MOC Gas Grill Explosion

[Ron98GT]

I was grilling while at Sheraton Broadway Plantation last week, and mentioned to my brother that Marriott has been the only system I've stayed at that has gas grills. I was wondering why others didn't have them.

The Westin TS on Maui, WKORV/WKORVN, has gas grills

 

[Wally3433]

FWIW, the gas grills at Mountainside last winter were in bad shape. The automatic starters did not work on any of the units. It was very hard to determine if the gas was on or not. I was able to get them all to light, after finding someone with a long lighter, but only one would turn on high enough to actually cook.

I am an experienced cold weather gas griller and am aware of the dangers of gas grilling in the winter. I did not feel safe at Mountainside, but the scotch gave me confidence to make it through, luckily without accident.

Obviously the odds are that this MOC event was user error. I have used the MOC grills, and they are by far the most maintained (and probably the most used) of all MVC grills I have seen. If they took the doors off, it sounds like there was a gas build up issue. Hopefully this can be corrected.

At a minimum, I thought that it would have been nice to have a "call this number if you are having trouble with the gas grills" sticker in the grilling area at Mountainside.

 

[Fairwinds]

FWIW, the gas grills at Mountainside last winter were in bad shape. The automatic starters did not work on any of the units. It was very hard to determine if the gas was on or not. I was able to get them all to light, after finding someone with a long lighter, but only one would turn on high enough to actually cook.

I am an experienced cold weather gas griller and am aware of the dangers of gas grilling in the winter. I did not feel safe at Mountainside, but the scotch gave me confidence to make it through, luckily without accident.

Obviously the odds are that this MOC event was user error. I have used the MOC grills, and they are by far the most maintained (and probably the most used) of all MVC grills I have seen. If they took the doors off, it sounds like there was a gas build up issue. Hopefully this can be corrected.

At a minimum, I thought that it would have been nice to have a "call this number if you are having trouble with the gas grills" sticker in the grilling area at Mountainside.

They need to get on the ball out there at Mountainside then. We had the exact same issue when we were there in Sept. Well, maybe they were fixed and broke again. Grill lighters will do that but all grills both times. Great resort though!

 

[dioxide45]

Any built in grill lighter will only last about a year in my experience. The heat that they take by sitting so close to the flame burns out the unit pretty fast. I would never rely on a built in lighter on any gas grill.

 

[Superchief]

I find that the gas grill lighters seldom work. I primarily grill with charcoal at home, so I usually call ahead and request a maintenance person meet me at the grill to light it when staying at a MVC resort. They are always happy to do it. Of course, I'm someone who has learned that it is better for me to have a professional fix something rather than try to do it myself, which usually makes things worse. I'm good with numbers, but not with mechanics.

 

[NboroGirl]

I am an experienced cold weather gas griller and am aware of the dangers of gas grilling in the winter. I did not feel safe at Mountainside, but the scotch gave me confidence to make it through, luckily without accident.

:hysterical:

 

[MabelP]

Wally,
Loved your comment...I live with a Scotchdrinker. Still laughing!!!

 

[jtp1947]

There is now a metal screen where the doors used to be below the bar b q allowing more air circulation.

 

[dioxide45]

There is now a metal screen where the doors used to be below the bar b q allowing more air circulation.

It seems possible that there was a leak underneath the grill causing buildup behind those doors. Do we know if the lid blew off the top or blew out the doors. I guess it is likely that it did both if there was enough buildup. It seems that they are airing on the side of caution, which is a good thing.

It is always important to never light a grill with the lid closed. I really don't know how you would do it anyway. I need to peek down in the grill to make sure that the stick lighter is next to the burner. Only when the stick lighter has a flame do I turn the burner knob. Of course if you are using a built in lighter, people may not think anything of it to open the lid.

 

[SueDonJ]

It seems possible that there was a leak underneath the grill causing buildup behind those doors. Do we know if the lid blew off the top or blew out the doors. I guess it is likely that it did both if there was enough buildup. It seems that they are airing on the side of caution, which is a good thing.

It is always important to never light a grill with the lid closed. I really don't know how you would do it anyway. I need to peek down in the grill to make sure that the stick lighter is next to the burner. Only when the stick lighter has a flame do I turn the burner knob. Of course if you are using a built in lighter, people may not think anything of it to open the lid.

Picturing the grills with a grate where the solid doors used to be seems to make for an attractive solution, if they're also taking measures to minimize the risk of leaks anywhere in the gas lines.

We haven't been to many Marriott resorts (our home Weeks keep calling us and calling us ...) but of the ones we have visited we've noticed maintenance happening every morning. At Barony you can set your watch by them - and when they're done the whole area is clean and the grills look new.

If they're not maintained then they're definitely a fire hazard - it's scary reading here about the condition of grills at a few of the resorts.

 

[csxjohn]

Maintenance may happen every day at our resorts but are they checking for gas leaks? Probably not.

At my resort we request someone to come and light them for us but sometimes the auto igniters work and peeps do it on their own.

Many of the resorts we visit have no grill or charcoal grills. Even those can be dangerous in the wrong hands.

 

[dioxide45]

Maintenance may happen every day at our resorts but are they checking for gas leaks? Probably not.

.

I would agree. Daily cleaning will help keep the grills in better condition, but a leak can happen at any time and wouldn't be found by just cleaning the grills. It really needs soapy water on the hoses while they are on to find any leaks. I doubt they do that every day or at all.

 

[pspercy]

And just how, pray tell, do you did that?

I have a kamado pot, when starting the (charcoal) fire (newspapers not starter fluid) I sometimes close the lid to increase the draft. Once I left it down a bit too long, opened the lid and got a flash back that singed me Grill temp inside was over 700F. I'm super careful now