jdbower

I thought it set the mood a little better to take a shot between burgers with poor lighting

I'd just like to say that you guys with your tasty meals all stink! Without a KK this is what I'm reduced to: Frozen burgers on an electric grill next to the sink. Must...learn....patience.... In the mean time, thanks for all the food porn and ideas for when I get mine!

It seems like many people, myself included, aren’t familiar with the proper procedures for cleaning stainless steel. Here’s some information I’ve gleaned from the web, but please read the entire thread before trying anything since I’m guessing some more techniques or corrections will follow: Only use stainless steel to clean stainless steel. I’d even go so far as to get stainless utensils (spatulas, tongs, forks, knives, etc.) for cooking just to play it safe, but make sure you’ve got a stainless grill brush or some stainless steel wool at a minimum. Using metals other than stainless can cause rust spots to form over time if you don’t clean off the residual particles promptly. If you need to use a cleanser, a mild vinegar solution may be best. Follow this with a neutralizing solution, either a lot of water or a baking soda paste. Rubbing dry flour or club soda on stainless using a soft cloth can also bring back the luster, as can a few drops of baby oil. While I probably wouldn’t bother polishing the grill, stainless trim like the spring cover may benefit. The WD in WD-40 actually stands for Water Displacement and it’s not really a lubricant, in theory this should help repel water and can be used to polish stainless but it’s fairly flammable and toxic so don’t use it on the grill. At all costs, avoid the use of chlorine – since bleach is the cleaner of choice for most surfaces you’ll have to read carefully to ensure that none is present. For this reason, avoid most soaps and cleansers and mix them yourself. Also avoid anything that can trap water against the surface, make sure all covers have a mechanism to wick water away from the cooker while providing a waterproof surface on the outside so new water can’t find its way in. Also make sure you promptly dry anything you wash. This is all theory to me as of now; I know I’ve seen surface rust form on my stainless sinks from prolonged water or unlike metal contact but the use of ordinary steel wool cleans it up. A sink, however, is a very different surface from a grill as it’s both flat and continuously exposed to flowing water that washes away the impurities described. If anyone’s got any pictures of stainless (particularly 304 stainless) that shows the results of any of these “don’ts†I’m sure it could be a learning experience. I’m curious to know if the results are surface rust (ugly but removable) or actual penetrating rust which can cause much more serious damage. Also note that some of these techniques for stainless can be very bad for grout (for example, vinegar+grout is not the best of mixes), I'd protect your tile whenever you're using anything other than water to clean the stainless. C’mon DJ, time for you to fill in the blanks!

Very nice! Also looks like good protection in case some fingers happen to be back there when you're opening the lid - almost like Dennis merges form with function on a regular basis

Yous guys from da udder side of da riva is always welcome heres. Glad to have another person here from the Greater New Jersey area!

Good question, I generally clean after I finish eating (with the Weber and Kingsford the coals are generally still warm at that time). Once I switch to lump/extruded (especially with the KK) I'll probably want to move that up to just after the cook or just wait until things are cool. I'm guessing cleaning just before a cook would also work, but then I'd be leaving stuff on the grill between cooks which may attract some unwanted friends. In your case I'd be worried that the extra bits of stuck-on roo-meat would attract a drop bear and those things can really ruin a cookout.

Welcome aboard! I'm going to have to bookmark your blog - some nice descriptions of your KK there. Be sure to share some of your pizza recipes - I can't wait until I get a "pizza oven" able to get to 800F.

It's OK, Sanny. We'll start a "Scrawny Pine Tree" forum and we won't let anyone else in Except maybe Don if he turns out to be a nice guy since this is his thread - welcome aboard!

3/8" Billybar pics I finally managed to get some pictures of the 3/8" Billybar in "action" on 1/4" and 3/8" drill bits as a substitute for not having a KK. The typical Billybar handles the 1/4" and smaller grills very nicely, a couple of strokes on each bar at different angles cleans them very well. The problem is that Dennis is the King of Overengineering and builds his grills with manly-looking 3/8" stainless steel that will last forever even when grilling seafood or extinct megafauna. The Billybar head is just a little too small to support this larger gauge metal and it leaves a gap that makes cleaning much more cumbersome. The industrious guys at Billybar are very responsive to this newfound problem and have been willing to custom make some 3/8" Billybars for just the purpose. Initially they had made mention of grinding out a 3/8" Billybar and my first thought was that I have an angle grinder and could do it myself but I figured it couldn't hurt to have them do it (so I don't end up losing a finger or something ). What I got a few days later in the mail was a pleasant surprise compared to the ground down 1/4" version I was expecting, the tip was polished and professional - as if it was an official product and not a prototype. When I tested it out on the appropriate diameter metal cylinder it seems like it should work just as well as the 1/4" did on the smaller steel. The image below shows the 1/4" version (top) and 3/8" version (bottom) on 1/4" (left) and 3/8" (right) drill bits to show the coverage. You'll note that the only combination that doesn't work well is the 1/4" Billybar on the 3/8" steel. However, given the gap between the tines of the 3/8" Billybar on the 1/4" steel I think I'll keep both even though I would feel fine just ordering the 3/8" version. This way if I cook on lesser grills I only provide half as much wear on each Billybar and they should last twice as long - my descendants will probably be ordering replacements in 2694 if I'm careful. I wish I could say I'd buy from them again, but I just don't see these things ever needing to be replaced. I guess they make good stocking stuffers for friends and family! Let me know if you've got any questions or want more detailed pictures.

Congrats! I know first hand that patent searches are often a painful process.

Now the KK is the same color on the inside as it is on the outside - nice paint job!

Or those without a KK yet like me. I have good memories about The County Line from some visits to Austin. They have an online store that sells pre-cooked BBQ (where's the fun in that?) and their Hot and Spicy BBQ Sauce may be a worthy investment by itself.

That's OK, the longer I wait the more refinements Dennis will make If it makes you feel any better, you had to shoot at 0.25 second because of the low light and the rule of thumb says that anything over 0.025s or so is too long to handhold. Not bad for 10 times the recommended shutter speed. (I have spies that told me about your picture details )

Congrats, DJ! Pictures worthy of a fellow Nikonian, although we'll have to get you a tripod for that gas burner shot I love the stealth ninja look. Now it's all I can do to be patient enough to wait for mine. I wonder how much FedEx would charge for overnight service from the factory for something like this...

Just find the strongest rot-gut grain alcohol you can and suspend the tube in it overnight, but the morning the part you don't want will disappear and it only adds a slight metallic flavor to the rot-gut. If you're patient a cheap hacksaw will do the job, but I'd recommend a Dremel tool as a more useful addition to your toolbox. Just mark up the tube first so you have a guide to cut with.

I noticed that my newspapers all had BBQ ads in them, I wonder if they cherry-pick the packing material Definitely KK-style customer service. I heard they were grinding out a 1/4" version to make the 3/8" version and thought I could do that myself, but the 3/8" is actually much nicer than what I would have ended up with. I'll have to nab some shots sometime.

As a result of this thread I ordered a second 3/8" version. Now if only I had a grill to try it out on. I guess I'm now financially heavily invested in a KK

Florida, eh? Do you just hook the KK up to a couple of mosquitoes and air lift it into place? I guess afterwards you can put the buggers on the grill like Dennis would; I'd like my wings extra crispy, please!

I take it back! I take it back! You wouldn't like Drunk_J when he's angry...

I sense some housekeeping as Curly's posts all start disappearing