Sticking lid, how to clean it?


 
I think we need to merge this thread with the one about seasoning cast iron pans. :D

My 18.5" leaks like a sieve. I'd love to have that much "sealant" on mine. I doubt I'd do much more than scrape off the obvious excess with a putty knife.
 
Never seen that much seasoning on a Weber product yet!

An old timer raised in the NC / TN border area showed me how to clean dirty car grease off my hands with green grass. All I have to do is rub my hands back and forth on the ground, and the grass cleans the grease right off.

Lately, I've adapted that method for cleaning my grill lids, and the kettle bowl lip, by twisting said parts on the grass. Granted, I've never had the kind of buildup seen in your photos, and I haven't twisted the lip of the center section on the ground yet, but would certainly give it a try. This method probably works best with baked-on grease if the metal is still warm. Jay's putty knife suggestion should work well inside the lip of the center section considering the amount of buildup you have, Michael.

I have been known to wipe the lip of the center section with a damp rag before shutting the WSM down too.

So far, I've had little or no problems with sticking lids.
 
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While still warm, take a damp sponge to it, maybe a tiny amount of dawn on it to just cut through it a little. Not too much soap but, I think that should work quite nicely. If you want to you could certainly use a scraper of some sort, I would lean toward something wooden, like a paint stirrer or scrap.
Mine sticks a little but, not enough for me to need to blast or anything.
Michael, how long has it taken you to develop such a layer of meat gasket?
Jay, how many smokes have you done and still not gotten any such occlusive build up? You were talking about your prowess with high heat, maybe slow things down and get a little natural sealer this way.
 
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Like Rusty says, I've had mine for +5 yr and has nowhere near that amount of gunk on it.

I would really NOT want to clean that as it makes an excellent sealant. If you must, any grease-cutting soap (dish soap comes to mind) would/should work.

I would not do it though.
 
Matt in CT said:
should the wsm ever need a deep clean?
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IMO, only if it develops mold.

Only thing I ever clean is the food grills (not the charcoal grid) and scoop the ashes out of the bowl (I use a childs plastic sand shovel). Maybe the exterior but that's only an "appearance" cleaning.
 
My 14.5 is sealed and sticking too, just like yours. I thought I was the only one. Sometimes when I try to lift the lid off I can pick up the mid section too. I'm thinking about breaking out the 0000 steel wool and some Simple Green to take some of it off.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
Jay, how many smokes have you done and still not gotten any such occlusive build up? You were talking about your prowess with high heat, maybe slow things down and get a little natural sealer this way.
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I had a WSM years ago when I lived in California. I used it a lot and worked it at a variety of temps. That one got left behind when I moved. The WSM I have now was purchased new in the late spring last year. I don't know how many cooks I have on it but they're surely in the low dozens, not the hundreds. Last year I used it once or twice a month during the warmer months. This year I'm probably averaging three times a month. I haven't done any high heat cooking this year. 275F is about as high as I've intended to get it, though it may have gotten to 300F for a short while. I've done chicken thighs a few times, pork shoulder, brisket, short ribs, spare ribs, baby backs. My last cook was Canadian bacon and I threw on some pork chops as long as the smoker was already going. I've got some gunk on the inside but nothing even remotely like in the pictures above.
 
Thanks everybody for your great tips! I've had this little smoker for about a year now, I used it often and smoke a lot of wings on this little guy. It's probably why there is such a build of grease and such. The lid sticks very solid to the main base, I have to push very hard on the both the top lid and the handle where you add wood to the smoker, to separate the two pieces. Next weekend I will clean some of the gunk off. Thanks again for all of your help :).
 
Get it warm. Scrape off as much as you can with a plastic scraper (both the lid and the lip it sits in). Then, I like to use a paper towel wet with vinegar. In your case, I would sacrifice a cloth of some sort (like a old towel) and wipe it clean. The main thing is to do this when it's warm - after a cook. That stuff is very hard when cold.
 
I agree with you, I will get the WSM warm, then it will be easier to clean. That stuff is hard as rock when cold!
 
Jerry N. said:
Get it warm. Scrape off as much as you can with a plastic scraper (both the lid and the lip it sits in). Then, I like to use a paper towel wet with vinegar. In your case, I would sacrifice a cloth of some sort (like a old towel) and wipe it clean. The main thing is to do this when it's warm - after a cook. That stuff is very hard when cold.
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+1 for vinegar. And as someone else noted, this is similar to seasoning cast iron (or carbon steel), so I avoid using any kind of soap or chemical cleaners on my WSM and grills (except the outer lid and side tables on my gasser). Plain old white vinegar in a spray bottle and some pieces of old cut-up tee shirts are all I use. My WSM lid sticks sometimes, but not as badly as the exhaust vent. I need to douse that with vinegar at the end of every cook to get it to close smoothly.
 
Forgot to mention, I use either a typical alkaline-based product, or Weber's own grill cleaner (acid-based) to clean the outside of my grill and smokers, followed by a good rinsing inside and out. Either product does a good job on the vents.

EDIT: You should be able find Weber grill cleaner spray reduced at most Targets. I think I paid about $2.38 for my bottle. Frankly, I wouldn't hesitate to use an acid-based wheel cleaner on my grills, either, if I can't find the Weber product. Just my opinion though.
 
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A gallon of white vinegar is maybe $2.50, spray bottle $1.00, vinegar is an acid too, I'm coming around to the vinegar cleaning mind set.
 
If you’re having this problem. I’ve been put som strips of foil around my edge to avoid sticking.

A little annoying to scrape off but at least my lid opens easily.
I don’t even try to fully surround the edges.. I just found the point where it’s not too sticky
 

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Clean when the grease is warm and runny with a paper towel.

And prop the lid open with something as the cooker cools down. Foil, a stick, anything.

If you seat the lid while warm, the grease will turn into glue when it cools down.
 
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