Automatic Gas Shutoff Timers


 
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EmoryG

TVWBB Fan
True Confession: I have accidentally drained the propane tank by forgetting to shut off the grill after the food is cooked. It has happened more than once. Usually it happens when I turn up the burners and bring in the grilled food. I say to the family, "Remind me to turn off the grill in ten minutes" instead of setting a timer. Quoting Rocky, "That trick never works!"

Our new grill will run on natural gas. I do not want to run it without an automatic gas shutoff timer. We bought a FireMagic 1 hour timer at a local store (BBQ Grill Outlet in Santa Ana). Now I have to figure out the best way to install it. My plan is to unscrew the long hose and put the timer somewhere in or on the cabinet. I would need fittings or hoses to go from the timer to the gas input on the grill, and an adapter to connect the hose to the inlet side of the timer.

Here are my questions:

1. SAFETY: Can I rely on the FireMagic automatic gas shutoff timer as the daily use valve for the grill, or do I need an extra valve before the timer to serve that function?
Background: Our gas line has one valve where the pipe comes out of the pavement. There is no other cutoff valve at the house or gas meter for that line, and there is no easy way to retrofit one. I am not sure it is a good idea to use the pavement valve as the primary grill valve every time I cook, and it would be inconvenient.
-> Can I leave that pavement valve open and rely on the timer (and the Weber Genesis gas valves) to prevent gas leaks?

2. Where did you put your gas shutoff timer? How did you mount it?

3. Did you consider using a "Y" and two valves to split the gas line, running one branch through the timer, with the other branch a bypass? The bypass would be used in case the timer fails or you want longer cooking times without resetting the timer.
-> Are those timers reliable enough that a bypass is more trouble than it is worth?

4. What problems and pitfalls am I likely to encounter?
Yes, I know there will be more fittings to test for leaks. Anything else?
 
If it were me I'd call the local gas supplier and ask them what they recommend. I'm sure there's some kind of listing for ones that have been tested and I try to find out about that as well. Small leaks cause big fires
 
Let me start off by saying you should never play around with gas, call a professional. There, got that out of the way. I think that I would want a gas shutoff valve near the grill just in case of a fire. I also think I would want a timer that had more than a one hour setting for those longer cooks. Lastly, I don't think I would put any sort of bypass on that line, it kind of defeats the purpose of the timer and makes for needless connections. Just my two cents.
 
Pics? I’m very confused by the explanation and desired outcome(s).

And, unless you fully understand gas plumbing, you might be in over your head.

Gas post-regulator into your home is low pressure. This is just a note. I’m confused when you say “out of the pavement.”

DO NOT touch or play with the high pressure side. DO NOT. I repeat, DO NOT.
 
My opinion is that you are over-complicating things. Couldn't you develop a new habit whereby you turn the gas off immediately after the cook is done before you take the food in and then do the burn-off next time during start-up? That's what I do, and when the grill starts smoking during start-up I know it is warmed up and ready to clean and then cook on. Saves gas doing it this way, too. It is never safe to leave a grill running unattended, especially with things so dry these days.

If your device ever fails there could be consequences. This doesn't sound like a good idea, especially if you have young children around.
 
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I'd take it back to the store for a refund. No matter how you configure it, the burner valves will still be in the on position on the grill. If the device fails to totally shut off the NG, you will be pouring NG into the grill and surrounding area looking for an ignition source. I've accidentally left my NG grill on for 40 hours with no negative effect on the firebox, etc. The usual 15 minute burn off after cooking dinner resulted in really easy to clean grates next session. There are a lot of timers on the market which could remind you to shut off the grill. A lot cheaper and safer. Remember you have an unlimited source of gas with NG until the bill comes! Remember that NG tank/pipeline is a lot bigger than your propane tank. Enjoy your new grill, but don't overengineer the thing.
 
Thanks to everyone for their helpful advice and comments above. We are still thinking about the wisdom of installing the gas shutoff timer versus changing how we do things (e.g., use an ordinary reminder timer) to ensure that we don't leave the burners running overnight or worse. Airline pilots have to get it right every time - no mistakes allowed. If they can do it, we can find a way to do it too. Gas grills are far less complicated than aircraft.

