TEC Infrared Grill Video Instructions To Replace Pilot Ignitor In Patio II and Sterling II and III.

by grillrepair on

How To Repair The Pilot Ignition In Patio and Sterling Infrared Gas Grills By Thermal Engineering Corp (TEC).

I can imagine it would look funny to someone today but the original infrared gas grills really were starting from scratch.  TEC was building incredible infrared gas grills without any history or experience in the BBQ grill industry.   Today we see electrodes sparking like machine guns in every barbecue grill ignition assembly but 25 years ago the sparking igniters sparked in order to ignite the pilot and the pilot flame ignited the burner.  Fortunately infrared grills by Thermal Engineering Corp were built to last a terribly long time so it is sometimes necessary to replace the pilot in the assembly of ignition grill parts.  The pilot flame igniter was used in the TEC models called the Patio and Sterling and continued into the Patio 2 and Sterling 2 and Sterling 3 models many years later.

This Video shows the process of removing and replacing the TEC pilot assembly but also shows the pilot flame and burners in use and the process of igniting the pilot.   The  pilot assembly, double pilot for larger models, control valves, ignition modules, control knobs and other replacement parts is available for sale at: TEC  Grill Parts

Where the video does not get into great detail is attaching the aluminum gas line to the pilot valve.  In the Patio 2 models the pilot’s aluminum gas line is perfectly sized for an easy installation although it may seem slightly too long.  When we slide the pilot and gas line into the grill, the bend of the aluminum gas hose presses up against the inner firewall making it seem difficult to place the tip of the gas line into the valve.  While a little pressing on the manifold is necessary this actually removes the possibility of installing the compression ferrel incorrectly (which is common and creates gas leaks).

With the aluminum bent against the firewall,  the tip of the gas line fits in the opening at the tip of the valve.  The soft brass ferrel (ring, collar, whatever you like) is usually placed approximately 1/8″ – 1/4″ from the tip but since the aluminum tip is already in the valve this distance is defined for us.  We can simply slide the ferrel all the way the the tip of the pilot control valve, slide the compression nut down and tighten.  We do want to tighten the compression nut quickly while moving with consistency.  The compression nut is going to compress (squeeze, squash,  squish, mangle, etc) between the tightening nut and the valve threading in order to safely and completely seal the gas connection.

Any and every gas connection should always be leak tested before use but the TEC design allows for a lot less errors installing the compression adaptors.

{ 0 comments… add one now }

Previous post:

Next post: