Another question (sorry) about flavorizer bars


 
F

Frank F

New member
I'm ashamed to admit that I have never changed out the f. bars, and the grill is 17 years old. Ha! The right side cooks hotter than the left, and I'm thinking It's the bars. Right? I have always just pulled the bars out, and scraped them down. Bad idea? Would new bars cook more evenly etc.? Thanks,
Frank
 
most grills have uneven zones. but you do need to make sure the fb are still good and you need to make sure the flame is burning properly throughout the grill.
 
The bars are not broke, but are pretty rough. A friend suggested that I just scrape them off and reuse, but I hear on this forum that they are being changed out every few years. I'm wondering if the cooking quality itself would improve, or would have less flare ups etc.
 
The first place I would look is the burners. Are they burning even with the flavorizer bars off?

After 17 years it probably wouldn't hurt to replace them, but I doubt you will notice a big difference in eveness. As for scraping and reusing, that makes sense to me. When they go bad, the rust starts eating away at them. One thing I noticed is that the bars over the burners are cleaner than the ones that are not so I started rotating them.
 
I did look at the burners, but It's been a while so I will check them out. I have never taken them out and cleaned, so I think It's time. The unit is 17 yrs. old and I've never replaced one part, not even the striker! I don't think there are many bbq's out there that can say that. Makes you wonder if the new one's are built as good. Maybe made in China? The f. bars are not rusted out, and there are 8 short ones front to back, and 5 long ones running sideways.
 
Only issue I have is I have to either: remove the battery for the igniter in the fall or replace it in the spring.

Winter freezes don't do it much good.
 
F.B. 101:

Unless you have holes rusted / corroded THROUGH the flavorizer bars, or are missing major chunks out of the edges, then they should still be OK.

Some people tend to wear them out faster than others - may have to do with moisture in your area and how much salt / acids you get dripping on them from what you cook.

The flavorizer bars serve (2) primary functions:

#1. They vaporize meat juices and some fat as it drips onto them and slides into the catch tray & pan at the bottom. This is what produces the "char-broiled" flavor within a gas grill.

#2. They reduce flare-ups (grease fires) by keeping your burners out of direct exposure to dripping fat. (This can STILL happen if you cook a lot of fatty stuff and enough grease accumulates in the bottom of the grill.)

As long as they are structurally sound, they will fulfill this purpose just fine. Once they become perforated - then you'll be getting flare-ups and it's time to replace them.

If you're getting uneven heat, take a look at your burners running at high, medium, and low settings with the flavorizer bars removed (works better in lowish light). My guess is the burners may need cleaning. I would remove them and clean the buggers out, then re-install and compare your results.
 
I'm with Ron on the flavorizer bars. Don't replace them unless they really have gone bad. If you do need to replace them, I usually recommend getting Stainless Steel flavorizers. They're a bit pricey from Weber but you can get them for less on eBay. Of course if the ones you have have lasted this long before needing replacement, why spend more? (Or perhaps you already have stainless flavorizers.)

WRT the burners, I agree that inspecting them is wise. They can run into two difficulties:

1) The orifices that the flames come from can become blocked, particularly if the flavorizers have gone bad, allowing grease to drip on the burners. I have cleaned them up variously by brushing with a brass brush or poking with a bamboo skewer. If you use something metal, be careful not to enlarge the holes.

2) Spiders can get past the spider screens and build webs in the burners. I would suspect this if the flames are uneven from one end to the other. You can pull the manifold (two screws on my gassers) and probe the burner tubes to clear them out.

I haven't seen any burners that require replacement but none of my grills are that old.
 
The strange thing is the burnners look new after all the years, but I will clean them and check for webs etc. The grates are cast iron so they will never wear out.
 
I replaced my enameled FB's with Stainless steel FB's. They seem to distribute the heat more evenly. You can see it at night when they glow.

Good Luck!
 
I have a 1957 model wife.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mike David P:
I replaced my enameled FB's with Stainless steel FB's. They seem to distribute the heat more evenly. You can see it at night when they glow.

Good Luck! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
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