If you are on this page you know we build custom outdoor kitchens on-site, for perfectly fabricated backyard grill islands and bars in South Florida.  This is our latest backyard and we did a lot of work here.  This custom outdoor kitchen is built for a beautiful Firemagic gas grill with infrared burners, cast stainless convection burners, glow-plug ignition electrodes and all the solid features that make R.H. Peterson one of the best backyard accessory fabricators in the world.

custom firemagic outdoor kitchen with blue granite

The Firemagic OCBE is an insert that can be used to install a gas fire pit burner in to any custom designed fire pit structure.  This fire pit structure was designed by the homeowner and it was finished using the same granite and stone work to match the house and columns and the outdoor kitchen we built.  The gas firepit is controlled with a on/off remote transmitter.  The fire pit has natural lava rock stones in the center to radiate heat and allow the flames to move and shift naturally.  We also install a stainless ring in our gas fire pits so the heat is shielded from the edge of the custom fabricated granite.

When any gas flame touches a solid object carbon is created and the flame carbon will leave marks on this beautiful blue and gold granite slab.  Carbon is usually very easy to wipe-off but most people are not cleaning their built in barbeque grill and gas fire pit every day.  We use a stainless ring to push the flame a little bit higher and this saves the granite color.  If they choose to hide the ring it can be made slightly smaller and lava rock will rest on the outside of the ring to camouflage the stainless inside the lava rocks.

Custom fire pit with blue granite and natural stone bricks

This gas fire pit is also remote controlled.  Instead of natural lava rocks this fire pit has crushed fireglass.  The fire glass is crushed black but we also used orange and green fire glass to put a logo for the University of Miami in the fireglass.  When the gas fire pit is burning the flames will move across and around the crushed fire glass for a sparkling and colorful effect.

custom fire pit with crushed fire glass university of Miami

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This New Years weekend I received a telephone call from a customer who purchased an alternative ventless glass gas fireplace from us a little over a year ago.  Her pilot light was burning but she could not get the fireplace to light.  She called her installer and he also could not get the fireplace to light.  This gas fireplace has an on-off remote controlled valve made by Rasmussen.

Some older gas fireplaces used to have a toggle switch attached to the control valve inside the fireplace.  Some more recent fireplaces by R.H. Peterson and Vanguard, Majestic and Superior fireplaces also had toggle switches.  The on-off remote control combination of a receiver-transmitter use the same idea as a toggle switch and it is common to replace an old style toggle switch with a receiver box in order to convert a gas log fireplace to a remote controlled unit.

A receiver box acts like the toggle switch turning the fireplace on or off and the hand held transmitter or any other kind of transmitter flips the toggle switch to the “on” or “off” position.  The receiver is hard-wired to the fireplace burner control valve and most people leave their receiver inside the fireplace.  There is a real danger to overheating a receiver box because the receiver box holds batteries that can be damaged by heat.  Often if a fireplace with a remote control will not be controlled by a remote the problem is either low batteries or batteries damaged by heat.  If the batteries are damaged by heat while inside the receiver box, inside the fireplace the receiver box is usually irreparably damaged.

The other problem with unvented gas fireplace has to do with the safety features that must be used in every vent-free gas log.  The ODS (oxygen depletion sensor) is a very simple function that leaves a thermocouple in the pilot light so the thermocouple will cool and turn off the control valve if the pilot light begins to raise up looking for oxygen to keep it burning.  On the sides of any pilot tube are small holes in the pilot light tube that allow oxygen to be sucked into the tube to mix with gas and allow the pilot to burn.  Ventless gas fireplaces should be cleaned as part of typical maintenance but when they are not properly cleaned these tiny holes are small enough to be severly clogged by tiny bits of dust, pet hair and pollen in the air.

ventless gas fireplace oxygen depletion sensor

Usually when our service technicians are called to a home because a vent-free gas fireplace will not properly light this maintenance issue is the problem.  We bring a small but powerful vacuum and leave it lying against the pilot assembly to cause flowing air to pull anything from these small air holes.  Once it has been vacuumed we may also use a can of compressed air.   We do not go to the compressed air can first because we do not want to blow the foreign substance into the pilot assembly.

