You may remember a few weeks ago, I posted about looking for a good, small propane grill. You all had great advice. My problem is that I have zero need for anything that holds more than two burger patties or a ribeye or two. I have tried several of the small tabletop grills and they are all awful. My theory is that they end up placing the burner directly under the grate, so there is no heat control. So I decided to make a grill.
I have this 15 lb propane tank, and I'm ready to go.... if I could only get the valve out. I'm not going to start cutting into this thing with sparks knowing it still has propane in it. I opened the purge valve and got about 10 seconds of hiss, then I opened the main valve and pushed the plunger and got another little puff, but I need to get the valve off so I can displace the remaining gas.
I have been debating going vertical or horizontal (cutting it top to bottom or around the circumference) and it looks like either way will offer about the same benefits. Cutting it top to bottom would leave me with about 110 sq in of cooking, and cutting it around the circumference would give me about 96 sq in. The main benefit to cutting the circumference is that I'll have more distance between the burner and the grate by maybe 1-2" than doing it sideways.
So first questions: Short of having a 1-foot jaw vise to hold the tank, how can I torque out that valve?
Also, for those of you who have a propane infra-red full-sized grill, how far below the grate are the burners?
I have used a length of chain and a piece of allthread to secure large diameter cylinders to a steel table for diassembly. I would chain that to a tree.
My dad has one of those tailgate sized Webers that runs on Coleman bottles. It would fit the "2 burgers or ribeyes" size requirements.
You can get an a-dapter kit with regulator to use the standard sized propane bottles.
But, this looks cool, good luck.
Use a tiny tank fill adapter to drain the tank, turn it upside down while it's wide open.
Strap the tank to a tree. Ratchet straps, come along, both, whatever works for you.
Take a chunk of pipe, about a foot long. Cut a notch in one end for the nozzle to stick through, bore a hole through the top half, you want it to go through both sides.
This is easier with two people but can be done solo.
Stick a crowbar through the guard on the tank and another one or long heavy screwdriver through the holes on the top of the pipe you cut in the previous step.
Push the handles together..
Once the valve is out, I would suggest filling the tank entirely with water as well just as an extra precaution to displace any gas that didn't bleed. Fill it and drain it unless you want to wreck your tools. I usually let them sit overnight with Dawn and water in them, then dumped it and started cutting.
Sorry if I missed the original thread. Save yourself some time and struggle and go get a Weber Q. They are perfect for your use case and yes they make a damn good steak.
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
Had one. Hated it. with a passion.
You're right, it sears a steak great, but I found it to be a one-trick pony. It's just random bulk heat immediately under the food, so salmon, scallops, chicken, and other stuff was nearly impossible to cook properly.
In reply to RevRico :
I like that idea.
And yes, definitely filling it with water before sparks happen. That's how I weld or braze gas tanks, too.
I also went ahead and cut the handle-top down far enough that I can get a pipe wrench on the valve.
I vote on its side, but not cut in half.
pardon my 2 sec picture edits!!!
But... cut on an angle, and ad hinges at top. Much better "finished" look.
In reply to 03Panther :
that would get me a touch more space, not that I need it.
One of my research points is getting the optimal distance between the heat source and the food. Putting it on its side would yield about 6" from the bottom to the grate. Leaving it oriented as it is I could get more like 10"... if it's necessary to have that much.
My other thought is even heating. If I put it on its side and then get a wide-enough burner for even heating, it also has to go up closer to the grate.
But I don't disagree with your choice. Also easier to engineer a hinge your way.
My crappy drawing.
I'll go horizontal if I can get enough distance away from the burner. If not, I'll go vertical.
It looks like they cut the top smaller. looks pretty sharp to me :0)
This looks like fun. By which I mean it looks like work. Let's see what the Berkley Street Burger Burner gets up to.
DarkMonohue said:
This looks like fun. By which I mean it looks like work. Let's see what the Berkley Street Burger Burner gets up to.
