GrillGrates Again...


 
Ed P said:
I used to think like that, too, but FB Messenger has become how we keep connected with our daughters and their busy lives these days. It's inevitable, anyway...it's not going to go away so may as well surrender to it. Like it or not, cell phones have changed our world.
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That's what we use WhatsApp for, with all of our kids and grandkids. And many of them avoid or greatly limit their use to SM platforms. Just saying.
 
Yesterday, I cleaned out my W2 435 for the first time since install GGs. What a difference!

I always scrape out the firebox after every 5-6 uses, to prevent grease fires. With regular grates, I don't have to tell you what kind of sludge accumulates both in the box and in the disposable foil pan.

With the GGs, I found very little sludge. Most everything was carbon. Plus my flavorizer bars hardly had to be scraped of anything. I used a paint spatula to scrape everything down into the foil pan for disposal. It was so dry that I could tip the foil pan contents into the garbage and reuse the pan, which was only slightly stained at the bottom.
 
Darren Lebner said:
Yesterday, I cleaned out my W2 435 for the first time since install GGs. What a difference!

I always scrape out the firebox after every 5-6 uses, to prevent grease fires. With regular grates, I don't have to tell you what kind of sludge accumulates both in the box and in the disposable foil pan.

With the GGs, I found very little sludge. Most everything was carbon. Plus my flavorizer bars hardly had to be scraped of anything. I used a paint spatula to scrape everything down into the foil pan for disposal. It was so dry that I could tip the foil pan contents into the garbage and reuse the pan, which was only slightly stained at the bottom.
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That is the same experience I have with the Charbroil Tru-Infrared grills I have flipped. The insides are good shape and very clean. The last one I did was my neighbors that had a mouse that had built a palace in it. This grill was over 10 years old if I remember correctly
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That is the same experience I have with the Charbroil Tru-Infrared grills I have flipped. The insides are good shape and very clean.

The bottom plate of the GGs and the Charbroils do the same thing - definitely keep a lot more of the grease and sludge from getting to the bottom of the grill. Of course that means that said grease/sludge accumulates up at the grill top level.

So with the GGs, there is less to clean out of the guts of my grill. But more time cleaning the grease off the grill top and (especially) my thermoset side tables. Kind of like how your whole stove top gets spattered and dirty when you cook bacon.

So actually a slight negative to me for the GGs. Since the part of the grill that you see and touch is always much dirtier. But a plus if you prefer cleaning the top versus the guts.
 
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I think the grill grades cause higher cookbox temperature which incinerates a lot of the stuff that is in the bottom as well
 
Most of the grease at the top using GrillGrates turns into carbon. I used the multi-finger spatula they give you to scrape and just push it all to the back. Then periodically remove the grates and sweep into the trash.

They don’t look like shiny stainless after getting some real use, but I see the black look much like seasoned cast iron.
 
Bruce said:
I think the grill grades cause higher cookbox temperature which incinerates a lot of the stuff that is in the bottom as well
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Not necessarily, although I can see why you would think like that. The GGs run hotter than the rest of the grill and you quickly learn to respect that. It's not uncommon to see grate temps of 700*F or higher and it doesn't take long to get there, either. Most of the learning with GGs is managing the heat, especially the griddle side, because they are so much more efficient than a rod-type grate where most of the heat escapes between the bars.
 
Joe Anshien said:
That is the same experience I have with the Charbroil Tru-Infrared grills I have flipped.
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Before choosing the W II 435 a year ago, I almost went for a Charbroil instead because if the TI grills. I decide against CBs because I found them very shoddy versus Webers and because, unlike the larger holes in the GGs, the ones in the CB grills looked like they were begging to be blocked up.
 
I actually have two or three, so only one is a dedicated scraper. Still, I almost always use my regular spatulas easily enough. Someday i would like to get the stainless tool they have to scrape the valleys. I bought the softer brush which is nice for final cleanup, but you need something tougher to get those valley clean. Using the "finger" spatula is just a make-do solution, although it does work reasonably well.
 
Darren Lebner said:
Before choosing the W II 435 a year ago, I almost went for a Charbroil instead because if the TI grills. I decide against CBs because I found them very shoddy versus Webers and because, unlike the larger holes in the GGs, the ones in the CB grills looked like they were begging to be blocked up.
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My brother-in-law had one. He said that when it was clean and working it cooked better than the Weber grill he had before it. But, it clogged up all the time, and then the cheap construction gave out.

I think a Weber with GrillGrates is a way better option if you want to use this method of cooking.

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With the last set up GGs I "acquired" they came with what I think is the cleaning tool for it. May have never been used. I will have to try it if I ever use it right side up.
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Joe Anshien said:
With the last set up GGs I "acquired" they came with what I think is the cleaning tool for it. May have never been used. I will have to try it if I ever use it right side up.
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Joe,
That’s a really nice bonus on that pickup. That’s the tool I would like to get. It is supposed to fit perfectly inside two valleys and really clean them well - keeping the vent holes breathing.

If you try it out, let us know how well it actually works.👍
 
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