If the batteries are fully charged or new and the receiver box is not damaged by overheating but the fireplace will not light the next thing to check is the receiver codes.  A receiver box will have a “Learn” button on it and sometimes when the batteries are changed or if the power is interrupted by heat the code for the transmitter will need to be relearned.  Most received boxes are very versatile and will learn tens of thousands of varying transmitting codes.  Hold the Learn button for about 5 seconds until a series of beeps indicates the box is wiped clean and “listening.  Then press any button on the transmitter for the receiver to remember the proper code for that transmitting controller.

Finally, this specific fireplace valve uses a solenoid control.

This control valve with solenoid is used with remote controlled receiver and transmitter.

Sometimes it is possible the solenoid has become too strongly attached inside the control valve.  This could be caused by over tightening at the original factory, by constant heating an expanding and by a combination of these two causes.  The solenoid can be removed with a flat head screwdriver.  Reinstall the solenoid “hand-tight” so it is not over tightened in the valve.

The solenoid triggers the switch like an internal toggle switch.

Vent free gas fireplaces have always been a popular commodity but with the alternative gas fireplace that display crushed reflective glass colors, stones, shapes and fireballs ventless gas fireplaces are more popular than ever.  The limited BTU’s, control options like the ODS and flame patterns are as important as properly maintaining the fireplace with clean materials and fully charged batteries.

The process for lighting a vent-free gas log fireplace involves holding the control valve open manually until the thermocouple is transferring enough of a charge to pull the control valve magnet into the open position.  Soon we will explain the process of the thermocouple to help understand the safety features in your vent free gas fireplace.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNrUXdJjFR8

Some unvented gas fireplaces: Chillbuster models.

In order to make a gas log fireplace a legally vent-free gas log fireplace there are some very specific rules to be followed.  Unvented gas fireplaces have to have a maximum BTU output of 40,000 BTU.  This limit will lower the amount of flames and the amount of dangerous carbon emitted into the room because of the flames.  The ceramic logs stack specifically to match the flames of the burner so there is little or no contact between the fireplace flames and the logs.

ODS.

Oxygen Depletion Sensors are alway installed on vent-free gas log fireplaces to ensure safe use in the home.  ODS usually consists of a thermocouple and a pilot.  A thermocouple is a complex, simple tool for generating energy from heat.  With no moving parts it is very rare a thermocouple fails.  The tip of the thermocouple has different types of metals that create a small electric charge when heat conducts and transfers across each metal.  This small millivolt charge runs through a electric wire in a copper sleeve to a threaded metal bolt that becomes magnetized from the millivolt charge.  The threaded bolt screws into the control valve where another magnet is mounted with the reverse magnetic pole meeting the electro-magnet on the end of the thermocouple.  When the thermocouple transfers heat to create a millivolt that runs through copper to magnetize the steel the magnets push one another apart to allow gas to flow through the valve.  Should the pilot flame go out the tip of the thermocouple cools and within seconds the steel bolt demagnetizes, attracts the inner magnet and snaps closed so gas cannot flow through the valve.

When there is a draft, ceiling fan or when an unvented gas fireplace is installed outdoors there can be some problems with the pilot but the role of this system is to gauge oxygen in the fireplace.  Because the pilot os a single weak flame surrounded by large strong flames the pilot is not the first place or the easiest location to reach and burn oxygen.  If oxygen is low the first place that will be effected is this small pilot flame.  As the pilot flame reaches higher and higher seeking oxygen the flame will lift higher and higher off the tip of the thermocouple and usually the thermocouple will cool and stop all gas flow before the pilot even dies.

