"Art M" > wrote in message
>
> Finally, a sensible response. I imagine that could have had the force to
> cause this and make a bang. I still wonder, though, whether trapped air or
> water could have produced the white hot flash that we saw.

Yes, especially if there was some moisture in it. It would turn to steam
and build quite a bit of pressure. What you probably saw was the flame from
the burners being blown away rather than the inside gas exploding.
Given the temperature of the grill, it could have easily risen to 330
degrees that equates to about 120 psi of steam. It took quite a bit of
pressure to open the seam the way it did.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/