Restore

How To Disable A Broken FlameCheck Safety System

Background On The FlameCheck Safety System

The FlameCheck Safety System button

This is an obscure topic that applies only to people with Genesis gas grills featuring the FlameCheck Safety System. These grills include:

  • Genesis 4 and 5
  • Genesis 4000 and 5000
  • Some Genesis models sold outside the United States

As described in this post from August 2018, FlameCheck was a safety feature on some Genesis gas grills that monitored the flame on the #1 burner. If the flame went out for whatever reason, a thermocouple-controlled valve would close, cutting off gas to the manifold. In order to initially light the #1 burner, you had to hold down a spring-loaded safety button while depressing the igniter button.

With time, the thermocouple would fail, causing the valve to stay in the closed position and shutting off gas to the grill. At some point, Weber stopped selling a replacement thermocouple, so owners of these grills resorted to placing a brick over the FlameCheck button to hold it down to keep gas flowing to the burners!

A Workaround To A Broken FlameCheck

Joe Anshien, a member of The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board, restored a Genesis 5 and shared his workaround to a broken FlameCheck Safety System that does not involve the use of a brick!

Find the FlameCheck valve situated between the incoming gas supply hose and the manifold. Unscrew the bottom portion of the valve where the thermocouple wire is connected. Inside you’ll find a valve cartridge with a spring assembly on one end.

Valve cartridge removed from valve body

Using a pair of pliers, pop-off the spring assembly, then remove and discard the spring retainer at the end of the spring.

Valve cartridge with washer removed

Replace the cartridge and spring inside the valve and screw the bottom portion back on. Spray a soapy water solution on the valve to check for gas leaks, then check that the burners light without depressing the FlameCheck button.

Burners stay lit without the FlameCheck button depressed

Got An Obscure Restoration Question? TVWBB.com Is Ready To Help!

We’ve got lots of members who are knowledgeable in vintage Weber gas grill restoration and know how to answer even the most difficult questions. Please visit at tvwbb.com!

Valve Photos: 2021 by Joe Anschien

Tips & Techniques

How To Trim Silverskin From Pork Tenderloin

Video

I recently published this video demonstrating how to trim silverskin from pork tenderloin. I followed this process for the pork tenderloin recipes I’ve posted on this site, including Grilled Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin and Pork Tenderloin Steaks.

And it’s the same process whether you’re trimming a beef tenderloin or even the teres major steak I wrote about in my last post. Continue reading How To Trim Silverskin From Pork Tenderloin →

Recipes

Teres Major Steak

Introducing The Teres Major Steak

Uncooked teres major steak

Teres major is not a steak you will find at most supermarkets. You’ll have to seek it out at a good butcher shop or from online sources. But it’s worth the effort to find and grill on your Weber gas grill.

Also known as a shoulder petite tender roast, petite tender, shoulder tender, or bistro tender, the teres major steak is lean but juicy, and as the alternate names imply, it’s very tender. It’s shaped like and eats a lot like a tenderloin but with a bit more fat and thus more flavor.

Beef chuck diagramThe teres major muscle is tucked away inside the chuck primal and comes from the shoulder blade. It takes more time and effort to fabricate this cut from the shoulder clod, which is why you don’t see it often in the usual retail settings. Continue reading Teres Major Steak →

Tips & Techniques

Winter Grilling Tips

Grills in winter

Here are some useful tips for winter grilling in cold weather.

Pre-Cook

  • Keep plenty of propane around. Consider keeping a filled spare tank in reserve. Tanks may not work reliably when temps dip below freezing, so store propane tanks where they won’t freeze.
  • Wind is the enemy of grilling, regardless of time of year. Operate your grill in a sheltered location or setup a wind break.
  • Allow more time to pre-heat the grill. It may take up to twice as long to pre-heat during winter than during summer.
  • Don’t force the lid or knobs if frozen in place. Thaw the grill in the garage or carefully defrost stuck parts with a blow dryer.
  • To avoid carbon monoxide risks, don’t operate your grill in enclosed locations.

Continue reading Winter Grilling Tips →

Accessories, General

New Weber Gas Grills For 2021

Weber introduced a series of new gas grilling products for the 2021 model year which started on October 1, 2020.

Smart Grills

2021 Weber Smart Grills

Weber introduced four new Spirit and Genesis II “Smart Grills” for 2021. Each features a digital tech package built into the front face of the right worktable (Spirit) or the left worktable (Genesis II). This tech package provides real-time food temp and readiness countdowns on the grill or on a smartphone app, alerts, and Amazon Alexa integration for voice commands like, “Alexa, when will my food be ready?”

Smart Grills are denoted by an “X” added after the “E” (enamel) or “S” (stainless steel) finish designation in the model name. At the time of announcement, Smart Grills are only available in LP configuration. Availability will most likely be after January 1, 2021. Continue reading New Weber Gas Grills For 2021 →

Recipes

Flat Iron Steak Redo

Grilled flat iron steak
Flat iron steaks with sea salt flakes

In August 2018, I had a few issues grilling a flat iron steak and wrote about it in one of my posts. Two years passed and I completely forgot about that experience. I’m standing at the butcher counter in 2020, I see a flat iron steak, and I think I should try grilling one and posting about it here. Not until I started writing this post did I discover I’d cooked and posted about flat iron steak before!

Well, I’m happy to report that I had a better experience with flat iron steak this time.

If you don’t know much about flat iron steak, you can read about the origins of this cut of meat in my previous post.

First, I upped the grilling temperature…preheated for 15 minutes, two burners on MEDIUM-HIGH, one burner on LOW, and one burner OFF to create a hot direct zone and a cooler indirect zone in case I needed it. Turned out I didn’t need it. I seasoned the meat with Susie Q’s Santa Maria Style Seasoning and let it rest at room temp for 1 hour. Continue reading Flat Iron Steak Redo →

Recipes

Pork Secreto

Grilled pork secreto on a tortilla

What Is Pork Secreto?

I noticed this interesting cut of pork in the fresh meat counter at Belcampo Meat Co. in Palo Alto, CA (before the location closed in March 2019). The butcher said it was equivalent to “pork brisket”, a “butcher’s secret” that they grilled for themselves behind the restaurant.

Good enough for them? Good enough for me!

Belcampo Meat Co. Palo Alto CA

When I got home, I searched the Interweb and found several definitions for pork secreto: the aforementioned pork brisket; pork skirt steak; a strip of pork hidden under belly fat; a cut that resides behind the shoulder; and a cut between the shoulder, ribs, and fatback.

So maybe “pork secreto” can be any number of things. In the end, I trusted the butcher that fabricated and sold the cut, as well as my own eyes, and decided that it looked like a tiny brisket weighing 1.25 pounds.

Fatty side of pork secreto

The butcher said this was a Duroc-Berkshire crossbreed, so a quality piece of pork.

Lean side of pork secreto

It consists of two parts, like a beef brisket, but in the opposite configuration. In a beef brisket, the fatty portion comes from the chest and the lean portion is towards the belly. In a pork secreto, the fatty portion comes from the belly and the lean portion comes from the chest as part of the picnic…or so I’ve read. Continue reading Pork Secreto →

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