Grills?

[Frodo]

For you BBQ affectionados.

Be aware that Blue Rhino propane and other pre-filled replacement tanks are only filled with 4 gallons of propane, and not the 5 gallons the tank will hold. This is due to shipping and expansion/contraction of the gas. I run down to my local RV repair facility and fill up my tanks, which runs me about $16 per tank.

If you have a large propane tank for the house, yo can buy an adapter to fit your hose And fill your small bbq tank from your big tank

 

[zoomzoom]

Be aware that Blue Rhino propane and other pre-filled replacement tanks are only filled with 4 gallons of propane, and not the 5 gallons the tank will hold. This is due to shipping and expansion/contraction of the gas. I run down to my local RV repair facility and fill up my tanks, which runs me about $16 per tank.

Haven't read the whole thread so not sure if this has already been discussed.

Once you get one of those Blue Rhino or other pre-filled tanks, the tank now belongs to YOU.

If you have another tank that's more than 10 years old, it's not "supposed" to be refilled unless it has a new inspection and stamp.

When I have an old tank, I take it to a Blue Rhino or similar and swap it for a new tank. When they're giving you a filled tank, check the date on it and have them give you one that's less than a year old.

I go to those Blue Rhino places on summertime holiday weekends which is normally when they have sales (Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day) to get the best deal.

I have RV places around me. Don't know what they charge for a fill.

I use Tractor Supply to get mine refilled. They have the best price and they charge you by the gallon, not the weight so you are getting an honest number of gallons. You can take your tanks in partially filled if you want, just to top them off. Same thing, they just charge you by the gallon of what your tank takes.

 

[backlash]

For you BBQ affectionados.

Be aware that Blue Rhino propane and other pre-filled replacement tanks are only filled with 4 gallons of propane, and not the 5 gallons the tank will hold. This is due to shipping and expansion/contraction of the gas. I run down to my local RV repair facility and fill up my tanks, which runs me about $16 per tank.

They were sued a few years ago for that.
It's cheaper to take your tank to a place that will refill it.

 

[Frodo]

I shy away from gas cooking in my smoker. I perfer charcoal.
I refuse to use any type of charcoal lighter instead I use a handheld map gas torch to start the fire

If anyone here uses a smoker with a water pan , you can use the drippings from the pan to make gravy

They were sued a few years ago for that.
It's cheaper to take your tank to a place that will refill it.

Haven't read the whole thread so not sure if this has already been discussed.

Once you get one of those Blue Rhino or other pre-filled tanks, the tank now belongs to YOU.

If you have another tank that's more than 10 years old, it's not "supposed" to be refilled unless it has a new inspection and stamp.

When I have an old tank, I take it to a Blue Rhino or similar and swap it for a new tank. When they're giving you a filled tank, check the date on it and have them give you one that's less than a year old.

I go to those Blue Rhino places on summertime holiday weekends which is normally when they have sales (Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day) to get the best deal.

I have RV places around me. Don't know what they charge for a fill.

I use Tractor Supply to get mine refilled. They have the best price and they charge you by the gallon, not the weight so you are getting an honest number of gallons. You can take your tanks in partially filled if you want, just to top them off. Same thing, they just charge you by the gallon of what your tank takes.

Never ever ever exchange your tank
It is like buying once fired brass
They SAY it’s once fired
They SAY the exchange tank is good

I do not believe anybody except myself. And at times I doubt that

 

[Weedygarden]

They are easy to rebuild. People throw them away or give them away prematurely. A new grill (of any decent size and quality) is going to run several hundred dollars, if not over a thousand.

I took my severely decrepit Weber (which was a high end model) and replaced the innards. New burners. New grates. New "flavorizer bars" (as Weber calls them). New piezo igniter. New drip catcher. New control knobs. This was about $125 to $150 worth of parts IIRC. Not the official Weber parts - those would have cost a lot more. I used the Chinese knock-off parts from Amazon. They have been working great. I have zero qualms about having bought the non-name-brand stuff. I did not replace the regulator and hose that screws into the propane tank. The hose is still flexible on mine, it doesn't have any leaks, no cracks in the hose - I saw no reason to replace it. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to replace it just because of age, so I still might. Nor did I replace the valves that the control handles turn. Those appear to be brass on my grill, and were in fine shape after decades of use. No need to replace them either.

