Convert LP to NG


 
Jon Tofte said:
From my experience they, too, get crudded up and can actually contribute to flare ups and fires if you fail to follow very regular cleaning. I think the deflectors are more about evening out the heat distribution. If you look at the older 300 series grills with the E-W burners the surface area with a burner tube underneath is significantly more than the newer 300 3-burners which have pretty big spaces between each burner. It would seem likely that without the deflectors there would be uneven heat with so much between each burner. That is why I mentioned that the sear station fourth burner at least partially addresses this grill’s weakness.

All of the above is just my theory, but a lot of actual use seems to correspond with it.
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I have an E-W and N-S E310 to rehabb this summer, so I guess I will get some more experience with them and how they work. As of right now, I am just going off of what I have heard since I really don't have any first had experience with them. I know the one I acquired was so bad, that I didn't think it had the heat shields in it, so I bought a new set, only to find out they were in there, just buried in gunk.
 
LMichaels said:
Here ya go follow this chart http://andersonforrester.com/conversion-chart/ I just hope you're not in over your head on this. No offense but I am getting the impression you may be
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I would get it drilled out on a drill press if I knew the correct size (spec of the OEM NG side burner orfice). I wouldn't drill it out myself. I don't think I'm over my head... You had the same response to someone else in this thread who came here looking for information and had a successful conversion. I'm definitely not an expert, I am just trying to gather information.

Bruce said:
Yah, I would make sure you know what you are doing before drilling orifices out and that kind of thing.

You might want to consider something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Natura...050155?hash=item3affb3656b:g:thcAAOSwO4pacL~2
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I was planning on buying the NG manifold for $80 or so to be safe. Everyone seemed to recommend that earlier on in the thread and I have no qualms about spending that. It's just the side burner orfice I need to figure out.

Thanks so much for the eBay link! This would be perfect. The price stinks but I'd pay it for the peace of mind. Have you heard of anyone purchasing off this seller? Drilling out the side burner orfice yourself seems to be highly frowned upon here, not sure if I should trust a guy on eBay. That's my only hesitation!
 
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Steve, I understand the desire to do it yourself. I just think that trying to drill out existing orifice's is more than I would want to try. It seems that kit on ebay is essentially just three replacement orifice's and two cheap combination wrenches. I am sure you have the wrenches already and if you check around, you can probably find the NG orifices for a few bucks each. I wouldn't think that Weber would design and manufacture an application specific orifice and probably use ones are standard and readily available. I would check in with an appliance store in your area. Maybe even a plumbing supply outfit. I guess the big deal is knowing exactly what specs you need.

Maybe this is all you need: Says S330 and not E330, I don't know what the difference is, but they might be the same:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Natural-Ga...485906?hash=item2aa433d1d2:g:-iMAAOSw2CJatTml
 
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"I would get it drilled out on a drill press if I knew the correct size (spec of the OEM NG side burner orfice). I wouldn't drill it out myself. I don't think I'm over my head... You had the same response to someone else in this thread who came here looking for information and had a successful conversion. I don't claim to be an expert, I am simply seeking information."

There is no need for a press. I simply use a precision chuck and precision numerical twist bits (both purchased at Menard's) similar to any other box store like HD or Lowes, etc. Or a local Ace/True Value (though sadly they've all disappeared from my landscape). Simple care and again knowing what you're doing is all that is needed BUT you NEED to know as the chart I gave you shows the gas pressure you're dealing with.
Some places regulate the gas at the meter to 7" WC but I have seen others use thin copper to distribute NG in the home at much higher pressures than regulate it down at the appliance point of install. ( have seen homes in MN like this. Not sure how common it is. Frankly I don't like it.
In my case I have 7" WC into the house and I regulate to about 3.5" WC at my grill(s).
I don't know why you don't think you're having a successful exchange with me, but, I AM trying to help you out. BTW buying a predrilled orifice may NOT be the answer to what you need as you may actually NEED a regulator depending on the pressure of the gas distributed in your home. You'll want to buy a cheap manometer or at the very least KNOW what your gas company regulates to.
Hope it helps. I'm trying to make sure you get proper performance and NOT blow yourself up either
 
Bruce said:
Steve, I understand the desire to do it yourself. I just think that trying to drill out existing orifice's is more than I would want to try. It seems that kit on ebay is essentially just three replacement orifice's and two cheap combination wrenches. I am sure you have the wrenches already and if you check around, you can probably find the NG orifices for a few bucks each. I wouldn't think that Weber would design and manufacture an application specific orifice and probably use ones are standard and readily available. I would check in with an appliance store in your area. Maybe even a plumbing supply outfit. I guess the big deal is knowing exactly what specs you need.