Oxygen depletion sensor pilot assembly for gas log fireplace

This is a very simple but very effective way to make the fireplace safe with no moving parts that can break down or get damaged.  When a customer calls to complain about the fireplace going out the problem is usually that they have forgotten the process for lighting the pilot.  Rarely we will have to clean the fireplace if it has not been maintained.  The metal tube that the pilot lights from has a sensor at its base.  Depending on the geographical location and depending on the installation there can be dust, dander, pet fur, or pollen build up inside this sensor.  A can of air or a vacuum cleaner can usually clear the area within a few minutes.

oxygen depletion sensor for vent free gas log fireplace

This video should show the realistic flame patterns and the realistic logs of the chillbuster brands.  These gas fireplaces are made to be safe indoors without the costly work of cutting through the roof or building a chimney.

Each of these burners has several different gas log sets that can be used on this burner.  The ceramic logs on a vent-free burner are always designed specifically for that burner and unvented logs from a different set cannot be used with another unvented burner because the logs stack to avoid the flames of each burner configuration.

For more information about chillbuster gas fireplaces or any information about vented or vent free gas fireplace please contact us at Service@Grill-Repair.com and at 954.2.GRILL.2.

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Most barbecues are controlled by the control knob that is attached the the control valve.  The control valve has an orifice at the tip and the orifice slides into the burner to spit the gas into the burner.  However, some control valves are not installed close enough to the barbeque burners to attach in this way.

The orifice is attached to the control valve with compression fittings that seal a gas hose extension.

This barbecue grill from bbq galore stores is such an example.  The tip of the control valve does not have an orifice that slides into the barbeque burner.  Instead there is an aluminum gas line that extends from the tip of the valve and the orifice is attached to the other end of the gas line.

gas bbq grill control valve for turbo and charbroil grill repair

The control valves we sell at Grill-Repair.com for barbecues like this are manufactured to have an orifice attached at the end of the valve to control the amount of liquid propane or natural gas going into the burner.  If this control valve was going to be used in a turbo, kalamazoo, cook on or any other barbecue grill that has an extension gas line connecting the control valve to the burner we can add a compression fitting to convert the tip of the valve into a gas line extension. The instructions for using a compression fitting to add an extented gas line connecting the control valve to the burner follows.

this is the control valve, the compression conversion fitting and the aluminum gas line to be used

The same control valve as the one on the black and white drawing is in the picture above.  This control valve can be used on Cook-On barbecues, Turbo models like the Grand Turbo and the Turbo Select and many others.  The compression fitting and the aluminum gas line is also shown in this image.

how to attach the compression fitting to the gas grill valve

One half of this compression fitting is female pipe thread to attach to the barbecue grill control valve.  The other half unscrews to expose the flared piece.  This flare slides onto the tip of the aluminum gas line.  When the top is screwed back onto the other side of the fitting the brass flare is soft enough to flare out and seal the connection.  Once sealed this flare cannot be re-used but the gas line is now sealed to the control valve.  The gas line can be unscrewed at the valve for maintenance later if it becomes necessary to replace the valve.  Do not push the aluminum (or copper) tube too far into the control valve.

the gas grill valve now as an extended gas lin attached and sealed.

Compression fittings are available in a wide array of sizes on both sizes.  The size of the gas line does affect the amount of gas travelling through but with a low pressure appliance like a gas log fireplace or an outdoor barbecue grill an eighth of an inch to a quarter inch is acceptable unless there is a lot of gas line added for some uncommon reason.

The male side compression fitting used to attach the barbecue orifice.

The compression fitting for the other end of the aluminum gas line has a 1/8 male pipe thread side just like the control valve.  This threaded side screws into the hood style orifice just like the control valve would have.  This aluminum gas line is a 3/16 line so the other side of the fitting is a 3/16 compression fit.

the compression side of the fitting also comes apart to seal to the gas line.

Again the compression side of the brass gas fitting comes apart to reveal the soft brass flare.  The soft brass flare fits onto the aluminum gas line.  The flare should fit snug.  Like with the female side compression conversion fitting slide the flare about a quarter inch onto the aluminum (or copper) gas line and then tighten the nut back to the fitting.  The soft brass flare will spread with the tension and seal the gas line to the fitting.

gas barbeque grill compression conversion to extend a control valve.

