Friday, July 22, 2011

Disco Inferno!


So I have been grilling every night with this gas grill that I have about ten years. But what I did wrong was put lava rocks in the body of the grill. So it got really hot and grease accumulated at the bottom of the grill. Well last night it burned through the bottom of the grill and hot burning grease fell on top of the propane tank and started to burn merrily. Not a good thing.

Now I was actually paying attention which is strange but I ran and brushed off the burning stuff turned off the tank and unhooked it. I pushed to grill to the middle of the yard and let it burn off which took about a half hour. Luckily no hamburgers or hot dogs were damaged.

So we went to Lowes to get a new grill today. Did you know that most of them are unassembled? WTF?

Luckily they had some assemble ones so I got one and put it in the back of the car service car and brought it home.

23 comments:

chickelit said...

Did you you risk an explosion? Worst case, the propane would have ignited at the tube or valve by the tank, and would burn as it combined with air. But the flames wouldn't suck back and ignite the whole tank like you see in the movies. More dangerous would have been the tank heating beyond its rated strength. Propane is weird stuff--really a gas but easily condensed. Heating the tank can raise the pressure inside dramatically. Then you would have had a real problem.

Good call to get the flaming goo off the tank.

Glad you saved dinner.

dbp said...

You never have to worry about grease build-up with charcoal. The ashes sop-up the drippings and when you empty the ash, you also get rid of all the flammable gunk too.

My dad used gas and would just run the thing on full blast for half an hour every once in a while to incinerate any build-up.

blake said...

I sell propane and propane accessories.

chickelit said...

@blake: Really? I thought you reviewed movies and wrote scripts.

dbp said...

Sounds like Blake is King of the Hill

chickelit said...

@blake: Quick without looking: what's the molecular formula of propane?

TTBurnett said...

I avoid propane whenever possible. Doesn't transfer heat fast enough. You can end up "cooking" parts with too oxidizing a flame trying to get your work heated enough for good solder flow. I prefer MAPP gas, or, if I'm feeling dexterous and want to work REALLY quickly to try to cut down fire scale or for other reasons, I'll use acetylene. This allows you to use a more reducing flame, but you have to try to keep it on the hairy edge. Too much oxygen, and you've got melted parts and/or firescale everywhere. Maintaining a slightly reducing flame can be tricky unless you have a good regulator and a quick hand. Otherwise, your flame can suddenly go yellow and you'll get little carbon ribbons everywhere, soot stains on the metal, and your solder won't flow properly. Done right, you can accomplish wonders with acetylene—such as hard-soldering tone holes to an .012 body—that otherwise might need an controlled-atmosphere oven. But you do have to know what you're doing.

Some of us think of really odd things when you mention propane.

chickelit said...

Some of us think of really odd things when you mention propane.

I immediately had to remind myself of what MAPP was chemically--it's mixture of propyne and propadiene. Now propadiene is more commonly called allene, but propadiene is the IUPAC name. I was looking around the other night for the etymology of allene because I kinda wanted to know if it was the daughter of allyl (by analogy to ethyl and ethylene).

chickelit said...

@Trooper: I guess Tim and I have more gas than a filling station.

ndspinelli said...

It just looks to me like you're getting a good sear on some porterhouses.

Gas grills are the subject of numerous civil lawsuits. I worked a few defending a major manufacturer. An attorney in Chicago I worked w/ specializes in defending gas grill makers. It's incredible how specialized product liability law can be. But no matter the product it almost always comes down to the plaintiffs attorney saying the product is dangerously flawed and the defense saying the plaintiff screwed up.

When I worked in Chicago the law firm I worked for defended a pool manufacturer and its installers. I worked ~dozen cases involving plaintiffs who were paralyzed. The facts were almost always the same. A w/m in his teens, drunk, late @ night, diving into the shallow end of the pool.

Most people understand just how litigous this country has become. But, having worked in civil litigation for 30 years I can tell you it's a travesty.

ndspinelli said...

Oh.. Trooper, hopefully you bought a gas grill that cost more than $89. After 10 years w/ that shitbox we see engulfed in flames, I say Tightwad Trooper got more than his money's worth!

blake said...

That's not a picture of Troop's grill, is it? I figured he pulled that off the 'net, being too busy to snap a pic while his own grill was on fire.

CL--Propane is...C3H8? Or do I need to go re-watch all the "King of the Hill"s episode.

blake said...

Tim--

You cook your burgers with acetylene?

blake said...

Tales from Amy Garden just took a turn.

Trooper York said...

Wow blake. That sucks.

Trooper York said...

That is not my grill I just stole the picture.

blake said...

If it weren't for "Tales", I'd have no idea who she was.

Trooper York said...

I wonder what should I do.

I mean I think Amy would want to carry on so her memory will live on.

chickelit said...

I mean I think Amy would want to carry on so her memory will live on.

It's not like the series was about Amy anyways. I think you should carry it on. Give a respectful couple of days rest.

But a hell's announcer post might be outre.

Trooper York said...

I generally reserve a "Hell Needs a New PA Announcer" for people I don't like. Or who are sacred cows and need to be taken down a peg.

But I have always had a huge affection for Amy Winehouse. She is my kind of girl.

Drunk and slutty. Just sayn'

Roger J. said...

OK Trooper--stand back from the grill and keep your hands where we can see them-

that is not a pretty picture

Roger J. said...

Trooper: napalm is not ordinarily used for cooking--apparently you found some war surplus

Trooper York said...

That was just the photo that most look like what happened.

I was afraid the whole fig tree would go up which would have started other stuff. It would have been bad. Real bad.