You may want to check out the cost of replacing broken parts first before deciding to throw away your BBQ grill
Like most household appliances, your BBQ grill will eventually suffer wear and tear and break down. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to scrap your sizzler. On any given day, it may not be all of your grill that suffers a malfunction but rather just certain parts of it, so why not just do grill repairs and replace those instead of buying a new one? I have prepared a comprehensive list of BBQ grill parts below that you can easily replace once they malfunction. The list comes with the cost of each part and their expected lifespan.
Grill Repairs of Specific Parts, Cost and Life Span
1. Cooking Grates
Depending on the brand quality grill grates have a life span of between 3 – 10 years and may cost from $25 to $150 per set (also the size of the grill will determine the price) when you replace them. People who own gas or charcoal grills in America often report that most of the grill repairs that they pay for includes the grill grates as it is the part that gets exposed to the heat every time they grill food. Some consumers also report that by cleaning their BBQ grill each time before they grill food and coating the grates with cooking oil, their grill gets an extended life span.
2. Burner Tubes
Brand and built quality always dictates the life span of any product and BBQ grills are no exception. Burner tubes typically last 2 – 10 years and cost between $10 to $60 per tube when they’re replaced. Almost 40% of Consumer Reports members reported uneven heating with a grill they either rarely use or don’t use anymore. Consumers say that the leading cause is clogged or damaged burner tubes. This causes severely uneven cooking and they just give up and throw away their grill when they can just replace the damaged parts easily.
3. Burner Covers
Burner covers are expected to have a 2-8 years life span and may cost between $5 to $30 each to replace. About 18% of US consumers say that they have encountered uncontrolled flare-ups on their grills, which led them to decide to purchase a new one. Burner covers are designed to shield the burner tubes from dripping fat, for which they also got their nickname “heat tents” because they help helping control flare-ups. One of the basic grill repairs method is to replace any missing or damaged burner covers to bring your grill’s performance back to when you first purchased it and also for safety reasons.
4. Igniter/Ignition Parts
These parts of the BBQ grill is expected to have a 2-7 years life span and would cost $10 to $90
To replace and assemble. Approximately 92% of all BBQ grills have electronic igniters and most of the time the reason why it won’t ignite has simply to do with a depleted battery, so you may want to check that part first before doing any grill repairs. Check the wire that connects the battery pack to the igniter, as well as the igniter to see if something is wrong.
Why Repairing Your Old Gas Grill Might be Better than Replacing It
Whether you’re an expert BBQ artist, or just the average weekend grill enthusiast, it’s clear that you both enjoy and appreciate the chance to cook your favorite grilled foods on your gas grill in the hot summer season.
When it comes to grilling food, my bias has to be with gas grills, because their temperatures are easier to control and they’re adaptable to any cooking situation. The great flavor of grilling comes from food oils and basting solutions falling to the hot surface below and creating the smoke that flavors the food. Yum!
Replace or Repair?
I think we’ve all been there, asking whether or not you should dispatch your old gas grill or give it a new lease on life by doing some grill repairs. Sometimes it’s not even the gas grill but other household appliances, but as you may already know even the best grill manufacturers taking a lot of time and effort to create each part with the best quality components, is still unable to make their products wear and tear proof.
Are You Ready for a Shocker?
The quality of gas grills are continually declining year after year! Because of stiff competition (especially now with the Chinese manufacturers taking over the world by storm), BBQ grill quality are lowered to meet lower price demands. Fifteen years ago gas grill burners were made from high quality stainless steel, but now have been aluminized to cut production costs. Stampings have replaced heavy castings and large windows are now replaced by solid lids, as manufacturers decide that tempered glass is cheaper than aluminum steel.
It is estimated that the build quality of gas grills from 15 years ago are about 2 – 10 times better than what is being rolled out of the factories today. And added features on modern grills are somewhat unnecessary, which are mostly considered as accessories than something that will actually benefit the user.
Simple DIY Grill Repairs
If you look at a typical gas grill, then you will realize that they’re designed with simplicity in mind and, in fact, you can take it apart and put it back together again on your own and usually without any assistance. It also cost lesser to do grill repairs than replacing the gas grill you already own, especially if you’ll purchase genuine parts from local or online retailers.
Still Considering Purchasing a New Grill?
Remember to be an informed consumer, so you won’t buy gas grills that are laden with issues even though they are being marketed with an unusually cheap price. What you need to look for when purchasing new gas grills:
- Limited cooking space
- Bottom housing is shallow which results in excessive heat and uncontrollable cooking characteristics
- Cheap aluminized steel burners
- Only buy high quality replacement parts
Take care that you do not purchase a cheap gas grill that’s going to cause you problems and lots of money to repair or replace in the future. Do a Google search first and read reviews about different gas grill brands before you decide to buy one.
