Switching your grill from propane to natural gas

You’re only hurting yourself if you are using propane tanks for your barbecues. There are a number of reasons why you should give up the propane and install a gas line to your grill.

1) Natural gas is cheaper: Although natural gas is less potent (it’s half as powerful as propane) natural gas is 1/6 the cost of propane per unit volume. Multiply the cost by 2 (due to natural gas being half as potent) and you end up with a barbecuing cost of 1/3. Essentially, you can cut the cost of barbecuing by 2/3 by switching to natural gas.

2) Natural gas is more environmentally friendly: Despite the fact that you have to produce twice as much of natural gas as you would propane, natural gas still produces less greenhouse gas and toxins than propane. Furthermore, unlike propane, the exhaust from natural gas will not cling to your food or linger in the air, causing you and your guests to suffocate at your backyard barbecue.

3) You won’t have to make more trips to buy propane tanks: Let’s face it, the most embarrassing thing that can happen when you invite the whole neighborhood over for a cookout is telling them, once they’ve already arrived at your house, that there will be no barbecue because you forgot to buy a new propane tank. You can avoid the wrath of the neighborhood by installing a gas line.

Installing the Gas line

Unless you are a contractor, installing the gas line is not something you should do on your own! There are two things that can cause near instantaneous death, and they are gas and electricity. This does not mean that you should be a passive agent in converting your propane grill into a natural gas grill. There are two important ways in which you need to facilitate the process.

1) Contact your grill manufacturer: Converting your grill from propane to gas is not as simple as plugging in a line. It requires that you find the correct conversion kit for the job, which your grill manufacturer can help you with.

2) Contact your gas company: Once you have acquired the conversion kit, installation is a simple process that takes about an hour. Talk to your company about the gas connector you want. You should ask for a gas connector that has an on/off switch at the source of the natural gas, not just at your gas grill! You will want this, because if you have a grill fire, you will want to create distance from yourself and the fire and turn off the gas at the gas source.