THE GRILL

WE COOK OUT OFTEN.......


When I bought my first motor home I bought one of those gas grills that you hook up to your propane tank on your coach. Since then this grill has been a constant companion on our camping trips and has been used many times in all kind of places. It is a good grill except for a few minor problems that have happened to the grill over the years.
First of all, the grill came with a set of wire legs that fit into holes in the base of the grill to set the grill on when you use it on a picnic table. Somewhere, sometime I managed to lose the back set of legs for the grill …. I solved the problem by putting a bean can under the back of the grill and it is sorta level, kinda'.
The second problem with the grill is concerning the ''control valve'' that controls the gas flow to the burner. It seems that sometime the little plastic ''thingie'' that you turn when you use the grill has split down the middle and I lost it somewhere along the way. I resolved the problem by getting a pair of ''vice grip'' pliers and attaching them to the ''little stem'' that the plastic knob went on …... they work fine for adjusting the gas flow.
The third thing with the the grill is that one of the hinges that holds the top on the grill got busted off somewhere and I fixed that with copper wire but now the problem is that the top has no ''stop'' and when you open the top it simply flops on the table. I have a sardine can to prop the top on when I open it to turn the steaks. The sardine can can works fine as a prop...'
The forth problem with the grill is that somehow I got a hole in the hose that brings the gas to the regulator thingie …. I took a Bic pen apart and jammed the body of the pen into the hose and taped it on both sides and I checked it with spit and it dont leak and it seems to work fine.
The fifth problem with the grill is that the ''lift handle'' finally fell off the grill and I just put a quarter inch bolt in one of the holes to lift the top of the grill to check the steaks. If the grill is hot I will use the pair of vice grips off the control valve to list the top because that little screw gets real hot.
The sixth situation with the grill is that the ''burner body'' is getting real sad. I need to buy a new one but I can never remember that when I am at Camping world. About half of the burner actually works on both sides and the other end of the burner works on one side, kinda,......
with all this in mind I would like to tell you about a cook out we had in Jasper....


We were parked beside a guy in a pop up and we decided that steaks were the order of the day so I got out our grill and started setting it up on a picnic table. The guy in the pop up was lounging in a chair watching the whole process. I carefully sat the grill on the table with the back on the bean can and I got out my piece of wood and propped the top open. I attached the control valve and put the vise grips on the little stem to control the gas flow. I got out my sardine can to prop the vise grips on so I could control the flow of the L.P. Gas. I got out my taped hose and hooked it to the grill and then to the propane tank on the coach. The guy in the pop up watched with great interest and he finally said......
''You sure that grill is safe?'' ''It looks like a piece of junk that should have been thrown away several years ago''....
I assured that this grill was in tip top condition and was very safe for usage. He watched with great interest......
I turned the little stem on the control valve and the familiar hiss of L.P. Came roaring into the burner and I put the plastic match to it and we had ''fire''.......... I closed the lid and propped the vise grips up with the sardine can....
I grinned at my neighbor with a ''all knowing smile'' and stepped in the coach for a liquid refreshment while the grill heated up....
A couple of minutes later I heard my neighbor yell.....
''THIS THING IS SMOKIN AND TURNIN RED ON TOP''
It seems that I had turned the control valve past the ''stop'' because the knob was gone and I could turn the stem way too far to the right and the burner was producing flames about a foot tall inside the grill.....
Things started happening in slow motion and real fast all at the same time for a while. I stepped out of the coach and in my haste I missed the bottom step and fell face first out of the coach My beer spouted like Old Failthful and I managed to fall on the hose that delivered the gas to the grill. In doing this it seems that I yanked the grill sideways making it fall off the bean can that was the back leg and making the vise grip pliers fall off the sardine can causing the gas valve to open further and knocking the grill top crooked letting the fire shoot upward even higher I also managed to break the hose apart where I had put the Bic Pen body in it. The hose parted and I managed to grab the end of it but the L.P. Was coming out un regulated and with a force that was exciting to say the least. I made the mistake of pointing the gas delivery hose toward the grill and the red hot grill ignited the spray of L.P. Coming out of the hose. There I stood holding a busted rubber hose with a three foot flame coming out of the end and an empty beer can. It looked like ww2 flame thrower and roared like a lion.....
The poor guy in the pop up scrambled out of his chair and grabbed the tongue of his pop up and was trying to pull it out from beside my coach. In my confusion I accidentally set some weeds on fire beside the coach and I screamed for Willa to bring me a fire extinguisher quick. She couldnt find the fire extinguisher so she brought the five beers that were left in the six pack and she put out the fire with beer. ….. we managed to get the l.p. Turned off and our neighbor went to the office and requested a different camping sight.
''Maybe its time to consider the thought of buying a new grill dear'' Willa said.
''I will think about that later dear...... right now I think we should go get Pizza for supper.


Willa and me …. heading for Alaska
The adventure continues......