Checking Your Regulator
To check your regulator, you’ll first want to confirm that the Overfill Prevention Device hasn’t been tripped. The OPD can be triggered by opening the tank valve too quickly, turning on your burners before opening the propane tank, closing the propane tank before turning off the burners, or leaving your control knobs on after you’re done grilling.
To reset the OPD, open up your grill’s lid, turn off the propane tank, and disconnect the gas line from the tank. Turn all of your grill’s burner knobs up to high and wait one minute to allow any remaining gas to flush out. Then turn the knobs off, reconnect the gas line to the propane tank, and slowly open the tank back up. Light your grill, and if it ignites successfully, the issue should be fixed.
If your grill doesn’t light after resetting the OPD, you may need to replace it. Take a look for any damage or cracks — if you see any visible issues with the regulator, you’ll need to replace it with one that fits your grill.
Thankfully, replacing the regulator is pretty easy. Once you’ve purchased the correct regulator for your grill, you’ll turn the gas off, remove the existing regulator, install the new one, turn the gas back on, and check for leaks by spraying on a 50/50 mix of dish soap and water and looking for bubbles.
If everything is working correctly with your OPD and regulator, it’s time to move on to the burner shutters. Too little or too much air may be flowing into the burners, causing them to smoke.
For more regulator troubleshooting tips, check out our guide: What Is a Gas Grill Regulator: Troubleshooting Gas Grill Regulator Problems