Cleaning your grill grates

[ckreef]

Haven't cleaned mine yet but thinking about doing it for the holidays. 

[mguerra]

PBW didn't touch it. From now on just grill floss.

[tony b]

Strange. I have always had good success with PBW. Granted, I wasn't expecting it to be shiny, like new again, just remove the gunk. YMMV 

[beermachine]

Doesn't a high heat burn off do the same thing?

[tony b]

To some degree, but Dennis doesn't recommend taking the KKs up to that high a temperature needed to burn off most of the baked on stuff. If you have a "self cleaning oven," it gets upwards of 900F -1000F during the cleaning cycle; hence, the safety feature of locking the oven door during the process. So you can only clean the sear grate using this method, as the lower grate and main grates are too far away from the charcoal basket, without cranking the whole grill up to that high a temp for an extended period to char off the stuff. 

[bosco]

On 2016-12-25 at 1:09 AM, mguerra said:

PBW didn't touch it. From now on just grill floss.

If I were a betting man you didn't use enough.  I doubled the recommended dose as the beer store guy said that the beer crud is easier to clean up then heavy caked on grease.  Since using it, I have been actively cleaning the grills after each cook to keep then cleaner longer, but will PBW again every 4 to 6 months

[tony b]

I agree with Bosco. I tend to up the dosage from what i use in the brew room to clean fermentation vessels - 5 TB in 4 gallons of hot water. And it needs to soak for at least a couple of hours. 

[Aussie Ora]

Giving them a good clean up then cleaning after every cook is the way to go .I found a 3/8 spanner in my old tool box the other day fits the rods perfectly

Outback Kamado Bar and Grill

[Poochie]

That's what I've used since day one on my grills, Aussie. An open end 3/8 wrench fits the grill perfectly and you can easily remove whatever gunk is on them. It's really a poor man's Grill Floss, but it works. 

[Aussie Ora]

Yeah I remember synergies mentioning it does the job great just need to wear my glove lol

Outback Kamado Bar and Grill

[Bruce Pearson]

Does anybody know of PBW is biodegradable?  Can it  be flushed down the toilet when done with or down the storm drain?  I have artificial grass so don't want to put it out on the lawn. Any answers would be appreciated. 

[Pequod]

2 hours ago, Bruce Pearson said:

Does anybody know of PBW is biodegradable?  Can it  be flushed down the toilet when done with or down the storm drain?  I have artificial grass so don't want to put it out on the lawn. Any answers would be appreciated. 

From what I've read, PBW is alkali, not acid, and is biodegradable and septic safe. I'm on septic, so that's good to know. That said, I read the material safety data sheet, and you definitely want to wear rubber gloves. 

[bosco]

when you are finished cleaning the grates, that water is gross.  There is no way I would be allowed to bring it into the house.  I just dump mine on the street curb and it made its way to the sewer and I rinsed with hose.  

[tony b]

Yes, it's biodegradable and safe to put down the drain. I do it all the time in my brew room. Bosco is correct here - using it to clean grill grates is a different application and you get a really nice oil slick on top of the water. So, if you pour it down the sink or toilet, be prepared to wash off the oily stain that's left. 

While they recommend using gloves, it's basically because in a commercial brewery, which is where this stuff was developed, you're cleaning much larger pieces of equipment, so your contact time with the solution is much longer. I generally don't wear gloves in the brew room, as I'm not in much contact with the solution and rinse it off as soon as I'm done. I wore gloves when I cleaned my grill grates, mainly because it was seriously greasy/yucky water, not so much because of the PBW. YMMV 

[Bruce Pearson]

 Thanks guys for all the information I'll put it to good use. 

[Firemonkey]

Grill floss is the extent of effort I put into cleaning grates. Scrape before use, and beyond that I burn them clean. Not with a raging fire specifically for the purpose, but just by taking advantage of any higher temp cooks I do. I'll put any greasy grates that won't be in my way into the grill and just let them clean themselves as I cook. Doesn't hurt to have extra grates down below as long as you aren't going to need to add fuel or wood or something.

[D.Drackett]

Oh!  This is a real problem.  Out housekeeper is not happy and I forbid SOS pads.  I will try this.  So much to learn.  Merry Christmas.  Dan

[tony b]

Ask away. That's what this forum is for - to share information. 

[5698k]

It’s hard to beat wadded up foil..


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[Adam Ag 98]

When I first started the video I thought "That looks like the Hill Country".

Sure enough I later noticed Kerville in your info.

I cleaned mine the first time last weekend. I went to the pet store and bought a tiny play pool, then filled with water and PBW. Let it soak overnight. Prior to filling I put a piece of plywood on top of a furniture dolly, then put the pool on top. That made it ~easy~ to roll down the drive way and empty into the street gutter in front of my house.

Terrifying slowling rolling down the drive over the cobblestone - I knew with each bump that I was about to have an Exxon Valdez incident in my drive.

I wore some nitrite gloves and used heavy duty shop paper towels, along w/a grill floss, to scrape the muck into the pool. It was insanely nasty. Since I've definitely made a more conscious effort to clean them somewhat before/after cooks.