changing from propane to natural gas

[jnoble]

I use a handheld propane torch to ignite my charcoal.

Beside my bbq, however, there is still the long hose and fitting that fed the natural gas from the house, to my weber genesis bbq.

I no longer use the gas bbq, and am thinking how convenient it would be to have my hand held starter and torch, just connected to this natural gas supply. It would reach long enough.

I know that natural gas burns a bit cooler than propane, but my main concerne is whether it's safe to run a different fuel through these starters. I also see they sell weed burners like the Red Dragon, mini dragon, which appear to be great for charcoal starting.

So. Any dangers or tech problems with running natural gas through a tube intended for propane use?

Thanks

John Noble

[mguerra]

You need different sized jets. Check with the gas company or an appliance shop, they are used to switching between gases.

[mguerra]

Sorry, I just re-read your post, you want to use your propane torch head for natural gas. Neither the gas company nor an appliance shop can help you there. I don't think that will work unless you do a homemade modification. You might check youtube or instructables.com to see if any one has modded a propane head to use natural gas. What you CAN do is get the gas company or appliance shop to help you fit a stove top burner with the right jet for NG, and then use that burner under your charcoal basket. I don't recall if Dennis has his burners available jetted for both gases. Dennis' burner with a NG jet would be your cleanest install, email him.

[DennisLinkletter]

My KK gas burner comes with two jets.. one for each gas but I do my best to talk people out of using the burner to light charcoal for anything other than high temp grilling or baking..

[mguerra]

These folks might be able to help you convert a propane torch head to natural gas:
http://www.gas-tec.com/applications.html
They are primarily dealing with commercial cutting torches, not home owner torches, but they might know something. If you pull this off, please let us know!!