Official 2020 BBQ, Smoking, Grilling, Baking and Beer thread

[JoyfulNoise]

Well, with lockdowns still in place and kids driving me nuts, I decided to do a little outdoor work I had put off and installed my gas timer valve on my grille (along with a new NG regulator) -



It’s not super-pretty, just a lazy man’s addition of a bracket and some new gas lines. I also completely stripped down my grill and cleaned it all out. The nice part is I can now set the gas timer and leave my grill running after I cook to clean it and not worry about forgetting to shut it off ... or remembering the grill is running at 2am and gone running outside in my undies to turn it off .... not that I’ve ever done that ?

 

[Bosley]

I didn’t even know they made timers for that. Guess what I’m gonna be installing!!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I didn’t even know they made timers for that. Guess what I’m gonna be installing!!

Yep. First saw one in the apartment home community we lived in in California. All the gas grills in the community pool areas had them. I thought it was a good idea. I like the one I got here because it was very sturdy and had 1/2” connections for high flow rates but it’s one drawback is there’s no mounting holes in it anywhere. The only way to mount it is to take off the dial handle and mount it onto the dial stem with the plastic handle holding it in place. I suppose it’s meant for a particular type of niche to sit in. Hence the reason why my solution is a bit hacked ... it’s just a notch above mounting it with duck tape and zip ties.

 

[Pv2]

... it’s just a notch above mounting it with duck tape and zip ties.

For gas, I recommend baling wire.

 

[Brentr]

Well, with lockdowns still in place and kids driving me nuts, I decided to do a little outdoor work I had put off and installed my gas timer valve on my grille (along with a new NG regulator) -

View attachment 138433

It’s not super-pretty, just a lazy man’s addition of a bracket and some new gas lines. I also completely stripped down my grill and cleaned it all out. The nice part is I can now set the gas timer and leave my grill running after I cook to clean it and not worry about forgetting to shut it off ... or remembering the grill is running at 2am and gone running outside in my undies to turn it off .... not that I’ve ever done that ?

What a great idea. Where did you purchase it?

 

[Arizonarob]

Well, with lockdowns still in place and kids driving me nuts, I decided to do a little outdoor work I had put off and installed my gas timer valve on my grille (along with a new NG regulator) -

View attachment 138433

It’s not super-pretty, just a lazy man’s addition of a bracket and some new gas lines. I also completely stripped down my grill and cleaned it all out. The nice part is I can now set the gas timer and leave my grill running after I cook to clean it and not worry about forgetting to shut it off ... or remembering the grill is running at 2am and gone running outside in my undies to turn it off .... not that I’ve ever done that ?

So now you just have to remember to keep turning it on when you’re cooking things for more then an hour.
In the future a simple egg timer on the counter would work just as well. Just sayin.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

So now you just have to remember to keep turning it on when you’re cooking things for more then an hour.
In the future a simple egg timer on the counter would work just as well. Just sayin.

I don’t usually use the gas grille for long cook outs, that’s what my Egg is for. The only time the gasser runs for more than an hour is when I make a rotisserie chicken. And then I’m usually out there anyway basting it and keeping an eye on the rotisserie.

Another reason I added it is for safety. The gas control valves on most grilles are really not meant to be true shutoff valves. Like portable propane grills that you hook a tank up to, you’re supposed to shutoff the gas valve on the tank when you’re done. I’d rather have a solid shutoff valve than depend on control valves to do it. And before anyone asks, yes there is a 1/4 turn shutoff valve at the gas line where it comes above ground. The problem is it is way back inside the lower cabinet and a general PITA to try to reach (the grille island has some design/layout flaws). I typically only turn that valve off when I’m working on the grill or when winter sets in and I’m not BBQ’ing. So adding this timer valve gives me some flexibility and features that I don’t have ... perhaps there’s a WiFi version out there that I can get to send me notifications ? ?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

What a great idea. Where did you purchase it?

Amazon

Gasav-R WA-3 Automatic Gas Shut-Off and Timer Valve with 1/2" IPS

Amazon.com : Gasav-R WA-3 Automatic Gas Shut-Off and Timer Valve with 1/2" IPS : Wall Timer Switches : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Gasav-R WA-3 Automatic Gas Shut-Off and Timer Valve with 1/2" IPS : Wall Timer Switches : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

 

[JoyfulNoise]

This gas grill probably only has another year or so of useful life to it and then I'll be in the market for an upgrade. I'll stick with 4 burners plus the rotisserie back-burner but I definitely plan to have at least one of the flat burners in my next grill be an infrared searing burner and I'll see which manufacturers have cast-iron burners instead of the traditional steel burner tubes. Most manufacturers will give you a lifetime warranty on the cast iron burners. I also want built-in LED lights. Lion Grills have a lot of good options but I'll also check with my local ODK shop (The Flame Connection) and see what brands they have. I've been wanting to upgrade the fireplace in our living room so I'll have to time it for when they're offering specials on fireplace upgrades and then see if I can get a BBQ deal to ride along with it....

