Don, thanks for the info. You've done some very nice work! That's exactly the size of island we are thinking of.
I'm still looking into grills, Don you had mentioned 64,000 BTU grill being basic, is that a minimum output that you would recommend? It will be a NG unit, as I'm done with the bottle hassles, was wanting to stay with a lower cost of the unit so that some the extras the Mrs wants can go into the project.
For the construction of the island, I know better than to build around the grill unit with combustibles, I do like your all metal framework, may just have to budget for a TIG and plasma cutter instead of pond and hot tub.
How do these grills get fresh air? Do they need to have vents built into the cabinets? If so, is there a formula for figuring this out, like a certain amount of BTU's to so many square inches of openings? It will probably depend on manufacture, so I guess I had better find me a dealer.
Bird, that must have been some dog you had [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Don, I couldn't remember the name of those grills until you reminded me. I think they were all Charmglow from the Long Star Gas Company (part of TXU now). I got them in 1968, 1972, and 1977. Supposedly when we had them, the gaslights were cheaper to run 24 hours a day than electric lights, but prices may have changed a bit since then. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
And Tom, that darned dog was a miniature poodle that my wife and daughters got over my objections. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
[img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] Wow, time sure flies when you're having fun. I had no idea it has been that long since I checked in here. I hope you're still around and it's not too late...
Most built-in grill units have a drip pan under them, which pulls out at the front. There is plenty of room around the pan for air to get in. 64K BTU's is for 4 burners; usually around 15K - 16K per burner.
This may be the right time and place for the little lecture I used to give my customers about "What makes a built-in grill". There are four basic attributes:
(1) There is a pull-out drip pan. A regular grill that needs a can under it just won't work unless you want to crawl into the cabinet to change the can. We always made the grill opening solid, we didn't want propane to get inside the cabinet if someone left a burner turned on but unlit (propane is heavier than air and settles, rather than rising).
(2) The controls/valves are part of the grill body, not part of the stand like on many popular grills. In other words, the controls are part of the front panel of the grill.
(3) The sides of the grill are straight, rather than tapered. It's really difficult to mount tapered grills into a cabinet; several manufacturers who have tried dual-purpose grills have an installation sleeve that does have straight sides.
(4) The grill lid is in two pieces, a lid and a backsplash, and the hinges is in the center, so the lid rotates around the backsplash. Conventional grills hinge in the rear, and require a lot more space behind them for the lid to open fully.
In your case, you'll be using NG, so there will be no portable cylinders. In other cases, there may be a bulk supply of propane from a remote tank. These are prefereable. If a portable cylinder must be used, we always tried to get it outside and plumb it to the grill. In the rare case where we were forced to put the cylinders in the cabinet, remember that the cabinet must be vented. There needs to be about 100 sq inches of intake air near the top of the cabinet, and the same for outgoing air near the very bottom of the cabinet. Remember, propane settles, and if it leaks from the enclosed cylinder, it will find it's way out the bottom vents. Otherwise, you may have a Floomph.
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