Blasting the box: which tool do you use?
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Sam Bee
TVWBB All-Star
Check out this thread...
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It looks like there is an easier way.
Put your die grinder away
There is a product called Carbon Off. First pic is just a quick wipe with a paper towel Directions say rinse with water. Out came the garden hose. Second pic Inside of end cap off of a red head. Need to test a fire box next. This stuff is not good for paint. Will have to...
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It looks like there is an easier way.
Bruce
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
My bottom line on this is that unless your intention is to resell the grill, just a good scraping and maybe some basic scrubbing is fine. They only reason to go further is if you want to sell the grill as a like new rehab.
If so, you really cannot beat a full out media blasted box. It will remove all the gunk and make it like new again which prospective buyers like, a lot. The problem is the cost and the fact that after a dozen cooks, you won't be able to tell it was nice and clean to start with.
In between the scrape out and quick scrub, you have all the oven cleaners, angle grinders, Pressure washers etc...
Some use Oven Off, some use Sams club Grill Cleaner, Some use Dawn Power Dissolver, Carbon Off and others. I like Sams and Dawn myself. I have never tried Carbon off. Sams is cheap and effective. Dawn is probably more effective but much more costly. I have not tried Carbon Off which I think is in the expensive category.
Bruce
If so, you really cannot beat a full out media blasted box. It will remove all the gunk and make it like new again which prospective buyers like, a lot. The problem is the cost and the fact that after a dozen cooks, you won't be able to tell it was nice and clean to start with.
In between the scrape out and quick scrub, you have all the oven cleaners, angle grinders, Pressure washers etc...
Some use Oven Off, some use Sams club Grill Cleaner, Some use Dawn Power Dissolver, Carbon Off and others. I like Sams and Dawn myself. I have never tried Carbon off. Sams is cheap and effective. Dawn is probably more effective but much more costly. I have not tried Carbon Off which I think is in the expensive category.
Bruce
DrewZ
TVWBB Fan
Check out this thread...
Put your die grinder away
There is a product called Carbon Off. First pic is just a quick wipe with a paper towel Directions say rinse with water. Out came the garden hose. Second pic Inside of end cap off of a red head. Need to test a fire box next. This stuff is not good for paint. Will have to...
It looks like there is an easier way.
I splurged on Carbon Off, and was not impressed. The difference between Carbon Off ($28/quart) and Member's Mark (Sam's Club $8/3 quarts) was minimal.
Sam Bee
TVWBB All-Star
Good to know, I haven't tried it myself but was interested. I guess I'll just stick to the Sam's Club oven cleaner and pressure washer method as that has worked out for me.
Jeff MA
TVWBB All-Star
So Bruce...how did the Dawn Power Dissolver work out for you?
I just purchased another case of 6 for less than $50 with the Staples coupon.
Jeff
If you want bare metal have it sand-blasted or buy a new box- life is short...
There are 2 firebox types in my experience:
Dry ones where people just cooked chicken or fish. Scraping and scrubbing the surface to get rid of the powder like residue should be good. Burn-offs don't help the dry ones.
Wet ones where people cook beef or pork and the box is "seasoned" - Scraping, grinding or blasting is needed to get rid of the carbon and crud build up. Burn-offs help with the grease residue after heavy cleaning.
Make sure you get rid of the heavy crud before burn-offs to avoid fires.
There are 2 firebox types in my experience:
Dry ones where people just cooked chicken or fish. Scraping and scrubbing the surface to get rid of the powder like residue should be good. Burn-offs don't help the dry ones.
Wet ones where people cook beef or pork and the box is "seasoned" - Scraping, grinding or blasting is needed to get rid of the carbon and crud build up. Burn-offs help with the grease residue after heavy cleaning.
Make sure you get rid of the heavy crud before burn-offs to avoid fires.
Bruce
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
I haven't used it a whole lot, but I had a lid that I used it on. It wasn't terrible like some lids, but the DPD made it wipe off like grease with no scraping needed. The biggest difference between DPD and Sams CLub is two things. First DPD smells better and second, and most importantly is that DPD doesn't simply turn to water and run off after a couple minutes. It sticks and continues to dissolve the grease and carbon. I am impressed with it but I hate that price.
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
That interesting. I didn’t think there was any substantive difference. I am glad you found a way to get a bunch at a more tolerable price.
One thing you can’t say about the Sam’s product is to call it weak. That stuff literally burned a hole in my leg before I knew what happened
. Needs to be used with care and eye protection.
We need to include this content in a new HOW TO on cleaning the inside of fireboxes.
Jacob - Grillin’
TVWBB Fan
Has anyone done walnut blasting? I have the kit from harbor freight that I used for another project. I'm hesitant to use the strong oven cleaners as they tend to cause pitting in aluminum. Last rehab I wire wheeled it but man, the dust/mess. I'm envisioning walnut blasting in a large cardboard box. Way less dust and would contain the media so it's easily tossed
Ed P
TVWBB Platinum Member
Yes, as part of my employment, and no, not in this context. The cutting efficiency is lost pretty rapidly with hardened steel (you end up with little rounded pills) but may last longer with aluminum.
Jacob - Grillin’
TVWBB Fan
The kit that I have, is not really designed for use often. It's not even a cabinet. Just a gun and bucket for media, about $20 w/ coupon, plus another $20 for a big box of walnut shell media. I bet it would work well for onesies twosies of grills, maybe not for continually refurbing and re-using the media. I think the only 'gotcha' is you need a 4-5 gallon air tank at least or you spend a lot of time waiting for it to refill. https://www.harborfreight.com/portable-abrasive-blaster-kit-37025.html
I used mine for cleaning carbon off of intake valves, which is really pretty similar to baked-on carbon on a grill. Big benefit to the grill is you really can just do it in the yard, the walnut media and carbon isn't going to hurt anything, so no real need to catch the debris
Kyle in Woodstock
TVWBB Guru
I like Carbon Off. You just have to let it sit overnight. I haven't tried that Dawn stuff though.
Tony-Chicago
TVWBB Wizard
Dry ice or frozen co2 works. Use as a media for sand blasting. When done it boils away. Less clean up, especially for dangerous waste.
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