Weber Genesis Burner Issue - Need Advice


 

Joshua R

New member
Here's the condensed story:

Brand new Genesis II E-310 arrived several weeks ago, and the burners were only partially igniting and the flames were "dancing" up and down the burner bar. I called Weber, they sent a new regulator -- no luck. Then they sent a new manifold -- no luck. So I exchanged the grill assuming it was somehow defective -- but I put the new one together today and it's doing the exact same thing.

I'm baffled now, and hoping someone here can provide some insight. I've tried with 2 different LP bottles (all 20lb), same problem with both. I've tried clearing air from the line, I've tried opening the LP valve at a snail's pace -- but can't seem to find a solution here.

Any ideas? Has anyone seen this before? Weber customer service hasn't been able to diagnose so far... Here's a video showing what it looks like without the flavorizer bar.
 
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Looks like you definitely have a problem there.
Did it ever run correctly?
Does that happen on all three burners?
Have you pulled the burners to see if there is anything clogging them?
Are you sure the valves are inserted into the burner tubes correctly?
Check for leaks starting at the tank, the regulator, the entire hose, the manifold and valves.
 
Definitely too much air getting into the mix. 2 grills and 2 different LP tanks doing the same thing. First and simplest is where did you get the LP tanks and where/who filled them. IF these were brand new LP tanks was the air purged out of them? I would definitely try these tanks on say a friend's grill and check if the same thing happens. I have a feeling it will
 
That would be my first guess Larry, but for the same thing to happen with two different tanks seems unlikely unless they were both purchased at the same place at the same time.
Hopefully the OP comes back to answer some of these questions.
 
If the tanks were both purchased new, and filled at same place could definitely happen. There is a purge sequence they have to go through with a new tank because they're typically filled with some type of non-corrosive gas. If that is not bled out you will have pressurized gas in the tank but it will only partially be LP. It's definitely worth a try to put these tanks on another grill. Sadly though I doubt we'll see anything from the person. We see this many times. They come here looking for an answer and never are seen again after the first 1 or 2 posts
 
I agree, probably a one and done member. But, it was an interesting dilemma and I would have liked to have seen the solution.

Heck, they even went through the trouble of embedding a video.
 
Looks like you definitely have a problem there.
Did it ever run correctly?
Does that happen on all three burners?
Have you pulled the burners to see if there is anything clogging them?
Are you sure the valves are inserted into the burner tubes correctly?
Check for leaks starting at the tank, the regulator, the entire hose, the manifold and valves.

Hey Bruce and LMichaels --

Sorry for the delayed reply, tried to get a sleep-in this morning ;-)

Re the above:
It's never run correctly, the latest grill is only a day old.
All 3 burners have the same issue, whether on at the same time or individually.
Yes to the last 3, haven't been able to find any issues with something blocking flow, leaks, etc...

It's worth noting that the first grill (before I exchanged it) had the regulator and manifold swapped to no avail.
 
Definitely too much air getting into the mix. 2 grills and 2 different LP tanks doing the same thing. First and simplest is where did you get the LP tanks and where/who filled them. IF these were brand new LP tanks was the air purged out of them? I would definitely try these tanks on say a friend's grill and check if the same thing happens. I have a feeling it will

The bottles are swaps from Home Depot and our local grocery chain, definitely not brand new tanks. Seems terribly unlikely that both these LP tanks from different places would be faulty.

Any chance this could be an issue with the air shutters on the burners?
 
That might be an issue Joshua, can you take a picture of the venturi shutters and post them. Typically, they are about half open on each burner. Also, post pictures of the valves where they enter the burners. My guess is there something wrong in the assembly of the grills.
 
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That might be an issue Joshua, can you take a picture of the venturi shutters and post them. Typically, they are about half open on each burner. Also, post pictures of the valves where they enter the burners. My guess is there something wrong in the assembly of the grills.

Sure thing, give me just a bit to take some photos
 
Any chance this could be an issue with the air shutters on the burners?

Seriously doubt it. The burners are flow tested at the factory and they fire every grill prior to shipping. And one grill might get through like that but the odds of 2 are slim to none. Actually on many new grills they're not even adjustable. Not sure about the new Chinese crop from Weber but I have seen many where the shutter opening is made into the burner. Beyond that I have never seen those shutters make that kind of difference either. In curiosity I have opened them fully and shut them and very little difference can be had. There is air getting in there I think right in the line. How? I don't know but definitely there is air in there. I would still try the tanks on someone else's grill. Just because they came from 2 different stores does not mean 2 different refillers. If you watch those delivery trucks the same truck will deliver to many different locations
 
Ok quick update here.

Got another tank, still no luck — exactly the same issue. Gave Weber a ring, they’ve got a pile of new parts and a tech on the way. I’ll update once it’s fixed with whatever the problem turns out to be!

Thanks again for the help diagnosing.
 
Don't you have someone nearby you can just try one of those tanks on their grill? That would resolve the whole thing as to whether it's the grill or the tank
 
Nope - so I bought a little portable grill, works like a charm with all 3 bottles 😕 Looks like it’s something with the grill, unfortunately.
 
Larry, maybe you know about this. I heard recently that propane tanks nowadays have a safety feature where you don't want to open the tank fully, you want to open the tank about 3/4 of the way. If you open it completely, so I hear, there is a flow cutoff safety feature.

Is this true?

Disclaimer: I'm on NG, so this doesn't matter to me, but I'm curious for my LP friends.
 
Larry, maybe you know about this. I heard recently that propane tanks nowadays have a safety feature where you don't want to open the tank fully, you want to open the tank about 3/4 of the way. If you open it completely, so I hear, there is a flow cutoff safety feature.

Is this true?

Disclaimer: I'm on NG, so this doesn't matter to me, but I'm curious for my LP friends.

I don't think that's true? It's not listed in this troubleshooting guide.

https://www.hunker.com/12298860/how-to-troubleshoot-problems-with-a-propane-tank
 
I have heard of it but IMO it's urban legend. Never saw anything bad from opening tank all the way except getting fat from cooking all the good food
 

 

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