Responding to @Brett-EDH: A few years ago, we had to replace the gas line from the meter to the house, which had rusted and failed. At the same time, we replaced the pavement in the backyard, which had also aged and cracked apart. We had the contractor install an ordinary house pressure gas line (and electrical) out of the new pavement. Someday we will build a small grilling/eating area there. We had originally thought about a typical "BBQ island". Our current thinking would be to build a small "U" where the grill would roll in and could be easily replaced, rather than an island with a built-in grill.

I had not planned on providing incremental updates on something as dumb as a gas line, but here we are. We decided to "get it done" at least enough to start using the new grill. Rather than removing the hose from the grill and installing a valve and timer in the grill cabinet (maybe with a home-built frame to support them in the cabinet), we decided to keep the grill "stock" and build a stack of reducers, the everyday-use valve, and (optionally) the timer on the pipe coming out of the pavement. The valve (and timer?) will be low at the pavement near the grill, but that will work for now. We can decide later what the final version will look like after we use this setup for a while.

We found time to work on it yesterday, so we went to the orange big box store. An overly helpful store employee who was a self-described "expert" took charge and began to open packages and assemble a set of reducers and black pipe nipple fittings. I had been reluctant to unscrew that capped galvanized pipe above our valve (to bring it in) without the new parts in hand. I measured it with calipers, and it was exactly 1-1/16 inch in diameter. The first pipe and reducer she gave me was 1 inch. When we got it home, it was too large. My hunch is that we need a 3/4 inch reducer and pipe at the first joint, so we will be going to the big box store again to make returns and get the right parts. Hopefully that store employee won't be there this early in the morning to "help" us again.

She also insisted that the thread sealant we already had (Rectorseal T Plus 2) was wrong and insisted on selling us a tube of Rectorseal 5. I was bothered by her forceful insistence, because we had used the T Plus 2 for a dryer gas line. When we got home, I called Rectorseal and their tech support told me that the T Plus 2 was perfectly fine for our outdoor grill gas inlet and to return the Rectorseal 5 unopened.

So ... now it is time to go out to the big box store, make a few returns, and get the correct parts.
 
Well, it's done. All the fittings were carefully and thoroughly tested for leaks. Per Weber's instructions, we tested the gas fittings inside the grill and performed the initial burn off per their instructions. The grill is ready for a simple meal tonight. I will be making dinner tonight on the new grill - nothin' special.

We did the fittings as one stack from the ground up:
Contractor's original valve - New "everyday use" valve - Automatic gas shutoff timer - Weber's quick connect fitting that came with the grill.

If the timer turns out to be more trouble than helpful, we can easily remove it from the stack. I am aware that the stack is tall and rigid and carries natural gas, so I may revise the design for better stability or build some type of protection for it. We hope to build a small "island" around it which would include a final solution.

Here are the photos:
  • Original Capped Gas Line
    • It passed the normal city permit inspection
    • (The yellow teflon tape was my temporary seal when I put it back before we went out the second time to get the correct parts.)
  • Completed Gas Line including Valves, Timer, and Fittings
    • Design note: I chose a 1/2 inch gas valve (for everyday use) to match the 1/2 inch gas shutoff timer fittings. That way, everything will still fit together if we decide to remove the shutoff timer from the stack.
  • Assembled Weber 2022 Genesis SP-E-335 Grill
Capped Gas Line.JPG

Completed Gas Line Fittings.JPG

Weber Genesis SP-E-335 Closed.JPG
 

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  • Weber Genesis SP-E-335 Open.JPG
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P.S. I was going to write, "Flame away!" to encourage people to tell me what I might have done wrong or point out safety issues or whatever.

