Java, Has the grill ever worked when attached to this stub out? If not, you might want to check (or have the plumber check) the connection of the gas line from the stub out to the main manifold. It's likely in the attic. If it's not the main connection, the quick-connect you are using SHOULD cause the gas to flow when seated and the house-mounted fittings SHOULD close when the quick-connect is undone. The Someone over on the plumbing board probably can answer your questions best since it seems like a plumbing or fitting issue of some kind and not one related to the grill itself. Michelle

I've been grilling BF the past couple of days on his views about getting a grill. He says, "We don't need one, we won't use it." But I know he has been eyeing that little Weber one whenever we go to K-mart or the hardware store. I like the little front tray part on the marine one Tricia posted. I think the cheif plus for us about having a gas grill would be ease of use and the chance to have some outdoor cooking space to supplement our tiny kitchen. My stove area is claustrophobic to say the least. It would give BF a chance to cook without having me in the way making the salad or whatnot. As it is, cooking together is a study in patience in my "one butt" kitchen. We dream of having our own place someday, with room for a big garden too. I've had some rounds of illness that have made it hard just to keep up with what I have here. BF is my rock, G-d bless him! BF has a covered back patio at his house just off the kitchen back door so he can grill year round and he definately has used it as a kitchen extension since his kitchen is almost as small as mine, albeit maybe a little bit better laid out. I don't see us grilling in the winter when the patio is full of snow. We'll not be covering our tiny patio for a good long while, if ever. I do have an extra patio umbrella though, so maybe I could leave it set up over the grill in the winter, lol! BTW, anyone who doubts the benefits of vegetation for combating the heat island effect should hang out in my yard. It is probably 10 degrees cooler out there than it used to be when I just had a big ol' wooden deck on the back of my house. I never went out there in the summer, it was hot and I felt like I was on display for the whole row/neighborhood.

I haven't tried running the unit any more but I did do some double checking on the gas lines and think I have found a problem that would affect the sytem when it is heavily loaded. My gas meter is a "pound meter" running 1.2-2.2 psi. The gas meter feeds an Earthquake shutoff valve with a 1" inlet and outlet, which then feeds the low pressure regulator with a spring set at 6-8" WC. The problem I see is the outlet of that regulator is only 1". The 1" section is only 2 inches long after which it transitions to 1-1/4" pipe... but if I look at the gas tables a 1" pipe can only flow 286 CFH (~ 286K Btu/hr) at 50 ft and 259 CFH at 60 ft, the approximate distance to the furthest appliance. With all appliances running full tilt my load is about 485,000 Btu/hr. Thus, I do not believe the 1" section is large enough. The installation does not have a gas line drip leg before the Noritz unit. If that was an oversight by the gas piping contractor, the inspector also missed it, or we don't have the requirement in our local area. I'll be talking to the contractor about the 1" pipe section and lack of a drip leg this week. One thing I wonder about is the Noritz startup gas load... when it fires up the exhaust blower runs at high speed, so I'm guessing the unit requires a lot of gas to get going, after which it drops down once the cold water is up to temperature. If the unit is attempting to start while the furnace and old gas WH are running, I wonder if the 1" restriction in the piping is causing the low gas pressure? It's all very frustrating.

I've always found the Weber underpowered, especially for the price. You get good overall quality, but I think you're paying for the big brand name here. I was in the market two years ago and had my eyes on Lynx but the pricing is nearly as much as a Smart Car - well, maybe a slightly used one. ended up getting a Napoleon Prestige Pro 500 and am very happy with it at 1/3 the cost of the similar Lynx. Now I live by the ocean and need the 304 stainless, but you might want to take a look at the Napoleon Rogue 425, which comes with SS burners, their heavy SS cooking grids which are really easy to clean, an a nice infra red side burner which was a must have feature for me. They do make it for NG as well. Napoleon are made in Canada, not USA which I was looking to do, but the price jump to the Lynx was just too crazy.