Propane Grill almost blew up....any problem solving tips?

I'll elaborate more in a different thread later on, but....

I had a few terrifying minutes this past weekend.  I was using a Weber gas grill that was not mine.  Cooking up burgers and dogs.  Everything was going just fine, grill was at 300 degrees and food was cooking great.

Turned my back for 2 minutes to help others get a little project done.  Came back, the grill was at 600 degrees and climbing fast.  I quickly turned all the burners off.

Opened the kettle to see that the bottom of the grill was on fire, as was the drip pan.  I wrapped my arm in some water soaked towels that I had and grabbed that very hot handle and closed the grill, only to see it climb to 700 degrees.

Said a little prayer and after about 4 minutes, which seemed like an eternity, it cooled to 600 degrees.  Flames were out, opened the grill top just a tick and saw that the grease and flames were in fact not on fire any longer.

So yah, the grill must have been very dirty.

And I got away very lucky.  With the heat coming out of that thing, I do not know if I could have been able to disconnect the propane.

Thinking I was very lucky in the fact that no flames were sucked into the gas line and back into the propane when I shut it off.

If anyone has been in a position like this, what are some things that could have been done that would have helped the situation?

I'm still here counting my lucky stars that the flames went out and there was no damage done.  Could have, err, it probably should have been much, much worse.

Scary event for sure.....nerve racking.  Turn off propane and keep cover closed.  If I use a grill that isnt mine [ MIL's grill used by multiple family ], I turn on propane and see if I can smell anything leaking, before firing it up. I generally fail to look at the bottom tray, but after hearing about you will be checking on mine and whoever elses I use!

x2 with charcoal not being superior. I'll take a pellet grill over charcoal "flavor" any day. 

Well, on my Weber genesis.....I use a smoke tube and smoke meat on it constantly.  With or without heat.  Because I use that kettle as a smoker, all of my grilled items have a little smoke flavor in them.  

No offense meant to any charcoal users out there, but the propane with a smoke tube is better.  I had the Weber charcoal grill, and this setup is easier and offers a great smoky taste.

I've had my Weber Genesis flame up a few times, but nothing major. Just real hot and turning off burners helped. Just let the flames burn out. I have a brick trowel that is reserved just for scraping off the tray. I scrape the flavor bars and the 3 other flavorizer grates into the tray. My firepit always has some sticks in it for the next fire, so I just walk the tray to the firepit and scrape it off over the top of the sticks. It makes for a good firestarter!

A real man would sit in the shade with a beer in his hand while the wife did the cooking!

My grill is 11 years old.  I've cleaned the bottom a couple of times.  The drip pan disappeared years ago and grease no longer drips out of that hole and hasn't for years.  I do have to change the flavor bars, or whatever those things are called that go right on top of the burners.  They rust out almost every year but it's a cheap fix.  One thing I don't ever do with my gas grill is leave it while it's on.  I may go inside for a minute to grab the cheese for the burgers or something, but otherwise I'm always watching it for flare ups.  Honestly long as I keep those bars above the burners in good condition I never have issues with the grill.  I definitely don't use the cheap burger meat - that stuff flares up the most.  Brats can too, but low and slow is the way to go with those.  Lastly, like a few others have mentioned, I use my charcoal grill more than I do my gas grill.  A steak or a burger tastes better cooked on charcoal. The same goes for ribs.

A fire extinguisher would have helped in that situation.  I actually used one once on a grill that lit up like that and it put it out instantly.  Bit of a mess to clean up, but not terrible.  That was the last time I ever grilled cheap greasy burgers.  They were oozing and I had the grill full.  I think it just created a constant stream of grease into my catch pan.  The grill itself wasn't terribly dirty before it happened.  I usually keep it pretty good.

I know a guy who lit up his pellet grill too.  His just wasn't clean at all and the drip pan had backed up.  So its not just gas grills.

Baking soda.  Great recommendation.  Gotta admit, I haven't properly cleaned my Genesis in 2 years.  It 11 years old.  Gonna have to get that done soon.

My wifes fathers weber had a fire in it so bad it melted a 10 inch hole in the back of it. I told him that shouldn't happen and to call them. They sent all new parts but not before asking if he'd been cleaning it, he said yes. They sent all new parts from the burners down.  He lied, when I went to reassemble it there was an inch of grease inside of it.

Oh and the bottom of weber gas grills are cast aluminum,  no rust.  The design of the inside is a shoot that goes to a drip pan , people change the little pan but don't scrape the shoot.  It would behoove you to do so, also a box of baking soda is a handy grease fire extinguisher. 

Happy grilling 

That’s the clue that says get another one. Lol

For people who have a old grill, say more than 10 years old and have never cleaned anything but the grates, how did it not rot the bottom out of it? 

Happened to me last fall. Was in the house briefly and saw dark smoke coming out of the back of my Weber. I now have a spray bottle with water to calm those grease fires!

I have a weber up north at the cabins, and a charbroil at home in the south eastern part of the state. I’ve noticed the Webbers are much more resistant to grease fires than the charbroil.

I love butter, and cook vegetables, pork chops, steaks, portobello caps and typically-baste them in butter and garlic.

I keep a glass of water next to me to keep the flames down if they flare up.

If you have cooked recent greasy foods like pork chops or ribs, it is quite easy for the bottom of your grill to catch on fire. If you hit it right away with water, it’s not a problem. But if you step away for five minutes, you could have a mess on your hands!

About every five or six grill outings, I remove the grates, clean all the junk off the bottom of the grill, scrape the burners and heat tents, and don’t have an issue. 

I will say, if you don’t have a weber, it’s a fairly easy thing to happen. Stay close to your grill when cooking, and have a glass of water handy!!!!

Now I saw the video Thrash posted last night. I ordered another fire extinguisher from Amazon! Yikes, glad you are ok! I had a gas grill many years ago. Lit it up one night, sat down with a beer and all of a sudden flames shot out the front! Got it shut down and hauled to the dump. Have always used charcoal ever since, never went back to gas. I have a Weber Performer, great grill, been hooked on charcoal for years. Yes, more of a hassle than gas, but better flavor. 

I clean my gas grill at least 2-3 times a year, grease dripping on the bottom will catch fire if you don't. After burning off the grates on high heat scrape then then let it cool. Remove grates and the burner covers and scrape the grease with a putty knife. I use the shop vac to clean it up