Open a BBQ restaurant, they said. It will be fun, they said

[Hawg Father of Seoul]

Originally Posted by TailGateJoecom

I have a vulcan version of that range with the broiler/flat top in my basement, yeah of my house lol, and I hate using the flat top. Standing in front of it gets unbearable with the heat coming out through the broiler opening, to the point that it burns, and that is not a good height to be burned at! I never use the flat top because of it.

I think I said the one I had was a Wolf, but my wife reminded me it was a Vulcan. We only used it for mass cooking on top and steaks under. We also had a micro polished flat top that we primarily used.

Very versatile piece of equipment. You will love it.

[marubozo]

I don't know what I did to deserve all of this bad karma, but I don't find it funny any longer.

Came in this morning to another cold restaurant. Opened the smoker and all the meat inside was frozen. Out of propane. No heat, no hot water, no cooking, no smoking, so it's another prime weekend day that's going to be a loss. Even more so than Friday since I lost all the meat that was in the smoker last night. We also had about a $250 takeout order scheduled for noon.

I seriously need a few days off.

[Memphis Que]

Really sorry to hear about your bad luck recently, but it is just a small bump in the road in the grand scheme of things. It's nothing compared to what you went through to get your restaurant opened. Just hang in there and keep going the way you've been going.

It sounds like you might want to consider investing in one of the monitoring devices that others have suggested. I don't know what they cost, but I bet it's less than a smoker full of meat and a day of sales.

[Hoppy]

You just can't make this stuff up..... This would make a good Reality TV Show.....From being in business for myself years ago (Not BBQ Joint) I learned that being in business providing a service for the public it's a lot like Remodeling..... One thing constantly turns into another.........

Making a go for it in any business is not for the faint of heart and in order to make a small fortune in a business you need to start off with a large fortune.....

The General Public and Employees never realize that you are actually working for them and not for yourself.....

Keep your Chin Up and Soldier On Brother!......Keep the faith and you will find the sweet spot......

It's sure not easy because if it was all of us would be opening a BBQ Joint.

That's why I stick with Catering because I'm to old to put myself through it.....

We are ALL PROUD OF YOU for having the Ballz and Drive to Make this thing work.

YOU CAN DO THIS Jeremy!

[ButtBurner]

dang sorry to hear that!!!

how could you run out of propane?

did the delivery not show or something?

[marubozo]

Not sure what the deal with the propane is. We have a 1000 gallon tank and I checked it a few weeks ago and the gauge was still showing about 30%. Considering it was filled months ago, it would seem that would leave enough gas to get by for a while. But apparently the gauge dropped like a rock over the past two weeks.

I'm going to ask them about a regular periodic fill schedule or something rather than just filling it all up at once and having to call when it gets low.

The good news is they are coming out to do an emergency fill in about an hour, but the bad news is that it's going to cost me the after hours surcharge of about 200 bucks, and it's still too late to be able to salvage anything today.

Oh well.

[ButtBurner]

I see.

I have automatic refill at my cabin

I also watch it like a hawk.

glad you will be back up soon!!

[castlepines]

If you can't be open today, and you are usually closed Monday and Tuesday, why spend the $200 after-hours surcharge for propane you won't use until Wednesday?

[marubozo]

Originally Posted by castlepines

If you can't be open today, and you are usually closed Monday and Tuesday, why spend the $200 after-hours surcharge for propane you won't use until Wednesday?

No furnace without gas, and temps will likely be at or below zero the next few nights. Frozen pipes are the last thing I need.

[JimmyDAL]

My recommendation, we would buy propane in blocks ie $5,000.00 but usually $$10,000.00. During the height of the summer. This would allow to buy at a huge discount and it would be auto delivered. The key to propane and cost is to one the tanks! Alos, keep in mind that when completely filled its only 80% full. Hope this helps.

[JimmyDAL]

Sorry auto tap...own the tanks

[bwsawman]

Sorry to hear about the troubles but thanks for sharing with us. We are pulling for you. My mom is waiting for the weather to break to come and try out the Prized Pig. Hang in there...this is just part of the fun

[Smoke House Moe]

Originally Posted by marubozo

and it's still too late to be able to salvage anything today.

Oh well.

Obviously you can't cook without propane, but keep around some candied bacon, or faster cooking items ,like wings, in case something else causes your smoker to shut down overnight.

[castlepines]

Originally Posted by marubozo

No furnace without gas, and temps will likely be at or below zero the next few nights. Frozen pipes are the last thing I need.

Ah, got it. I was thinking the heating and water were on natural gas and the cookers were using propane for some reason. I reread your post. My bad.

Is it colder now than it was when you read the gauge a few weeks ago? The pressure gauges will fluctuate with temps. The higher the temps, the higher the pressure. When temps fall the gauges will fall...even if no gas has been used. It's possible your reading at 30% a few weeks ago was with higher temps than now, giving you the impression that you had more gas than you actually had. Temps drop and the gauges drop, in addition to using more gas to heat things at the lower temps. That might explain the massive drop on the gauge. This is why tanks are considered full at 80% and empty at 20%. It allows for the expansion and contraction of the gas volumes with temp changes. It doesn't solve your problem, obviously, but might give you one less thing to worry about if you're thinking something is wrong with your gauge or tank.

[sliding_billy]

Sorry man. Hope that things normalize when the weather breaks.