As gas grills become more and more complicated it can seem very daunting to attempt to repair one on your own. However the basic design of gas grills really hasn't changed much. Sure, there may be five burners where there used to be one. Most all gas grills are a metal box, either stainless steel or cast aluminum. On propane grills you have a tank and regulator. Natural gas grills simply attach to your home gas supply and use the meter as the regulator. The fuel passes through venturi tubes to the control valve and then to the burner. Now there are several styles of burners from bowtie to H-shape to oval. Above the burner is either a grate that holds the ceramic briquettes or lava rock or a metal barrier like Weber's flavorizer bars.
Before you start pulling your grill apart be sure to open the lid, make sure that the fuel tank is in the off position and disconnect the gas. Propane and natural gas can be very bad for you whether there is an explosion or not.
So you're ready to get to work on your grill. The first step is determining if it's better to fix or replace. This is pretty much a personal choice. Many of today's lower end grills are much lower in quality than grills built 10 years ago. The drive to keep down cost and bring up profits has lead many manufacturers to take shortcuts. Now you should be able to find parts for most any grill made in the past 10 to 20 years, so unless you have something very old or very unusual you will be able to get the parts you need. The big question you have to ask yourself is, "Does this grill meet my needs?" If the answer is yes then go on and get it fixed up. If the answer is no then you should start looking for a new grill.
When a gas grill is working properly the flame is evenly distributed through the burners, the flame itself is blue with yellow tips and it should heat quickly on the high setting. With all burners on you should not be able to notice a difference in heat anywhere on the cooking surface. If this isn't how your grill works then you probably have a problem. To get you started let's talk a little about the anatomy of your gas grill.
