Cooking on a grill in deep winter

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Cooking on a grill in deep winter

Posted: 10/4/2012 2:18:20 PM EDT

Talking about alternatives to using the kitchen stove, and CarbineMom asked how cold can it be to use the grill and the side burner outside. I know people who use grills much of winter, but not sure if they do when it gets to the teems or below.

Is there a temperature where it becomes impractical to use an outdoor grill due to the vapor pressure of the gas in the normal portable tank? I assume that same temp would effect the ablity to use a 20 (?) lb tank to run a Heater Buddy as back up heat too?

Thanks

Posted: 10/4/2012 2:20:41 PM EDT

[#1]

You use more Charcoal / Propane but I really haven't had trouble with winter grilling

Posted: 10/4/2012 2:25:48 PM EDT

[#2]

LP vaporizes at -44 F , so you should be able to use the gas grill most of the winter. I know I do.

Posted: 10/4/2012 2:44:19 PM EDT

[#3]

Don't think it can't get cold in Texas, it can, but we don't have the temps or the length of the temps you guys have up.
I not sure how cold it has to be before propane before won't work good, but you can call your propane dealer
and I'm sure he can fill you in.
Not much help I know.

Posted: 10/4/2012 3:01:47 PM EDT

[#4]

Gets pretty cold here in Idaho. As long as I can beat the ice off the thing with a hammer, I can cook on it!

Posted: 10/4/2012 3:46:53 PM EDT

[#5]

Never really thought about it, I have cooked outside 365 and have shoveled a path across my deck through 32" on snow to cook some animal ass.

Mans done this through millennium.

Posted: 10/4/2012 4:23:01 PM EDT

[#6]

I cooked out with my brother at his house in SW CO in February. The temp was -5*F and the gas grill made us some wonderful Elk roast. The grill worked as well as it would in warm weather as far as we knew.

If the temperature is so cold that gas grills won't work I would assume that you will have a much greater problem simply staying warm inside your home to worry about getting the grill started.

Posted: 10/4/2012 4:28:45 PM EDT

[#7]

I plan on cooking outside this winter.

Posted: 10/4/2012 4:36:25 PM EDT

[#8]

propane is fine, butane won't work

Posted: 10/4/2012 4:37:44 PM EDT

[#9]

grill year around

Posted: 10/4/2012 4:56:30 PM EDT

[#10]

Year around here as well.

Ops

Posted: 10/4/2012 5:04:30 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
LP vaporizes at -44 F , so you should be able to use the gas grill most of the winter. I know I do.

The problem is the regulator freezes up.

Posted: 10/4/2012 5:48:18 PM EDT

[#12]

I cook on the grill in the winter all the time with no problem. There is a slight temperature difference but nothing that the gas regulator cant handle.

Posted: 10/4/2012 6:05:06 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Quoted:
LP vaporizes at -44 F , so you should be able to use the gas grill most of the winter. I know I do.

The problem is the regulator freezes up.

I take em apart and clean them.

Posted: 10/4/2012 6:39:23 PM EDT

[#14]

As others have said, you're fine year round. However, it will take more time for your grill to get up to cooking temps.

Posted: 10/4/2012 7:05:09 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:

Quoted:

LP vaporizes at -44 F , so you should be able to use the gas grill most of the winter. I know I do.

The problem is the regulator freezes up.

I take em apart and clean them.

And that is all it takes to eliminate thermal dynamics? Sweet!!!!

Posted: 10/4/2012 7:45:54 PM EDT

[#16]

The real variable is the wind.

I have no problem grilling, smoking, etc. outside, on a day that is 30 degrees F ... as long as the wind is still.

However - if the wind is blowing - maintaining cooking temps becomes a different deal.

Posted: 10/4/2012 10:59:42 PM EDT

[#17]

Simple method is to get a tank heater. It is electric, and you can just wrap the tank in it, Turn it on a little while before you start to grill... say... 30 min. You should be perfectly fine. I had a friend who used the tire heater for his motorcycle tires to warm his propane tank and regulator. The regulator never froze up on him after that. I have been meaning to set up something similar but have just not had the time

Posted: 10/4/2012 11:41:17 PM EDT

[#18]

I ve fired up the grill at 20 below

and it s all good just can t leave the beer out

Posted: 10/5/2012 2:14:56 AM EDT

[#19]

While I grill year around as well I would have to say in 0 degree weather the side burner is out for me. But the turkey fryer burner will heat up the big cast iron skillet in the coldest of winters..

