Come on baby light my fire...convert summit to propane

  • Thread starter Deleted member 45450
  • Start date

 
D

Deleted member 45450

Guest
greeting fellow carnivores,
I picked up this summit gold grill for free but its a natural gas grill. I am going to convert it to propane. I have secured the proper sized orifices but they only have a small pilot hole. Does anyone know what size they should be drilled to? I did some research and it looks like #62 for the bbq burners and #57 for the stove top burner.
thx
 

Attachments

  • 06040C19-1B68-461C-B05D-A5BE2ACF3681.jpeg
    06040C19-1B68-461C-B05D-A5BE2ACF3681.jpeg
    145.9 KB · Views: 35
  • 41844E46-C9FC-474F-B130-AA246979475A.jpeg
    41844E46-C9FC-474F-B130-AA246979475A.jpeg
    149.2 KB · Views: 36
Last edited by a moderator:
By pilot hole, I assume you mean orifice hole. If you say you obtained the proper sized orifices, then that should mean you have the proper sized holes in them. NO?

That thing looks in pretty darn good condition for free. How does the front of the cook box look where the burner tubes go in?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Bruce,
Thanks for the reply. The cook box looks good. The cart was rusty but the inside of the box looks ok. The orifices I have come with a very small pilot hole and are meant to be drilled out for either propane or natural gas. I think the #62 drill is the proper size for propane but im not 100 percent sure.
 
LMicheals will be able to tell you what size bit to use. He will either eventually reply here or you can PM him and he will get back to you.
 

Anderson & Forrester | Conversion Chart | Natural Gas & LP

Anderson & Forrester provides a conversion chart to guarantee an easier experience in finding the correct product to fit your needs
andersonforrester.com andersonforrester.com
So you need to know what the btu of each burner is. I honestly don't know the BTU rating of this grill having only done one in the past going from LP to NG (which IMO) is easier than the other way. This grill you have SHOULD have valves that can work with either gas BUT it may not. So be aware that even IF you figure it out and actually are able to get the proper size on the orifices it may still not work properly/safely. So be prepared for a grill that no matter what you do runs WAY hotter than you expect. If so you will only be able to do it with a whole new manifold or set of valves for the proper fuel. Study the chart, know your pressure and the BTU of each burner and work from there.
Honestly though it really should be a sticky with a GIANT CAUTION that if you don't understand gas flow, or how to use a manometer and know general gas fitting stuff you should leave things alone
 
Hi,
thx for the reply. The total btu on this grill is 44000. Each burner is 10k btu and the stovetop burner is 14k btu. I disassembled the valves to clean and lube them. They are linear (no preset detents) I was an auto mechanic for 30+ years so I have knowledge of mechanical things. Im going to give it a go and see how it works out. If it ends up being a grill that runs too hot I will convert it back to nat gas and sell it. Any input on drill size would be greatly appreciated.
thx
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You cannot go from NG to Propane by drilling orifices. No way to make the holes smaller.
 
I was going to buy new orifices. IF I just buy the whole NG manifold is that that the only part I would need assuming I already have a NG hose.
 
Yah, a new NG manifold would be the best way. But to buy a new one, they are expensive. If you want to go with replacing orifices, there could be issues with that. You should run that by LMicheals. He has a handle on that situation.

Better to find someone with a manifold they are willing to sell. There are lots of scraped (parted out) summits out there.
 
Let me explain this the way it makes sense to me.

If you look at the chart that LMichaels linked [HERE] and assume your NG pressure is 7 inches of H2O (which may or may not be in your location, the wild card), look at the numbers. The relationship between the heat output of NG vs LPG at any given orifice size is a constant, very nearly twice the BTU output for LPG as compared to NG at those pressures per orifice. So if you have a fixed valve, not a continuous valve, but a valve that has drilled passages for the 3 heat ranges and then connect an LPG tank to a NG valve, your heat output is going to be twice what it would be with NG at any given setting, limited only by the replaceable orifice downstream that you change to limit the max output. If your max was 10k BTU on HI, 6.5k on MED, and 3k BTU on LO with NG, and you convert to LPG by changing the downstream orifice, your new controls would be 10k HI, 10k MED, and 6k LO, because it is a fixed valve with internal fixed passages that you cannot change...twice the output you had with NG.

This only considers the mathematical relationship between heat output of NG and LPG, and conversion from NG to LPG. Pressure regulation and mechanical connections are not considered.

I would appreciate LMichaels to validate this...I imagine he's getting tired of trying to explain this. Hope this helps.
 
Honestly he's kinda tired of trying to validate it. I have put so much information out there. I have inquired if it can be made into a "sticky" but barring that if anyone simply does a search of info I have dumped out there they should be able to muddle through. Hell I have even had people simply thumb their nose at what I tried to give them from information standpoint. So honestly I am kinda over it. There are dishonest (or at best dumb) people out there selling so called "conversion" kits. I have done my best to steer people away from those. But honestly I think everything is lost on some. OP do a search function. You will find info. If you cannot see if Chris can help dig it out.
 
Another component of this is that, at least in my area, there appears to be vintage Webers for sale that have been converted to LPG. If I look at a picture and see a propane regulator and hose but no tank support hardware, I assume it to be a conversion. Is there any other reason to remove a tank support? None that I can think of.

Caveat emptor.
 
And who knows if it was truly "converted" or some fool simply threw on an LP hose or vice/verse. I see ads for them all the time. It's relatively easy to tell but it's annoying how dumb/dishonest people are
 
Gas valve differences were covered in this recent thread (April 2020), complete with pictures of the internals of the valves in question. Search term = "continuous valve"...suggest a bookmark for this page because this topic comes up so often.

tvwbb.com

Genesis ep330.

Not to muddy the water, but can you convert a year 2000 Silver B from NG to LP by just changing the orifices, hose, and regulator? Thanks!
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
Last edited:
So here is the update on how it all turned out. I drilled out the new orifices with a #62 drill and installed them. Hooked up the propane and Lit the burners. There is only a slight difference between high and low on the height of the flame meaning if you want to do low and slow this set up may not work. I cooked steaks on it and it worked great. If you put all four burners on high it will get up to 800 degrees but with 2 burners on low it hovers around 350-400. I personally like it this way but there is a learning curve.
 
I guess it depends on what you intend to do with the grill. Please don't sell it to some unsuspecting person! Many of the grills I see advertised for sale appear to be propane grills but don't have the tank support, which is a big red flag for me.

EDIT: Here's an example. It may truly be a propane grill, and I'd love to have it, but who knows?

1596740370867.png

And another:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top