The 20lb propane tank that came with the grill was past it's retirement date, so technically, places should have refused to fill it. But I've never found a place that actually cares about the date. But still, I took it over to the grocery store where they sell "Blue Rhino" brand filled 20lb propane tanks. You give them your empty tank and take their filled one (or you pay them a lot more if you don't have an empty tank to trade). So ... you can guess where my old expired tank went. And I walked away with a new tank. Now I take the new tank to a regular propane refill place and they fill it for much cheaper than doing exchanges at the grocery store. The grocery store deal was a one-off occurrence so I could get a new tank. Hey, ... they don't have any rules posted about trading expired tanks, so why not?

After I had all the new parts installed in my grill I did a test run with it. I cranked up all three burners to high and let it heat up. I checked the temp with my infrared thermometer and it was 670 degrees IIRC! Holy crap! It might have gotten even hotter if I left it heating longer, but I shut down my test at that point. This temp might explain my tendency to incinerate things I'm cooking, but nowadays I only turn on two of the three burners, and after the initial preheat, turn those down to 1/2 for the actual cooking. Compare this to my pellet grill, which usually maxes out at 425. I have seen it hit 450 once or twice. And sometimes it struggles to hold 400 - that's usually when I haven't cleaned the pellet hopper for a while and it has sawdust from disintegrated pellets kind of clogging up the works. But this lower temp combined with the solid steel plate that goes between the fire and the food grates means no flames every touch the food. Things just don't burn in that Traeger. And even if you overcook them, they're still moist. It's slower than propane, but you never burn your food, even if you're not paying attention.

My neighbor threw out his gas grill and I rescued it and replaced the innards as well. They do make replacement parts. Someone could really have a little business doing this, just like the places that refurbish hot tubs. Much easier to pick up and drop off a grill than a hot tub though.

I should keep my eyes open for someone's old grill and refurbish it.

 

[Frodo]

My neighbor threw out his gas grill and I rescued it and replaced the innards as well. They do make replacement parts. Someone could really have a little business doing this, just like the places that refurbish hot tubs. Much easier to pick up and drop off a grill than a hot tub though.

I should keep my eyes open for someone's old grill and refurbish it.

Get your welding hood on and listen up

Find a 150 lb tank
A 5 gallon tank

Take the tops off fill with water let sit overnight
Get the torch and grinder out
Mount the small tank to the largectank
Cutting out the metal in between
Small tanks the fire box. Bit tank holds the racks

 

[backlash]

A BBQ place had a 500 gallon tank made into a smoker.
Their BBQ is so good they sold out every day early so they had a 1500 gallon tank BBQ made.

 

[Frodo]

A BBQ place had a 500 gallon tank made into a smoker.
Their BBQ is so good they sold out every day early so they had a 1500 gallon tank BBQ made.

Yep. They are really good
There is another thing that a outstanding. smoker
Vintage refrigerator metal box
Lots of room. Inside

 

[zoomzoom]

Never ever ever exchange your tank
It is like buying once fired brass
They SAY it’s once fired
They SAY the exchange tank is good

I do not believe anybody except myself. And at times I doubt that

I can tell a brand new tank from a re-stamped tank. I only get the new ones.
If you don't exchange your tanks, do you get them inspected every 10 years as required?
I get 20# tanks from garage sales or whatever for somewhere between free and $5. They're old, rusty... I trade them in for new ones. I think I have around 17-19 20# tanks, all full (as well as all the 100# tanks).

 

[Frodo]

I can tell a brand new tank from a re-stamped tank. I only get the new ones.
If you don't exchange your tanks, do you get them inspected every 10 years as required?
I get 20# tanks from garage sales or whatever for somewhere between free and $5. They're old, rusty... I trade them in for new ones. I think I have around 17-19 20# tanks, all full (as well as all the 100# tanks).

I do not understand a 20 year old and rusty tank. Mine stay bindoors

My tank is over 20 years old and has never been stamped
I can drop a black light inside and look. around just like he does It is not
Magic
Zoom zoom, I have a personality flaw
I donit like to give my money to overlords because they say I have to. what happens magically to a tank in 10 years and 1 day?
A- nothing
B-crack apears at midnight
C- state receives your tank rental fee
D- fire up the grill and get your grub on

 

[Frodo]

Speaking

of meat

This just in from my best Bud
3 pork loins. The one on the right is stuffed with deer sausage
Centers is. Tony chacheres
Left. I forget. Lol

 

[zoomzoom]

I do not understand a 20 year old and rusty tank. Mine stay bindoors

My tank is over 20 years old and has never been stamped

The 20 year old rusty tanks are what I get from others. They've been sitting outside under a grill or who knows what. I just trade them in for new ones.
My tanks stay inside, the exception being the tanks that are under my grills.

