If you’ve taken the decision to invest in a natural gas grill and have natural gas installed in your home, then you might still be a little confused about how it all works.
After all, natural gas isn’t all that common even now, and most people will still opt for their fuel to arrive in more conventional ways, i.e. wood/coal and gas in propane tanks.
But, I’ve heard of more and more people investing in natural gas grills for a number of reasons, but there always seems to be one common concern: do I need a regulator for my natural gas grill?
Well, I’ll take a closer look at the issue and answer it for you below! Ready to get started? Then read on below!
Short Answer: No, you do not need a regulator for your natural gas grill, HOWEVER, it is highly advised to use a regulator to ensure the safe and appropriate levels of gas enter the combustion area of the grill. Read more below to better understand how a regulator will drastically improve the safety of your natural gas grill.
What Is A Natural Gas Grill?
Since natural gas grills aren’t the norm, there might be some of you thinking about buying a natural gas grill, but you’re not yet sure what they are or how they work.
To clear it all up, I’ve included this small section so we can look a little closer at what natural gas grills are all about.
Natural gas grills work like your ordinary grills. They need fuel to burn to cook your food – it’s as complicated and as simple as that.
But the difference with natural gas grills is that it burns natural gas that’s installed in your home in much the same way as electricity is.
Natural gas is installed in a main gas line – it’s usually methane that has been pressurized into vapor – and it’s often refined so it’s more efficient than other gas.
It’s distributed by the city, state, or county (depending on where you live), but it is usually contracted out to individual businesses and companies like electricity is.
You then pay that business for the use of the gas in your home.
You’ll also need a qualified tradesperson to come out and install the natural gas line in your home so you have access to it to cook your burgers on your grill!
Speaking of, you can convert your Blackstone griddle to natural gas, read up more here!
Why Opt For A Natural Gas Grill
To understand why people are opting for natural gas grills more and more, I’ve just put together a list of benefits of natural gas grills so you can see some of the main reasons:
- Don’t need to remember to buy fuel – it’s already there
- Safer than propane tanks etc., since it’s all dealt with by professionals
- It’s incredibly efficient
- Cheaper overtime after the installation costs
- Natural gas grills are often cheaper
There are many more benefits besides, but there’s one there that’s really important for today’s main question: natural gas grills are safer than propane tanks. But why is that?
Natural Gas Grills And Regulators
Well, natural gas grills are safer because they are regulated.
By that I mean, the main gas line that’s installed in your home will already use a regulator because otherwise it’s simply not safe to be installed.
This regulator usually restricts the natural gas to flow at 110 psi, or ten pounds of pressure per square inch.
It’s important that it’s set to this amount, because otherwise the gas flow would be unstable and dangerous.
But that still leaves an important question: do you need a regulator for your gas grill?
The answer to that is yes. Because the main gas line already has a pre-installed regulator that controls the flow of the gas, you might think you don’t logically need one.
However, an application regulator (that means a regulator that attaches to the appliance you want to use the natural gas with.
A regulator is often required of all natural gas grills because it controls the flow of the gas to the grill, making it much safer.
Your natural gas grill isn’t designed to work with unregulated gas because the valves, gas hoses, and adapters aren’t designed for dealing with gas at high pressures.
By not regulating the appliance, you risk high flames, and possibly gas leaks if the grill parts become damaged because of the increased pressure.
The natural gas main line that’s installed in your home when you first opt for natural gas is perfectly safe and regulated.
With that said, you’ll still need that appliance regulator to make using your natural gas grill safe.
How Do Natural Gas Grill Regulators Work?
It’s also important to understand how the natural gas regulators work and what type of regulator is used.
Most natural gas grill regulators are what’s known as diaphragm regulators.
These diaphragm regulators are made up of two key parts: the valve body which attaches to the grill itself, and the valve head which screws into the end of the valve body and the natural gas hose attaches to this.
When the gas is then turned on, it flows into the valve body and into the valve head.
This process is regulated by a spring-loaded needle valve inside the valve body to allow the gas to flow to the valve head.
The diaphragm part of the name comes from the diaphragm part that’s inside the head, which creates a seal as the gas enters it to prevent gas leaks or the natural gas from leaking back into the main gas line.
It’s this process that keeps your natural gas grill safe when using it to control the amount of gas the grill can burn at once, which in turn keeps the flames at a controllable rate.
Round-Up
Natural gas grills are perfectly safe, and having natural gas installed in your home is a brilliant way of powering your natural gas grill.
With natural gas you’ll never need to remember to order propane tanks or wood/coal again like you would for other grills.
The gas in your home is regulated, but you will need to use an appliance regulator with the grill itself to keep the grill from having access to too much gas.
A gas grill without a regulator can then cause dangerous flare-ups with high flames.
So just remember that regulators are important, and your natural gas grill will be perfectly safe to use!