The hood style orifice is now attached and sealed safely to the aluminum gas hose that is also attached to the control valve.  If the orifice has to be converted at some future time the fitting is still able to be unscrewed from inside the orifice but if the fitting is separated at the center where the flare piece is compressed it is no longer useful. The orifice on any gas barbecue grill has a hole in the tip that is sized to allow a specified amount of gas through to the barbecue grill burners.  Liquid propane vaporizes and feeds through the valve in a compressed form so the hole in the orifice is very small.  Natural gas is a true gas in its natural state and has more mass so the orifice opening is much larger.  When a gas barbeque grill needs to be converted from one gas type to another the orifices can be removed and changed to the proper size for propane or natural gas.  When converting from propane to natural gas the orifice can be removed and drilled to the larger size since the natural gas orifice has a larger opening than the hole in the propane orifice. Because liquid propane is always pulled from a reservoir propane is always regulated at the same pressure for low pressure appliances like gas barbecues and gas log fireplaces.  Natural gas can be regulated anywhere from 2 or 10 inches of water column displacement but the environmental temperature and the altitude can affect this. Recently we have had a lot of customers repairing gas grills with extensions attached to their control valves.  This is actually very rare today but a lot of older barbecues utilized this technique of attaching the control valve to the gas BBQ burners. For additional information about control valves, orifices, gas lines, regulation or any other barbecue grill repairs contact Grill-Repair.comat 954-2-Grill-2.

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Right now we are still in summer but the end of summer is on the horizon.  We are beginning to consider our gas log business and talking about what we will be bringing on and what we will be doing for the new years fireplaces.

We have a few outdated gas logs that are in our warehouse and still in the original box that we are thinking about using as a raffle prize.  If anyone has an opinion about this, please email me at:

service@grill-repair.com

and let me know your idea.  Maybe something like a raffle for anyone who sends a comment to the feedback page on our blog or a raffle among anyone who become a fan on facebook.  Let me know what you think.

I think it will be fun to give a couple gas log fireplaces away for free so let’s come up with a good reason that brings people to the blog or the facebook page or something.

954.2.Grill.2

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Vent-Free gas log fireplace kit with push-button on and off controls

This Vanguard ventless gas log fireplace is not the kind of vent-free fireplace we stock any longer because of the distribution availability here in Florida.  However, the Vanguard vent free gas log fireplace design is a good example of “common” ventless gas fireplace designs.

This is the unvented gas fireplace burner and infrastructure.  As you can see the valve, burners, log supports,

ventless gas log fireplace burner without logs to show the support designs

decorative grates, fireplace igniter and regulators are all one solid item.  Unlike the vented gas log fireplace kit designs, unvented gas fireplace kits have almost nothing to build or assemble.  Because of the strict rules and building codes that regulate ventless gas fireplaces that are designed for indoor use without a chimney the manufacturers usually attach the parts and pieces so the only attachment the installer has to preform is the gas line.  Attaching a gas line to a ventless gas fireplace burner is like attaching a water-hose.  The fittings must be wrapped with teflon tape before screwed together.

Other than the different design what is it that makes a vent-free gas log certified for us outdoors without ventilation, without a chimney?  A gas log fireplaces going into a fireplace firebox with a chimney can be as simple as a rectangular pan with a single pipe-burner running across the pan.  By comparison the ventless gas log burner in the picture above is very complex.  The valve is mounted under the burner as a part of the whole design of the burners and the regulators are mounted as it is not possible to run the burner without the proper regulation for the fuel type.

The valve is designed to never pull more than forty-thousand BTU’s of gas.  Although the definition of BTU (british thermal units) refers to an actual measurement of heat barbecue grill and fireplace companies do not publish specifications in this way. Heat can be measured in calories because fuel consumed causes heat whether it is “burning” due to your body’s metabolism or “burning” in a car.  Heat can be measured in terms of joules or, more frequently kilojoules which refers to heat generated by friction: braking train wheels, brake pads on a car or even when you run your hands together quickly.  This kind of heat is measured as kilojoules.  BTU is a measurement not based on friction or fuel consumption but actual heat.  A BTU is the amount of heat needed to  raise on pound of water one degree in one hour.  BBQs and fireplace companies are actually publishing caloric heat measurements because they are measuring the amount of gas being pulled through the orifice.  In theory if all variables are consistent the amount of fuel consumed will be an adequate measurement of how much heat is generated.

The problem with this theory is that unvented gas fireplaces are designed to burn “cleaner” than a regular vented fireplace because certification is based on minimizing the flame production of particles in the air that, unvented can make us sick.  Take a small pocket lighter burning butane and hold the lit flame against a wall or any solid object and the flame will leave a black spot.  Burning gas will always produce carbon when the flame contacts a solid object.  The carbon becomes carbon monoxide in our air.  For this reason part of the certification of vent-free gas

ventless gas log fireplace side view to show burners and logs

logs check particle emmissions in the air while the fireplace burns.  Gas fireplace manufacturers eliminate most of these carbon emmissions by minimizing the contact of flames with the faux ceramic or foam logs.

Notice in the side-view image of this Vanguard vent-free gas log fireplace set there are only 3 logs.  This vanguard burner has a front burner a back burner and a cross-over burner connecting the two burners.  The 3 pieces of architectural foam made to mimic the look and feel of wood logs.  The logs and the row of flames look like stripes because the flames are actually raising and flickering between the rows of flames.  This design makes the flames rise without touching the foam logs.  The heat from the flames is more intense than the btu rating would otherwise imply because the flames are burning very efficiently

All gas log fireplaces will have a thermocouple and a pilot.  The safety valve on a fireplace rests in a closed position that does not allow gas to flow through the valve.  When we light the fireplace we have to turn the control knob and then push the knob in.  Once turned a bit the valve stem can sink in about an inch to push the valve open.  While holding the control knob pushed in we can light the pilot flame.  Normally this will happen very fast but if the gas log is new or has not been used in more than a month lighting the pilot can take as much as five minutes.  Once the pilot is burning you can notice there is a cylindrical shape mounted to be in the pilot flame.  This is the thermocouple.  When heat is transferred through the thermocouple it generates a small millivolt electrical charge.  The electrical charge travels through a copper line to the safety valve.  At the end of the thermocouple copper line is a piece of steel that becomes a magnet once the electric charge travels through the copper.  Once the heat has created a magnetic charge the valve will be held open by the magnet mounted inside the safety valve getting pushed open by the reverse terminal magnet charged by the thermocouple.  Now we can release the valve without the pilot going out.

Most manual gas log fireplace valves will have an “on” position beyond the “pilot”position so once the valve is holding itself open and is able to allow gas flow turn the valve to “on” and enjoy the fireplace.

Finally, all vent-free gas log fireplaces will also have a ODS mounted somewhere.  Usually attached to the pilot because it is easiest to disrupt gas flow by disrupting the magnetic charge an Oxygen Depletion Sensor reads particles in the air in order to stop gas flow if the flames are consuming dangerous levels of oxygen.  The oxygen depletion sensor is like a safety net that makes sure there are safe, clean levels of oxygen around the fireplace so no one gets sick from the ventless burner burning too dirty.  Many people try to manipulate their unvented gas log by adding different or more logs or accessories that change the flame pattern.  The ODS will stop the fireplace from becoming dangerous.  It is safe to add ember-glow stuffing and other related accessories to make the ventless gas log fireplace look more realistic, more rustic or more contemporary but we cannot manipulate the flames without taking the safety features into consideration.

For more information about vent-free gas logs check us out at www.grill-repair.com or call us at 954.247.4552.

stainless steel vent free gas log fire glass fireplace burner with copper glass

Contemporary ventless gas logs with alternative designs utilizing fire shapes, fire balls, fire stones and fire glass are also available for safe modern design fireplaces hearths.

