Too much griddle coverage?


 
D

DrAllan

New member
I've been messing with a few different griddle attachments recently, and was wondering if there are any safety issues with covering too large of a surface with griddle material? I know the propane needs some air to breath and vent, but is the grease trap drain in the bottom sufficient? I've got a griddle that covers pretty much the entire surface of the grill with maybe a 1/4" gap on one side. Is that enough? I don't want to be trapping gas and make a bomb, but having a 1" gap on either side kinda irks me having that much unused area. That and I like having the side walls to help keep food from falling off the griddle.

Any thoughts?
 
That might be a bit “snug” but, I cannot speak with any real authority. My griddle is an OLD Coleman with the handles protruding on both ends but, it’s still a bit smaller than full width. I should uncover the gasser and see what that fit is like again, I did it when I got the gasser but, have never used it on there.dont remember just hot tight the fit it now!
 
The propane gets it's air to breath from the shutters on the burner tubes. The problem you might have is overheating the grill below the griddle. There is an open area above the grease tray for ventilation.
I think the best bet is to watch your temps for awhile and see what happens. Probably not smart to leave the burners on high for a long time. Maybe see what it does with the burners on med for awhile and it might be enough or work up from there.

Gerry
 
I have a Weber cast iron griddle that came with instructions only to replace one grate. It warms about damaging the firebox from too much heat being trapped below the griddle. DrAllan, I would be wary about how much heat you are trapping under the griddle material.
 
You can China Syndrome your firebox by trapping too much heat down below your griddle. See link below.

I have GrillGrates (which have a perforated bottom plate) that (if I use all of the panels) pretty much cover 100% of my grill surface. Even with the perforations, I leave out a panel or two for airflow when I'm cooking on high. I only go 100% side-to-side when I'm cooking low.

Best bet is to push your griddle all the way over to one side (so you can use the side wall) but leave a decent size gap on the other side.


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I agree, 1/4" around the outside is a bit smaller than I would like. You can probably do it but just run your gill at lower temps but it would be best to have a bigger gap for sure. Running that on high for any length of time probably would result in a small Chernobyl event.
 
Thanks for the help. All makes sense. I've really been eyeing a Blackstone for a while, but am having a hard time justifying it and was hopeful that I could turn my Weber into a suitable substitute until I can find a decent deal on FB Marketplace or Craigslist. I have a set of Grill Grates as well, and have used them flipped over with pretty good success, but they don't quick cover the entire span of the grill and it has always irked me. I've also tried a couple of the basic cast iron griddles and even got the Q-griddle. All work ok, but just don't quite have the surface area I'm looking for. Basically I just need to accept that my 20y/o Weber is not a Blackstone. Don't get me wrong, I love it. But smash burgers, steak and cheese, and fajitas are my new fad (just been looking for something different).

Like many on here I've got more grills than necessary, and while having a specialized tool for each purpose is fun, it's not really practical for regular use. That and we are looking to move sometime soon and I'm trying to down size a bit.
 
I don't think 1/4" is enough. Also simply pushing it from one side to the other does not magically allow more air. It's kinda like Daylight Saving. It's the same amount of daylight simply distributed differently.
Also the air the burners need does not only come from the vent shutters. It also comes from the surrounding area. Watch the burners when your lid is open as opposed to closed. Big difference.
Also when someone says "check the temps" if they're referring to the lid temp.........................WRONG. The heat is being trapped under the grate area. No way to effectively test unless you have a thermocouple you can run in there.
Bottom line I would be VERY cautious about covering that much grill area
 
I think I'm convinced to leave it be, and just accept what I have. Kind of what I figured the answers would be, but thought I'd ask the question just in case. Weather is starting to turn nice here in MD, I've got just about every accessory I can think of (and then some), and was going to make perfecting the griddle this years project. But if I have to accept an 1" (or more) gap, then it is what it is.

Thanks!
 
You already have the best solution short of a Blackstone.

Flat side of the GGs with one panel left out and pushed all the way to one side. Gives you three sides with no gap and a flat top covering 80+% of the total grill area. One full GG panel is 5.25 inches; a gap panel is 2.3 inches. That plus the perforations is plenty of air flow.

That's what I do for smash burgers, shrimp , cheesesteaks and fajitas. Doesn't work for pancakes or scrambled eggs obviously.
 
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It's just the two of us, so I cut a 1/4" piece of stainless to fit just over half the grill. It was a piece of scrap that determined the size. It's great for us, and smash burgers and other stuff works. It pretty much stays on the grill. The other grill has the 1/2" griddle on it for bigger cooks.

GerryIMG_20210311_162716173_HDR.jpgIMG_20210311_161259301_HDR.jpgIMG_20210311_162324415_HDR.jpg
 
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