Barbecue Maintenance
One of the questions I get asked the most is: “Why does my barbecue have so many hot and cold spots and it seems to flare up a lot, is there anything I can do about it?”
Of course, I would like you to employ the awesome abilities of The Barbecue Guy to solve the problems but that is just a shameless plug for my business.
But here I will give you the same advice as if you had contacted me regarding the problem.
First, let me say that every barbecue needs to be maintained. I don’t care how much or how little you paid for the barbecue there are certain things that need to be done to make sure that the barbecue runs at peak efficiency. This maintenance will, of course, depend on how much you use the grill if you are an avid griller and use it for most meals you will, of course, need to maintain it more often. Does this mean you need to strip it down every week, of course not what it does mean that when you start getting a lot of flare-ups or hot and cold spots there are a few things you can do to solve it.
To start I need to say that everyone has different skill levels and not everyone has the tools required to service their own barbecue. I have not seen your barbecue and do not know what shape it is in or if your barbecue could be dangerous. There are many things on a barbecue that can cause injury, burns, cuts, and bruises so be very careful and do not try to do anything that you are not confident in doing.
Equipment you need to make the job easier
Basics
- Gloves
- Newspaper or tarp
- Paint scraper
- Barbecue brush
Handy Tool
- Power drill
- 3 or 4 inch round brass bristled brush for drill
- Shop Vac
How to cure flare-ups
Normally flare-ups are caused by grease, pretty obvious right? Remember your gloves and newspaper, they will come in handy.
Remove the cooking grills and place on the paper, next comes the heat plates which are located under the grills and are used to disperse the flame for even cooking and to protect the burners from grease, water, and oil. Inspect the heat plates for wear and replace if necessary, if they are not rusted through then they are still good, all heat plates will have rust on them eventually. If they are rusted through then replace them. The heat plates are the source of the most flare-ups, check for grease buildup on the plates and use the paint scraper to remove the excess buildup.
Now check the cook box for excessive buildup and scrap and remove the excess crap, too much of a buildup can cause large grease fires and can be a serious concern. If you have a shop vac you can remove the buildup easily, if not scoop it out with the scraper. Note: most newer barbecues have a removable grease tray in the bottom of the barbecue, you may be able to scrape the buildup into the drip pan. Remove and clean.
DO NOT use your house vacuum or built-in vacuum to clean the cook box or drip pan, you will regret it.
I will cover care and maintenance of the burners in the next section.
Hot and Cold Spots
Hot and cold spots are normally caused by the burners but if the heat plates are worn or have a lot of buildup it could cause hot and cold spots especially if you are getting a lot of flare-ups.
Normally if the burners are plugged with debris and grease or if they have the wrong air adjustment, they will not burn evenly and will cause hot and cold spots on the grill. If it is an air adjustment that would probably have been an issue even when new but would have gotten worse as the burners aged.
Most common is plugged or worn burners so to start visually inspect the burners for wear, of they have rusted through or broken along the seams then replace as soon as possible as the back pressure could cause fires under the control panel which could end up being a costly repair.
For plugged burners, you will need to use either your brush and a small pin or nail, or you can use your drill with the brass bristled brush. Carefully brush the burners and especially where the ports are on the burners, next use the pin to open the holes on the burners. You may need to remove the burners to accomplish this. Again if you do not feel that you can do this safely then please call your local service guy such as The Barbecue Guy.
I hope you have found this information helpful if you have any questions regarding this please email me at: