5 Tips for Troubleshooting Low Flame Output on your Barbeque Grill

April 12, 2009

Several questions have been asked on my Weber Technical Support Experience blog post regarding low flame output or yellow flame output on a BBQ Grill burner, so I thought I would post some ideas to resolve the problem.

Low flame output or yellow flame can be caused by several things.

  1. Leak in the Fuel Supply

    2. This is the most common problem that impacts low or yellow flame output. To troubleshoot, apply soapy water to the propane tank valve, connector, hose, all the way up to where the hose connects to the burner assembly on your grill. Look for bubbles to indicate small leaks of the gas source. If you have any leaks, for safety reasons, get them repaired or replaced immediately.

  2. OPA Safety Valve shutting down due to a leak in the gas supply

    3. This can be caused by the OPA safety valve in the Propane tank being tripped. A reason why the safety valve might have tripped could be that it detected a leak somewhere between the propane tank and the burner (including a burner not being turned off all the way).

    The leak would cause a small amount of propane to leak from the tank which would trip the safety valve much like a circuit breaker in a breaker box. After the safety valve is tripped, only a small amount of propane is allowed out of the tank, causing a small flame.

    Steps to reset the OPA safety valve:

    - Use soapy water (not a match) to check the hose and the connections within the grill for leaks
    - Turn the propane tank valve off
    - Open and shut a grill burner valve on the Barbeque grill
    - Make sure all the grill burners and the propane tank valve is off.
    - Disconnect the hose from the propane tank
    - Reconnect the hose back to the propane tank

    Those steps should reset the OPA Safety valve on the propane tank.

    Now it is time to test the tank. Open the valve on the propane tank 2 turns slowly (not all the way on).

    Light the grill as normal.

  3. Blockage in the Venturis

    4. Unhook the hose from the tank and check the grill burner assembly and venturis for obstructions. I have had spiders crawl into the pipes and build a spider web which restricted the amount of gas that could flow from the tank to the grill burners. Follow your manufacturers instructions for doing this check.

    The Venturi shutters also might need to be adjusted. Find the venturi tube adjustment screw. This screw releases the shutters. Light the grill and set to low heat. Loosen the venturi screw and open the shutters until the flame is mostly blue. Turn off gas and tighten the adjustment screw. Let the grill cool.

  4. Regulator problems

    5. Another factor might be that the regulator might be stuck. That is the assembly on the hose before it screws into the propane tank. This might need to be reset.

    To reset the regulator, follow these steps (or check with your manufacturer)

    1. Turn off the gas at the propane tank
    2. Disconnect the hose from the propane tank
    3. Open the lid of your BBQ Grill
    4. Turn all the burner valves to high
    5. Wait for 2 minutes (just time enough for a soda)
    6. Turn off all the burner valves
    7. Connect the gas line back up to the propane tank
    8. Turn the gas on slowly on the propane tank
    9. Light the grill using your normal lighting procedures

    If the regulator was stuck, it should have been reset using these steps.

    If you always turn off your burner valves first before turning off the gas at the tank, you will keep the regulator from sticking again.

    If you still have low flame or yellow flame, give it a second try, although you might have a faulty regulator that is causing the low flame or yellow flame. That will need to be replaced if it is bad.

  5. Propane tank might be bad

    6. Try hooking up a different tank to the grill to see if the problem goes away. I wasted a whole 5 gallons of propane with a tank that went bad. A new tank fixed my problem.

    One other hint:

    Always open your propane tank valve slowly to keep the pressure in the tank from overwhelming your OPA valve or the regulator. Wait a few moments after turning the gas on before lighting the grill. This will allow time for the pressure to even out before lighting the grill.

    I hope these tips will help you to get your grill working for the summer barbeque season.

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    Written by dave · Filed Under Barbecue Equipment, Barbecue Grills, Barbecue Tips and Tricks 

    Comments

    5 Responses to “5 Tips for Troubleshooting Low Flame Output on your Barbeque Grill”

    1. Troubleshooting low or yellow flame output on a Barbeque Grill … | Best Gas Grills on April 15th, 2009 12:17 am

      [...] Go here to see the original:  Troubleshooting low or yellow flame output on a Barbeque Grill … [...]

    2. wm simmons on June 1st, 2009 2:46 pm

      so I have this wonderful grill , and yesterday was my 64 birthday , I cleaned the grill put on a new tank and lite it , its a three burner grill and it usually get’s to be 500 to 600 degrees , well it never got past 350 , the regulator on the grill was ice cold to the touch , we had high humidity yesterday and a ton of rain , when I open two of the burners it started working when I opened the third the temp fell . seems like the safty valve was kicking in , i shut it down a number of time but it still acted up . , and after a fashion it did cook the food but what do you think caused the grill to act up other than Murphys law ?
      it a year old on memorial day
      jet aire grill
      thanks

    3. steve... on July 3rd, 2009 11:55 pm

      Thanks for this!!!! Great advice… It was the regulator… Never would have solved this without your help!!!! How did I ever fix anything before the internet??? Thanks again!!!

    4. kathy on August 20th, 2009 8:17 pm

      Thank you, thank you thank, thank you. I could not get the grill to get over 110 degrees. I followed the steps for the regulator and it fired up and was moving over 200 as I walked into the house. I thought this might be a whole weekend deal. Thank you!

    5. Gil Matar on February 6th, 2010 3:26 pm

      Thanks for the advice about the regulator. You rock. Thanks!

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