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Custom U Shaped Outdoor Kitchen

This new custom outdoor kitchen and bar was just completed this week in south Florida.  The built in bbq grill is an American Outdoor Grill by Robert H Peterson group, the same company who manufacturers FireMagic gas grills.

The AOG built in barbeque grill ships with or without an infrared rotisserie burner and kit so customers who know

built in AOG bbq grill with access doors

they will not use the rotisserie do not have to pay for it.  For the customer who will use the rotisserie the infrared back burner model that comes with the spit rod, motor, mounting bracket, counter weight and forks only costs about $200. more than the model that does not have the rotisserie.

The American Outdoor Grill is also able to be converted to an infrared gas grill very easily.  The “U” shaped convection burners simply slide out and an infrared grill burner can slide right in.  Most home owners find the conversion easy enough to install the infrared grill burner without the assistance of our technical support team.

Below the built in BBQ

custom outdoor kitchen grill island with built in refrigeration

grill is a set of 304 stainless steel built in outdoor kitchen access doors for access to storage and the LP gas tank.  We also installed an electrical panel to operate the rotisserie motor, lights and any electrical appliance the home owner decides to use (coffee maker, blender, etc)

All of the custom outdoor kitchens we build are manufactured with materials that cannot burn and the concrete board was specifically invented for use in homes to combat damage in case of fires so it will not smolder or transfer heat.  This allows home owners to design their custom built outdoor summer kitchen with inexpensive refrigeration.  Often outdoors UL rated refrigeration is built in because electrical accessories that carry a UL outdoors rating are insulated so a spark is impossible.  Outdoor electrical appliances can cause a fire if the condenser gets wet and shorts out because this causes sparks.  Even marine grade, pressure treated and chemical treated wood can eventually dry out enough to burn.

built in bbq grill island custom built on site in florida

The cypress panels are made with architectural foam that is designed for use outdoors and can be customized to mimic the appearance of any kind of wood.  We have also used architectural foam to mimic marble, coral, other stone work and a dozen varieties of wood.  In reality an outdoor kitchen cannot have any wood within ten feet of the barbecue because of the obvious affect of the flames.

On the outside of this custom outdoor kitchen the grill island displays dry stacked cultured stone ledge stone.  There are dozens of different sizes, textures and color combinations of ledge stone.  We use the dry stack items because many customers have not seen stone work up close and do not realize there is a lot of grout some styles.  We have only offered the dry stack stone for many years now in order to better meet our customers expectations.

The outdoor kitchen counter top finishes at standard counter height thirty-six inches.  However, this customer also desired to entertain outdoors and use the backyard for dining and serving.  We built a bar height counter top with the custom fabricated granite slab finishing at forty-two inches to allow for bar stool chairs.

Cubby holes below the bar make the grill island more useful when serving guests.  Many home owners are not thrilled about the idea of cubby holes when we are still in the design phase of development.  However, cubby holes are like having additional counter space without using actual counter space.  Extra glasses, a stack of napkins, plates and other entertaining necessities can be stored in the open air cubby hole for easy access without worrying about the wind blowing these items all over the yard.  The counter top is left for serving and preparing instead of needing space for storage.

This custom outdoor summer kitchen built in bbq grill island also has a sink with running water and a drain attachment.  Although many home owners will not require a sink it is always easier to wash up for dinner or clean out a glass and wipe down a spatula with an outdoor sink built into the grill island.  A simple drop in bar sink with a extendable faucet is very inexpensive to install but this installation design works best with a tile counter.  With granite custom fabricated for the outdoor kitchen the under mounted sink is a much nicer idea although the fabrication and materials usually exceed $500.

Under mounting the sink involves cutting the sink out of the granite slab and mounting the bowl of the sink to the fabricated granite.  Fabricators cut out the opening and polish the granite edge so the granite opens right into the sink.  The fucet is cut through the granite in its own hole and can be mounted anywhere on the counter for additional convenience.

