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A soft brush clearing the ports of a burner removed from a grill.

Habits that keep a grill lighting clean

Maintenance and prevention
guides.

The routines that keep a grill off our schedule, from brushing burner ports and clearing venturi tubes to changing flavorizer bars, emptying the grease tray and keeping pellets dry.

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Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm

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Maintenance and prevention,
guide by guide.

This section gathers the care that keeps a grill lighting cleanly and heating evenly: burners and venturi tubes, the bars, tamers and briquettes above them, the drip tray below, and the pellets, firepot and cooldown of a pellet grill. It is meant for owners who would rather spend an hour with a brush each season than lose a summer weekend to a grill that will not cooperate.

All 18 guides
A stainless gas grill on a patio with its hood up and cooking grates removed, one tube burner lifted out of the grill and resting on a folded towel on the side shelf beside a pipe cleaner, a straightened paper clip and a small flashlight, every knob at off and no flame.
5-minute read

Cleaning Grill Burners and Venturi Tubes with the Gas Off and the Grill Cold

How Lynx, Blaze and Weber have owners lift burners, clear ports and spider screens and seat each burner back on its orifice, and where the job passes to a technician.

A stainless built-in grill head in a stone counter with its hood open and cooking grates set aside, one tray of square ceramic briquettes lifted out of the grill and resting upside down on the counter beside a soft brush, the brass burners visible in the empty space, every knob at off and no flame.
5-minute read

Heat Shields, Flavorizer Bars and Briquettes: Cleaning Them and Knowing When They Are Done

What sits between the flame and the grate on each kind of grill, how Weber, Blaze, Lynx and Coyote say to clean it, why foil stays out, and the signs a part is worn through.

A stainless pellet grill on a covered patio with its hood open and the grill's hopper lid raised, the heat shield lifted aside to show a clean empty firepot, a sealed plain plastic tub of hardwood pellets standing on the pavers beside it.
5-minute read

Caring for a Pellet Grill: Dry Pellets, a Clear Firepot and a Full Cooldown

Keeping hardwood pellets dry, clearing ash from the firepot before each start, letting the shutdown cycle finish, and the drip tray, rain and foil rules from the maker's manual.

Habits that keep a grill lighting clean.

Every routine here comes from the makers' own use-and-care manuals, Lynx, Blaze, Weber, Coyote, TEC and others, with the manual cited beside the section it supports. Where two makers disagree on a detail, such as whether a paper clip belongs in a burner port, both are shown and the advice is to follow the manual for your own grill.

The guides are just as clear about limits. Owners clean burners and venturis with the gas off and the grill cold, lift out shields and trays, and scoop ash out of a firepot that has gone cold. Orifices, valves, manifolds and gas fittings stay closed, no one hunts for leaks with a lighter, and no hand goes into a warm firepot or a jammed auger; those jobs are a visit.

Read them when the grilling season opens and again when it closes, after a grill has sat unused for a few weeks, or when the flame starts to look yellow, low or uneven. Many repair calls we answer began as a small buildup that one of these routines would have cleared.

Not sure where to start?

The short answerCleaning Grill Burners and Venturi Tubes with the Gas Off and the Grill Cold

To clean gas grill burners, close the gas, wait until the grill is cold, lift out the grates and the layer above the burners, then brush the ports, clear any blocked ones, look through each venturi tube and seat every burner squarely on its orifice again.

The short answerHeat Shields, Flavorizer Bars and Briquettes: Cleaning Them and Knowing When They Are Done

Grill heat shields, flavorizer bars, flame tamers and ceramic briquette trays sit over the burners to spread heat and turn drippings into smoke.

The short answerCaring for a Pellet Grill: Dry Pellets, a Clear Firepot and a Full Cooldown

Pellet grill maintenance comes down to four habits: keep pellets dry in a sealed container, clear ash and unburned pellets from the firepot before every start, let the shutdown cycle run until the fan stops, and empty the drip tray after each cook.

When reading
is not enough.

If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop.

What repairs cost
  1. 01The gas and the grill, checked first
  2. 02What failed, and what it costs
  3. 03Parts on the truck
  4. 04Lit before we leave

The problems
these answer.

Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking.

All 17 problems
Side view of a stainless gas grill burner lit under a lifted grate, tall soft yellow and orange flames rising from its ports while the next burner shows neat short blue flames, faint soot on the underside of the raised lid. Problem

Grill Yellow Flame and Soot on the Grates

5 causes, cheapest first

 Close view along a stainless gas grill burner in use, a thin short row of small blue flames barely rising from its ports under a lifted grate, the next burner off and dark, evening light on the steel. Problem

Grill Low Flame: Burners Stuck at a Weak Blue Line

6 causes, cheapest first

 Top-down view of the cooking grates of a stainless grill covered edge to edge with slices of white bread toasted in an uneven pattern, dark brown across the back and one side, pale in one front corner. Problem

Grill Uneven Heat: Hot Spots and Cold Corners on the Grates

6 causes, cheapest first

 Low view of the stainless control panel of a gas grill, a short tongue of orange flame showing in the dark gap below the row of knobs, one knob at the end softened and warped, the cabinet doors below closed. Gas or fire at the grill

Grill Flashback: Flames Behind the Knobs or Under the Panel

6 causes, cheapest first
A family gathered around a grill on a sunny patio.
For the heart of your home.

Questions about
maintenance and prevention.

How often should a gas grill get a full cleaning?
The CPSC asks for a venturi check at least once a year, and makers such as Blaze ask for a look at the burners before each use. For most households a full clean in spring and another in fall is enough.
What should I never do while cleaning a grill?
Leave every gas fitting, the orifice and the valves alone, never test for leaks with a flame, and never start while the grill or firepot is still warm. Close the gas first and let the metal go cold.
May oven cleaner go on grill parts?
Only where your manual allows it. Lynx permits an oven-style cleaner on its drip tray with care, while Weber lists oven cleaner among the products not to use on its grills.
Can you do the seasonal cleaning for me?
Yes. A cleaning and safety inspection covers burners, venturis, shields, the drip tray and the gas connections, and ends with a list of any parts that are close to the end.

The other
sections.

Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns.

All guides
A grill burner with half its ports dark, the flame uneven, seen close.
What the flame is telling you

Common problems

A hand closing the valve of a propane tank under a cart grill.
Safe checks with the gas closed

Troubleshooting

A meat thermometer in a steak resting on the side shelf of a grill.
Gas, flame, grease and safe temperatures

Gas, fire and food at the grill

A built-in grill and a cart grill on the same patio.
Built-in or cart, infrared or tube, fix or retire

Choosing and comparing

A tape measure along the space between a grill and a house wall.
Clearances, gas type and where it may stand

Installation and setup

Not sure which section?

Start from your question

The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it.

18 guidesWhere to start Where to start

Back to your everyday

Let’s get your grill working again.

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