Q2000 Low Flame Fixes and Fuel Comparison


 

Scotty A A

New member
First off - what a great site and a wealth of knowledge. I found TVWBB while looking for a fix for the low flame / incomplete flame I was seeing in my Q2000.
After reading many, many threads I felt a bit enlightened regarding the regulators / safety / by pass etc.
I mainly use my Q for lots of tailgating at concerts and football games. The last one I had problems getting the burner to light fully - all the way around.
I took the grates off and with a small stainless steel brush I scrubbed the top of the burner around the orifice holes - by doing this, I was able to "drag" the flame around the entire burner to get it lit.
The down side was still low flame and it took quite a while to cook on. (I was using 1lb bottles for fuel) After this I started the search for the fix, which lead me here.

Last night, I cleaned the burner again and tried to inspect the gas orifices - they "seemed" to be clear but I wanted to be sure. I have a fairly extensive machine shop in my basement - so I selected a small drill bit (HSS) that would fit inside the orifice.
I did not want to enlarge them - just clean them out. What I found is that the sizes are very inconsistent. It appears that when the burner is manufactured, all the orifices are drilled when the tube is straight, then it is bent to shape. The holes on the bends are elongated and narrow. The actual size of an unaltered orifice seems to be aprox. .048" I used a .046" in a Dremel on very low speed. With this, I was able to clear every hole in about 5 mins.
The appearance of the holes before cleaning looked like they were are fine...nope - I got all sorts of carbon and gunk out on each one.

I also cleaned the spider screen with carb cleaner which seemed to dissolve some other gunk.

When I went to test fire, I used the 1lb bottle first. Control knob off. I waited maybe 30 seconds and moved it to the ignite position. Checked (sniff test) that LP was flowing from the burner and ignited.
One click - full light. Nice full blue flame all the way around. Noticeable differences in flame height for all settings. Low produced a 1/4" high, full was 3/4"
Ran a heat test - 565 deg F in about 6 mins.

After this - I changed over to a 6' hose (Weber) and a 20# tank. Ran the recommended connections/slow valve opening / wait procedure and same result - full light - same flame heights and same heat times.
VERY VERY Happy.

The last grilling experience was beyond frustrating but my faith is restored.

Adding a thermometer to the lid tonight and ready for the next concert.
Thanks again for the wealth of knowledge!
 
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Glad you got your Q200 back in shape. I need to do that to mine. I just acquired it a month or so ago and I knew right away that it needed some cleaning. It gets up over 400 but takes over ten minutes even for that. I also noticed that I get much more heat on the right (control knob) side of the grill. I am sure a good cleaning will solve it all.

I just decided that will be my afternoon project as I have to do some bacon wrapped pork tenderloins for dinner tonight.
 
I was really amazed how much gunk - carbon and probably burned marinade was actually "inside" the gas orifices - the drill cleaning really was a game changer. I normally keep the rest of the grill very clean, but had never gone this far.
Clearly needed it. I also think that standardizing the hole sizes - the ones on the bends were noticeably smaller, that it contributed immensely to getting good high uniform heat.
 
Yup, noticed this issue many years ago. I now clean mine at least 3 times a year and I don't use mine that much. Just watch the flames and they will let you know it's time for a cleaning.
 

 

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