END OF SEASON
Winterizing and Off-Season Storage (2026)
A grill that comes out of storage rusted, seized or mouse-damaged was almost always put away in that condition and simply given six months to develop. Winterizing is an hour of work in fall that removes an afternoon of repair in spring.
What you need
- Everything from the deep-clean kit
- High-smoke-point oil
- Vented grill cover
- Plastic bags or foil for burner tubes
The routine, step by step
Do a full deep clean first
Grease left in a firebox over winter does not just sit there. It oxidizes, hardens, and becomes both a rust accelerator and a fire risk on the first cook of spring. Everything in the deep-clean guide happens before anything else in this one.
Oil every bare metal surface
Coat the grates, flame tamers and any exposed cast iron with a thin film of high-smoke-point oil, wiping until they look dry rather than wet. This is the same principle as seasoning, done for corrosion protection rather than non-stick performance.
Disconnect and store the propane tank outdoors
Propane tanks must never be stored indoors, in a garage, in a shed or in a basement, regardless of the weather. Close the valve, disconnect the hose, fit the plastic plug over the outlet, and stand the tank upright outside, away from any ignition source.
Seal the burner tubes against rodents
Mice and wasps nest in burner tubes and venturis over winter, and a blocked venturi is a genuine fire hazard when the grill is next lit. Wrap the open ends in plastic bags or foil and secure them. Write yourself a note on the lid — a burner still wrapped in plastic on the first warm Saturday is a memorable mistake.
Protect the ignition and battery
Remove the battery from any electronic igniter. Alkaline cells leak over a cold winter and the corrosion destroys the contacts. On a pellet grill, empty the hopper completely and vacuum out the dust — pellets swell with humidity and a swollen pellet will jam the auger.
Decide between indoors and a vented cover
A garage or shed is the best storage if you have the space, with the tank left outside. If the grill has to stay on the patio, use a cover with vents and check underneath it after the first heavy freeze-thaw cycle. A sealed cover in a wet climate traps more moisture than it excludes.
Raise it off the ground
Standing water and snow-melt wick upward into a cabinet base and rot the wheels and the bottom shelf first. A couple of pavers or a floor pad under the grill breaks that contact and costs nothing.
Check on it once mid-winter
Lift the cover once in January. Condensation on the underside means the vents are inadequate or the grill went under damp. Five minutes of airing at that point saves the rust you would otherwise find in April.
Common mistakes
- Storing the propane tank in a garage, shed or basement — this is unsafe in any season.
- Covering a grill that was cleaned but not dried, sealing moisture in for six months.
- Leaving pellets in the hopper, where humidity swells them and jams the auger.
- Forgetting the plastic bags on the burner tubes and lighting the grill in spring with them still in place.