Stainless Steel Replacement grates


 
Jon, AFAIK the Weber OEM 26" grate is stainless steel. Not sure what grade of stainless but it is S.S. and not plated steel like the 22" OEM grate.

 
Am I missing something? The Weber grate is just regular steel. That is certainly fine for a charcoal grate if given decent care but it is not stainless. I actually thought that Killa Grilla makes charcoal grates as well. Look on his actual website that offers more options than what he posts on Etsy. Might be cheaper because it won't have handles.

Killa Grilla stuff is first class, as I know I probably say too often:oops:. I would see if he has a charcoal specific grate for less and go with that, if so.

I'm not as knowledgeable on these grates as you are, which is why I'm asking all these questions. :coolkettle:

I know the thick KillaGrilla SS grates are better than the plated Weber ones, I just wasn't sure about longevity when used as a charcoal grate....especially when it looks like Weber went overboard with adding extra supports the to 26" charcoal grate. Sounds like KillaGrilla is still the way to go then.

I've been searching for a charcoal grate for the 26" kettle from KG....can't find one. From Weber specs its supposed to be 21.75", but the 21.5" grate seems to fit well enough. I sent Mark a message on Etsy as well as emailing him. Haven't heard back, but I'm sure he is just slammed with orders this time of year.
 
Heard back from Mark. Was in line with what I was thinking.
He said to just use the basic 21.5" grate for the charcoal grate on the 26" kettle. He said he could make one without handles, but it would be the same price.

 
Good info, Kyle. I would say that even without the supports, Mark's grates are really thick and the stainless will certainly last longer than regular steel. However, the Weber grate is nothing to sneer at, and if you are willing to keep it cleaned and maybe occasionally oiled with cooking oil, it should last a good long time. When it comes to the actual cooking grate, Killa Grilla is far superior to OEM Weber in my experience.
 
Am I missing something? The Weber grate is just regular steel. That is certainly fine for a charcoal grate if given decent care but it is not stainless. I actually thought that Killa Grilla makes charcoal grates as well. Look on his actual website that offers more options than what he posts on Etsy. Might be cheaper because it won't have handles.

Killa Grilla stuff is first class, as I know I probably say too often:oops:. I would see if he has a charcoal specific grate for less and go with that, if so.

He does make charcoal grates and I would recommend them if you have a color kettle you wish to keep in good condition. I picked up a couple myself around Black Friday. When finding older kettles they almost always have heavy rust on and around the grate straps that the grates typically sit on. I mean with enough use and abuse all of them will get some rust, but constant rusty steel contact certainly doesn't help.
 
Grate arrived today! Seems pretty well built for $55 and free UPS shipping.
The grate is designed for a UDS setup and had 3 little nubs on it. I'm going to grind those down because it makes the diameter just a little too big to rest on the charcoal grate holders.

Some pictures of the grate and my new 26" bowl.

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Excited to get the new bowl swapped out on my 26"er!
 
Got the old grill taken apart. Cleaned up all the pieces. New bowl installed. And the new grate all set by grinding down the UDS nubs.

This grill was 9 years old and the legs used to feel super loose and wobbly. Turns out it was the leg sockets on the bowl that were creating to loose feel. This new bowl is nice and tight even with the old legs installed.

It's like a new grill! I went ahead and upgraded the side handle to only of those with the small built in hooks.
Also swapped out some bigger plastic lid rests from a Performer I'm flipping. The old plastic lid rests were much smaller. Seemed fitting to put the big ones on the 26" beast.

Can't wait to cook on this thing. Going to clean up the lid now while I'm at it since I usually don't put much effort into cleaning the grills I use.

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Looks great, Kyle! That UDS grate, with your modification, is a perfect solution. I like the handles it has which will be a very nice touch when emptying out old charcoal. I hope you won't find yourself conflicted about actually USING that thing!
 
Wanted to post a follow up about SS grates.

Hunsaker now makes a SS grate for the 22" kettle that doesn't have the little nubs on them. So if you are looking for a nice basic 22" grate made of thick SS with no flip sides, this is a good choice.

It will also work as a charcoal grate for your 26" kettle if you need one of those.

Hunsaker is pretty active on Facebook, and responds to messages pretty quickly. I'm sure if you asked for a grate without handles on it, he could do that...might be better way to go if using for 26" charcoal grate.


 
So after bugging and reminding my wife all year, she finally broke down and got me a KillaGrilla grate for my Performer as a Christmas gift!

Wow, this thing is nice. The diameter of the bars are nice and big, about the same thickness as a #2 pencil. After the kids were done opening gifts, I unboxed the beast and I quickly fired up the grill so I could burn through a chimney of charcoal on the new grate to get it ready for the Christmas prime rib. After the initial burn through, I moved it to my grill under the deck where it's less windy to cook the prime rib. Cooked it using the SnS and new KillaGrilla grate and couldn't have been easier.

I'll post another update after I've used it for a couple months


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Not that long ago, I bought a SnS stainless steel grate for my kettle. It is nice, but you can tell the bars on the grate are much thinner when compared to KillaGrilla. Going to enjoy cooking on both grates for years to come.




I also bought a Hunsaker 22" grate a while ago to use as the charcoal grate on my 26" kettle. I have to admit, the Hunsaker is pretty dang close on quality as the KillaGrilla. The only downside to the Hunsaker is it's a fixed grate, no flipping sides. It's been perfect for me using it as the charcoal grate. And $55 is an excellent price point.

 
Besides KillaGrilla, do you guys know of any other good places to buy a set of stainless steel kettle replacement grates?

I've seen the Mega Grate, but that crisscross design seems impossible to keep food from getting caught up between the grates.

Would like to get a nice set for my 22", and maybe for the 26" as well.
Hi guys. New member here, so go easy. Can't vouch for anything other than the KillaGrilla grate. Finished up my second season using it and zero complaints. It even survived when my 22" Kettle was destroyed by a direct hit from 50' oak tree that fell in a storm. The Kettle was mangled but the grate went right into the replacement Kettle.
 
Hi guys. New member here, so go easy. Can't vouch for anything other than the KillaGrilla grate. Finished up my second season using it and zero complaints. It even survived when my 22" Kettle was destroyed by a direct hit from 50' oak tree that fell in a storm. The Kettle was mangled but the grate went right into the replacement Kettle.

Welcome to the forum!

I totally believe that the KillaGrilla survived.

When I originally started this thread I only had the basic flip grates and GBS grates. Since then I've purchased a Slow N Sear Easy Spin SS grate and recently was given a KillaGrilla grate as a Christmas gift. Both are excellent grates and I recommend them both. You can tell the KillaGrilla grates are MUCH beefier and will likely last a lot longer. If money is a concern then the SnS EasySpin is a very nice alternative for about half the price.
And the Hunsaker one is also a nice choice if you want that beef thick SS, but it lacks the flip side(s). Hunsaker is in same price range as the EasySpin.
 

 

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