Parts Explained 1 of 8
Regulators and Gas Hoses (LP and Natural Gas)
The regulator takes gas at whatever pressure the cylinder or house line delivers and lets through the steady, lower pressure the grill's valves are built for; the hose or flexible line carries that gas to the grill.
Which regulator does a Viking grill need?
That depends on where the gas comes from. A propane grill for a portable cylinder ships with its own hose-and-regulator assembly, sized for a standard 20 lb cylinder, and Viking wants that assembly and no other. Propane piped in from a bulk or buried tank calls for Viking’s 4/11 appliance regulator instead. A natural-gas grill is plumbed to the house supply, with a regulator in the line and a shut-off within easy reach.
On Woodinville acreage with no gas main at the road, it will be one of the two propane setups. Either way, Viking never allows a line onto the grill without a regulator.
Card 1 of 4 · (425) 321-3414
What pressure should reach the grill?
For its current 5 Series grills, Viking gives the limits in inches of water column, read with a manometer. On natural gas: no more than 7 at the inlet, and no less than 4 with every burner lit. On propane: 14 and 11.
Flame colour and height are poor guides to where a supply sits inside those limits, so a weak grill gets a gauge on its line before any part is blamed.
Card 2 of 4 · (425) 321-3414
What is the NAT or LP plunger on a regulator?
The 4/11 regulator on plumbed supplies can serve either gas. Under its cap sits a plunger whose end reads NAT or LP, the LP end carrying a larger disk. Set for the wrong gas, it hands every burner the wrong pressure.
Viking’s troubleshooting pages add two cautions: never a second regulator in series on a bulk propane line, and nothing pressing on the regulator at the back of the grill, the grill body included, because a flexible diaphragm sits inside it.
Card 3 of 4 · (425) 321-3414
What hose damage means the grill stays off?
Viking asks for the propane hose to be checked before each use, and every hose and fitting at the start of the season. A cut, a worn patch or heavy abrasion means a new hose before the grill is lit again; tape is not a repair.
Run a flashlight along its length, slowest where it bends, rubs the cart or passes near hot metal. Viking keeps fuel hoses clear of heated surfaces and never routes a flexible line behind the firebox, where the back of the grill gets extremely hot. A hose kinked or chewed over a winter in the cabinet counts as damaged.
Card 4 of 4 · (425) 321-3414
Follow-ups
Can I fit any propane hose and regulator from the hardware store?
Viking says not to: a propane grill runs on the hose-and-regulator assembly supplied with it, and the manual warns against swapping in any other. A plumbed or bulk propane line takes Viking's 4/11 appliance regulator, set to LP. If yours was changed and the grill has burned low since, Woodinville Viking Repair, (425) 321-3414, can measure what it now delivers.
Is a leak check needed every time the propane cylinder is swapped?
Yes. Viking's manual asks for one after every cylinder change: soapy water brushed over the connection with the burners off, and bubbles that grow mean a leak. Never hunt for a leak with a flame. If it bubbles, close the cylinder valve straight away and leave the grill unlit until Woodinville Viking Repair, (425) 321-3414, has looked at it.
Does Woodinville Viking Repair run gas lines or set up a buried propane tank?
No. The line to the patio, its shut-off and the tank are the work of a gas fitter and your propane supplier, and Viking wants that shut-off where it is easy to reach. Our part starts at the grill: measuring the pressure it receives and finding which part is at fault. Woodinville Viking Repair, (425) 321-3414.