Possibly! Many manufacturers offer or provide conversion kits from one gas type to the other.  All of the products we at the Hearth and Grill Shop sell, **with the exception of Weber, are convertible. If your grill wasn’t purchased here, we recommend looking up the manufacturer to determine if they offer conversion parts. We can offer conversion of the grills that we sell, (*except Weber) please contact us via phone or email and we can arrange the service.

Yes, for the most part they will be virtually identical performance wise, although there are some perks to each gas type. The performance and flavor between natural and propane are not noticeably different. Propane has the advantage of being portable, and not requiring a gas line to be run, but for people who grill a lot it can be more expensive, and less convenient in the long term than those who have access to, and opt for natural gas. While natural gas requires a line to be run, it’s cleaner burning, less expensive over time, you’ll never run out during a cooking session, and a natural gas grill can add value to your home.

Natural gas grills are available in all types. Post mount, patio base, built-in, and of course portable. Post mount aka in ground post, is typically installed off a slab style patio. The patio base is lag bolted to either a deck or solid surface. The built-in has become a staple in many modern homes, it allows for an “outdoor kitchen” that depending on configuration, can allow for a multitude of functions! The portable grill is a great option for those who want the ability to store the grill out of the way, or otherwise want to be able to relocate it. For people purchasing grills from us in the Nashville expanded metro, we offer installation of all the different types of natural gas grills. From simple line runs, to built-ins and post mounts, we do it all! We also offer customizable pre-fabricated island/outdoor kitchen configurations. We encourage you to ask any questions that may remain with one of our well-versed sales staff. If you’re a local customer, please come in and see our large selection of premium grills, and we’ll do our best to tell you everything you could ever want to know about grills.

The flavoring and smoke produced by juices hitting the hot surface between the burners and the cook surface can be achieved in a number of ways, and we’ve found that great results can be had with either briquettes, or the modern solid surface type heat diffusers. The flare up prevention can be better with solid surface diffusers, and they typically require less maintenance, and frequently last longer than briquettes.  Our take is that there’s really no wrong answer, and that it mostly boils down to personal preference.

Our recommendation is to make the investment in a natural gas line, unless you specifically want to be able to use your grill in multiple locations, or take it with you when you move. Even relatively infrequent grillers can benefit from a natural gas line. First, the cost of operation is lower, and you’ll never run out of fuel during a cooking session. It typically ends up being less expensive over the long term, and the convenience of never having to lug a cylinder around is one that all natural gas grillers come to appreciate. The grills built for natural gas tend to be higher quality, and to be more of a permanent appliance.  It’s also known to add value to a home to have a gas hookup, or a permanent natural gas grill. So, it’ll probably pay you back eventually, in either cost savings, convenience, or return on investment.

Good news. No grill manufacturer paints the inside of a grill lid. What you’re seeing is actually residue from the vapor that comes from the food you’ve cooked, which dried on the lid of the grill, and accumulated over time. Over time the lacquer cracks and peels with exposure to heat, and it simply looks like paint. There is nothing to worry about. You can take a stiff nylon brush, or scraper, and remove the majority of the buildup.

In our experience, we believe that cast stainless makes the most robust, high-performance burners. Fire Magic uses extreme duty stainless steel to produce all of their burners, and their Aurora, Echelon Diamond series all use cast stainless burners, which we have yet to see exceeded by any other burner type in any performance metric.