Grilling aboard Winterlude is one of the highlights of our day — especially if we have fresh fish! We use our grill almost daily so it gets a lot of use. To keep it grilling efficiently, we always include a few grill spare parts in our spare parts inventory aboard.
1. There is nothing more frustrating than running out of propane in the middle of grilling a juicy steak! We have deliberately avoided plumbing our gas grill into the boat propane system – if something happens to the main propane system, our grill provides our alternate cooking source. Luckily we’ve never had to use it in this capacity, but better to be prepared. Our grill functions on the small camping propane canisters and we carry several spares at any given time. Since we go through a canister every 2 weeks, it is not unusual for us to have six or more spare camping canisters aboard. Luckily for us, they fit snugly into the existing propane locker with the regular tank — obviously that locker is vented overboard so any escaping propane can escape and not hide below waiting for a stray spark to explode!
2. Spare Combination Control Valve and Regulator. This is the part we’ve replaced the most and we always have a spare. This controls the gas flow for higher or lower temperatures. We also carry a spare ignitor – and actually have it aboard right now, but have never replaced it when the old ignitor gave out. David would rather light the grill manually with a long nosed butane lighter.
3. The other spare part we always carry is the burner itself. Over time these parts have a tendency to rust out and then either refuse to keep the flames even thoughout the grill or just refuse to work entirely!
Before replacing the burner, David always takes it out and gives it a bit of TLC with the dental tools. Sometimes the little holes just get clogged with gunk or rust. By cleaning them out with the dental tool, we often extend the life of our burner. But at some point, it’s just better to replace it.
Do you have a grill aboard you love? Do you have different spare parts? Please leave a comment and share! Cheers! Jan