New restaurant name right there.
MyMiatas said:
It looks like they cut the top smaller. looks pretty sharp to me :0)
That was my plan as well. I can get an extra couple inches of distance away from the burner(s), but since it's still so close to the center, it doesn't reduce surface area much.
I got the valve off, using two 3" trucker ratchet straps. The tree didn't provide enough friction, so I attached it to a steel post that holds up the dock awning. Broke a Craftsman pipe wrench using a 3' cheater pipe, but the larger HF pipe wrench got the job done. I filled it with some water and soap.
Right now I'm looking through burners and grill grates. I will probably end up making my own grill grates, since 90% of what I'm finding on AliExpress and Amazon/Ebay are all "fits Weber 22 inch grill," or "replacement for NexGrill Model A454." I might find one that is too big and cut it, then tack on a new perimeter wire.
Burners are frustrating. I remember going through this for the powedercoating oven. How many BTUs, and what size is a typical North American flare fitting on grill burners. I would prefer to do an infrared, but will they turn down far enough to do gentle grilling like fish or chicken? These are all the things I'm researching now.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
Had one. Hated it. with a passion.
You're right, it sears a steak great, but I found it to be a one-trick pony. It's just random bulk heat immediately under the food, so salmon, scallops, chicken, and other stuff was nearly impossible to cook properly.
I heard once that a bad mechanic blames his tools.
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
I'll take all the help I can get in cooking.
93gsxturbo said:
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
Had one. Hated it. with a passion.
You're right, it sears a steak great, but I found it to be a one-trick pony. It's just random bulk heat immediately under the food, so salmon, scallops, chicken, and other stuff was nearly impossible to cook properly.
I heard once that a bad mechanic blames his tools.
I hate that saying with a passion. There are plenty of bad tools out there.
In reply to dculberson :
Did you just call me a tool? 
I've pretty much decided to go horizontal for the grill - first, because I think I can get enough distance between the grate and the heat, and secondly because I'm pretty limited on infrared burner sizes. I found two purveyors of 9" and 12" round IR propane burners, but they are nearly $100 and I don't have confidence in their provenance. (i.e. the listing is very vague and the reviews are bad). But a few dozen sellers on Amazon alone sell a pretty standard 8.66" x 6.5" format rectangular burner for $20.
I did give some thought to skipping the IR part and building my own traditional burners, but it seems like an unnecessary learning curve when there are lots of commercial options.
I got the top handle and bottom rings cut off today and soaked it with paint stripper... only to realize that my paint stripper is entirely ineffective. Oh well, it was pretty old.
Late to the party like usual.
How about cutting up a portable air tank instead of a propane tank. Less possible boominess.
Oh cool! Lots of pictures of these out there. (And no boom!)
In reply to Noddaz :
Already got all the propane out and made sparks. So far, no boom.
Right now I'm trying to find a paint stripper that actually works, and that crap is expensive. You watch videos of people using paint stripper on Youtube, and it's like it peels off in one big wad. So far I've tried Kleen Strip and Citrus stuff and three applications I'm not even all the way down to primer.
In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
I hate to say it, but your best bet may be flap discs. It's dusty, it's messy, depending on your grinder it can get uncomfortable, but it works.
Or you could just build a small fire in it to burn it in before you add the gas. That flakes the paint right off.
I covered it with a high temp primer and "2000 degree" engine block paint. Really held up for a couple years as a test smoker.
In reply to RevRico :
That's a sweet looking smoker.
I did think about burning it off.... after I put the stripper on it. If this orange stuff doesn't work, I may go fire and flap discs.
So this is after three coats of stripper. Two were citrus based, one was Aircraft stripper. This is after a cramp-inducing scraping session. So far it has just turned it into chewing gum. I'm kinda stuck with this method (Now about $30 worth of stripper into my free tank) because trying to hit it with a flap disc or a wire wheel is like trying to grind silicone.
