How do you clean...


 
B

Brian D

New member
Noob here! End of the season (YEA RIGHT!) and I spent the better part of the weekend cleaning the ladies. Yea, it's been too long (I'll never admit how long) & it was a pain... UGG!!! I've always used oven cleaner but it doesn't seem to penetrate through all the gook very well even when letting it soak overnight. This time I used oven cleaner & tried simple green but it was still alot of work, my hands are sore!
So how does everyone here clean their bbq?!?
 
We need to clean them? oh no............
I never took the time to clean my OTS,well maybe once a year. I wanted to keep my WSM cleaner ( cost so much), but after the third smoke I kinda stopped. People say they cook better when they get a bunch of build up. And I hope that with the build up comes less leakage..
 
long ago i cleaned my silvers about once a year. they got purty dirty and it was a royal pain. so now i clean them several times a year and its sooooo much easier. on really caked on stuff i litterally use something hard to scrape/chip off the crud.
 
Last time I cleaned my performer, I swept all the ash out, and then scraped the gunk with a plastic putty knife. Then I hit it with a weed burner on full throttle. It still had some grease remaining, so I dumped a bag of lump in there, lit it up with all the vents open, and it cruised at 600 or so for over an hour. There was nothing left but white dust when it was done.
 
My preferred cleaning method is to scrape out the accumulated gunk with a '5-in-1' paint tool that has been bent to kind of match the curve of the Weber devices. Sometimes if it's really bad, I use a wood chisel VERY CAREFULLY to scrape ot the really cooked on stuff.
Then I use SOS pads and Greased Lightning to get the remaining gunk off.
Also helpfull is to have about 18" of the bottom of a plastic 55 gallon drum. I can soak just about anything in them to help soften the crud and it's a great place to soak grates to get them clean.
 
I am of a mind that anything that can't be burned off has earned it's stay. I brush the grates and only really clean the gasser. In that I scrape out the gunk with a plastic putty knife followed by a half hour burn at high. It is good to keep things simple!
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As a new WSM owner living in humid SW Florida, you guys have me scared. I just took the cover off mine and opened all vents 100%. Mine is stored outside but under cover. Are most of the "dirty" WSMs stored "under the stars" (open to the elements of rain, snow, whatever)? Could that be a big part of the problem?
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Problem? What problem? There are no dirty WSM's, only nicely seasoned ones (although there is no seasoning necessary). Mine stays outside all year, covered when idle, and the only cleaning I do is brush out the flaking stuff from the middle sectiion and the lid if needed, every so often. There is no need to anything else to the body IMO. In your neck of the woods, mold sometimes is an issue, but I would'nt know about that.
 
My WSM was being stored outside in humid Southwest Florida with the cover on it, and it developed mold. Then I took it under cover on the lanai, and have it uncovered with the top vent open, and it has been okay. But I worry about the little critters outside that could get in.
 
you'll ONLY have a problem with mold forming inside IF YOU DO NOT USE IT ENOUGH!

So, get out there an' cook up a STORM at least once a week!!!
 
Clean? I don't really CLEAN my wsm, but this is what I do:

After a cook, I rinse and wipe out the water pan, and scrape and wipe off the racks. Other than that, the only thing necessary between cooks is to make sure the dome doesn't have any build-up, especially if you usually use water in the pan like me.

Oh yeah....I'll hit the high spots occasionally with a plastic putty knife, and also use it on the bowl when I dump the ash.
 
My father has a Kettle Ranch that he's had since ~1975 (maybe first couple of years they came out). Might of been 1978 model. I've never cleaned it as like ya'll have mentioned. Yes, the occassional get the fat out of the bottom with a putty plastic knife when you cook a 1/2 or whole pig. I;m interested if they smoke the same.

I wish I could get the quality grates like he has on it. There original and they are stoutly made.
 
I said I've never cleaned it bc I was always delegated to cleanup and gofor work, while the pitmaster worked the grill. Had to move out inorder to be my own pitmaster. haha! Unfortunately, when I'm at his house I'm still the cleanup and gofor boy. haha!
 
I just did the grate's and water pan with Steel Wool pads for the first time. It has about a dozen smokes on them. Being in an apartment with no garden hose, I used a bucket with soap. I smoked some ribs, a butt, and some salmon yesterday. Open all vents and burn all the fuel after pulling the meat. Today I dumped the ash and water pan into a trash bag. Take the middle section out with water pan in to catch drips from grates. Grab the steel wool pad and start scrubbing. The water pan then gets scrubbed inside and out. I try and keep it off of the middle section as much as possible. That is good gunk! After the grates and pan are clean, into the bathtub they go to get washed. I do this before I wash the tub out for it's cleaning to keep the missus happy.
 
All I do is just throw both grates on the charcoal ring at the end of my cook. Then I use my welders gloves and brush the burnt junk off. Yes the are a little greasy but that kills every thing like germs n stuff. Then I wipe em down. The unit itself I periodically use tin foil balled up and knock the flakes off the under side of the lid. This stuff is from smoke and grease, it aint paint. In over 10 years I only washed the whole wsm once 100%!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave/G:
Problem? What problem? There are no dirty WSM's, only nicely seasoned ones (although there is no seasoning necessary). Mine stays outside all year, covered when idle, and the only cleaning I do is brush out the flaking stuff from the middle sectiion and the lid if needed, every so often. There is no need to anything else to the body IMO. In your neck of the woods, mold sometimes is an issue, but I would'nt know about that. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


What is the flaky stuff? I got mine used and it was full of it so I just brushed out what I could. Didn't make my food taste bad I don't think.
 
For the bullets: Brush off the flaky stuff inside the lid so it doesn't get into the food. I never clean the barrel. The bottom section gets hosed out about every 4-5 cooks. When the grates get bad I put them in a big garbage bag and hose them down with Zep Oven/Grill Cleaner (Home Depot) and let soak for most of a day. Rinse well. Replace the aluminum foil on the water bowl.

For the OTG and SJS: I remove the thermometer and hose down the interior with the Zep cleaner. Let sit for about 5 minutes and rinse. May have to repeat if it's really bad. The grates go into the trash bag with the others.

Did I mention I'm lazy? I really hate scrubbing.

Russ
 
From my One-Touch Premium I remove all ashes every time. My WSM I clean occasionally. The charcoal bowl is cleaned every time to ensure good heating; the ring I clean with warm water and soap when it gets too sticky, depending what I did in it.
 
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