This is a long-delayed followup to a thread I started in August - my apologies for the delay. my news feed has lost the original thread and I don't know how to reference it, so here's a summary:
I wrote === Hi all it looks like part of the grill on our gas cooker is starting to break down.
It's a Hygena Select 610G cooker, the type where the grill is inside the cooker, ie. you can only use the grill or the oven at one time (grr). There is an assembly which fits into the jet and extends for most of the width of the cooker. The upper part of this has a pipe and holes out of which the flames come. There is also a lower (pressed-on?) 'sheeted' part which appears to be coming away from the rest of the assembly. As a result of this some gas is coming out of the join area instead of the holes, causing a sputtering and (I assume) a loss of real grill power.
Apologies for a poor description! Anywa, any idea what this might be called and where I might get hold of a spare, if possible? Haven't had much joy with the usual on-line places.
Thanks J ===
This plate has small holes behind it to leak a small amount of gas out which emerges at low velocity next to the main burner holes. This low velocity gas burns at the edge of the plate and serves to ignite the gas at the base of the main burner. Without it, the gas/air mixture emerging from the main burner holes is traveling at a high enough velocity for the flame to lift off the burner.
So this plate is to prevent flame lift-off, and it should have gas coming out from behind it, as you have observed.
What you have described is the normal operation of a gas grill horizontal burner.
As for what's wrong, can you describe the "sputtering" in more detail? ===
I have got around to taking a couple of photos:
Having taken this out I think I have confirmed what the problem may be. The 'half-pipe' of metal should be spot-welded on to the main cylinder of the burner at six or so points along its length. It seems to have come away from all but one or two of these points (the ones nearest the gas entry point0, so that this half-pipe/shield is flapping in the breeze a bit.
I surmise that this causes too much gas to leak out between the cylinder and 'half-pipe'. This does not ignite consistently so I get (a) poor heat output and (b) the kind of 'putt-putt' noise I previously described as sputtering, when part of the flame constantly goes out and re-ignites.
I am thinking of simply taking this assembly to a welder to get him to have a go at refixing the half-pipe. Any comments? Spares seem to be around a hundred quid, if available...
Thanks J^n