I had a plumber run a natural gas line out to my Weber grill. He then installed the natural gas adapter to the Weber grill. There is a shut off valve near where it comes out of the house. And one in the basement which I shut off if I'm not going to be using it for awhile, like over the winter. I can't tell you how much easier it is than schlepping those heavy gas tanks (not to mention running out while grilling something!) and how easy it is to turn it on and off. I simply turn the valve on, then turn the grill knobs to "on" and grill as long as I want. Then when it's time to turn it off, I turn off the knobs and then the valve. If I buy a new gas grill I'll buy one that is designed for natural gas use. Having the natural gas hookup has made grilling as easy as using my gas stove inside. So far as the igniter, my broke early on, but I didn't replace it. I just use one of those red pistol type candle lighters that fit in the lighting hole safely. Whoooshhhh!

I have converted several by just drilling out the jets. I don't think the heat value of the gas is as important as the difference between gas pressure from the propane regulator and gas line pressure. Problem may be in finding a set of number drills and determining how big to drill it.

The older style LP tanks do use an internal left handed thread. The new tanks all have the "OPD" (overfill protection device) and they also have an external right handed "worm" type thread. You have two options: get an adapter at Walmart for about $10.00 or, check the date on the old LP tank you have, if it is twelve years or older, then when you have it refilled they will require you to have it re-certified. It is probably cheaper for you in the long run just to do a tank exchange for about $16-$18 bucks. That way you are good for another twelve years. As far as your question about running the bbq on NG, it won't work without a conversion. LP gas is at a much greater pressure than NG so, consequently the orifices are smaller for LP than NG. You can check with Aussie and see if they offer an NG conversion kit. If not, you can attempt to drill out the orifices by hand. There are some places on this discussion board as well as others on the net that talk about how to do this. If you do that, you can also get a 12' Natural Gas hose with a quick disconnect on the end that would fit (maybe without an adapter) on your existing stub from your house and the bbq. I just picked one up from Home Depot. It was made by Char Broil in the accessory area. In either case good luck and happy grilling. bsbbq

Hi TD and thanks. We do have other gas appliances, and still are considering the gas generator backup so I feel that the dual fuel system is still of most interest. At present, one major dilemma is replacement of all of the ductwork, which was suggested by the Carrier dealer with the high prices, and the Trane dealer who miscalculated, waited weeks to give an estimate and did so only after I called them numerous times. They also have not yet gotten back to me with the corrected estimate. Also the latter really did not want to give me the equipment specs. The Lennox dealer has been very responsive. He initially recommended replacing only some of the ductwork, but thought we could leave the trunk lines alone for the most part. So one of the elements, which adds quite alot of expense, is whether or not to replace all of the ductwork. The Lennox dealer would be willing to do that, but it would add over 4k to the cost. Any thoughts on that? All the dealers commented on the adequacy of the duct system after a rather cursory inspection. When I questioned the Carrier rep. further he indicated that he could tell just by looking at a few spots that the ductwork was "too big in some lines and too small in others), and the branching from the main duct was not done properly. Also any thoughts on a good Lennox package? Is the package suggested by their bid adequate? It has I think a single speed (coil? compressor?) paired with a 15 SEER unit. He calculated that would give a 14 SEER used together. I have tried to find another Carrier dealer who services my area with no luck. The only other Carrier dealer is a national chain store. I had scheduled a visit for them to give me an estimate at the very beginning of this process; however, the appointment was cancelled with no follow-up. I called them back to reschedule and the earliest appointment that they have would be mid-June--I hoped to have installation complete by then! THe Lennox dealer said that had previously offered Carrier, but that the distribution center for our area was so unresponsive that they had many concerns about dealing with them because they had problems obtaining parts in a timely manner. The Carrier dealer also said that the distribution center did not carry some equipment such as the Carrier 14 SEER heat pump. Unfortunately, we live in a small town, and even the dealers from whom I am receiving estimates are in other surrounding towns--no one competent in our community! Thanks again for all of your help. Regards, Beth