Need help with Napoleon Grill

[Hawkeye Ed]

I just bought a Napoleon TQ285 grill and am having trouble with it heating up. I've tried both a 1-pound bottle and with a hose and a 20-pound barbecue tank. In both cases it lights real fine but doesn't seem to put out enough heat.

I've turned both valves on all the way but it takes 30 minutes for it to heat up to 400 degrees

I called Napoleon but the only help I got was, "Put a hot dog on it. If it's from the freezer it will burn in 10 minutes. If it's from the refrigerator it will take 12." (no kidding).

So I'm wondering if anyone else with one of these grills can tell me how long it takes to get up to 400 degrees with both burners turned on full.

Thanks

Ed

 

[Mike G]

I don't know about Napoleons in particular, but I recall reading about the similar-sized Weber grills' regulators going bad (causing the same symptom you have). At the time a replacement regulator was inexpensive. The other thing that comes to mind is to make sure none of the burner holes are plugged; if a number of them have gotten covered with gunk it would affect the heating. But my guess is the regulator.

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

I'm camping and my tq285 is in the truck, so when I pull it out, I'll test how long it takes to get to 400.... Might be in a couple days.

 

[Hawkeye Ed]

This is a bit embarrassing. Thank you to those of you who responded to my request about adjusting the flame on my Napoleon grill. It turns out that I was turning the control the wrong way and turned it to Low when I thought it was on High.

In my defense, there's no marking on the stove or knob nor is the instruction manual clear about this. If there's any good come from this I now know the Napoleon grill has a great Low setting unlike some other grills that will burn up your food at any setting if you're not careful.

Thanks again. Ed

P.S. It's a great grill.

 

[gbaglo]

I was afraid to suggest that.

 

[Bobbie54]

Been there, done that.

 

[Iowa Dave]

Most folks on here have made classic errors at one time or another. No harm no foul as they say.
Iowa Dave

 

[Mike G]

No big deal. Been there, done that. Maybe a small bottle of paint and a fine brush would work to add some marks. I've used a needle-type dispenser bottle of typewriter correction fluid for a similar situation in the past, but I have no idea if they still sell the stuff... who uses typewriters these days?

 

[John in Santa Cruz]

Many gas valves, including the stove in my Escape, and a large Weber at home go off, high, turn down to low. This is because you want high gas when you light it as soon as you've turned it on. If you look closely at the front of the Napoleon you will see that the knobs have a tapered circle around them that is fatter at the off end and thinner at the end, and there's similar markings on the body, they're just not very high contrast.