11 June 2020
Summer is here and we have some helpful tips to get your gas grill ready for the season. Below we’ll troubleshoot some of the most common storage challenges around.
If your grill cover ended up in your grill’s cabinet base over the winter, odds are it’s home to someone small and furry by now. Your grill cover is half polyester and much more cozy than wet leaves. It may have suffered some damage from your new residents, hopefully it didn’t. Should your cover still be fit-for-service wash it thoroughly with soap and water and hang it to dry. Next time when you store it, hang it up in your garage or cover your grill. Although they can be pretty rigid when frozen a cover is the best snow, dust and grime deterrent. Keeping snow off your control panel prevents your control knobs and igniter from icing up too.
Don’t clean your grill where you grill. Grilling is greasy and your grill will be if it wasn’t cleaned before the winter. Grease can stain stone or wooden patios and many degreasers are caustic enough to bleach the same surfaces leaving light patterns around your grill. Move your grill to a safe cleaning location and get your scrub on.
Winter is hard on everything, change your batteries when the snow is gone. This goes for igniters and grill lights, the extremely cold winter nights could have caused one of your batteries to blister which (once warm) can fill the battery compartment with corrosive grime. Swap the old batteries for new ones in the spring.
Grill brush safety should be your number one priority every spring. Grill brushes are inexpensive and essential grilling tools. Check them for rust, damage and grime. Should any of these factors be a concern, replace that brush! Get into the habit of replacing your grill brush often for your families sake. Spring is the perfect opportunity to move out with the old and into a new brush and some new grill accessories. Get sear marks, not dirty cooking grid smear marks. 9 out of 10 grillers agree on this point!
Smoke is loaded with grease. One of the most common concerns we receive calls about is “Peeling paint on the inside of the grill lid, chimney or dome.” Most customers are surprised to hear that we don’t paint any of those surfaces, that peeling is carbonized grease buildup. When you’re cleaning your grill, brush these flakes of the grime away. Check the vents on your smokers too, if they’re gummed up with grime soak them with degreaser and scrub away as much as possible. Don’t forget to reseason them with oil after. This clean-up is essential, you don’t want to hear comments about the pepper flakes on the salmon being bitter when you didn’t put pepper on anything tonight.
Freezing involves expansion and contraction over and over again. That’s not comfortable for nuts and bolts, they will loosen over time. Give everything a wiggle then tighten it up. Check your handle, legs, cart, shelves etc. Your grill should feel rock solid when you’re grilling. Rock on!
Tanks expire! Before you start filling for the season check to see if that tank is expired and replace it with a new one if so. Think about your options, tank exchange tanks are easy to come by and they work well but it’s not cheaper than filling your own. You can buy and own your own NEW premium propane tank, that not only connects perfectly every time but it looks good too! It’s a little more money at the start of the season but in the long run it pays off. New tanks last 12 years from the date of manufacturing and propane refills are quick and easy.
Gas flow is critical for performance and safety. If our first topic was an issue you absolutely need to check your hose for damage. Critters can gnaw through wood easily which means rubber hoses don’t stand a chance. For the safety of your next cookout season check your hose early and replace it if necessary. If this is an annual annoyance try one of our stainless braided hoses as a replacement. Better yet, check all of your parts, we have replacements.
Most grill mats don’t breathe and that can be a problem for a wood or stone deck. Avoid rot and mould. Remove the mat and clean it thoroughly then clean the space below. A power washer is a great ally but it can rough up wood if you’re not careful. Power washers are great for removing stains too. Let this space dry before replacing the mat and the grill.
Grease candles are common in the winter months because we’re all a little more lax about cleaning. If you haven’t cleaned out your grill grease cup in a while it’s probably overflowing and has created a few of these candles. Remove them when it’s cold! Hard grease is far easier to work with than liquid grease. Remove the bulk of it when it’s firm. On a warmer day remove the rest Degreaser and water. Use foil liners in winter months to make this process as simple as possible.
For more information, or for a new gas grill, contact Monnick Supply in Framingham and Marlborough, MA.
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