Troubleshooting Common Grill Tank Issues
Enjoy a carefree grilling season with these helpful tips
For many homeowners throughout Staten Island and Brooklyn, the advent of spring brings more than just warmer weather and greener landscapes. It signals the start of grilling season — a wonderful time to enjoy cooking and noshing with friends and family in the great outdoors.
Whether you own a modest propane grill or a top-of-the-line luxury model, your grill depends on a properly working propane grill tank to do its job. Ideally, you carefully stored the cylinders at the end of last season and thoroughly cleaned your grill before covering it for the winter. If not, you will have a little more prep work to do in order to get ready.
Once you’ve cleaned all grates, cooking racks and heating plates and emptied the grease trap, it’s time to check and see whether your grill tank is ready to be put into service. Before you start thawing steaks, ask these questions and resolve any issues using the advice here.
Is my propane cylinder empty?
If your grill doesn’t have a scale in its storage compartment that tells you about how much fuel is left in your tank, you’ll need to do that yourself using one of these methods:
Weigh the cylinder. This one involves a little math. First check on the tank’s neck for markings that indicate the cylinder’s weight when empty (shown as “TW” for tare weight) and how much fuel it can hold (shown as “WC” for water capacity). Once you have those numbers, you can place your grill tank on a home scale to get the total weight. Then subtract the TW number and divide the result by the WC number. This gives you the percentage of propane that’s still in the tank.
Pour hot water over it. While you can’t see the tank’s fill line since propane cylinders aren’t transparent, you can feel it instead because propane absorbs heat. Simply pour hot water over the cylinder, then feel it from top to bottom. Where the metal changes from warm to cool is where the fill line is.
Buy a tank gauge. Home improvement and hardware stores sell external tank gauges, which attach to the propane cylinder valve and tell you how much fuel is left. Fancier models can approximate the amount of cooking time left based on the available propane in the tank.
Why won’t my grill light properly?
If there’s sufficient propane in the tank yet your grill isn’t lighting with the ignition switch, it could be because:
- You’ve forgotten to open the propane valve — a common step many people forget in their excitement to get started grilling!
- The burners are blocked, in which case you’ll need to remove the grill plates and clean or unclog any blocked ports
- The ignitor isn’t working, either because it needs new batteries or must be repaired or replaced
- The tubes that carry propane to the burners are clogged — a common problem when spiders or debris get inside the grill’s Venturi tubes, which can be cleared out using a bottle brush
In all cases, be sure to consult your grill’s instruction manual before undertaking any repairs.
Does my grill tank have a leak?
It’s important to check for leaks at the start of the season using these steps:
- Put a solution of half water and half dishwashing soap into a spray bottle, then spray it carefully onto the propane cylinder valve, grill hose and regulator.
- Open the cylinder valve and look for bubbles anywhere you sprayed, which can indicate leaky areas.
- Close the valve, tighten all connections and then reopen the valve to see if the bubbles remain.
If you still see bubbles you may have to replace the cylinder, hose or regulator. Again, it’s important to review your grill’s manual for specific instructions.
What is that hissing sound my grill is making?
That’s the sound of your cylinder relieving pressure buildup through a pressure relief valve. If you hear it, you’ll want to immediately turn off the grill and wait until the hissing stops.
Have propane at the ready through our Smart Exchange service
Keeping track of how much propane you use and when it’s time to refill or replace your grill tank can be a hassle. Having to schlep your 20-pound propane cylinder to the car and bring it to one of those tank exchanges at the local grocery, home improvement or convenience store, then bring it back home can be inconvenient. At Rucci Oil, we make it so much easier through our convenient Smart Exchange propane grill tank exchange service . Simply sign up and we do all the work for you. We’ll deliver full cylinders right to your home and take away the empty ones so that you save time for what really matters: firing up that grill!
Set yourself up for a great grilling season
Got questions or want to schedule propane cylinder delivery? Just contact us today and our friendly representatives will get you grilling in no time!