Posted: 10/5/2012 2:44:19 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

Quoted:
LP vaporizes at -44 F , so you should be able to use the gas grill most of the winter. I know I do.

The problem is the regulator freezes up.

I take em apart and clean them.

Yeah. Practically speaking I have grilled down to maybe 10 below without problems. I was pointing out the real life problems with the theory that propane vaporized at minus 44. When you draw too much vapor it tends to freeze up.

Posted: 10/5/2012 5:14:13 AM EDT

[#21]

At my old house I had a screened in porch that the grill was in. I used it all year round. The coldest was right around 0. It was great not having to deal with snow or rain. Last winter at our new house I would just use a snow brush to clear off the grill and fire it up. Never had any problems.

Posted: 10/5/2012 5:19:01 AM EDT

[#22]

Another year rounder here living on the Canadian border. Frankly if it's 25 below I'm probably using the oven inside for the free heat for the house.

My biggest issue in the deep winter is the gas burner knobs freeze up, I've stripped the plastic knobs before. I've taken a propane plumbers torch to thaw the knobs valves just to light the grill. Once you got it lit it will thaw out in short order.

Also in the deep winter I pretty much have to grill with the lid down, my grill height above flame sucks, runs on the cool side that way and is hard to get a good sear when extra cold. I need the preheat time.

Posted: 10/5/2012 7:25:37 AM EDT

[#23]

I hook up a fresh tank the first hard freeze then use my grill all winter long. I cook on it 2-3 nights a week. I’ve done that in Chicago, St. Louis and now Atlanta. In all those locations, my grill has literally been 2 steps outside my backdoor. It seems (could be my imagination) that it does not get as hot as quick, but it does fine.

Posted: 10/5/2012 7:51:02 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
Another year rounder here living on the Canadian border. Frankly if it's 25 below I'm probably using the oven inside for the free heat for the house.

This.

You're going to expend energy outside to cook. All of that waste heat is lost to the atmosphere. Why not keep it inside?

I do the same in the Summer, I try not to run the stove because it heats up the house and makes my AC run harder. I've grilled out as many as 5 days a week. In survival mode, you're trying to conserve as much of that energy as possible.

Has anyone cooked in their fireplace? We had a wood stove for a while when I was a kid. Mom used it for cooking when the power was out.

Yeah, I know, sometimes you just want a grilled steak. Never had a problem with propane, but we've had butane freeze up in Texas. Is there any reason you couldn't bring your propane bottle inside for an hour or two, then take it outside and hook it up?

Posted: 10/5/2012 8:04:30 AM EDT

[#25]

Never had an issue. I used to live in Buffalo, so get snow off grill and light it.

Posted: 10/5/2012 8:38:18 AM EDT

[#26]

99 inches of snow a year in Rochester. Cold. Windy. Never had a problem with the grill. Took a bit longer to warm up to cooking temp, but still worked fine. Used it 2-3 times a week. Mostly for burgers... all we could afford. Used to put the grill on the front porch, after I shoveled off the 2 feet of snow. I learned to just put it there in the late fall, and be ready for Super Bowl grilling.

Posted: 10/5/2012 8:45:21 AM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
As others have said, you're fine year round. However, it will take more time for your grill to get up to cooking temps.

This has been my experience.

Posted: 10/5/2012 8:47:55 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Another year rounder here living on the Canadian border. Frankly if it's 25 below I'm probably using the oven inside for the free heat for the house.

This.

You're going to expend energy outside to cook. All of that waste heat is lost to the atmosphere. Why not keep it inside?

I do the same in the Summer, I try not to run the stove because it heats up the house and makes my AC run harder. I've grilled out as many as 5 days a week. In survival mode, you're trying to conserve as much of that energy as possible.

Has anyone cooked in their fireplace? We had a wood stove for a while when I was a kid. Mom used it for cooking when the power was out.

Yeah, I know, sometimes you just want a grilled steak. Never had a problem with propane, but we've had butane freeze up in Texas. Is there any reason you couldn't bring your propane bottle inside for an hour or two, then take it outside and hook it up?

because its an afront to God to cook steak in the oven.

and yes, northern MN here and grill on my charcoal weber year round

Posted: 10/5/2012 11:19:39 AM EDT

[#29]

Im in NE Ohio, I grill year round also. But I never use my sideburner, sorry.

