A few Qs about my new Weber Q

Hi All
Wonderful forum.

I recently received my Q200 after having a Weber Chargrill for years. I've always wanted a gas grill here in Japan.

I've done a lot of searching and reading on the forum in the last couple days, so hopefully I won't be too clueless as a new user, but to some extent, that's inevitable.

Some Qs:
1. One thing I'll miss about the chargrill is the ability to indirect cook. I see that Phil has lots of posts up about this...maybe there's a place where all these "articles" could (do?) live as a resource...stickly note, etc?

2. The griddle. I got one for the Q and so far have been a bit dissappointed with the heat. At the moment, I'm only using the portable gas canisters (sorting out LP gas issues here in Japan) and even on high, it's not really "sizzling". The griddle does well with pancakes and eggs, but hashbrowns were a near bust, and sausages/bacon don't really sizzle with zest. I've not read any issues with this...experience?

(I should add here that the iron grill grating itself gets plenty hot. The flame just does not seem hot enough to heat the larger mass of the griddle to anywhere near the same temps)

3. Thanks again to all contributing members for some great reading so far!

Cheers

Jim
Kanagawa, Japan

Hi Jim,

I was just thinking that most Japanese households (in Tokyo anyway) run their cooking and water heating on Natural Gas, so I thought maybe you might be better to have your Q200 converted to NG rather than a canister propane gas.
You may have to get a gas outlet put in your place for outdoor use.
That way you can then not have to worry about running out of gas and have a longer pre-heat session with the griddle before you put the food on.Once very hot, cast iron as you know holds it's heat very well but may take longer for the Q to get it to the desired heat.

My wife who is Japanese said that Kanagawa should have NG unless it's way out into the countryside but she wasn't sure.
The Weber Q series do have a NG conversion kit avail but I'm not sure if avail in Japan so you might have to get it sent from USA.

Don't know if this helps or not ...but I hope it does.

Cheers

Davo

Thanks for the reply, Davo
I had noticed your avatar, I wondered about your Eastern connection...

Our home is hooked up for LP gas. We have the big tanks in the back of our house. As far as I know, the law only allows for a 10 pound tank to be connected to outdoor gas grills.

Also, the tank connection is different, so I had to buy and extra one and "Frankenstein" it to the local connector. This tank connector has a built in regulator, so now, I will just have to see if the pressure this reg delivers is compatable with the Q burner.

If all else fails, I have a backup plan of getting US spec tanks from the nearby military base, but that depends on others to help, so I'd prefer to make the local conversion.

Thanks for the tip on the griddle...I'll keep trying to fine tune it...

Jim

Jim:

I don't have a griddle so I can't speak from experience, but did you try letting it preheat for a REALLY long time? Like, maybe when you turn on your grill, place the griddle in too, and go away for 20 minutes. When you come back, it should be hot enough to sear a steak.

The key is really to let it preheat. If you don't preheat, your food will act as a heat sink of sorts and it will be hard for you to get a good sizzle/sear.

Jim
The griddle takes 15 minutes to get up to temp and if you are having burner issues then it is an additional problem. Blue flame about 5/8" - 3/4" high is what you should have. Lid temp between 425 and 475.
I don't use a griddle. I use a grill sheet refer this thread BBQ Grill Sheet. With the grill sheet you can do the grilling that you normally do with a griddle. I do eggs in a cut down muffin tray. This gives me great shaped eggs and are easily cooked.

I see that you used the veggie pan for fish, that being the case I am thinking that your temp is ok.

The gas issue is a pain in the a.... especially going from country to country. For gas there are 5 elements that need to be in balance: gas type, flow, pressure, air/gas mix and jet/burner hole size.
One hint. if you are going to "frankenstein" the set-up change from where the hose attaches to the BBQ to the tank connection in toto. use local regulator etc. Have as few adaptors as possible.

Cheers

Hi Pinny
Thanks for the suggestion. Next time I'll try to let it warm longer...

Phil
I like the look of that product, but they won't ship to Japan, it seems
I'll have to see if I can work that out a different way.

On the frank, we're of like minds. I'll be only changing the tank side connection, which integrates a local regulator. I will be trying it out in the next day or two...

Keeping my fingers crossed...

BTW...funny how Weber was absolutely no help on this. I had a local "expert" who supplied me with the hardware and pressure of the local regulators. I supplied this information to Weber and asked them if the pressure was within the Q's parameters.

The lame CS rep told me several times (once on initial, twice on follwup) "Unfortunately we do not have that information; it is not released to us. The valves and orifices are pre-set in the factory and are not adjustable therefore they do not give us the information you are requesting."

Funny that...the unit weight isn't adjustable, but they release that information...LOL

Each time, she ended the email with: "If you need further assistance, please let me know."

My thought, "FURTHER assistance...LOL...if you could be of ANY assistance, that would be great"

End rant...

Jim

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> BTW...funny how Weber was absolutely no help on this. I had a local "expert" who supplied me with the hardware and pressure of the local regulators. I supplied this information to Weber and asked them if the pressure was within the Q's parameters.

The lame CS rep told me several times (once on initial, twice on follwup) "Unfortunately we do not have that information; it is not released to us. The valves and orifices are pre-set in the factory and are not adjustable therefore they do not give us the information you are requesting."
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's all about product liability. If they supply the data and you change something and something happens, they would be liable. It doesn't matter if you are an engineer, or what. Companys today would rather not sell the product than supply the end user information to enable modifications to be done to their product, especially when there is a perceived safety risk.

Hope it works out for you.

Regards

Hi,

I live in Tokyo and was so happy to find your thread regarding the Weber Q gas grill...

I have a new Q200 model purchased from the US two years ago (yes, two years ago) and only recently took it out of the box to realize that the Japan gas connector standards are different.

It seems like from reading your thread, there's a way to retrofit the gas regulator/valves for Japan standards. How and what do I need to do this? Is there any servicer that can do this for me (I'm not very mechanically saavy...)?

Thanks!
Grace

mr chang, you might want to call weber or visit a good local gas company and see if they have some pieces to make it work.

Hi George,
Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, I tried Weber CS and basically they said the Weber Q could not be used in Japan and could not recommend any retrofit adjustments (voids their warranty).
Gas grills are not as popular in Japan so there are not many resources here to draw upon.
So I'm hoping that if there are others out there with the same issue, they could share their experience!
Grace

could their system be the same as australia ? do they sell the q in japan ?

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by G Chang:
Hi George,
Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, I tried Weber CS and basically they said the Weber Q could not be used in Japan and could not recommend any retrofit adjustments (voids their warranty).
Gas grills are not as popular in Japan so there are not many resources here to draw upon.
So I'm hoping that if there are others out there with the same issue, they could share their experience!
Grace </div></BLOCKQUOTE>