Converting Natural Gas grill to Propane?

[sfbbqguy]

Was considering jumping on this CL listing for a Natural Gas Weber Genesis but I think I would want to convert to propane as it would be easier than Natural Gas hook-up.

Can anyone give me any advice on converting to propane?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/hsh/1316308152.html

$30 seems like a good deal but if it's too much aof a PIA to convert not sure I'd want to do that.

Any input is appreciated.

[Crüe-B-Cüe]

See if Weber has a conversion. All you have to do is change out the valves and add the regulator and hose.

[sfbbqguy]

Just called Weber Customer Service and they said it was not convertable...anymore.
She said they use to sell a conversion kit but don't anymore. "Too dangerous."

Still curious about the valves and regulator and hose...seems pretty easy?

[Crüe-B-Cüe]

I had an MHP gasser I got from my local gas company. The only difference between the NG and LP setup were the valves where you adjust the temp. They had different orifices. You can buy the hose and regulator at Lowe's or Home Depot. The orifice for NG is larger than the LP one. It's easier to convert LP to NG. All you have to do is drill the holes out slightly. If you hooked up a tank to that grill, it would probably have a flame like a weed burner. If Weber does not offer it, you would have to find a different brand valve that would match up to your burner, or take the orifice out, find a blank and drill it to the proper size. Does any of that make sense?

[Crüe-B-Cüe]

Wait a minute...Hold the horses...You should just be able to get a stock Weber propane valve. That grill originally came LP. There's a hell of a lot more LP grills than NG ones. Just tell them it's LP and you need replacement parts. I think they had it backwards when you called.

[Crüe-B-Cüe]

I found this on http://clagrills.com. Easy and cheap


33200 Brass spud orifice with 11/32” x 32 thread size for some Weber grills. Has #70 starter hole. Must be drilled to proper drill size.

FREE: When purchased with other parts, we will drill this orifice for you free of charge.

Material: brass
Weight: 0.1
$2.42

Qty
Part# 33200 fits these 7 Weber models:1100
900
Genesis 2000
Genesis I-V
Junior
Spirit 500
Spirit 700

[sfbbqguy]

Thanks Crue!

This is helpful. I need to find out for sure if the grill was originally LP and thne I should be able to make a determination.

[ljh34465]

I have a Weber Genesis Silver set up for propane and was moving to an area with natural gas so I got the conversion kit. Cost about $100 - have to replace the entire manifold.

Would guess it would be about the same in reverse - I would check it out. Think I checked it out on Weber's website.

Ironically, we moved to another area and had to continue with propane.

[mwagner0922]

Originally Posted by sfbbqguy

Just called Weber Customer Service and they said it was not convertable...anymore.
She said they use to sell a conversion kit but don't anymore. "Too dangerous."

Still curious about the valves and regulator and hose...seems pretty easy?

I know this is an old thread but I have not seen this solution in all of my research. Thought I would share. This is the solution that my local BBQ retailer taught me to do.

Here’s what I did. So the NG operates at 7” WC and the LP operates at 11” WC and burns 2 ½ times hotter than NG. (WC = water column = a unit of pressure) So you need a regulator that runs at 11”WC (a standard propane regulator you can buy anywhere.) Run that straight into the grill. If there’s an existing regulator on the grill, (mine had one that was running the pressure down to 2.5”-5.5” for NG) Take that one off and throw it away. Run the propane straight into the grill.
Now you have a problem with the valve orifices. You need two and a half times more NG to operate the grill at its designated BTU, thus the orifices are much larger then they need to be for propane. Unscrew the orifices and take them to a jeweler. Have them SILVER SOLDER the tips closed (I paid $5/ea) and then go back and re-drill them with a smaller drill bit. My local BBQ distributer had a chart that told him how many BTU’s each size hole put out. So for example my BBQ is rated at 44,000 BTU’s and I have four burners. So I need each of my burners to put out 11,000 BTU’s. (11,000 x 4 = 44,000) He drilled mine with a #62 which puts out 11,360 BTU’s each. I paid $3/ea to have them drill it. You can easily drill them out yourself. They did it with a cordless drill.
You still have an issue with the control. Usually your valves have three different holes in them to control low med and high. Again because these are designed for NG they are larger. Thus you may have a problem getting your grill cool enough for certain applications. You can remedy this by setting the knob between high and off. This will get a lower flow of fuel then on your lowest setting. Not a perfect solution but cheaper then buying new valves.
Hope that helps. I have pics if you would like to see some of my process.