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Calling all plumbers and Natural Gas experts

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    Calling all plumbers and Natural Gas experts

    So, I removed an old and raggity NG grill that was on my deck. I've sealed off the NG line that was there and turned it off, since I only use charcoal and don't care for NG grilling. My question to the experts, is it possible to convert my LP starter on my Summit Charcoal grill to the NG line that is there? I'm assuming its finding the right regulator/fittings, but am out of my level of expertise. Does anyone have experience in this area or has anyone done this and offer some advice?

    Certainly, I'm willing to pay a plumber, but wanting to know if this a do-it-your selfer type job. I'm not completely ignorant to home improvement, just the conversion from one gas to another has me a little antsy.....

    #2
    jfmorris - 'Call for Philip Morris......"

    Comment


      #3
      I am not an expert but I have recently converted my propane Summit 470 to natural gas line I had installed years ago. There was no "Conversion Kit", it required some study on the pressure differences which means the orifice differences among others. I ordered some blank orifices, some very small wire gauge drill bits and studied the information, drilled and changed the orifices, changed the regulator, added a quick coupler. It all came out working as expected. Yes it can be done, I would bet there would be no "Conversion Kit" for your grill.

      Comment


        #4
        Troutman Haha. Thanks for paging me to this thread. To answer au4stree - yes, you can convert the burner on just about any grill from LP to natural gas by drilling the hole in the gas orifice to a larger size. Natural gas does not burn as hot as LP, and you need more gas flow to get the same BTU's. I did it MANY years ago on an old Charbroil grill I had. I would have to do a little research, or call my dad, to determine the proper drill bit size. The second part of the conversion is you have to REMOVE the regulator. Natural gas at your house is already regulated at your gas meter to low pressure. On the grill I converted, I basically replaced the hose from the gas manifold to the regulator with a 10 foot natural gas hose to a quick connect fitting on the hookup I had installed outside my brick fireplace. In fact, that hook up is still there, but I have not used it in 15 years.

        The orifice I am talking about is typically a brass piece with a hole in it, that threads into the gas manifold, and the burner tube fits over this. It looks like this:

        https://www.thebbqdepot.com/universa...yABEgIczfD_BwE

        This web page has a handy dandy chart to calculate drill size when converting from LP to NG, based on the BTU's of each burner:



        Note however that you have two considerations when dealing with the Summit.

        1. You will void the warranty. Weber *USED* to sell conversion kits, which were basically a bag of brass orifices to replace the ones on the grill, but has not in many years. The reason? Lawyers and liability. They don't want to get sued for someone blowing themselves up.

        2. Your regulator is likely "built in". If its like my Performer anyway. Unlike a LP grill, where the regulator is on the hose to the tank, the regulator on the Performer, and I am pretty sure the Summit charcoal grill, is built into the grill itself, and you would have to lose the part that has the gas control knob.

        My 2 cents are this. Just get a 20# propane tank and an adapter hose, and use that to light fires on your Summit. That's what I do with my Performer, and that tank probably will last 2 years. You also keep portability, and your warranty.

        Comment


          #5
          Ok, so I have nothing beneficial to add...other than the inevitable bad joke that, if I don't say it someone else will, so here goes.

          My wife says I am a natural gas expert.

          Ok, it's out of my system now, thanks for reading.

          Comment


          • Nate
            Nate commented
            Editing a comment
            That’s about as good as when we were driving one day and I saw a plane spraying fields and told my wife that I should have been a crop duster... she didn’t miss a beat on that one.

          #6
          My 2 cents is to not mess with it, just get a bigger LP tank.

          Comment


            #7
            Check local codes. I did a bulk install LP on my Genesis II. Required a licensed plumber who pulled permit, did install and get inspection done. Also I called Weber told them what I was doing. Since gasser registered, looked it up and sold me the right regulator. Told plumber this is what he had to use. Smooth uneventful install. Good luck.
            ​​​

            Comment


              #8
              Guys, he is not talking about bulk LP here - but converting the LP ignitor to natural gas. I vote to leave it alone, as the regulator assembly is built in on the Summit charcoal grill, if it’s like my Performer. Just buy the Weber Q 20 pound adapter hose or any other $10-20 hose off Amazon that lets you adapt devices meant for 1 pound LP tanks to a 20 pound tank. No permit or plumber needed, no grill warranty voided. You would not hook to bulk LP tanks or natural gas with such a setup, as those are already pressure regulated, and the Summit has the regulator built in.

              I use this with my Performer:

              https://www.weber.com/US/en/accessor...d=2035#start=1

              I think he just was wondering about using the natural gas hookup that is there, and that also means no plumber needed, or permit. The question is on the grill itself, and this is an Orifice hole size and regulator question. Again, NOT a code or permit thing for natural gas. Think if it this way - if he went to Home Depot and came home with a natural gas grill and quick connect hose, he could hook right to the existing fitting on his patio or deck.

              Comment


                #9
                Ok, confirmed from this schematic:

                https://www.weber.com/US/en/help/sch...model=18501001

                the regulator and valve assembly are item 47 in the drawing, and are integrated just like on the Performer. This means you need to keep it LP unless you want to gut the regulator (not recommended). Unlike a gas grill, where you have the control knobs mounted to a manifold with orifices, and a regulator and hose between than manifold and the tank, the Summit charcoal and Performer Deluxe integrate the control knob/manifold/regulator/orifice all into one assembly. That regulator won’t work with natural gas which is at very low pressures from the regulator on your house.

                As an engineer, I highly recommend leaving it as is, and use 1 pound or 20 pound propane tanks.

                Comment


                  #10
                  Well, after talking with my plumber, it is more trouble than it's worth. Plus jfmorris makes some really good points I had not considered, I'd really like to keep my warranty so I'll just get a larger tank and keep on grilling. Thanks all for the input and Huskee the obvious joke.

                  Comment

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