Now we're cooking with gas; finally

Plastic casing of gas line regulator mimics original metal version.

 I wrote here recently that one thing keeping me from riding my Royal Enfield was, of all things, the barbecue grill. 

"That's no excuse," you think. 

And I'd have agreed — a week ago. 

The issue first arose when the grill failed to light to cook dinner. It was very evidently out of gas. 

My wife retired to the kitchen, to use her stove, and I made plans to go exchange the used propane tank for a new one in the morning. 

So I did.

To my horror, opening the valve of the new tank to light the grill resulted in a rush of smelly gas from the tank. This occurred no matter how tightly I screwed on the regulator and hose assembly.

Evidently, my 10-year-old regulator-hose must be faulty, I thought. Perhaps the threads of the screw-on regulator had worn out.

I ordered a new assembly directly from the brand-name grill company, so as to be certain to get the correct replacement. Delivery took a week.

The new regulator appeared likely to fit, but I was disappointed to see that the regulator was now made of plastic, instead of the heavy metal of the original.

Incredibly, the name-brand grill company has fashioned the new plastic part to mimic the original metal part in appearance! I wasn't fooled.

But the new assembly did fit on my new tank. Ready for results, I opened the valve to light the grill.

Nothing happened. No matter what I did, no gas emerged from the tank.

What the...? As an experiment, I refit the old regulator. Still no gas. The problem must be the new tank!

So I took it back to the store. The clerks at this point weren't sure I knew what I was doing, but the tank was once again exchanged.

This time the grill did light.

Now wait a minute, you think: the guy says it took a week for the part to arrive, during which he did nothing. Couldn't he have ridden the motorcycle during that week?

Don't make me tell you about the refrigerator going on the blink...