Gadget for cleaning your grill


 
T

ThorS

TVWBB Member
I couldn't find anything here about cleaning a WSM so I'm posting a gadget find.

I'm lazy so I was searching for a way to make cleaning the grill easier. I found a 24" pan for water heaters at Lowe's. It comes with a pvc pipe fitting and a hole in the side of the pan. You can seal it off with a 1" threaded PVC cap. Both grills fit in, stacked on top of each other. After soaking over night they are scrubbing up much easier. If you're careful, you can balance it on top of your WSM and raise it up to a nice working height.

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Along those lines..... try something called PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash,) any decent homebrew supply will have it. It's not necessarily cheap, it's a food safe peroxide cleaner with a Ph modifier (think food safe Oxyclean,) and works well in the kitchen as well (don't use it on aluminum). I've been told it's works well in dishwashers. It'll clean up a messy baked on lasagna mess in a few minutes with minimal scrubbing.
 
I used to clean acid flux residue off of metal with a product called Alconox...

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003FZAQ2Y/tvwb-20

Alconox is an industrial-grade cleaner, and it neutralizes acid flux. Our company also used it with ultrasonic sieve cleaners. I used to clean our coffee pot with it. I think I have a little bit here at home diluted in a spray bottle. I may order a carton of it since we're on the subject of grill cleaning.

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I'm not sure what you paid for the water heater pan at Lowe's, but if it was like the prices at Home Depot, you can get a galvanized wash tub for less money. No PVC pipe cap required. And it's big enough to wash the water pan, or the dog, or possibly the kids, and to soak your feet at the end of a long day of BBQing. Only drawback is you need some place to store it. I have mine hanging on the back of the shed. Not sure what you'd do if you don't have a shed.
 
Rusty James said:
I used to clean acid flux residue off of metal with a product called Alconox...

https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003FZAQ2Y/tvwb-20

Alconox is an industrial-grade cleaner, and it neutralizes acid flux. Our company also used it with ultrasonic sieve cleaners. I used to clean our coffee pot with it. I think I have a little bit here at home diluted in a spray bottle. I may order a carton of it since we're on the subject of grill cleaning.
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Interesting stuff, I'll have to look into that further.
 
Rusty James said:
Keep us informed if you try it on a grilling surface. My diluted stash may not be strong enough.
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I know you said you used it to clean a coffee pot, so it should be food safe. I know PBW is, and that'll strip the daylights out of anything protein based. Fats are easy enough to get with a little dishwashing detergent afterwards if necessary.
 
So.... PBW....Silicates, phosphates and surfactants. Almost forgot. Also says not to be used on Teflon either.

The Alconox tech bulletin.... interesting reading. Composed of tetrasodium pyrophosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, and sodium alkylbenzene sulfonate (yes, you too can speak Gaelic (no apologies to I. Asimov.))

At a 1% solution, Alconox has a Ph of 9.5, PBW is around 11-12.

Alconox is expensive, on Amazon, seems to be around $33 for a 4 lb box. PBW is around $25 for 4 lbs. Usage seems seems to be about the same.

I can get PBW locally here, I'd have to order Alconox by mail.
 
JKalchik said:
So.... PBW....Silicates, phosphates and surfactants. Almost forgot. Also says not to be used on Teflon either.

The Alconox tech bulletin.... interesting reading. Composed of tetrasodium pyrophosphate, sodium tripolyphosphate, and sodium alkylbenzene sulfonate (yes, you too can speak Gaelic (no apologies to I. Asimov.))

At a 1% solution, Alconox has a Ph of 9.5, PBW is around 11-12.

Alconox is expensive, on Amazon, seems to be around $33 for a 4 lb box. PBW is around $25 for 4 lbs. Usage seems seems to be about the same.

I can get PBW locally here, I'd have to order Alconox by mail.
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It would be nice if they made Alconox in a smaller size, but, then again, it is geared for laboratories and industrial settings. I might try PBW one day.
 
I have a jar of PBW, but I would never use it on my grates. I just brush them clean while they're still warm. A small scour pad with Dawn does the rest.
 
Harry Soo places his grates in a trash bag and sprays them with oven cleaner. I like that method for kettle grates, but WSM residue is not "burnt on" like kettle residue is so I soak mine in the kitchen sink (14" grates). The 18" WSM grates would benefit from that method if the sink was big enough.
 
That's something I really like about PBW: baked on messes just come right off with a few minutes of PBW. The bag technique is a good one, though.

Only problem with PBW, and it's sorta minor.... anything immersed in it is very, very slick. Handling glass bowls, pans and casseroles can be a bit treacherous.
 
Chris Allingham said:
About $20 at The Home Depot for a 24" pan. Wash tubs aren't exactly cheap online, either. https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0014CNZ50/tvwb-20
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I've been noticing more and more that Amazon's "Prime" prices are not the bargain they once used to be. The listing you linked is almost double what Farm and Fleet wants for that exact same tub. I like the convenience of delivery to my door but for $20 I can get in the car and drive to the store.
 
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