Maintaining your BBQ grill for great taste and long life!
Nothing beats a good BBQ with your family and friends. The best BBQ meals are cooked on a clean hot grill. We have put together a few handy tips that will help you keep you BBQ looking and performing as new.
Before cleaning your BBQ you should check the manufacturers manual for cleaning recommendations. To reduce the risk of fire or explosion, routinely perform the following safety checks:
Check the gas hoses for cracking or gas leaks before lighting the BBQ.
Leaking BBQ hose that caught fire
Empty and clean the grease tray regularly
When lighting a grill, always keep the lid open.
Keep the gas hose as far away as possible from hot surfaces and dripping hot grease.
Never pour lighter fluid or gasoline on a propane or gas grill
Do not use your grill in a garage, carport or under a surface that can catch fire and ensure you meet the minimum clearances as per manufacturers instructions.
Always preheat your grill and brush or scrape with your brush/paddle of choice to remove any left over grease. Ensure your cooking surface is nice and clean before you start.
Get in the habit of maintaining your BBQ grill to maximize the lifespan of your investment.
NATURAL GAS IS COLOURLESS, ODOURLESS AND NON TOXIC. ENBRIDGE GAS ADDS A CHEMICAL CALLED MERCAPITAN WHICH ADDS A DISTINCT SMELL TO MAKE IT IDENTIFIABLE.
Never use screws to hold your gas dryer exhaust vent together
Screws should never be used to secure gas dryer vents as they will trap lint and potentially catch fire!
7.5.3 – A moisture-exhaust duct shall not be secured with screws.CSA B149-1
Every year there are over 40 house fires in Toronto alone that are started from gas dryers. Did you know that your vent must checked and cleaned out at least once a year?
Just because you have had one for decades, it doesn’t mean it has met code regulations or can be swapped out with a new one. It is best to consult with a gas technician before ordering our new gas dryer to ensure it can be installed. Installation codes specify minimum clearances that must be met and maintained. Below are some things to consider when installing/operating your gas dryer.
Clean your dryer lint trap after every use. Lint accumulation on this screen restricts the flow of exhaust gases and decreases efficiency of your unit.
Heat recovery traps are also prohibited for gas dryers. Any combusting appliance will create some level of carbon monoxide. We do not want to allow any opportunity for this hazardous gas to enter the house.
Whenever possible, use rigid venting for gas dryers. The corrugations in the ‘flex vents’ will act as restrictions for the lint and cause them to build up over time.
Vent terminations have to be at least 3 ft away from any intake into the house. In addition to this, they cannot have any screens on them. A metal flap is the preferred vent to use.
There are 2 types of snow melt applications. It is important to understand the difference between both systems before making the decision to invest in yours.
Commercial/Critical applications
We install critical systems in Hospitals, rooftop Heli-pads and shopping mall melting pads. They have many non- standard and fail safe components such as backup power generators, multiple boilers to share the load and meet extreme demands of a snow melt. Very tight loops ensure maximum heat transfer. They will produce a 99% melting guarantee as the snow and ice start to fall in any storm condition.
Convenience applications
Standard convenience systems are typically residential and light commercial applications where there is no imminent rush to melt the snow as soon as it starts to hit the ground. It may take some time to completely melt your driveway. These are the more cost effective and ‘efficient’ solutions.
There are settings to adjust for personal preferences. Keep in mind, the faster you want the snow to melt, it impacts maintenance, wear and tear and your gas bill. Most home owners choose to have their snow melt sensor activate upon detecting moisture on the “puck sensor”. This will initiate a cold start.
NTI 175 snow melt for this happy customer
The surface of the slab has to heat up to at least 0.5 degrees Celsius in order to melt the snow. It may take several hours to bring the slab to this melting temperature. If the snow accumulation is extreme, expect to see some snow on your driveway when you get home from work. Conditional on the temperature and speed of the snow fall, your system may catch up during the storm or may take a day to completely rid your driveway of snow and ice.
In extreme weather conditions snow melt systems are programmed to shut down. They simply cannot compete with Mother Nature. The heat loss on the surface of your driveway will simply negate the performance of your system. You will be wasting gas only to lose the heat before it reaches the slab. This is experienced with -25 degree temps or cooler and snowy conditions and high winds.
If you want a faster melt on your driveway, the system can be setup to idle/pre-heat or anticipate a ‘storm.’ Idling will maintain a set temperature on your driveway (typically -6 to -2 Celcius) which gives the snow melt system a running start when the puck detects snow.
Hence your performance dramatically improves and response time decreases. This helps keep up with most weather conditions.
The ‘Storm’ feature manually tricks your system to assume it is currently snowing and will run the system to bring the slab to an above 0 temp which melts the snow on contact with the slab.
Understanding this concept will ensure you make the right decision when selecting the system that is right for your home.
