Orchard Plateau Wolf service · Sammamish (425) 920-9484

Grill care card · After winter

Starting a Wolf Grill After a Wet Winter

A Wolf outdoor grill that has sat under its cover since autumn needs three things before anyone blames a part: uncovering, a look inside the burners, and the lighting routine from Wolf’s own guide. Each card stands on its own; stop at the first one that answers it.

Signed
Greg Lindqvist
Role
Cooking-appliance technician — gas ignition and burners
In the trade
18 years
Filed
Four drivers, blue-handled pliers and a paintbrush beside a bracket with a round cut-out, springs and small spacers

After winter

Uncover it and let it air

  • Take the cover off and lift the hood all the way. Wolf says never to light the grill with the cover in place or the hood shut.
  • Leave it open to a dry afternoon before the first light, so the damp held under the cover has somewhere to go.
  • Tip any standing water out of the drip tray, then slide it fully home: Wolf says the grill is not to be used without the tray pushed right to the back.

Fix None of this needs a tool. If the hood sticks or the tray will not seat, stop there. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484

Where damp settles under a grill cover A covered built-in grill in cross-section. Damp air is held under the cover, drops form on the cold steel of the hood and grates, and water can reach the burner ports and the igniter in its flash tube below. Cover: damp air held in Drops form on cold steel Burner ports Igniter, inside its flash tube
Drawn to show where damp can settle under a cover, not how much of it. That is why the burner ports and the igniter get a look before the first light of the season.

Under the cover

Look inside the burners

  • Spiders and insects nest in grill burners over a quiet season. Wolf names that as a fire hazard and as a reason burners do not heat properly.
  • With the grill cold, lift out the grates and briquette trays and look along each burner and its ports for webs or debris. Clear what you can reach.
  • A nest deep inside a burner tube is a job for the visit, not for a wire brush.

Watch Webs that keep coming back in one burner are worth a mention when you book. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484

Before you call

The first light of the year

  • Open the gas: the shut-off valve outside the grill, or the valve on a portable LP tank.
  • Push the knob in and look for the igniter glowing in its flash tube below the grates. Then turn it to HI and hold it in for five seconds.
  • No flame by then: knob to OFF, wait five minutes, and try again. Wolf's troubleshooting list also names air trapped in the gas line.

Call No glow at all, or a glow and still no flame on the second try: hand it over. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484

After a cook

Preheat, then a clean tray

  • Close the hood and let the burners preheat for ten minutes, as Wolf's guide asks before every cook.
  • Once the grill has cooled, slide the drip tray out and wipe it clean. Wolf asks for that after every use, to keep a grease fire from starting.

Watch A burner that stays low or patchy through the whole preheat needs a look before the weekend it is wanted. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484

Asked about this card

Why will my Wolf grill not light after sitting all winter?

Wolf's own troubleshooting list starts with simple causes: a closed gas valve or empty tank, a tripped GFCI outlet leaving the igniter cold, air trapped in the gas line, or insects nesting in a burner. Work through the cover, the glow and the five-second rule first. Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair, (425) 920-9484, takes it from there.

Can I light a Wolf grill with the cover on or the hood closed?

No. Wolf's use and care guide says to take the cover off and open the hood completely before lighting, and never to light the grill with the cover in place. Gas that does not catch straight away can gather under a closed lid. Uncover it, open the hood, then follow the lighting routine on this card.

Four drivers, red-handled pliers, a bristle brush and a few steel brackets laid out on a white towel

Orchard Plateau Wolf Repair

Say what it is doing, and we will find out why

The $89 service call pays for the trip and a complete diagnosis, and it comes off the repair bill once you approve the work.

Call (425) 920-9484 — someone answers 24/7 — or book a slot online. The technician is out 8 am to 8 pm daily, weekends included.

(425) 920-9484 Book online