Left burner won't stay lit, even after replacing it


 
B

Bruce Cichowlas

New member
I have a Genesis 310 with three burners. The center and right burners work great, but the left one won't stay lit. The spark looks just the same in position and intensity between all three burners. Sometimes I see a flame rise briefly from front to back when it is sparked, but it won't stay lit. If I turn off the other burners, I can hear that there is some sort of burning within the left burner, even after the sparker is turned off. This internal burning sound will last for up to around a minute but eventually stops. If I tap the burner while this is going on, sometimes a flame will rise briefly from the burner.

So, I tried cleaning the burner, checking the screen, changing the screen setting, comparing how the burner fit to how the other ones fit and everything I could think of. Physically it looked just the same. If the screws were easy to remove for the other burners, I would have tried interchanging it with another to see what I could learn.

I found sets of three Weber burners exactly like mine online, so I ordered a set. When I replaced the left burner, it still had exactly the same problems.

So what do you think is going on?

Thanks,
Bruce
 
Hi,

Have you called Weber Customer Service? They can be very helpful for unusual issues like this.

Has the grill ever been in an accident (like tipped over?)
 
Is this NG or LPG? Did it work before and this just started ? If NG, has the been any changes in your NG system (added a new appliance, ran a new line, that kind of thing ?) If LPG, it's possible (though doubtful) that it might be your regulator. Another thing is that it
might be an obstruction in the valve or manifold. This is probably a bad idea, but it's what I'd do. Do you happen to have an air compressor ? If not, how about a water hose with a "jet" type nozzle ? Air is preferable, but water will do in a pinch. Disconnect the gas line from the manifold. Make sure the first two knobs are in the off position and open the third knob up. Put the air/water nozzle up to the hole in the manifold and shoot the air/water in. Turn the knob from low to high and back to low while the water is going through.
 
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Dave you're giving some bad advice here. First NEVER run water (high pressure or not) through the manifold, also be careful with an air compressor as the manifold and it's components are not designed to handle high pressure. Remember the gas coming into the manifold is only at 1/2lb PSI or less (max 11"WC).
If the other 2 burners light and burn "normally" and it's isolated to just one burner than a complete disassembly of the manifold and valve is in order or a manifold replacement (depending how handy you are) as if the other 2 are fine than it is not a regulator as if it was a regulator it would affect all burners equally
 
It has never been in an accident. It uses a propane tank, which I get from Home Depot. I don't have an air compressor.

I'd really like to try to get one of the other burners out and exchange it with one on the left to diagnose the problem further, but the screws are badly corroded at the full side. Any reasonable way to get those screws out?

I wanted to remove the whole front panel so that I could look at the manifold(?), but two of the screws (with hex nut heads) are so corroded to the cabinet, I think they are impossible to remove without doing something drastic. Any suggestions on this? Thanks.

I could call Weber, but I didn't think they would deal with an out-of-warranty situation. I think it is the third summer with this grill.

Bruce
 
I'd really like to try to get one of the other burners out and exchange it with one on the left to diagnose the problem further, but the screws are badly corroded at the full side. Any reasonable way to get those screws out?

In your first post you said you replaced the offending burner. So why is now you cannot get it out? Exchanging the burners is useless (unless you really did not change the burner).

I wanted to remove the whole front panel so that I could look at the manifold(?), but two of the screws (with hex nut heads) are so corroded to the cabinet, I think they are impossible to remove without doing something drastic. Any suggestions on this? Thanks.

Again how did you replace a burner previously without removing the panel? I am not trying to be a wise guy here but if you read carefully what you posted you can fully understand the confusion you're creating.
Again a small air compressor is a great asset (providing you know how to use it effectively) they can be gotten for as little as $39 at Harbor Freight and with a small kit with a an air hose and some nozzles they are indispensable for working on things.

Also a system wide issue (like a bad regulator, delivery issues and what have you) will affect all the burners not just one. Also if a burner was "clogged" you would have flames shooting out of the control panel.
Re-analyze how you want to post this and make it a little less confusing. Love to help but impossible given what you're posting
 
LMichaels, I did remove the left burner and replace it, but removing the screw at the back was difficult and I didn't want to take a chance trying to remove the other working burners the same way.

On my grill, after you manage to remove the screw at the far end of the burner, the burner can be pulled out, away from the control. You can't remove it too far unless you remove the spark igniter, which I eventually managed to slide off and put on the new burner.

I don't know if i could post clarifying pictures here. Maybe I could use tinypic or similar.

Kevin, I think you might be right about the control. That's the sort of thing I would know for sure if I removed one of the working burners and traded it with the one on the left. If the problem were still on the left, it might well be the control.

Bruce
 
Bruce the prescribed way to remove those burners (at least what I read when I put my sister's 310 together) is the control panel and manifold should come off. It's treated just like the Summit. The burners pull out through the front of the grill.
Swapping the burners around will do nothing for you. The issue is not the burner. My guess is there is debris inside the manifold that has gotten into the valave on that burner.
You need to get that manifold off and cleaned out. Once you do you will have a working grill again. But you're going at it like the person that replaces the battery in their car because it won't start but there is a rod sticking out of the engine block.
The burner is nothing but an empty tube, there is nothing other than a complete blockage that would stop it from working.
 
thanks for the info Larry. WRT the regulator, on first thought, I figured that any problem would manifest itself across any/all of the burners. But then I wondered, is it possible that there's enough pressure to get to the first and second valves, and into the burner tubes but not enough to get all the way to the 3rd valve ? Wasn't sure one way or the other, so I hedged. WRT the water or air and the manifold, I gt that they are low pressure but figured that the manifold is just a steel pipe or square tube with threaded openings and that the valves are brass. Figured that they would be fine with short blasts of air/water. Thanks again for the correction.
 
Air at low pressure sure but never water. You'll never get the water out and it will cause all kind of corrosion. Also because a regulator and hose is so cheap there is no reason not to try a new one. Just go to Home Depot or such and buy a generic one. Ya never know strange things happen. Hopefully he can get the adjustment back on track. Always amazes me when something goes wrong the first thing people do is start changing adjustments. Stuff does not magically "unadjust" LOL
 
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