The "Duchess Cooker" - An All aluminum kettle made by maker of PK Grills


 
Jon Tofte said:
Stephen,
The original grate with a flip-up side was 16 3/4" wide. So far I haven't gotten any real traction on the idea of others going in with me on getting a stainless replacement grate for this grill. After my tax season is over on April 15, I hope to order one for myself (at a higher price) from Mark Baron/KillaGrilla. I do have the original grate which I treated with Evaporust and did my best to clean up. The nickel chrome is gone from much of the grate, so you have to keep it seasoned a like you would cast iron. It has rough texture accordingly. I am thinking of selling it off cheap (and unused since I restored it) once I get my stainless one from Mark. If you - or anyone else - have interest, let me know. At least it is an ORIGINAL Duchess grate and the flip-up works fine. The only inexpensive option out there that I know of is a thin, not flip-up, 16.75" grate that someone retails.

The smallest notch - the 14 inch grate - is your charcoal grate. Most of the originals came with a cast iron one that had two solid circles to prevent ash from falling into the bottom vents.
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Thanks for the info. My cooking grate is in serviceable condition. However, I'll go in on a group purchase for a high quality stainless replacement. Let me know where to send the money. My question was really about the size of the original charcoal grate. It looks like there are notches at 14, 15, and 16 inches. I was just wondering the size of the original grate. You said it was 14, so I'll probably look for a nice 14 inch replacement. You've been very helpful, thank you for your time and patience with a new member.
 
A perfect fit for the charcoal grate is the cast iron grate intended for the Medium Big Green Egg. I like it because the original was also cast iron.
A3821C77-4316-4949-A275-2CFA29D736F9.jpeg
 
Thanks for your interest in going in in the grates. Give me some more time to see if we can get at least one more in order to push the price down. I will stay in touch on it.
 
0B29AB17-A0EC-4126-BE7F-C841483BCF59.jpegI believe these folks would cut a steel one with the 2 vent cover in the plate. Just offering an idea.
 
Stephen Riffe said:
Just purchased a Dutchess on ebay. Appreciate all the good info here. Looking for the purpose of the tabs on the side of the grill. Are there accessories that attach to the grill using these tabs? Thank you all in advance.
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yes, from my research those ae tabs for small shelves.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Stephen,
The original grate with a flip-up side was 16 3/4" wide. So far I haven't gotten any real traction on the idea of others going in with me on getting a stainless replacement grate for this grill. After my tax season is over on April 15, I hope to order one for myself (at a higher price) from Mark Baron/KillaGrilla. I do have the original grate which I treated with Evaporust and did my best to clean up. The nickel chrome is gone from much of the grate, so you have to keep it seasoned a like you would cast iron. It has rough texture accordingly. I am thinking of selling it off cheap (and unused since I restored it) once I get my stainless one from Mark. If you - or anyone else - have interest, let me know. At least it is an ORIGINAL Duchess grate and the flip-up works fine. The only inexpensive option out there that I know of is a thin, not flip-up, 16.75" grate that someone retails.

The smallest notch - the 14 inch grate - is your charcoal grate. Most of the originals came with a cast iron one that had two solid circles to prevent ash from falling into the bottom vents.
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Jon, I would be willing to go in on the grill grate with flip-up sides- let me know if you line something up
 
Jon Tofte said:
UPDATE:

I have been working with Mark Baron of Killa Grilla. The basic deal is that if we can get five of us to go in, the price of a high quality, THICK 304 stainless grate with the same flip-up side as the original would be $100 plus shipping. I am trying to solicit serious interest to see if this can happen. I posted more on the Buy/Sell/Trade section. Message me if you have questions or are seriously interested.
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Jon, any progress on the grates? I still need a charcoal and grill grate. I would really prefer a grill grate with the hinged sides- thanks Kelly from SC
 
KellyCaudle said:
Jon, any progress on the grates? I still need a charcoal and grill grate. I would really prefer a grill grate with the hinged sides- thanks Kelly from SC
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I only have you and me so far. That won't bring the price below $150. I wont be ready to pull the trigger until after April 15 (and yes I know I now have until May 17 for my tax preparation season, but I am not going to slow down now.) If you are OK with that price and want to go faster, you might want to reach out to Mark Baron of KillaGrilla directly. I will try again on the PK and PK Duchess FB pages to generate some more interest, but need more time.
 
