WSCG gas ignition reliability

[Andrrr]

Hey all,
I’m a few months into using this thing and I absolutely love it. So dang versatile and good at everything I’ve tried to do on it.
I’m not a gas grill guy so I don’t know if this is common or not but the consistency of the gas ignition is something I’ve kind of been struggling with. Don’t get me wrong, it works every time, but it’s a matter of how many times I need to turn the knob till it actually lights. Typically I’ll turn the knob slowly per instructions and a short burst of flames will come along with a pop sound and the fire goes out, almost like it is so powerful that it puts itself out. The gas will continue to come out which I can hear so I turn it off and repeat till it goes. Sometimes once, other times it could be a dozen turns.
I’ve cleaned out the ignition tube and replaced the propane tank but the problem persists. I‘m sure there are workarounds here but am I overlooking something or is this just common? And no, I haven’t contacted Weber yet.
Thanks in advance!

[mountainsmoker]

You may be turning it to sllow. I had this problem on one of my gas grills.

[Andrrr]

Did you find turning it fast helped? I actually started off turning it fast because I just assumed that’s how you did it. Eventually I was wondering if I was doing something wrong so I read the manual and it said to turn it slow. PERFECT I thought, that’s an easy fix. But alas, it doesn’t seem to Improve the hit ratio

[RonB]

Call Weber tomorrow. They have been very responsive in the past although there has been at least one report recently where someone did not get great support. Here's the number:

800-446-1071

[Andrrr]

Thanks. I kind of had a hunch that I’d have to call them but I was hoping one of the vets here had the magic solution!

[MBMorgan]

FWIW, you may need to adjust the igniter spark gap. I had a similar issue initially with my Genesis. A short call to Weber helped resolve the problem quickly.

[Andrrr]

Thanks for the suggestion. I’m not sure how adjustable any of it is but I’ll take a closer look

[MBMorgan]

Andrrr - it’s a lot like setting a spark plug gap ... just bend it with something like a screwdriver.

[Andrrr]

MBMorgan Gotcha. I’ll let you know how it goes and thanks again

[nvgraham]

I had this issue with my WSCGC. The gas often wouldn't ignite properly, or it would go out after a few minutes sometimes. Long story short, I contacted Weber and they sent out a whole new ignition/regulator unit. It took me about 30 minutes to remove the old one and install the replacement. It has worked perfectly ever since. I second the recommendation to contact Weber.

[Andrrr]

Good to know and thanks for the help. Contact Weber I shall

[Andrrr]

Wonder how long it will take to get a call back? My hopes are not high but at least it’s still usable.

[Razor]

I have a Performer and just grip it and rip it. Never had a problem. I think ash sometimes gets in the tube when cleaning and it needs a good Italian tune-up from time to time. Anyone who has owned a Ducati knows what I’m talking about.

[jfmorris]

My Performer has a little knob for gas, and a push button piezo type (push to click) ignitor like my old Genesis. Does yours have something different than that?

[Razor]

jfmorris Mine is the same. That’s just the term I use for anything I do wide-open. Hockey, golf (both driving and putting). 😂

[Andrrr]

Figured I’d circle back because I know you were all just dying to know what happened here.
I contacted Weber about this issue on the 26th and still hadn’t heard back so sometime a few weeks back I figured I’d try fixing it myself one more time but more thorough. This time I completely uninstalled the ignition tube and let it soak in some soapy water for awhile before running a pipe cleaner through it. I kept cleaning until that baby was spotless and used compressed air to dry it out. Then for good measure I took the abrasive side of my now dedicated "smoking stuff" sponge and cleaned off the igniter. Also scrubbed off the end of the fuel line adapter and ran a paper clip through the orifice to make sure it was unrestricted. Reinstalled everything and voila the thing runs perfectly. I guess it just needed a little more help than what Weber recommends in their maintenance instructions.
Now for the real test to see how long it will take to get a call back from Weber.