This is something we're all going to need to do (unless we don't actually use our grills...) I thought I'd share what I did and give others a chance to share any of their tips and tricks.
I started with an '08 Q 220 that may never have been cleaned. The igniter no longer worked (dead battery) and there were some plugged holes in the burner. These plugged holes kept the flame from lighting all along the burner. Other than these two issues, the grill otherwise functioned OK. But I wanted to take it back to as close to new as I reasonably could. Here's what I did.
Burner: I removed the one screw that holds it in place and easily lifted it out. The bottom side was heavily crusted with greasy residue. I sprayed it with some oven cleaner on all sides and let it sit for about 20 minutes before scrubbing it off. After allowing it to dry in the sun, I poked a bamboo skewer into each hole to clean it out. No fear about bamboo enlarging the holes. A couple of the holes seemed to be partially plugged with burned on material that resisted the bamboo. I very carefully opened them with the tip of an X-Acto knife. Again, I was very careful not to enlarge the holes. On reassembly I put a dab of anti-seize on the screw. That's a good idea for any fasteners used in aluminum. (You can find anti-seize at your local auto parts store.)
Upper shell: I removed the pins to separate it from the base. I sprayed the inside with WD-40 hoping to soften the accreted smoke. It didn't seem to help much. I sprayed some oven cleaner on it and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then I followed with water and further scrubbing with a stiff brush and a Scotch Brite pad. It didn't all come off, but I didn't want to leave the oven cleaner on long enough to attack the aluminum. I was less aggressive on the outside where scrubbing with Dawn and Simple Green seemed to do the trick.
Bottom shell: I used a plastic scraper to remove the most of greasy residue under the grate. I attacked what was left with (in sequence) WD-40, Simple Green and Dawn. I allow the WD-40 to soak a while to soften greasy residue and then use the degreasers with a stiff brush and sufficient elbow grease to clean everything up. I removed the bottom shell from the plastic frame to make this easier. If you do this, watch for the ceramic spacers that provide space between the legs on the shell and the plastic frame. They can fall out of the frame and could easily get lost. I got lucky and found them all. On reassembly I used anti-seize on the screws that hold the bottom shell to the frame.
Plastic Frame: I used a wet towel and dripped Dawn on the particularly greasy spots. I also loosened the screws that hold the the fold out shelves in the frame so I could just wash them in the kitchen sink.
Grate: This was the most encrusted part. I soaked it overnight in water with some detergent. The next morning I sprayed it with oven cleaner and left it for an hour or so. I thought that the porcelain and cast iron would be less susceptible to the possible corrosive effects of the oven cleaner. Then I scrubbed with Dawn and hot water. And scrubbed. And scrubbed. I got the top surface clean and did what I could with the bottom. There was enough crud to partially obstruct some of the openings in the grate. After it had sat out and dried, I found I could dislodge the remaining baked on crud by poking and scraping with a bamboo skewer. However, I think I know how a dental hygienist feels when they face a set of teeth that have not been cleaned on far too long. I poked and prodded and made some progress. Again I focused on the top surface. After assembly I fired it up and watched it for a bit. On full throttle it leveled off at about 550° F. I'm not sure that's as high as it should go so I disconnected the fuel line to the 20 lb tank and I'll go through the reconnect procedure to make sure that the safety shutoff is not tripped.
My main tips are:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE> <LI>Don't lose the spacers if you remove the bottom shell from the plastic frame.
<LI>Use anti-seize on any screws that go into aluminum parts.
<LI>Clean the burner holes carefully to avoid enlarging them.
[/list]
What are your tips and trips to clean up a well used Q or to keep it clean as you use it?
I started with an '08 Q 220 that may never have been cleaned. The igniter no longer worked (dead battery) and there were some plugged holes in the burner. These plugged holes kept the flame from lighting all along the burner. Other than these two issues, the grill otherwise functioned OK. But I wanted to take it back to as close to new as I reasonably could. Here's what I did.
Burner: I removed the one screw that holds it in place and easily lifted it out. The bottom side was heavily crusted with greasy residue. I sprayed it with some oven cleaner on all sides and let it sit for about 20 minutes before scrubbing it off. After allowing it to dry in the sun, I poked a bamboo skewer into each hole to clean it out. No fear about bamboo enlarging the holes. A couple of the holes seemed to be partially plugged with burned on material that resisted the bamboo. I very carefully opened them with the tip of an X-Acto knife. Again, I was very careful not to enlarge the holes. On reassembly I put a dab of anti-seize on the screw. That's a good idea for any fasteners used in aluminum. (You can find anti-seize at your local auto parts store.)
Upper shell: I removed the pins to separate it from the base. I sprayed the inside with WD-40 hoping to soften the accreted smoke. It didn't seem to help much. I sprayed some oven cleaner on it and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then I followed with water and further scrubbing with a stiff brush and a Scotch Brite pad. It didn't all come off, but I didn't want to leave the oven cleaner on long enough to attack the aluminum. I was less aggressive on the outside where scrubbing with Dawn and Simple Green seemed to do the trick.
Bottom shell: I used a plastic scraper to remove the most of greasy residue under the grate. I attacked what was left with (in sequence) WD-40, Simple Green and Dawn. I allow the WD-40 to soak a while to soften greasy residue and then use the degreasers with a stiff brush and sufficient elbow grease to clean everything up. I removed the bottom shell from the plastic frame to make this easier. If you do this, watch for the ceramic spacers that provide space between the legs on the shell and the plastic frame. They can fall out of the frame and could easily get lost. I got lucky and found them all. On reassembly I used anti-seize on the screws that hold the bottom shell to the frame.
Plastic Frame: I used a wet towel and dripped Dawn on the particularly greasy spots. I also loosened the screws that hold the the fold out shelves in the frame so I could just wash them in the kitchen sink.
Grate: This was the most encrusted part. I soaked it overnight in water with some detergent. The next morning I sprayed it with oven cleaner and left it for an hour or so. I thought that the porcelain and cast iron would be less susceptible to the possible corrosive effects of the oven cleaner. Then I scrubbed with Dawn and hot water. And scrubbed. And scrubbed. I got the top surface clean and did what I could with the bottom. There was enough crud to partially obstruct some of the openings in the grate. After it had sat out and dried, I found I could dislodge the remaining baked on crud by poking and scraping with a bamboo skewer. However, I think I know how a dental hygienist feels when they face a set of teeth that have not been cleaned on far too long. I poked and prodded and made some progress. Again I focused on the top surface. After assembly I fired it up and watched it for a bit. On full throttle it leveled off at about 550° F. I'm not sure that's as high as it should go so I disconnected the fuel line to the 20 lb tank and I'll go through the reconnect procedure to make sure that the safety shutoff is not tripped.
My main tips are:
<UL TYPE=SQUARE> <LI>Don't lose the spacers if you remove the bottom shell from the plastic frame.
<LI>Use anti-seize on any screws that go into aluminum parts.
<LI>Clean the burner holes carefully to avoid enlarging them.
[/list]
What are your tips and trips to clean up a well used Q or to keep it clean as you use it?