We custom built outdoor kitchens on-site every day all day all year long here in south Florida and we have been building custom built in bbq grill islands for over ten years.  This is a beautiful example of the outdoor kitchen.  The design is useful for grilling, serving and entertaining.  The accessories that are built into the grill island are useful and well thought out for maximum effectiveness.   The granite, ledge stone, cypress and American made 304 stainless steel built in grill island accessories compliment each other for a beautifully unique design that will keep giving for many decades.

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Why did my barbecue grill control valve go bad?  This is one question we hear more often than I would have guessed.  The barbeque grill valve is a very simple machine that is like a simple ball valve that slide across an oval shaped opening allowing more flow as the pieces slide across one another.

Within the control valve is a body housing the sliding parts and there is usually a few notches and a spring to cause some tension so it feels right for the user.  The inside of the valve does have – and need – lubrication grease.  When a valve goes bad it is usually because there has been a fire in the barbecue at some point and the lubrication got hot enough to overheat, boil and change form.  This stops the grease from properly lubricating the valve.

Control valve for DCS 48" barbecue grill

Once there is a grease fire the valves will usually get a little less smooth when turning on and off but usually this change is too slight to notice.  If it is noticed we usually assume it is part of leaving high-quality machines outdoors and the tension is assumed to be dirt or grease.

A few weeks after the grease fire the knob will not turn.  The control valve will lock or freexe because there is too much frixtion insode the valve and the pieces of steel or brass will not slide across one another.  Most people will try to turn it anyway.  With a little lubricating or de-freasing spray we will try to force the knob to turn and the control valve for the barbecue will break.

Unfortunately a damaged barbecue grill control valve cannot be repaired.  The valve has to be replaced with a new barbecue control valve.

control valve for new ducane barbeque grill

This control valve for the new Ducane barbecues is attached to the manifold. This valve has a rotary module inside the valve and an electrode bracketed to the control valve.  This allows the knob to create a spark that will ignite the BBQ burner as soon as the control valve allows gas into the burner.

Installing replacement control valves to your barbecue grill manifold.  The control valve attaches to the manifold. The manifold is a pipe that is usually either sprayed with a primer, galvanized or somehow protected.

bbq grill control valve for charbroil and Grand turbo, Turbo Select models

The manifold in any barbacue grill is attached to the gas line.  The manifold is fed the natural gas or vaporized liquid propane and the gas fills the pipe.  The control valves mount differently to the manifold depending on the design of the bbq grill.  The drawing here is of a control valve used to repair Charbroil barbecues and Grand Turbo and Turbo Select barbecue grill models.  This valve has a clamp on the bottom to allow the valve to be tightened using the screws on the clamp that fit around the manifold pipe.

barbecue grill control valve replacement for DCS gas bbq grill

The second valve shown here is a control valve replacement among the BBQ grill parts used to repair DCS barbecue grills.  The valve is very similar to the Charbroil valves listed above except the DCS (Dynamic Cooking Systems) replacement control valve has a threaded bolt that attached to the manifold.

Both barbecue control valves have to have an orifice attached to the tip that fits into the grill burner.  The orifice is the same in a lot of different valves because there are not a lot of variation.  Primarily a spud style orifice screws into the tip of the valve and a hood style orifice screws onto the valve.  The orifice is like the jet in a carburetor; it allows a specified amount of gas to flow through a small hole in the tip.

Converting a barbecue grill from natural gas to propane or propane to natural gas is completed by changing the orifice on the valve.  Propane orifices have a much smaller hole in them than natural gas orifices because liquid propane is a tighter gas.  Propane is actually a liquid with a very low boiling temperature.  When liquid propane boils it does the same thing water and other liquids do — it vaporizes and becomes a gaseous form of itself.  Because propane is still very cold when it reaches a vaporisation (boiling) point the gas is very tight and needs a smaller opening than natural gas.

viking gas bbq grill control valve and orifice

As seen in the Viking gas grill control valve here the orifice attaches to the tip of the control valve.  The orifice is installed inside the venturi of the barbecue grill burner so gas is sprayed directly into the burner.  This hood style orifice is the same orifice that will go onto gas grill control valves for Charbroil, DCS, OCI, Grand Turbo, Turbo Select and many other valves to repair gas grills.

