Keep your gas grill clean...you've been warned!


 
That yard looks so meticulous that it's easy to assume it's not grease related, but many a pretty Genny hides accumulated neglect under the hood. I have seen one grill in that shape that the owner blamed on squirrels chewing the hose to the regulator.
 
This is true. I just had to swap out the hose on my latest rehab because some mice, chipmunks, squirells whatever had chewed on it. It didn't leak as far as I know, but I could see white reinforcing threads where they had chewed. Better safe than sorry.

The damn mice or whatever like to chew on the control knobs as well.
 
Steve Hoch said:
Yes they do. I have found knobs on my grill chewed as well as the grease tray licked clean. (Yuck)
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These are pretty inexpensive. I've put a half dozen of them on lately.

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Weber Genesis I-IV, 1000-5000, Platinum I & II BBQ parts: Rodent Guard, 23" Long Stainless-Steel Propane Hose Protector
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Moved three times in three years. Cleaning the gen 1000 was not a priority. We moved into the house we have now and the second night we decided to cook up a ribeye to celebrate our final move. I fired up the 1000 to preheat and went into the house to get everything ready. About ten minutes later Barb says I think we have a problem, I looked out the window and the flames coming out of the 1000 are hitting the drywall in the ceiling of the patio. I was able to drag the grill out from under the patio onto the lawn. Fortunately, the roof did not ignite and closing the lid knocked the fire down. Had to replace the burners and the porcelain CI grates. Warped beyond belief. Luckly no warpage on the fire box.
Yes. there are now three fire extinguishers out with the barbies and the grease trays get cleaned every month.
 
I've gotten a lot better about maintenance on my Genesis 1000 over the last five or so years. I was pretty bad about it beforehand due to work and kids and I have had a few impressive grill fires that required evacuating the food from the grill. Now I look at the grill the same way I do my old lawnmower and it pays off. Every spring I remove the grates and flavorizer bars to knock off all the built up crud off. I also clean the drip tray out, it needs it after a full grilling season. This year I also had to replace the igniter and adjust the tension on the tank scale. Mine was still reading almost full when I ran out of propane during a cook a couple weeks ago. Looking back, I'm pretty surprised at how well my grills have functioned despite the years of neglect. It's a testament to the superior design of these Weber gas grills. There may be better ones out there but I know I don't need one.
 
Front control 3xx grills have heat deflectors just below the burners and the deflectors collect a bunch of crud that would otherwise fall down to the bottom pan. It's easy to clean the bottom pan. Slide it out and scrape it into a can. I can do this and not even get my hands dirty. Not so easy to clean the deflectors.

To clean the under-burner deflectors you have to remove the grates and remove the flavorizer bars just to get to them. Its greasy work so I don't do it often enough.

If I ran the grill on high for 5 to 10 mins after every cook this would burn off a lot of the crud, but that's a waste of propane.

When I get around to cleaning these, I am thinking about enlarging the clearance for the deflectors so crud can more easily fall down into the drip pan. The deflectors are 18 gauge SS so I think an angle grinder might work.

#sorry-about-the-whining-and-complaining
 
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This thread is so important, as I have just finished restoring a Q320 that was in deplorable condition, original porcelain grates so rusted I bought new Quilimetal CI grates and seasoned the heck out of them. Thanks RichDahl for the advise on seasoning new ones. Got me motivated do spring clean the rest of the collection including my Performer which was in need-GBS grates were real bad and I'll never let that happen again! Dans' right on, but I think I'll burn a little extra propane before shutting them down from now on. Won't be as anal as Tom Horseman is with his grills, but will be more regular for sure.
 
BTDT, and since then, I only cook on my own equipment and always check the lower extremities to make sure they're cook ready before firing them up.
 
I assume it's safer to grill high fat foods with charcoal? Flames will appear, but they usually appear early on. A gas grill can accumulate fat buildup before igniting into fireball.
 
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