eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

First things first... This is Sunday, May 27th, 2007... Happy Memorial Day Weekend folks... And a very special "Thank You!" goes out to all the men and women who have served, are serving, or will serve in the United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Army, the United States Navy, and the United States Coast Guard. And a very, very special thanks to their families.

Onward...

Alright then... As mentioned before, it's Memorial Day Weekend, and we're ready to talk about birds... NOT!

Every so often, we all need to take a break... This is my break. Today, I'm going to post on repairing your plain old, propane, backyard grill. Here's the process:

1. Accept the fact that your grill burners and heat angle (aka "heat tent" aka "heat plate") are a rusting disaster area and a fire hazard to boot. Ours looked like the following...
   
   
   
   But so long as the basic structure of the entire grill is sound, this post will be of help. However, if the firebox or frame has been compromised, throw the thing out and buy a new one! This post only discusses replacing the burners and heat angles themselves in an otherwise sound grill.
2. Next, do your homework. Make sure that you can get the replacement parts. Printouts of scaled pictures and grill model numbers go a long way when you head for that "Big Box" home center.
   
   
   
   And if the hardware folks can't help you, google the Web. That's what the wife and I did. Problem solved; we had the parts delivered right to our door.
3. Once you have your parts, be sure the gas is turned off, disconnect the tank, and get it away from your well-ventilated work area.
4. Acknowledge the fact that the following instructions are appropriate only if you put your grill/burner together yourself initially and/or you know what you're doing! (The original assembly manual works wonders here too.)
5. Prep for the operation by gathering tools/sundries such as...
   • Screwdrivers
   • A decent socket set
   • Pliers
   • A roll of paper towels
   • Trash bags
   • Flashlight
   • Gloves and old clothing (This is going to be messy!)
   • Disposable putty knife
   • Eye protection
   • Wire brush
   • Grill cleaning brush
   • Grill cleaner
   • Camera
   
   
   We've done all our prep work, and we're wearing our safety glasses. Lets' get started!
   
   
6. Now, take photos of the grill from every angle including the underside. It sounds crazy, but there's nothing like a photo trail back to full grill assemblage after a three-week, work/family, non-grill related binge.
7. Ok... Into each life a little rain must fall. In our case, a lot of rust, dirt, and grease must fall. Yup... Double up some garbage bags and brace yourself... This ain't gonna' be pretty! Tear out the rusting, greasy parts and throw them away (being careful to note how the entire grill was assembled in the first place).
8. Next, break out the sacrificial putty knife and wire brush, and scrape that fire box clean. (And no, old grease just doesn’t congeal into anything even near to Chanel No. 5, but carry on anyway.)
9. Man oh man, that last step was horrible. But at least your empty grill should now look something like this...
   
   
   
   
10. Now, all that's left is to put the creature back together again, fire her up, give the grates a final scrubbing and cleaning, and then prep the BBQ... At this point, the old girl should start looking downright friendly... (We basically rebuilt our old grill at a cost of $60 instead of blowing another $300 for a new one. And I'll happily work for $120/hour any day!)
    
    
    
    

That should do it for today team... Ok, ok, ok... I can't resist a picture of a bird... Just call me weak... Here's a fantastic shot of a crow, thanks to the NovaBird camera. (Remember, you can see our entire 1,100+ picture library at New England Bird Picture Library, and be SURE to check out our NEW set - "Favorite Bird Photos"!)



'Til later, see you by the feeders! (Now where are those pickles?)

CapeCodAlan