Posted: 10/7/2012 8:56:44 PM EDT

[#30]

I use my grill all year without issue as well first running LP now hooked to the NG line from the house for 2 years, also use a LP grill at hunting camp many a time in single digits and slightly below.

Posted: 10/7/2012 9:34:49 PM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
Talking about alternatives to using the kitchen stove, and CarbineMom asked how cold can it be to use the grill and the side burner outside. I know people who use grills much of winter, but not sure if they do when it gets to the teems or below.

Is there a temperature where it becomes impractical to use an outdoor grill due to the vapor pressure of the gas in the normal portable tank? I assume that same temp would effect the ablity to use a 20 (?) lb tank to run a Heater Buddy as back up heat too?

Thanks

I lived in the 5k-6k high mountains of MT for 20+ years, and cooked 90% of my meat on a normal BBQ grill outdoors. Winter temps in MT range from +30F to -30F. Never had a cooking problem. (Didn't have a side burner, so don't know about that.)

Posted: 10/7/2012 11:04:08 PM EDT

[#32]

A few years ago I was starting up the grill in the dead of winter and the push button starter wouldn't work. No problem I thought... I'll just light it manually with a lighter. It was kinda windy so I shut the lid while I reached underneath to light er' up and kabooom!! Blew that fucking lid wide open, burnt my knuckles and scared the shit outa me. To make it worse, it then sounded like blowtorch powered by a jet engine. The regulator had frozen or broken in a way that nothing was being regulated, it was intensely spewing fire at an incredible rate.

Having never seen something like this, I decided I was waaaay to close for comfort and retreated into my shitty apartment. The grill was on a small 4'x5' landing at the top of a flight of stairs just outside the back door of the apartment. At this point I was very concerned the the thing was gonna blow up, I wanted to go shut it off but it was right outside the back door. After frantically gathering some makeshift safety attire, I went back out there with hotpad oven mittens on my hands and a shower towel wrapped around my face/head and shut the tank off and the fire went out. Girlfriend at the time, wife now and I laughed about it for awhile and cooked that meal in a skillet.

ETA: I'm a charcoal man now

Posted: 10/7/2012 11:36:33 PM EDT

[#33]

I grill in blizzards up here, but not with gas. Just takes a little longer and you need to add more charcoal. I'd imagine if you put the tank inside to warm up and then use it you'd be fine.

Posted: 10/8/2012 5:29:46 AM EDT

[#34]

Just saw this thread on another forum:
What I've Learned About Propane and Portable Cylinders

Posted: 10/8/2012 5:33:00 AM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
I grill in blizzards up here, but not with gas. Just takes a little longer and you need to add more charcoal. I'd imagine if you put the tank inside to warm up and then use it you'd be fine.

Too drastic a temp change may cause them to vent.

Posted: 10/8/2012 6:47:12 AM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Another year rounder here living on the Canadian border. Frankly if it's 25 below I'm probably using the oven inside for the free heat for the house.

This.

You're going to expend energy outside to cook. All of that waste heat is lost to the atmosphere. Why not keep it inside?

I do the same in the Summer, I try not to run the stove because it heats up the house and makes my AC run harder. I've grilled out as many as 5 days a week. In survival mode, you're trying to conserve as much of that energy as possible.

Has anyone cooked in their fireplace? We had a wood stove for a while when I was a kid. Mom used it for cooking when the power was out.

Yeah, I know, sometimes you just want a grilled steak. Never had a problem with propane, but we've had butane freeze up in Texas. Is there any reason you couldn't bring your propane bottle inside for an hour or two, then take it outside and hook it up?

I never needed to bring my propane inside. yeah, I would rather have a steak on the grill, and charcoal does taste better but gas is fast. A lot of other things I cook in the winter; soups,stews, slow roasts inside are very appropriate for the winter months and like I said, add heat to the house.

BHH, the only venting of propane that I ever saw not manually induced was from summer time fillups to the big tanks. As little as 20 minutes to an hour later the pressure valve pops releasing gas until the pressure is below the safety pressure again. I've never seen it happen in winter but I suppose it could happen if a tank was filled to max at 20 deg F and then brought inside.