Cover It or Leave It Open? A Viking Grill on a Lakefront Deck

Decide first

Call or wait

1. 1

   If the grill is wet from rain, dew or a wipe-down — Leave the cover off until the hood, shelves and control panel are dry to the touch. A cover over wet steel keeps it wet. Safe to wait

2. 2

   If it is dry, cool and will sit unused for a while — Cover it. For a lay-up of weeks, fasten the cover down and take the rotisserie motor somewhere cool and dry. Safe to wait

3. 3

   If the drip tray holds water after an uncovered spell — Once the grill is cold, slide the tray out and drain it. On a 5 Series the tray has a plug that a flat screwdriver removes. Safe to wait

4. 4

   If rust has gone through a part, or it will not light after storage — That is past cleaning. Read the model number off the plate by the drip tray and book a visit. Book this week

5. 5

   If you smell gas as the cover comes off — Check every knob is off, shut off the gas to the grill and raise the lid. If the smell lingers, call the gas supplier or fire department from well away. Call today

Call today: ring Viking Appliance Repair Mercer Island at (206) 208-3377. Book this week: use the booking page. Safe to wait: not urgent, book when it suits you.

Cover it. Viking’s older grill manual recommends a cover to keep the weather off, and the current 5 Series manual assumes you have one. The mistake on a lakefront deck is not covering a grill; it is covering it at the wrong moment, while it is still wet.

Why a wet grill should stay uncovered

The 5 Series manual is direct about it: let the surfaces dry before the cover goes on, and never put one over a damp grill. Its advice for a long lay-up says the same thing from the other side. Make sure the grill is dry, then cover it and fasten the cover, so that as little damp air as possible gets to the steel.

A cover dragged over a grill still beaded with rain or dew does the reverse of that job and keeps the water where it is. A grill beside the lake can be wet at breakfast without any rain overnight, so “it hasn’t rained” is not the same as “it’s dry”. Run a hand along the hood, the side shelves and the control panel before the cover goes on.

Getting it wrong costs mostly looks. Viking calls the 304 stainless of the 5 Series highly rust resistant, and wrote its surface-rust note with pool chlorine and salt air in mind; the remedy it gives is built into the routine below.

A cover routine for the deck

1. Let the grill cool completely.
2. Empty and wash the drip tray. Both manuals ask for that after every cook, and grease left to build up in it is a fire risk.
3. Wipe the outside with a damp cloth, microfiber by Viking’s own suggestion, and let everything dry.
4. On an older grill with a TruSear infrared burner, put its stainless lid back on. Viking wants that lid in place whenever the burner is not in use, to keep rain off it.
5. On an older plug-in E-Series, unplug it. That grill’s manual says to unplug when the grill is not in use and never to let the cord or plug sit in water.
6. Lift off the rotisserie motor and keep it somewhere cool and dry, as the 5 Series manual asks whenever the rotisserie is idle.
7. Cover the grill, and for a long lay-up fasten the cover down.

For what it calls extreme environments, Viking also suggests a rust inhibitor that leaves a microscopic protective layer on the steel, and pairs that product with seasonal storage. It is an extra. The drying is not.

When it is better left open

While it is wet, and after you have cleaned it, until it has dried. The other moment to think about is after a spell in the rain with the cover off: the 5 Series manual asks you to check the drip tray, which has a drain plug that a flat-head screwdriver removes. Water standing in the tray is worth dealing with before the next cook, not the next season.

Reading the marks on the steel

Not every brown speck is rust. The 5 Series manual notes that grease can collect in the grain of the steel and bake on until it looks just like rust, and it asks for the mildest cleaner first, rubbed along the grain. Viking’s other rules for the finish:

• No steel wool or metal scrapers on any of them. The older manual also rules out abrasive cleaners and cloths; the 5 Series manual allows a non-metallic scouring pad, with a stainless cleaner, for baked-on food.
• Always rub with the grain, never across it.
• Citrus and tomato juice left sitting on stainless discolor it for good, so wipe spills straight away.
• Heat tint on some areas after the first cook is normal and will not clean off.
• For a small spot of real surface rust, the older manual’s remedy, written for very salty air, is a gel cleaner on a damp sponge, wiped along the grain.

Rust that has gone through a part is a repair rather than a cleaning job, and so is a grill that will not light when it comes out from under its cover in spring.

Before you ask

Does Viking actually recommend a grill cover?

Yes. The use-and-care manual for the older T-Series and E-Series grills says a cover, which Viking sells separately, is well worth having to protect the grill from the weather. The current 5 Series manual takes one for granted and adds the condition that matters most here: the grill has to be dry first, and for seasonal storage the cover gets fastened down.

Will the warranty pay for rust on a grill left uncovered?

The 5 Series manual separates two things. Rust that eats right through a part and stops the grill working is what its rust protection is for; occasional surface rust or staining from the surroundings is not covered. Drying and covering protect what the owner pays for. If rust has gone through, Viking Appliance Repair Mercer Island can look at the repair: (206) 208-3377.

Is it safe to clean the patio or stone island with the grill beside it?

With care. Viking warns that cleaning solutions made for concrete and masonry are corrosive to stainless steel, and wants the grill well protected before they are used near it, which is a job for the cover. Aerosol cleaners are for a grill that is switched off and cool, because the propellant can ignite near heat or corrode the metal.

grillscoversstainless caredeck season