Blackstone Griddle Burning Yellow? Here's What It Means And How To Fix It

When it comes to griddles, Blackstone is a wildly popular brand known for their versatility, convenience, and affordability. It even earned the highest Consumer Reports rating for a flat top grill under $250. Most of the brand's griddles are powered by propane, and just like with gas kitchen ranges, the color of the flame that burns from that gas is important. With the exception of slightly yellow tips, your flame should always be blue. However, when the ratio of propane to oxygen isn't correct it can burn mostly or even all yellow.

In order for complete combustion to occur when using propane gas, it needs to mix with the right amount of oxygen. A blue flame in your Blackstone griddle indicates that complete combustion has occurred — meaning you're getting full heat from the burners. However, a yellow color indicates incomplete combustion, ensuring that the flame isn't reaching its temperature potential and is actually reducing efficiency. While this can be normal in some circumstances, such as living at a high elevation where the air is thinner and contains less oxygen, there are two specific instances in which maintenance is likely required. The first is if the griddle can't achieve high heat, and the other is if one burner is blue but the other is yellow. Luckily, there are easy ways to fix the problem.

A Blackstone griddle can last a long time with proper care and maintenance. For instance, one rule you don't want to forget when cleaning the Blackstone cooktop is to scrape away stuck-on food debris with water while it's on medium heat to make the cleaning process easier. However, while you'll likely clean the cooktop most often, it isn't the only part that needs regular maintenance. A Blackstone's burner tubes can become blocked by food debris over time — which is the most common cause of incomplete propane combustion and yellow flames.

Fortunately, you can remove the cooktop relatively easily and unscrew your burner tubes in order to clean them. Make sure to turn off the propane beforehand, and then use either a bottle brush or compressed air to clear out any debris. Once everything is clean, reconnect everything like it was. Aside from less efficient operation, not fixing this issue can also put you at risk of carbon monoxide exposure. This could be a problem if you're near open doors or windows or cook in a partially enclosed area, such as under an awning.

Meanwhile, if you have a Blackstone griddle with adjustable air gates, the underlying cause of your yellow flame could actually be that the gates aren't open enough to let oxygen through. You can adjust these by first looking behind the front panel from underneath the griddle. Then, loosen the screws and turn the air gates as needed before tightening the screws again.