t seem to make a difference. Grilled a couple burgers last night to try it again used the left 2 burners, on high the bbq barely got above 300 degrees

Was this a propane BBQ converted to natural gas by chance?

 

[ABMax24]

I would assume that if there is separate runs from supply to stove and supply to bbq is this a code thing I wonder? Kinda of crazy not to do a trunk line and branch off as you suggest but Im sure there is a reason..

No, it's perfectly fine to have them share a line, if it's sized large enough.

My guess would be the BBQ or stove was an afterthought, and a 1/2" line is undersized to feed both, so instead of replacing it a second 1/2" was run.

 

[ABMax24]

So I must be the odd one out.. I have a fisher reg at on my BBQ supply line which then transitions to a hose about 6ft away from BBQ. I am not a gas fitter but I would assume you are only allowed low pressure gas inside the house?

That's odd, and probably worth investigating.

Standard residential gas pressure is 7" wc. Or 0.25 psi.

 

[armascott]

ABMax24 I’ve got you thinking this weekend I appreciate the thoughts.

The bbq was purchased as a natural gas unit as long as it wasn’t built wrong or the box mislabeled it should be set up for natural gas. We have not added any gas lines over the years it was all run when the house was built again the house is 9 years old.

 

[Caper11]

ABMax24 I’ve got you thinking this weekend I appreciate the thoughts.

The bbq was purchased as a natural gas unit as long as it wasn’t built wrong or the box mislabeled it should be set up for natural gas. We have not added any gas lines over the years it was all run when the house was built again the house is 9 years old.

Did you happen to verify the label on the grill says natural gas, or possibly it’s a conversion unit. Propane orifices in a natural gas service will also produce the low performance.


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[ABMax24]

ABMax24 I’ve got you thinking this weekend I appreciate the thoughts.

The bbq was purchased as a natural gas unit as long as it wasn’t built wrong or the box mislabeled it should be set up for natural gas. We have not added any gas lines over the years it was all run when the house was built again the house is 9 years old.

I'm pretty much of ideas at this point lol. It's quite possible the gas line is undersized, but you seem to be experiencing a pretty remarkable decrease in performance though from the last BBQ.

My last thought would be the gas connector itself, if its not allowing allowing full flow. Or If one of the old halfs were reused with new that are not completely compatible.

 

[armascott]

It is puzzling for sure I do have a gas guy coming hopefully some time this week to test my line etc. If the gas supply is good I will definitely be returning this bbq

I will post the results thanks again

 

[tmo1620]

Those napoleon grills look decent but I know of a couple guys that have had bad luck with theirs recently, same kind of symptoms


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[lilduke]

Maybe you got a lemon. Try a different bbq before you go replacing gas lines

 

[armascott]

So the gas guys came and checked my set up out line size and pressure is all good. Called the bbq place and they sent a tech out, he adjusted the air on a couple burners but said it looks like it’s running normally. Grilled some chicken breast tonight and still poor performance in my eyes I’m going to post a few pics to see what you guys think.

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[armascott]

Here is a pic with the burners on high for one hour

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