But then the thought occurred to me that "Flame away!" has a different meaning in this forum. :)
 
Looking good. I also use natural gas, and I love it. No tanks, never runs out of fuel. I read that you're going to protect the gas line(s) better, that's the only thing I don't like about setups like that, I would just be a little bit worried that say some wind would come and could smash the grill into the vertical pipe. My natural gas line comes out of the house, and I have it bent downwards so the pipe is on the outside wall, it doesn't stick out, and I keep the grill far enough away from that wall to avoid any problems. In any event, you already said that you would address the pipe protection issue. I agree that you should figure something out for that, but otherwise nice work, enjoy the grill!
 
I hope it works out, but to be honest, I really still don't understand the reason behind the issue. Why do you leave the grill on for 10 minutes after cooking? I shut mine off when I pull the food off, and it's off. Maybe it was explained in the details that I skimmed over?
 
There are 2 reviews about the FireMagic 1 hour timer on bbqguys.com and both of them are 1-star and mention failures after 1 year. I could never turn my back on something like this, but if you're ok with it, that's all that matters. (y)

www.bbqguys.com

Fire Magic Automatic 1 Hour Timer Gas Safety Shut-off Valve - 3092B : BBQGuys

Accentuate your Fire Magic outdoor kitchen with their essential grilling accessories. The 1 Hour Fire Magic Barbecue Safety Timer offers additional safety by automatically shutting off the gas flow at pre-set times. It features a flow capacity of 100,000 BTUs, and can be used for Natural Gas or...
www.bbqguys.com www.bbqguys.com
 
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C Lewis said:
I hope it works out, but to be honest, I really still don't understand the reason behind the issue. Why do you leave the grill on for 10 minutes after cooking? I shut mine off when I pull the food off, and it's off. Maybe it was explained in the details that I skimmed over?
Click to expand...
Ed P said:
There are 2 reviews about the FireMagic 1 hour timer on bbqguys.com and both of them are 1-star and mention failures after 1 year. I could never turn my back on something like this, but if you're ok with it, that's all that matters. (y)

www.bbqguys.com

Fire Magic Automatic 1 Hour Timer Gas Safety Shut-off Valve - 3092B : BBQGuys

Accentuate your Fire Magic outdoor kitchen with their essential grilling accessories. The 1 Hour Fire Magic Barbecue Safety Timer offers additional safety by automatically shutting off the gas flow at pre-set times. It features a flow capacity of 100,000 BTUs, and can be used for Natural Gas or...
www.bbqguys.com www.bbqguys.com
Click to expand...
I was taught that when the food comes off, you turn up the grill and burn off any food remnants for ten minutes at full on. After the burn off, you scrub the grill with a metal brush. The burn off makes it easier to keep the grill clean, and it eliminates food remnants that could attract insects. That's why.

There is a chance that you may get so involved in enjoying the meal that you forget to go back to the grill and turn it off. When I used propane, the penalty was wasting a tank, but the grill would eventually shut off. With natural gas, the risk is that the grill could run for days. You want to be perfect and never forget, but the timer adds an insurance policy.

Nothing changes in practice. I still plan to go out and scrub the grill while it is hot (and shut off the burners and the everyday use valve).

As I said, if the timer turns out to be a hindrance or simply unwanted, then I can easily remove it. The same is true if it fails after a year. For my sake, I hope those two negative reviews at BBQ Guys were outliers and not an indication of the whole.
 
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I got into the habit of turning the grill off after a cook a long time ago. Like you, I have forgotten to turn the grill off and drained my propane tank. I have quickly brushed off my grill before bringing the food inside to minimize prep time on the next cook though.
 
I just shut off the grill each time when taking the food off. When I start it next time, once it heats up, I'll brush it then. Everything comes right off, and the greases from the prior cook prevent any rust from occurring. Honestly, I thought that's how everyone did it.
 
I agree. I used to do a 10 minute burn off and most of the time setting an alarm. But, the alarm always goes off in the middle of the meal or I hit pause or turn it off and get distracted and wind up forgetting anyway. I have burned more than one tank that way.
Now, I just shut it off at the end of the cook. Many times, I don't even bother scraping it before the next cook. LOL
 
Let's see how it goes. If it isn't working for me, I can have that automatic gas shutoff timer out of the stack in just a few minutes. All it takes is a pair of pipe wrenches.
 
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