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

That's pretty cool, actually. I've luckily never done that with the Blackstone griddle I have hooked to NG but I will have to consider that for a extra safety feature. Now with the propane grill... not since I have been in AZ. There is a built in timer on that though, I can tell ya....

And you are correct, we should shut off the ball valve every time. I still so that on the propane stuff but we have gotten lazy on the NG equipment.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Funny part about that grill is that the landscape designer that ordered it got a propane model instead of a natural gas model (not sure how he made that mistake but he wasn't the most conscientious fellow and he made me regret ever contracting him in the first place). So when I went to fire it up the first time, it would barely light and there was no heat. After figuring out his screw up, I had him refund me the cost of rebuilding it as a nat gas grill plus a little extra for my inconvenience. All it needed was a regulator and new orifices on the control valves which were pretty easy to replace. I could have drilled out larger holes in the existing brass orifices (propane orifices have smaller diameter holes), but the new ones were cheap enough to get. A few adjustments later and I had a perfectly operating nat gas grill. It's been an ok grill so far (has been working fine for 7 years) and the company that makes it is up in Phoenix so it's easy to get spare parts for. Still, now that I know what I know and think that what I don't know is minimized, I'm ready to upgrade my game. I have another natural gas pipe on the other side of the patio that used to run an outdoor fireplace (gotten rid of with the backyard remodel) and so that would be the perfect spot to keep a modified (for NG) Blackstone griddle when Santa decides to be nice to me one of these years....

 

[Rattus Suffocatus]

The Blackstone conversion kit takes all of about two minutes when you go to convert it. It is a hose, a quick disconnect and the orifices (with the wrench included). That is it. I don't think it runs quite as hot on NG, which isn't a bad thing with that griddle. (It still gets plenty hot!) The grill I have is one of the "non convertible" Char-Broils but with the griddle we don't use it much anymore anyway, so I didn't bother converting it anyway.

If you do that, at least when I bought it last year, you wanted to order the NG kit from Walmart.com because it was like $20+ less than direct from Blackstone. I also got a solid cover for it at the time which is nice.

I also have a PizzaQue pizza oven and converted that. I just swap the units at the quick disconnect rather than try to plumb them both in at the same time. The extra NG line like you have will be overkill for the Blackstone, it works just fine on the little valve the builder provided us for a grill fine. (60,000 BTU)

 

[Brentr]

This gas grill probably only has another year or so of useful life to it and then I'll be in the market for an upgrade. I'll stick with 4 burners plus the rotisserie back-burner but I definitely plan to have at least one of the flat burners in my next grill be an infrared searing burner and I'll see which manufacturers have cast-iron burners instead of the traditional steel burner tubes. Most manufacturers will give you a lifetime warranty on the cast iron burners. I also want built-in LED lights. Lion Grills have a lot of good options but I'll also check with my local ODK shop (The Flame Connection) and see what brands they have. I've been wanting to upgrade the fireplace in our living room so I'll have to time it for when they're offering specials on fireplace upgrades and then see if I can get a BBQ deal to ride along with it....

You may also want to look at Summerset Grills. This is what I have and love it. They are a little pricey but are built to last. And a dedicted griddle is nice to have as you already know that I use mine quite frequently

Summerset Grills

Luxurious outdoor cooking experiences

summersetgrills.com

 

[Katodude]

I installed a Blaze grill about 3 years ago and love it. Lifetime warranty on it including the cast iron burners.

My little Griddle top is coming today and looking forward to breakfast on it tomorrow. I know not as good as a dedicated griddle but dont have the space for one. Will report back with pictures on how well it works.

 

[jimim]

Fresh caught walleye tonight. I’m thinking in parchment paper. Not sure yet. Was open to come home with my 6 but only landed 1. Not a good day but the 1 fish did yield me over 2lbs of meat. Good strong fight. I thought I was going to loose it cause my buddy missed it with the net the first time. Lol nothing better in my area then walleye but I will say perch is a close second!

 

[Brentr]

Pork and eggs

 

[Brentr]

Try to support jimmy lifestyle. Happy Sunday

 

[Arizonarob]

 

[JoyfulNoise]

It’s a lazy Sunday evening grill - dogs, burgers, portobello mushrooms, Brussels Sprouts, etc.



And appropriate beverages -



And the plate -

 

[Arizonarob]