Where you live, the rules must be different. Around here, places won't fill a tank if its last inspection is more than 10 years ago.

 

[Weedygarden]

I think we just need to take our tanks in and exchange them for a full one. I know I have had older ones that I left when I got a full one. I would think it is part of the way it works here and maybe other places. I exchange mine at local grocery stores.

 

[Haertig]

what happens magically to a tank in 10 years and 1 day?

It's not what happens to it. It's what you want to prevent from happening to it. This is termed routine maintenance and inspection.

I can't think of too many things that would better benefit from a routine inspection once a decade (that's a long time between inspections!) than something that holds a large amount of extremely flammable gas, under pressure, outside in the elements, that is generally situated right up next to your house. In the past I have stretched the expiration date on a propane tank and come away unscathed none-the-less. I do not consider myself smart for having done this. I consider myself dumb.

 

[backlash]

Tanks in RVs are exempt from the 10 year rule.
I had a small 3 gallon tank that was expired.
I took it to the local propane dealer and they said they could recertify it for $10 but I had to have the valve replaced because it was no longer legal.
Total cost without propane was $45.
A new tank was $50.
I bought the new one.

 

[Mountain trapper]

We have a propane 5 burner grill on the back deck, a propane griddle and 2 camp ground style charcoal grills in the back yard. My smokehouse uses charcoal in a small grill. Then I put wood chunks on the grill to provide the smoke.

 

[Tim Horton]

The last gas grill I had finely died a long term, hard use death.. I replaced it with a cheap on sale gas grill to not interrupt the grilling season.. Then got a much nicer grill for a family member at Christmas.. Also had a wood fired HOBO stove made out of a scrap 20lb propane bottle.. It got used even in winter..

I was gifted about 20 or more old 20lb propane bottles from someone wanting a HOBO stove.. I traded most of them in for full in date tanks.. Even if the Blue Rhino tanks are short filled the grocery store stock boy who didn't want to have to go out and do tank exchanges didn't question the dates on the tanks... I could get all the scrap tanks I wanted from the local propane dealer to make in HOBO stoves..

Frankly.. I could never tell the difference in taste of gas or charcoal cooking.. Things from the smoker were most wonderful.. To me, charcoal being slower and significantly expensive where I lived at that time..

I used to tell my kids the black flakes on the grill were flavor crystals, but I don't think they ever believed that..

 

[Haertig]

to not interrupt the grilling season

Grilling season? At my house, the entire year is the grilling season. Many times have I had to shovel a path through the snow on my deck - from my back door to the grill - to cook dinner.

If the snow is the light dry kind, I'll grab the battery powered leaf blower to clean off the top of the grill around the knobs. That is much more efficient than trying to scrape all that off (doesn't work for wet heavy snow though). If it's already blizzarding out there, and you introduce a leaf blower to the mix, when you come back inside you generally look like Frosty the Snowman. Except with some nicely grilled steaks in your hand!

"Grilling season" ... ha!

 

[Bacpacker]

I grill more in the winter than I do in the summer

 

[Frodo]

The last gas grill I had finely died a long term, hard use death.. I replaced it with a cheap on sale gas grill to not interrupt the grilling season.. Then got a much nicer grill for a family member at Christmas.. Also had a wood fired HOBO stove made out of a scrap 20lb propane bottle.. It got used even in winter..

I was gifted about 20 or more old 20lb propane bottles from someone wanting a HOBO stove.. I traded most of them in for full in date tanks.. Even if the Blue Rhino tanks are short filled the grocery store stock boy who didn't want to have to go out and do tank exchanges didn't question the dates on the tanks... I could get all the scrap tanks I wanted from the local propane dealer to make in HOBO stoves..

Frankly.. I could never tell the difference in taste of gas or charcoal cooking.. Things from the smoker were most wonderful.. To me, charcoal being slower and significantly expensive where I lived at that time..

I used to tell my kids the black flakes on the grill were flavor crystals, but I don't think they ever believed that..

You can not tell the difference ?
Using a grill (imo). The difference in taste is startling
In a well seasoned smoker I can not tell the difference in taste but I can see the difference in a lack of smoke ring using gas
For a quick hamburger after work. Nothing wrong with a gas gril
On a Saturday with steaks on. I use charcoal with hickory chips
For smoking I use a electric water smoker

 

[Frodo]

I grill more in the winter than I do in the summer

I smoked a turkey all night for Thanksgiving in Colorado. With 3' of snow on the ground and it was flurry
Inside a 5'x4' utility shed cold as helll took over 12 hours but mama got her smoked turkey