Propane Regulator - How long does yours last

[omniflow]

I don't want to get into the charcoal vs. gas argument - I do also have 2 charcoal bbqs.

I have come to the conclusion that Propane regulators wear out. Over a period of about 5 years they seem to deteriorate until they let hardly any gas through. The first time this happened I dismantled the entire grill / bbq and didn't find anything wrong, eventually tried a new regulator and it worked like new. The most recent time it happened, at first is hardly let any gas through, then suddenly it fed far too much. This seemed great for about 5 minutes, until the entire cooking area of the grill / bbq caught fire.

I noticed on the top of the one I bought most recently it said "do not expose to rain". I use my gas grill / bbq 2 or 3 times a week all year round, so I can't be faffed with a cover, so the regulator is going to be exposed to rain.

Has anyone else noticed this, or has anyone discovered a regulator that doesn't wear out?

[hman]

Yes - with a patio heater - same problem - same process d'oh!

Replace every 2 years no more issues