Turbo STS control valve and igniter.

This is a control valve with rotary module and electrode.  They were standard on the Turbo STS 720-0057 models made in China.  Turbo STS gas bbq grill control valves.They commonly had bad o rings if over heated which was a common problem with the maintenance of that particular model because of the heat shields/briquettes.  Grease would accumulate and eventually a minor grease fire followed.  The heat from the grease fire would be either very hot and damage the o-ring that sealed gas flow through the manifold or less extreme fires would boil the grease inside the valve housing.  The former problem caused a leak at the manifold and the latter caused the valves to “freeze” eventually locking in place and breaking when forced.

Once a control valve has been overheated and it starts to freeze and lock in place there is very little that can be done to repair the grill part.  As normal maintenance spray de-greaser regularily on and around the valve.  Do not ever take the valve apart.  Also, use a lubrucant around the valve stem where the knob stem attachment rotates.

Finally there are a number of bbq grill control valves that are adjustable.  Although the function will probably be missed if not pointed out there is an adjustment screw in the stem.  Remove the control knob from the front panel of the barbecue grill.  The valve stem on some bbq grill valves appears split in half.  Most valve stems will have a flat section called a “D” because of the resultant profile when the round shape has a flat section removed.  When the valve stem is split it is often because the control knobs can be made tighter or looser and weather and environment affect the plastic knob.  Some control valves will have a very (very) small set screw down inside the valve stem.  Put the eye to the valve so the stem is pointing right at the eyeball and look down the valve stem into the body if the valve.  If there is a small set screw inside the valve stem this adjustment will allow the entire range of the valve to be altered.  When altered the amount of gas at “high” will become higher or lower but the “low” function will also raise or lower relative to the motion of the set screw.

When a valve begins to leak at the manifold it can usually be repaired by resealing the connection but if the valve body is leaking it must be replaced.

For further information, to ask questions or to find gas barbecue grill replacement parts contact us at:

Grill-Repair.com

954.2.Grill.2 — 954.247.4552.

service@grill-repair.com

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Grill-Repair.com service

This is a new place to locate local service technicians like Grill-Repair.com with barbecue grill replacement parts and with the ability to clean and repair all model barbecue and gas log fireplace.

Check it out.

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New Custom Built Outdoor Summer Kitchen

This new custom outdoor kitchen was designed by the homeowner – yes that’s him in the background – for dining and serving at the bar.  The built in bbq grill is an American Outdoor Grill by R.H. Peterson and we converted one of the blue-flame burners into an infrared sear burner.   The granite and the texture and the dry stacked ledge stone were chosen by the homeowner because he prefers all white shades in the yard.  The Platinum color for the ledge stone and the Bianco Romano slab of custom fabricated granite have a lot of white and enough texture in the stone and other colors in the granite to complement one another.

Custom outdoor kitchen with AOG gas grill, ledgestone and granite counter.

Custom outdoor summer kitchen with built in AOG gas bbq grill.

Left side is a pull out cooler drawer built into the island face.   When pulled open this drawer has an igloo cooler in it.  The design allows the cooler to be removed and filled, emptied and cleaned very easily.  Inbetween the grill’s built in access doors and the cooler drawers are two cubby holes.  The cubby holes have granite on the bottom to make them easily wiped clean.  Sealed inside the cubby holes are a cool idea that allows paper plates, cups, napkins, mixers and more to be used while grilling and drinking without using counter space for storage.  Also the wind will not blow napkins et al all over the yard if they are inside the cubby holes.  Usually a squirt from the hose is enough to keep them clean.

The AOG built in barbecue grill has three main burners with an optional infrared rotisserie burner.  Also any of the three blue-flame “U” burners can be removed and swapped with an infrared sear burner.  The infrared sear burner will produce over a thousand degrees within one minute of pressing the ignition.  Pressurized gas or propane generate tremendous heat.

For more custom outdoor kitchens contact grill-repair or visit the Grill Repair website.

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