cleaning ss burner tubes


 
J

J Sheriff

TVWBB Member
Has anyone tried cleaning the corrosion on stainless steel burner tubes by soaking them in a solution of white vinegar and water? This works great for removing corrosion from steel tool handles.

The slits in the tubes for the silver summit series are hard to clean. I've used a new utility knife blade but its really time consuming. Using a wire brush didn't help much.
 
It might work well. But there's no real reason to clean the corrosion on the stainless burner tubes or flavorizors. It will just come back and isn't even very visible even when you raise the hood.

For the burner tubes most people just brush the tubes off and clear the holes of they get clogged.
 
Greg M said:
It might work well. But there's no real reason to clean the corrosion on the stainless burner tubes or flavorizors. It will just come back and isn't even very visible even when you raise the hood.

For the burner tubes most people just brush the tubes off and clear the holes of they get clogged.
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I don't care at all about the corrosion ON the tubes. Its the corrosion IN the tube slots (holes). If you look at them closely they have corrosion IN the slots (making the slots smaller) and using a brush hasn't worked.
 
I misunderstood you. Yes I've had that problem too. Have you tried using a bent paper clip to clear the holes? I use a combination of the paper clip and a brush. That's always worked well for me.
 
I suggest simply running a wire brush over the holes or if necessary, use a wire brush attached to a drill or angle grinder. It takes literally 5 minutes to clean up the tubes. Rust is not an issue on the tubes IMO unless you are trying to resell the grill. The rust does not affect the performance as long as you keep the area right over the holes cleaned up. I have never found the need to use a paper clip, drill or any other device to clean out the holes on a Genesis burner tube...Q grills with their tiny holes are a different story.
 
Bruce said:
I suggest simply running a wire brush over the holes or if necessary, use a wire brush attached to a drill or angle grinder. It takes literally 5 minutes to clean up the tubes. Rust is not an issue on the tubes IMO unless you are trying to resell the grill. The rust does not affect the performance as long as you keep the area right over the holes cleaned up. I have never found the need to use a paper clip, drill or any other device to clean out the holes on a Genesis burner tube...Q grills with their tiny holes are a different story.
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Yes. My post states that I've already tried the wire brush and asked if anyone has tried using vinegar and water to clean out the tubes. I guess I'm on my own since everyone keeps telling me to do what I've already done.
 
I appreciate you letting us know how it comes out. I am going to try some rust remover also in the next week or two and will post that as well.
 
J Sheriff said:
Yes. My post states that I've already tried the wire brush and asked if anyone has tried using vinegar and water to clean out the tubes. I guess I'm on my own since everyone keeps telling me to do what I've already done.
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J Sheriff,

I know our members well enough to know they aren't trying to ignore your request or brush you off. There is a lot of experience here, but certainly not the answer to every question.

In answer to your direct question, I have not tried white vinegar on stainless burner tubes. I did have good success with it on light surface rust on flat 304 stainless exterior panels. Burner tubes are obviously very different with high heat burn in compounding the problems. I can see the possibility of the burner holes corroding beyond just solvent (vinegar or rust remover) ability to take care of. In that case, the suggestion to use a paper clip or appropriate small drill bit is not out of line.

I have used a rust remover called EVAPORUST (available on Amazo). It isn't cheap, and it does take time to work, but the good thing about it is that it does not rely on caustic chemical to break down rust. I don't know whether it would work for you or even if it is cost effective.

At some point, depending on the time and materials you have on hand, it might be worthwhile to just buy a new set. There are a number of after-market, low priced options. Here is an example - not saying they are the best but look at the price vs. your time:

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B011S23ODI/tvwb-20

Now, if you happen to have the older Weber 304 (non-magnetic) stainless burners, I might be willing to put more time into a set of those. Still, if they are corroding anyway you do have to ask how much more time and effort?

Best wishes! We DO want to be as helpful as we can to fellow members.
 
Yes I can see where the eyeglass screwdriver being stiffer and stronger would probably work better than the paper clip on severely clogged/rusted burner holes. They are cheap too. You can usually find them at the dollar store.
 
Chris Allingham said:
I know cleaning the burner tube holes can be tedious, I've had to do it several times over the years on my Summit 450. My favorite tool is not a chemical or vinegar but a straight-blade eyeglass screwdriver. Perfect for punching rust out of rectangular holes.

See photo here:

http://virtualwebergasgrill.com/2017/05/spring-cleaning-gas-grill/#more-1952
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That is a good idea. I use a new utility knife blade but its tedious work. Maybe the screwdriver is easier - similar concept, though.

I was trying to avoid having to dig the corrosion out of the holes. If someone had tried it and didn't have success I didn't want to bother coming up with a tank that would hold the tubes.
 
Jon Tofte said:
J Sheriff,

I know our members well enough to know they aren't trying to ignore your request or brush you off. There is a lot of experience here, but certainly not the answer to every question.

In answer to your direct question, I have not tried white vinegar on stainless burner tubes. I did have good success with it on light surface rust on flat 304 stainless exterior panels. Burner tubes are obviously very different with high heat burn in compounding the problems. I can see the possibility of the burner holes corroding beyond just solvent (vinegar or rust remover) ability to take care of. In that case, the suggestion to use a paper clip or appropriate small drill bit is not out of line.

I have used a rust remover called EVAPORUST (available on Amazo). It isn't cheap, and it does take time to work, but the good thing about it is that it does not rely on caustic chemical to break down rust. I don't know whether it would work for you or even if it is cost effective.

At some point, depending on the time and materials you have on hand, it might be worthwhile to just buy a new set. There are a number of after-market, low priced options. Here is an example - not saying they are the best but look at the price vs. your time:

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B011S23ODI/tvwb-20

Now, if you happen to have the older Weber 304 (non-magnetic) stainless burners, I might be willing to put more time into a set of those. Still, if they are corroding anyway you do have to ask how much more time and effort?

Best wishes! We DO want to be as helpful as we can to fellow members.
Click to expand...

I have several old sets that I've saved and I just wanted to clean up the holes rather than buy new ones. Of course buying new ones is the easiest solution. My weber is 15 years old and at least one of the sets I have are probably 304 SS - I'll check them.
 
J Sheriff said:
I have several old sets that I've saved and I just wanted to clean up the holes rather than buy new ones. Of course buying new ones is the easiest solution. My weber is 15 years old and at least one of the sets I have are probably 304 SS - I'll check them.
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Yes !!! my oldest set of burner tubes is non-magnetic. I chucked up a soft wire brush in my drill press and they clean up pretty easily. I could put a shine on them but they'll just corrode again. The burner slots have sort of lost definition over the years - the long edge of the slots is sort of rounded from corrosion - we'll see how they do.
 
Chris Allingham said:
I know cleaning the burner tube holes can be tedious, I've had to do it several times over the years on my Summit 450. My favorite tool is not a chemical or vinegar but a straight-blade eyeglass screwdriver. Perfect for punching rust out of rectangular holes.

See photo here:

http://virtualwebergasgrill.com/2017/05/spring-cleaning-gas-grill/#more-1952
Click to expand...

Same for me. I have a small screwdriver that I have sharpened a but and I use that for the holes especially on the Wolf. Something about that grill design causes the holes to close up at times where even a wire brush will not open them. And they are very heavy 304SS BTW. Also had that issue a lot on the Summit 450 but not much if at all on the Genesis grills. The Q grills too seem to get that issue
 
I suppose I should get in and do my grill burners soon. I haven't done them since I put them in two summers ago.
 
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