Holland Grill Tune Up

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If your grill is not getting hot enough, the problem is due to the fuel supply. More specifically it is one of the following problems.

1. Improper air mixture adjustment

2. Inadequate gas pressure

3. Obstruction in the fuel delivery system

4. Wrong orifice for gas pressure

5. LP tank check valve engagement (this is on your L/P tank)

First thing to check  The gas valve on the grill Must Be In The OFF Position whenever you turn on the gas valve on the tank.  If it is not, you will get a reduced flow. To Correct, turn off both valves and then turn on the tank valve first.  Sometimes the hose must be removed from the tank in order for the check valve to be reset.

Since it usually takes longer to identify the problem rather than to fix it, we will take you step by step through a comprehensive tune up that will get your grill back to peak operating performance.

The "Heritage" Holland Grill with ignitor
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You will need to remove the control panel ( 4 screws).

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"Heritage" grill with control panel off

Note ! You do not need to remove the burner!
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This is a display of the burner (removed) and disassembled.

1. Unhook the LP tank or fuel supply.

2. Inspect the hose to see if there are any crimps in the line.

3. Remove the control panel (Ignitor Models only) to expose the on/off valve, air mixture control, and burner. Note: If your grill does not have an ignitor, go to next step.

4. Remove the gas supply line from the valve

5. Remove the gas valve from the burner (air mixture screen and shutter)

6. Remove the orifice from the gas valve

7. Inspect and clean all parts from cobwebs, dust and dirt. Make sure that the valve is clear by blowing through it in the same direction that the gas runs. Spiders love the smell of gas and will build nests throughout the delivery system.

8. Use an old coathanger and bend a small hook on one end and run it up inside the burner checking for cobwebs and other obstructions.

9. Use a vacuum cleaner to suck out any material inside the burner. Do not use an air hose to blow inside the burner.

10. This process will usually uncover almost all problems contributing to the improper performance of Holland Grills.

11. Reassemble all parts except the control panel (on ignitor models only) .

12. Adjust air shutter on front of burner (see pictures at bottom of page).

13. Replace control panel (make sure that you plug the ignitor wire into the proper place on the ignitor).

(Picture below)  disassembled burner from left to right, air shutter screen, burner base, burner screen, screws, and burner top.

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Burner disassembled

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Hose & Valve, orifice, air shutter, screen, and burner

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(Below) View inside grill with cooking surface in place.

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(Above right) Burner with screen and shutter removed showing air openings in the top and bottom of the front of the burner (white areas)

(Below ) Inside of grill with cooking surface removed showing drip pan.

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(Below)  Drip bucket valve which must be removed in order to remove drip pan.

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(Below ) Inside of grill with drip pan removed showing heat defuser plate. Note that the plate has a lip on it that must be toward the back of the grill when installed properly.

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(Below )  Inside of grill with heat defuser plate removed showing burner and ignitor electrodes (just to the left of the burner)

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Adjusting the Air Mixture

 
 
(Below Right) Improper flame, notice uneven pattern and length of flames due to some obstructions on the screen in the top of the burner and improper air adjustment on the front of the burner.

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(Below right)    Uneven flame (due to obstructions) and improper air adjustment on front of burner (too little air) notice yellow flame.

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(Below right) Even flame (obstructions removed) and air adjustment improved but not perfect. We want the fingers of the flame (Bright blue part) as long as we can get them.  This gives us maximum combustion outside of the burner and maximum heat generation.

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(Below right)  Perfect flame, notice even pattern, long bright blue fingers and no constant yellow. Note! It is normal that the flame is not perfectly even in length all around the burner, it will be slightly larger at the back than at the front, and will also vary due to slight wind variation.  Also it is normal for some yellow to come and go in the flame, but constant yellow in the flame is indicative of a problem.

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Typical air setting for all black LP grills .

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Typical air setting for all stainless steel LP grills

Proper air adjustment for LP gas (Liquid Petroleum)
 
The air shutter position for a black non stainless steel Holland Grill is about half open and slightly less open for an all stainless steel grill.
 
Proper air adjustment for Natural gas ONLY
 
First of all,  we must know what the gas pressure is at your location so that we can match the orifice in the gas valve to that pressure.  The pressure reading should be taken in line while the grill is running. There is no standard for proper gas pressure and the pressure is set at the meter of each house.
 
This should be done by a qualified licenced professional only.
 
After the gas pressure is known, notify your dealer and a proper orifice will be sent for your model of the grill.
 
Generally speaking the air shutter is more closed for Natural Gas than  Propane or LP.

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Typical air setting for ALL Natural Gas grills

Ignitor Problems
 
1. See if a spark can be detected by looking through the small observation hole in the front of the grill just above the control panel, as you look through, look down and to the left.
 
2. Check to see if the wire leading from the ignitor to the electrodes is trapped or confined in any way, it should be loose and free in movement. 
 
3. Hold the insulated wire in your fingers as you rotate the ignitor  (do not touch any uninsulated part of this mechanism while performing this test), if it is working properly you will feel a slight pulse as the ignitor snaps.
 
4. When you turn the ignitor, it must make a loud snapping sound.
 
How to fix it.
 
1. It is essential that the air adjustment is properly set on the front of the burner for the ignitor to work consistantly.  An improperly set air adjustment will cause many problems .Please refer to the previous section.
 
2. If the wire is trapped between two grill parts, it will short out even through the insulation.  It must be freely routed from end to end.
 
3.  If you do not feel a pulse when you snap the ignitor, loosen and tighten the four screws on the control panel and the two screws holding the ignitor on the panel.  There may be paint on the threads which will interrupt the spark.
 
4. If you do not hear a loud snapping sound as you turn the ignitor clockwise, it may be due to the knob being stripped on the post. Remove the knob and turn the post clockwise with a set of pliers to check for snapping sound.  If the knob is stripped, you will need to get a new knob.  Make sure that when you install the knob that you press the knob on the post until it snaps onto the post.
 
5. The electrodes must be approximately 3/8 inch away from the burner with the electrodes on either side of a stream of gas coming from the burner so that the spark passes through this stream.  If the insulated electrode is closer to the burner than the bent electrode, the spark will jump to the burner and never work properly. The electrodes can be slightly bent into proper alignment.  Make sure they are cool before adjusting them as they get very hot quickly.
 
An easy way to see the electrodes and burner operating is to place a medium sized hand held mirror on the left side of the heat plate when the drip pan has been removed. This will allow you to see the entire operation without removing the heat plate.
 
If you are unable to correct any problem with your Holland Grill, please notify your local dealer for assistance. 
 
 Thank you and continued great grilling. 
 

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