Q100 - weak heat problem

Greetings all, 1st time poster to the Q forum. I have a problem w. my Q100 that hopefully someone has a silver bullet. I picked one up used a few monhs back and have been having a hard time with generating heat. When I turn on the gas (20 lb tank) the flame starts off weak and slowly circles the burner until after about 20-30 seconds the whole burner has flame. But even then the flame is low and in cold weather will not heat the grill enough to sear anything. The holes in the burner are not clogged or anything. One thing I did notice is that the flame changes very little between low and high. Any thoughts?

I'm no expert on this, but could the burner tube where the tank connects have some trash in it - spider web or something? Are the holes on top of the burner clear (I clean the ones on my Q220 about twice a year with a fine wire)?

Are you turning on the gas at the tank slowly and giving the gas line plenty of time to fill before turning on the burner control knob and lighting the gas?

My 220 was have a minor issue with this kind of problem and I swapped the 20 lb tank out for one of the little cylinders and the fire was great. I figured out the problem was in the way I turned the tank on.

If all else fails, call Weber!

Good luck - I hope you enjoy your Q100 as much as I've enjoyed my Q220.

Pat

Ryan,
Try what Pat said about turning off the gas at the tank, and you then may need to disconnect from the Q, reconnect, and turn the tank back on very slowly.

The problem seems to be a regulator made for lower flow start pressures, and it can trip with the larger tanks.
Another way to test it is to use a small canister to see if it works okay then.

Thanks for the replies. It seems to be a pressure issue because when I open the tank valve and let pressure build the initial flame is strong, but it quickly drops off. I'll post my solution when I find it.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ryan Silva:
Thanks for the replies. It seems to be a pressure issue because when I open the tank valve and let pressure build the initial flame is strong, but it quickly drops off. I'll post my solution when I find it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Regulator

It was the regulator. Tried "resetting" the safety trigger to no avail, so I bought a new adapter hose which fixed the problem....now on to splitting a 20 lb tank between the q and performer. But that seems to entail another adapter hose ($20+) and the y adapter ($40+). The convenience doesn't seem worth it yet. Thanks for the advice.