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Gas grill: enlarge the orifices for more heat?

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    Gas grill: enlarge the orifices for more heat?

    Hi all,

    I love my gasser. At times I'd like a little more heat, e.g. for searing the "*(&@$%*()&" out of steak, pork chops, etc.

    It's a 3 burner Weber Genesis Silver B (I think). According to the in accurate thermometer, it's supposed to get to about 600F.

    I'm wondering if a little tweak might help it? Perhaps 700?

    Anybody have experience drilling out the orifices, and either had a good experience or bad?

    Thanks in advance.

    #2
    It’s not something I’d try….

    Comment


      #3
      You might be trying to make the wheel rounder. I'd rely on Weber's engineering. Messing with the orifice size will also change the oxygen requirements. You might consider heating a cast iron skillet on the Weber, once it is up to temp it can dump heat into the meat quite well.

      Comment


      • smokyYank
        smokyYank commented
        Editing a comment
        Thanks bmillin. I actually did that a few times, but the skillet only covered one of the burners...maybe I should get a large griddle...

      #4
      Get some GrillGrates and it'll run hotter.

      Comment


        #5
        That won’t work. The gas is regulated by the regulator. All you’ll get is the same flow but at lower pressure, and probably improper combustion, ie a colder flame.

        Comment


        • texastweeter
          texastweeter commented
          Editing a comment
          Which will also soot up

        #6
        I would NOT alter anything related to the flow of gas...EXCLAMATION POINT!

        Comment


        • BBQPhil
          BBQPhil commented
          Editing a comment
          Don't play with fire.

        #7
        What they said. If you want to sear with high heat, there are other ways. 🫣🤕💀

        Comment


          #8
          Don't attempt. You would have to increase every hole the same, way too many to begin with. The larger holes with the same pressure wouldn't have any effect. Don't mess with gas.

          Comment


            #9
            Heck get a cheap turkey fryer and use a big cast iron skillet. Turn the fryer up until it sounds like a jet taking off and you'll sear anything.

            Comment


            • texastweeter
              texastweeter commented
              Editing a comment
              That's how I make my black and Bleu steaks

            #10
            Thanks, all. I respect your wisdom and won't open the orifices. I already have grill grates, but they're thin aluminum, so there's no real mass to keep the heat.

            Other suggestions are welcome!

            Comment


            • Bob K
              Bob K commented
              Editing a comment
              Try flipping them over, flat side up

            • smokyYank
              smokyYank commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks Bob K, I already do that. There's just not enough mass, it's thin aluminum.

            #11
            In my experience and according to the manufacturer, GrillGrates do make it run hotter. But since you have them already, that's apparently not doing the trick.

            Maybe you should get an induction burner and sear on cast iron?

            Click image for larger version

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            Comment


            • smokyYank
              smokyYank commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks

            #12
            If you have a charcoal chimney, flopping a grate on top while coals are white will get a right nice rocket sear on there. I’m pretty sure meathead has an article on it on the free side. But there is also this.

            Comment


            • smokyYank
              smokyYank commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks au4stree, but I have a PVC deck and won't do charcoal on it.

            • au4stree
              au4stree commented
              Editing a comment
              I should have known, I realized after I mentioned that you were talking gas grills🤦‍♂️. Best of luck.

            #13
            I tried it on a Weber Q2200 portable grill.
            Trust me, it doesn’t work. The amount of fuel coming in doesn’t change…. See if you can get a regulator with more flow..?

            Comment


              #14
              Start looking for a newer Genesis, preferably one with the extra sear burner on FB or CL. I’m assuming yours is the older E/W burners? The newer Genesis grills will can push 700 on the dome thermo and singe the hair off your arms flipping food at those temps.

              I‘d agree with the others and leave the orifices and regulator to the engineers at Weber.

              Comment


              • smokyYank
                smokyYank commented
                Editing a comment
                Thanks, glitchy. Need to figure out a budget for that, especially since I already purchased the Grill Grates, and they're sized for each grill. What about an IR burner?

              • glitchy
                glitchy commented
                Editing a comment
                smokyYank You can always set the GrillGrates on top of the regular grates, mine are that way all the time even with the right size, you don’t have to though. An IR burner would probably be even better, but Weber doesn’t do them. If I win the grand prize ever, I’m picking the Blaze and putting an IR burner in it.

              #15
              I still technically have a Genesis Silver A - same grill with 2 instead of 3 burners like the B. It’s now in my daughters backyard. I would not mess with the orifices at all. Just gonna mess it up most likely. you only change orifice sizes for different types of gas. The burners are designed for a certain number of but’s, and won’t do well if you try to increase the gas flow. Most likely you’ll just burn up the burners and flavorizer bars faster, and burn the food too.

              The old Genesis does a good job of getting up to 400-500, but beyond that, the Grillgrates I put in it will get to 700 if I read the surface temp with an IR thermometer, but the dome thermometer will be at 450 or so. On that grill the Grillgrates trap,a lot of the heat below the grate, and you can’t go by the dome thermometer at all with them installed.

              Comment


              • smokyYank
                smokyYank commented
                Editing a comment
                Thanks, jfmorris. I'm a bit of a nerd, so can anyone explain how, if a fire exudes e.g. 600 degrees, how can anything sitting in that air bath get hotter than the source fire?

              • jfmorris
                jfmorris commented
                Editing a comment
                smokyYank those flames in the burners are 1800+ degrees (maybe a lot more). The way the Grillgrates amplify heat is by trapping it under the grate and it builds up to get a GRATE temp that is 100-200 degrees hotter than the regular grate. With the stock grates the air flows through and out the grill faster. Your temp above the grates - at the dome thermometer -won’t change much though, since heat above the grate still leaves the big gap at the back of the lid at the same rate.

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