Maybe this is all you need: Says S330 and not E330, I don't know what the difference is, but they might be the same:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Natural-Ga...485906?hash=item2aa433d1d2:g:-iMAAOSw2CJatTml
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I could only locate the LP side burner orifice (http://www.thepartsbiz.com/Weber-Genesis-Summit-Side-Burner-Gas-Orifice-_p_36205.html). I couldn't find the NG side burner orifice anywhere. A friend has the same model, I figured I'd pull his out and try to match it as best as I could.

However, I came across that same listing after searching eBay for the S-330 NG orifices and it appears they will fit so I bought them. I won't have to buy the entire manifold for the main burners now. Thanks again for all your help! You saved me a lot of dough. I didn't really think to check eBay.

LMichaels said:
"I would get it drilled out on a drill press if I knew the correct size (spec of the OEM NG side burner orfice). I wouldn't drill it out myself. I don't think I'm over my head... You had the same response to someone else in this thread who came here looking for information and had a successful conversion. I don't claim to be an expert, I am simply seeking information."

There is no need for a press. I simply use a precision chuck and precision numerical twist bits (both purchased at Menard's) similar to any other box store like HD or Lowes, etc. Or a local Ace/True Value (though sadly they've all disappeared from my landscape). Simple care and again knowing what you're doing is all that is needed BUT you NEED to know as the chart I gave you shows the gas pressure you're dealing with.
Some places regulate the gas at the meter to 7" WC but I have seen others use thin copper to distribute NG in the home at much higher pressures than regulate it down at the appliance point of install. ( have seen homes in MN like this. Not sure how common it is. Frankly I don't like it.
In my case I have 7" WC into the house and I regulate to about 3.5" WC at my grill(s).
I don't know why you don't think you're having a successful exchange with me, but, I AM trying to help you out. BTW buying a predrilled orifice may NOT be the answer to what you need as you may actually NEED a regulator depending on the pressure of the gas distributed in your home. You'll want to buy a cheap manometer or at the very least KNOW what your gas company regulates to.
Hope it helps. I'm trying to make sure you get proper performance and NOT blow yourself up either
Click to expand...

Oh, no, please don't take that the wrong way. Just trying to think of different ways to achieve this conversion. This is definitely a successful exchange. I am getting tons of useful info and hopefully this thread helps others out in the future. This thread has the best info on this subject that I could find. The info on the NG pressure coming into the house is very useful. Thanks for helping me understand this all a little better.

I bought the used orifice set (OEM S-330 NG) Bruce linked to above and hopefully this solves my problems. The NG's don't come with regulators so I don't believe I need one at this point. I'll have to look more closely at my friend's NG (same model) to verify his NG hose to connected to the manifold without a regulator. I have another NG (non-Weber) grill that came with the house. I'll have to check that as well.

I'm anxious to pull the control panel off and get to work. I'm also extremely appreciative for info about not touching the bolts holding in the burner tubes in the back of the cook box (grill-parts.com instructs you to remove those). I could have destroyed my grill. As he mentions, all 4 broke which seemed odd to me so I kept researching and came across this very useful thread.

Thanks again for all of this useful info! My wife has been asking why we paid $600 for a plumber to run a NG line out to our new patio if we don't have a NG grill. I've been putting off researching this for some time.
 
OK best of luck to you. BTW I did a regulator on my grills because they're at the very end of the gas feed. So in front of them I have my furnace, a 200000 BTU on demand water heater, and my kitchen range all coming off the main 2" feed into the house. So the regulator helps to even out how the grill burns I just simply adjust my orifice size to the different gas pressure. It's a good working arrangement. Weber used to supply regulators on their NG grills and IMO it's just another sign of how badly they're cheapening their product especially from a reliability and safety standpoint
 
Yep, I had heard that Weber actually sold a "Conversion kit". But from what I understand, is that they discontinued that due to liability issues. Not sure if that is the truth or just wanted to sell more gills or whatever.
 
LMichaels said:
OK best of luck to you. BTW I did a regulator on my grills because they're at the very end of the gas feed. So in front of them I have my furnace, a 200000 BTU on demand water heater, and my kitchen range all coming off the main 2" feed into the house. So the regulator helps to even out how the grill burns I just simply adjust my orifice size to the different gas pressure. It's a good working arrangement. Weber used to supply regulators on their NG grills and IMO it's just another sign of how badly they're cheapening their product especially from a reliability and safety standpoint
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Thanks. I would prefer a regulator. I can't even order an OEM regulator since they don't make the grills with them. Not sure who makes the one grill-parts.com sells for $39 but I could probably find a generic one cheaper if I looked around.

