SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20120210-DF490-2147470335. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: Weber Genesis S310 (Gas Barbque with cart.). Incident: I purchased a new Weber model S310 gas grill and assembled it per the included instructions. During the first several uses I would find that the burner control knobs would come on while doing other tasks. Example grilling for two people and only turning on and starting just one burner and while cooking I would find that one or both of the other burners on and not lit. Also I would find the burner control knobs on while installing or removing the weather protective cover. I now have to double and triple check that the burner control knobs are turned off whenever I am doing any tasks on or around the grill and make sure that the propane is turned off and stays that way until it is to be used and continue checking them while it is in use. I called Weber Customer Service and was told that there is nothing wrong with the shutoff mechanisims. I also went to several stores that sell Weber Gas Grills and looked at 50 different 310 Grills and found that 40 of them operated the same as mine and the burner control knobs would not lock in the off position, but the other 10 would lock and there would be no inadverent unlocking of them. When checking other models of Weber grills I found that they do have very positive locking of their burner controls and there is no inadvertant unlocking possible. So I find that this style of grill is inherently UNSAFE and the potential for an explosion and or fire is very high. I beleive that the the burner control mechanisims should be recalled and replaced, before someone is injured.