in the previous thread I said Gas vs Charcoal, and many of you assumed that by "gas" I meant Liquid Propane. Yes, that was correct. I was thinking of those 20-25 LP tanks.

But looking on the web, it appears they make actual natural gas grills. And since I have the natural gas line and meter right there on the back patio, it got me thinking: hmm, I will never have to go shopping for LP or charcoal. I can grill pretty much any time I want, I will never run out of fuel.

so what do you think? any downsides in Natural Gas vs Liquid propane? One down side I see is that if and when I move, if the new place does not have NG hookup, the grill will be useless to me. Or is there a way to convert NG to LP?

typically most grills can be converted to Ng from propane or the other way
The regulator and orifices just need to be changed out

Sounds like a plan.

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I took the NG route. It is wonderful to avoid dealing with propane tanks.

I think there are two things about NG
--it does burn a bit cooler than propane. The grill still gets plenty hot, though
--you gotta remember to turn it off. The 'leave it on to burn off the residue' plan can be a problem. This happens often enough that when a friend in a rural area (on a large propane tank) tried to get his grill plumbed the propane guy talked him out of it. Too many people burned a whole tank by leaving their grill on for a week!

And, yes, it is possible to convert back to propane if you need to.

OUCH! One of those big household tanks takes a pretty penny to fill!
I can see that as a down side if one doesn't check the grill after finishing, or have it someplace that you'll notice it being on.

Quote
numbered
I took the NG route. It is wonderful to avoid dealing with propane tanks.

I think there are two things about NG
--it does burn a bit cooler than propane. The grill still gets plenty hot, though
--you gotta remember to turn it off. The 'leave it on to burn off the residue' plan can be a problem. This happens often enough that when a friend in a rural area (on a large propane tank) tried to get his grill plumbed the propane guy talked him out of it. Too many people burned a whole tank by leaving their grill on for a week!

And, yes, it is possible to convert back to propane if you need to.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

I have converted mine to natural gas. It does burn cooler. If possible, remove the head shields that go over the l burners. Install a second grill grate in their place and put lava rock on the grill grate. Then put back on the grilling surface grates. The lava rocks will keep a more consistent heat and make up for the cooler grill temps.

space,

I converted my propane grill to natural gas intentionally, by just drilling out the brass jets to the proper size. I installed my own nat. gas line through the basement wall. Did this 15 years ago. I am now looking for a good buy on a natural gas grill. I have not noticed any difference in cooking time between nat. gas and LP.

I use that nat. gas source to run my emergency generator as well (I've now converted 2 generators to natural gas). That beats trying to find gasoline at a station that still has power to run their pumps. Natural gas does not produce as much power as gasoline, so figure about a 20% loss when determining how many kw you need to buy.

Quote
space-time
in the previous thread I said Gas vs Charcoal, and many of you assumed that by "gas" I meant Liquid Propane. Yes, that was correct. I was thinking of those 20-25 LP tanks.

But looking on the web, it appears they make actual natural gas grills. And since I have the natural gas line and meter right there on the back patio, it got me thinking: hmm, I will never have to go shopping for LP or charcoal. I can grill pretty much any time I want, I will never run out of fuel.

so what do you think? any downsides in Natural Gas vs Liquid propane? One down side I see is that if and when I move, if the new place does not have NG hookup, the grill will be useless to me. Or is there a way to convert NG to LP?

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Ed (modelamac)

I think I will just put an OUT OF ORDER
sticker on my head and call it a day.

Due to potential liability issues, some makers (Weber is one) do not put out any conversion kits. You can buy after market kits, but it will generally void your warranty.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Quote
space-time
in the previous thread I said Gas vs Charcoal, and many of you assumed that by "gas" I meant Liquid Propane. Yes, that was correct. I was thinking of those 20-25 LP tanks.

But looking on the web, it appears they make actual natural gas grills. And since I have the natural gas line and meter right there on the back patio, it got me thinking: hmm, I will never have to go shopping for LP or charcoal. I can grill pretty much any time I want, I will never run out of fuel.

so what do you think? any downsides in Natural Gas vs Liquid propane? One down side I see is that if and when I move, if the new place does not have NG hookup, the grill will be useless to me. Or is there a way to convert NG to LP?[/quote

We recently purchased a Samsung NG range and a LP kit and instructions were supplied. There is a NG/LP regulator at the back of the warmer drawer. Orifices (7) included. Bought at Lowes on Saturday and could have had delivered on Sunday. For the price of a new gas line, they included delivery, installation, and haul away.
I use NG for the BBQ and it's really cheap and no problem with temps.

I know a guy with the NG hookup who grilled one time in the winter and left the grill on for a month (until his next gas bill arrived). The gas company was not sympathetic to his request to reduce the bill (hundreds of dollars).

I had the NG setup at one house for eight years and found it very convenient. Fortunately, I always remembered to shut off the gas.

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When I originally looked into hooking up NG to my grill the Gas company said "NO" unless it is in an Outdoor Kitchen set-up or otherwise secured to be immovable. This was 8 years ago . . .

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Bill
Flagler Beach, FL 32136

Carpe Vino!

Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.
— David Rains Wallace

Quote
WHiiP
When I originally looked into hooking up NG to my grill the Gas company said "NO" unless it is in an Outdoor Kitchen set-up or otherwise secured to be immovable. This was 8 years ago . . .

Interesting. It complicates things.

Why would you even ask?

You never burn off the residue after cooking but, instead, you do it before cooking.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.