Jon Tofte said:
I only have you and me so far. That won't bring the price below $150. I wont be ready to pull the trigger until after April 15 (and yes I know I now have until May 17 for my tax preparation season, but I am not going to slow down now.) If you are OK with that price and want to go faster, you might want to reach out to Mark Baron of KillaGrilla directly. I will try again on the PK and PK Duchess FB pages to generate some more interest, but need more time.
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Jon, that’s fine no problem
 
After much rehab which included fabrication of a front leg, ordering the custom bottom vents, installing new wheels and cleaning it up, she’s almost done. I need a new handle for the lid and some grates
 

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Jon Tofte said:
A perfect fit for the charcoal grate is the cast iron grate intended for the Medium Big Green Egg. I like it because the original was also cast iron.
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Word to the newbies out there. Because it says it will fit medium big green egg doesn't mean it's 15 inches. I purchased an oem bge grate (out of state on a road trip) that is almost 15 and 3/4 inches. Does not fit and I'm stuck with it. There are aftermarket grates on Amazon that are 15 inches exactly. Pay attention to the details. 😁
 

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Stephen Riffe said:
Word to the newbies out there. Because it says it will fit medium big green egg doesn't mean it's 15 inches. I purchased an oem bge grate (out of state on a road trip) that is almost 15 and 3/4 inches. Does not fit and I'm stuck with it. There are aftermarket grates on Amazon that are 15 inches exactly. Pay attention to the details. 😁
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Wow, that’s a real shame, but I think you can certainly re-sell an oem one fairly readily. The one I bought was a knockoff on Amazon and it fit really well.
 
Kelly,
I am going to talk to Mark Baron about doing just three grates, shipping one to you and two to me. I will update you when I hear back from him.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Wow, that’s a real shame, but I think you can certainly re-sell an oem one fairly readily. The one I bought was a knockoff on Amazon and it fit really well.
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Jon, for your unit do you use the very bottom notches for the coal grate support? These are right at 14 inches.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Wow, that’s a real shame, but I think you can certainly re-sell an oem one fairly readily. The one I bought was a knockoff on Amazon and it fit really well.
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I purchased an aftermarket cast iron grate that was exactly 15 inches. It fit like a glove. Thanks for the information here and the helpful folks. I now have a 14 and 15 inch grate. Life is good.
 
Sorry I couldn't get a reply to you sooner. But, yes, I was thinking mine was 15". I believe that is the correct size for a Medium Big Green Egg main grate.

I am very glad for you that you got one that works well! Will look forward to seeing your Duchess in action. I have been chatting with Mark Baron. He has already set up the Duchess grate as a "special order" item that you an order from his website. But, it is set up for the single purchase price of $150 plus shipping.

When my tax season winds down, I am going to make one last push on the PK and Duchess Facebook groups - and here on TVWBB as well - to see if we can at least get to 3, preferably 5. I didn't get a straight answer from Mark about making 3 or 5 at the lower price but then shipping to different buyers (including their shipping, of course). I am not going to ask again unless we get more interest.

If we don't get any more takers, then I guess we can each decide if we want to shell out the $150, plus shipping for a one-off. I am working on buying one from him for my "single-vent" small size Original. I couldn't get any serious response on the PK group for going in on this one. The "new" PK company used to offer a nickel chrome replacement grate for this grill but no longer does. I don't think they are real hip on promoting saving the really old PKs. I suppose understandably they want to sell you a NEW PK. They are a very good company, though, and deserve credit for bringing back the "Original" PK and developing the larger 360 model.
 
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Jon Tofte said:
Sorry I couldn't get a reply to you sooner. But, yes, I was thinking mine was 15". I believe that is the correct size for a Medium Big Green Egg main grate.

I am very glad for you that you got one that works well! Will look forward to seeing your Duchess in action. I have been chatting with Mark Baron. He has already set up the Duchess grate as a "special order" item that you an order from his website. But, it is set up for the single purchase price of $150 plus shipping.

When my tax season winds down, I am going to make one last push on the PK and Duchess Facebook groups - and here on TVWBB as well - to see if we can at least get to 3, preferably 5. I didn't get a straight answer from Mark about making 3 or 5 at the lower price but then shipping to different buyers (including their shipping, of course). I am not going to ask again unless we get more interest.

If we don't get any more takers, then I guess we can each decide if we want to shell out the $150, plus shipping for a one-off. I am working on buying one from him for my "single-vent" small size Original. I couldn't get any serious response on the PK group for going in on this one. The "new" PK company used to offer a nickel chrome replacement grate for this grill but no longer does. I don't think they are real hip on promoting saving the really old PKs. I suppose understandably they want to sell you a NEW PK. They are a very good company, though, and deserve credit for bringing back the "Original" PK and developing the larger 360 model.
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I know this is the Weber folks forum and I’m one too but I love my PKs and continue to search out a nice Duchess. I’m not on Facebook so I’m not in the Fanatics group and can’t see what they do or have if anything for sale but if anyone here can help it would make an ole man mighty happy. 🤓
 
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