How to Decide Whether You Should Repair or Replace Your BBQ Grill
I bet your BBQ grill has had satisfied you and your guests’ appetites many times throughout the years. You must think to yourself how you have made a good investment with your grill, having been doing summer cookouts, birthday BBQs, veggies for salad or shawarma and weekend football burgers, steak and hotdogs with beers and your guy friends.
Unfortunately, all grills are susceptible to wear and tear. Even top quality BBQ grill brands will eventually break down, their once dependable searing heat slowly dies down to an uneven flame at the burners. It would be such a shame that you won’t be able to cook delicious food with your grill if that becomes the case, wouldn’t it?
So what are you to do? You can choose to do grill repairs, or just buy a new one if the new grill’s price fits your budget. However, while the idea of a DIY fixing your BBQ grill may seem good, the cost to actually do that may be similar to buying a new one.
Let me walk you through both process, so you can make the best decision.
Fix it or Nix it – Is Your BBQ Grill Broken?
It’s actually not hard to spot the signs that tell you that your BBQ grill is either damaged, or is no longer fixable and you need to replace it.
The first and most obvious sign that your grill is malfunctioning is when it no longer cooks your food as good as it did in the past. If you notice that your grill isn’t putting out as much heat as it used to and it takes longer to cook food on it, or the food cooks unevenly, then it may be time to determine the cause.
Below are some indicators that your grill is malfunctioning and needs grill repairs or replacement:
- Grill won’t turn on
- The burners produce little flame than usual
- Gas leaks
- The sides of the burner produces unusually large flames
- Flame is either yellow or orange
- Broken gas regulator
- Grill produces lots of unnecessary smoke
- Cracked fuel lines or hoses
- Uneven heating
- Clogged or damaged venturi tubes
- Low temperature
- Too much grease and debris buildup
- Exterior damage can no longer be ignored
- Other gas burner issues
You must immediately make a damage assessment of your grill if it’s experiencing any of these problems. Under normal circumstances the problem can just be easily fixed, but in other cases, especially if your grill is no longer under warranty, you definitely have to replace it.
How Long Do Gas Grills Last Anyway?
Based on our surveys, we found out that the average American will most likely dispose of their BBQ grill after using it for 3 years. But what they don’t know is that most grills are built to last for at least 5 years (some may even last for a decade or more, especially if you take good care of them in terms of maintenance).
You can prevent wear and tear and make your gas grill last longer by cleaning it before and after each cooking session, keeping it safe from the elements, and replacing broken parts as needed. It’s best to make small repairs rather than waiting for them to build up.
When to Repair Your Grill vs. Buy a New One
We highly recommend that you maintain your grill properly because proper grill maintenance will make your grill last for years. However, we also understand that most, if not all, household appliances – including your BBQ grill – will experience wear and tear and eventually will end up at the recycling plant, despite your best efforts to maintain it. Once it’s no longer in working condition, then that’s when you decide to purchase a new one.
Weigh the Costs
Before you buy a new grill though, try to weigh out the cost of grill repairs and like I said, even if you do the repairs yourself, the cost to replace the parts might be exceedingly high that it might be better to just buy a new one. This is especially true if your grill is no longer under warranty.
How to Fix Your BBQ Grill in 5 Steps
You will have to disassemble your grill piece by piece in order to do grill repairs on it. After that you also need to check each part to assess the damage on them and once you have identified the issue(s) and have bought replacement parts, then proceed to do the steps below.
Step 1: Disconnect the Gas or Fuel Line
To avoid any accidental fire breakouts or explosions, make sure to disconnect the fuel line to keep everyone and your property safe. Wear protective gloves and an apron to avoid getting cuts and grease staining your clothes.
Step 2: Remove Grate, Rocks, and Flame Bar
In order to clean or de-grease the BBQ grill, you need to remove the grill grates, rocks, and flame bar. Replace old rocks with new ones of briquettes if they’re covered with too much grease. Remove the protective layer on the burners called the vapor bar or flame spreader as well. Clean the interior of your grill thoroughly and remove excess grease and debris. Use a damp rag instead of sharp objects for this task.
Or you can also check out our previous blog post BBQ Grill Cleaning Hacks That’ll Leave Your Grill Sparkling.
Step 3: Check the Ignitor
Next is you check on the grill ignitor and see if it generates sparks when you push the ignitor button. It should light up the gas from the propane tank, if it doesn’t do that, then that means it’s broken. Look for exposed wires and cover them with electrical tape, if the issue persist, then replace the entire assembly.
Step 4: Remove and Clean/Repair the Burner
For functioning BBQ grill gas burners, you don’t need to do any grill repairs on it and just clean it thoroughly. Simply remove the burner and venturi tubes to clean them and remove rust/debris. Use a small wire brush that will fit through the burner holes to clean them, but if it has excessive rusting, then you may want to buy new ones.
Step 5: Make Exterior Repairs
Don’t forget to do exterior grill repairs also. This is actually easier to do as most of the parts are exposed and easy to spot and the replacement parts may not cost too much compared to gas burners and other internal parts. Look for external damaged parts and repair or replace those.