I just bought the Char-Broil Turkey/Fish Fry set as sold by Wal Mart. I wonder if anyone here has this set.
I have a question about assembling it that's driving me crazy. They go to great pains to tell you to install the brass hose fitting from the regulator onto the burner unit, with the spring between the hose nut and the burner, with the damper on the burner. They tell you to tighten it and that "proper connection is critical for correct operation". They then go on in other places of the manual to have you test this joint for leaks with soapy water.
I'm wondering how this could be critical. For one, you can't even tighten the hose into the burner without squeezing the spring down so much that it's flat like a washer, and this will also lock the damper down enough that it's extremely hard to turn. On top of that, even when you tighten it that much, the little nipple that goes through the brass hose fitting has a circlip to keep it all together, but it has a gap in it that would allow gas around it anyway, as the nipple end never gets snugged up enough. The hose is always free to move around (and would have an air leak) even if you could/would snug up the brass hose fitting. It's free to slide back and forth, side to side a little. On top of that, there are air leaks right beside the hose connection anyhow, in the form of vents, which the damper controls. If you ask me, that hose only needs to be connected just enough to keep it in the cast burner assembly safely and allow the damper to function correctly (turn and stay locked in position). I think also that the hose just needs to be fastened in enough so that it can supply gas to the cast burner assembly. The fire takes place farther up in the burner, and not near where the hose connects, where that air leak from the vents are anyway.
Can anyone comment on this and tell me if I'm wrong and that the manual is either wrong or misleading so that I don't have a problem with this?
Thanks,
Danny