IT’S GRILLING TIME – TIPS TO START YOUR SUMMER GRILLING SEASON

IT’S GRILLING TIME – TIPS TO START YOUR SUMMER GRILLING SEASON

Well, it’s the first day of spring and your thoughts turn to that first BBQ party of the season! But before you sear your first steak on the grill – there is work to be done. So here is a quick checklist of some of the important things to get done before the fun begins.

    1. Cleaning your grill begins with gathering your cleaning supplies. You may need some of the following products: a brass wire brush, small pail to hold hot water, dish soap, venturi brush, replacement grease cups, spatula, stainless steel cleaner, BBQ grill cleaner, and paper towels.

    1. Let’s begin by opening up your grill and removing the warming rack, cooking grates, heat shields, etc. They should be washed in hot soapy water; a good soap to use is Dawn dishwashing soap. Please note that the warming rack and cooking grates should be re-seasoned after washing. With a spatula scrape any splattered grease from inside the grill, scraping down towards the drip pan. Remove the drip pan and give the drip pan and the inside of the grill a good washing and be sure to replace the tin foil grease catcher if you have one. 

    1. Safety First: Before you turn on the gas, check your gas connection. If you use propane as your fuel source make sure your connection from the tank to the grill is tight, check the rubber hose for cracks. The best thing to do is to perform a leak test, take a look at this Napoleon Grill leak test video.



  1. Next, take a look at your ignition system, make sure the knobs are in good condition that everything turns easily. For battery ignitions, it is a good idea to replace the batteries with new ones. Check all electrode leads and ensure the tips of the electrodes are clean and don’t have any grease or rust build-up on them. Examine the burners, if needed detach the burners and take them out and give them a thorough cleaning by brushing the tops of the burners using a brass wire brush. Next, push a venturi brush through each burner to clear out any blockages such as spider webs. Take your grill brush and proceed to clean the ports in an up-and-down motion.

    When cleaning the ports do not brush lengthwise across the ports as this will only push debris from one hole to another. Before reinstalling, check all of the burner ports to ensure that they are not plugged with food particles grease, etc.

    Now, one thing we will leave you with is that when you are doing the cleaning, take an inventory of your grill, just in case you need any replacement parts.

  2. Use mild soap & warm water, along with a good sponge to clean the outside of your grill. A stainless steel cleaner will help in those harder to clean areas. And finish off your cleaning job with stainless steel polish.