Bruce said:
Yep, I had heard that Weber actually sold a "Conversion kit". But from what I understand, is that they discontinued that due to liability issues. Not sure if that is the truth or just wanted to sell more gills or whatever.
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Yes, from what I've read the conversion kits stopped the same year Weber sold to venture capitalists. Ironic timing for a "safety" issue.
 
Actually they stopped selling them quite a while prior to that. I think for precisely some of the reasons I mentioned. Due to varying types of gas delivery people who didn't know which end of a screwdriver to use were buying and installing them leaving Weber vulnerable when they blew themselves up.
Doing this stuff with gas hookup is not rocket science but it DOES require knowledge of BTU, pressures, proper regulation, leak detection and so on including VERY careful work. Something as minor as the wrong pipe dope could cause a disaster. So in many ways I don't blame Weber
 
LMichaels said:
Actually they stopped selling them quite a while prior to that. I think for precisely some of the reasons I mentioned. Due to varying types of gas delivery people who didn't know which end of a screwdriver to use were buying and installing them leaving Weber vulnerable when they blew themselves up.
Doing this stuff with gas hookup is not rocket science but it DOES require knowledge of BTU, pressures, proper regulation, leak detection and so on including VERY careful work. Something as minor as the wrong pipe dope could cause a disaster. So in many ways I don't blame Weber
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Oh, OK. I read 2010 somewhere. Which brand/product pipe dope do you recommend?
 
On small fittings (less 1/4" NPT or less) I recommend pipe dope made for gas lines. When you approach 3/8" either dope or yellow tape is fine. 1/2" or more use the yellow tape. Just my experience and advice handed to me by trades people I trust a lot
 
Dennis Y said:
No disrespect taken. This is why I ask here for comments and advice. If what I am attempting to do is stupid and dangerous, I want to know that as well. I am obviously doing all the homework I can before I start touching the NG line. If replacing the manifold is the best course of action, I will of course go that way. Thanks again for the help.

On a side note, when Weber used to sell the conversion kits, what did it include? Anyone knows?
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I don't know what Weber included, but I think the whole reason they stopped is because of the danger (to you) and liability (for them) of a conversion not correctly completed that results in a disaster. LMichaels knows as much as anyone you can find on this topic, so I would follow his advice to the letter.

The only conversion I have done, I went the safe route for someone with limited experience and replaced the entire manifold. The peace of mind was worth it, and like Larry says you do then have a return path if you decide to sell or go back to the original setup.
 
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LMichaels said:
On small fittings (less 1/4" NPT or less) I recommend pipe dope made for gas lines. When you approach 3/8" either dope or yellow tape is fine. 1/2" or more use the yellow tape. Just my experience and advice handed to me by trades people I trust a lot
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Thanks for the info. I will definitely take that advice. I got a set of used OEM orifices from someone who did a NG to LP conversion off eBay. I think I'm fine with those, right? Do you think the enitre NG manifold is unnecessary since I was able to find OEM NG orifices? I was leaning towards ordering a manifold and then just using the side burner orifice from eBay so I wouldn't have to play with the air shutter adjustment which is different between NG and LP. But, maybe the playing with the air shutter adjustment is better than spending another $80.
 
You should be fine. I believe the grill you're converting has a continuously variable valve as opposed to fixed low, med, high. The ones that have the fixed settings are a PIA because if you have a NG grill and convert it to LP with just orifices than your low and med settings will run quite a lot hotter than you'd expect. On the contrary of you took an LP grill and converted it to NG using just orifices you could have a dangerous issue as the low setting (an medium too) will run MUCH lower than you would think even to allowing for a flame out to occur which is dangerous because there would be no flame but gas still flowing causing a buildup of gas inside the grill.
But as I said your new style grill should be CV valves which are easy. IIRC another way to tell is on some of them the valve stem is hollow with a small screw inside it for adjusting the low setting
 
LMichaels said:
You should be fine. I believe the grill you're converting has a continuously variable valve as opposed to fixed low, med, high. The ones that have the fixed settings are a PIA because if you have a NG grill and convert it to LP with just orifices than your low and med settings will run quite a lot hotter than you'd expect. On the contrary of you took an LP grill and converted it to NG using just orifices you could have a dangerous issue as the low setting (an medium too) will run MUCH lower than you would think even to allowing for a flame out to occur which is dangerous because there would be no flame but gas still flowing causing a buildup of gas inside the grill.
But as I said your new style grill should be CV valves which are easy. IIRC another way to tell is on some of them the valve stem is hollow with a small screw inside it for adjusting the low setting
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Thanks again for all of the useful info. I will post when everything is complete.
 
It works!

Ron-Swanson-14.png
 
Steve, funny picture in the context of the thread. hahahaha.
Exactly what did your solution involve?
 
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