AZ Barbeque.com

cleaning WSM grates

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jim

  • Karma: 0
2 things I am ---
Anal -- sorry ---
Alway looking for a easier way ---
So in the quest for easier/anal I stumbled on this. I have a 94 year old Aunt
(the women will not give up the bread reciepe) I told her about cleaning the grates
on the WSM's. Jimmy she said we used to place a pan with a ammonia in the closed
oven over night, next day wiped the sides of burnt on crust.
Large trash bag placed  4 grates in with about 1/2 a bottle of ammonia, next morning,
car wash and this is how they turned out.
#1 is 3 years old #2 is 4 years old. After that  cleaning and power washing I did use plane
soap and water to finish with a scotch brite pad but not a lot of back breaking rubbing to get this clean.

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#1 - May 11, 2010, 11:59:41 am

AZWildcat

  • Karma: 22
They look awsome....buuuuuuuuuuutttttttttttttt........why? Are you not removing all the good stuff?
#2 - May 11, 2010, 04:03:59 pm
2 UDS's-Stoked
2 WSM's-Stoked
BWS Party-Stoked
22.5 Kettle to burn burgers and steaks.

Be kind, polite and courteous to everyone you meet, and ALWAYS have a plan to kill them.

Cornbred

  • Karma: 2
Awesome! Thank you for the great advice.
#3 - May 11, 2010, 08:28:37 pm

jim

  • Karma: 0
Dan -- a smoker in my opinion is not a grill and should not be treated as one. With a grill your get the temp up and "burn" off the last crumbs, a smoker does not generate the 350+ degs for a burn. We take the inside of the WSM down to porcelain once a year, the grates are cleaned after every contest.
Good Stuff?
You walk into your local diner and order eggs, the pan has not been cleaned in 2 weeks, you ask and the answer is "it's the good stuff" we never clean it. Dan does that make you feel warm and fuzzy or sick to your stomach?
Anal and proud of it ---
jim
#4 - May 12, 2010, 07:03:08 am

AZWildcat

  • Karma: 22
Man, when you put it like that.....sounds scary. Ya know, I wipe them down , clean the pan (which is  foiled)and clean the grates.  If I had to constantly worry about all that stuff, it would drive me nuts! But everyone is different!  They do look awsome!
#5 - May 12, 2010, 02:15:51 pm
2 UDS's-Stoked
2 WSM's-Stoked
BWS Party-Stoked
22.5 Kettle to burn burgers and steaks.

Be kind, polite and courteous to everyone you meet, and ALWAYS have a plan to kill them.

jim

  • Karma: 0
Dan if you would double foil the pan you could remove one layer then relayer be for the next cook --
works great. Also when the racks are hot a wire brush does do a great job in cleanup.
A clean tool works the best -
jim
#6 - May 12, 2010, 03:46:40 pm

jim

  • Karma: 0
Clean up is a pain in the ---
Here's what we do before we cook --PAM grill spray -- just before you place the meat
on the rack spray generously top and bottom -- really aids in cleanup
jim
#7 - May 17, 2010, 08:45:58 am

squealers

  • Karma: 1
Clean up is a pain in the ---
Here's what we do before we cook --PAM grill spray -- just before you place the meat
on the rack spray generously top and bottom -- really aids in cleanup
jim

I'll try that Pam idea, at this point anything to save time. When I clean the rig it takes an hour and a half.
#8 - May 17, 2010, 08:50:08 am
Taboo BBQ
Spicy Mike, Martin, plus a newbie

bbqphx.com

  • Karma: 9
What I do is start up my Performer with a rippin' hot fire and load up the grates from my WSM's on top of the grate that's already there on the Performer.  The grates clean up just fine with a grill brush then.
Tracy
Proud member of the O.C.D. Underground :)
#9 - May 19, 2010, 07:15:24 pm
Tracy-Head Chef and Mad Scientist
Weber Ranch Kettle
Two Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Old School Weber Performer circa 1998
FEC100
http://www.bbqphx.com
Find BBQPHX sauce at Hobe Meats, Bull Market and Brooksie's

brandon

On my home grill I use a brush and rag to start then put in my oven on the clean cycle. The grime turns to a white powder and rinses off clean. I am not sure how well it works on the chrome grates as it might tarnish them but will make them clean.
#10 - May 19, 2010, 07:40:08 pm

jim

  • Karma: 0
Brandon -- the grates off your BBQ cleaned in the oven using the oven cleaning process is a great idea. The draw back of cleaning the WSM grates at to high a temp is they warp, had the lower charcoal rack on a 22" warp really bad as the temp was over what the gauge would read. And I don't know if high temps would remove the Weber grate coating.
jim
#11 - May 20, 2010, 07:37:05 am

PAT YOUNG

  • Karma: 0
Were supposed to clean our grates? I thought thats where the bark comes from! :D :D
#12 - May 20, 2010, 11:09:02 pm

Cornbred

  • Karma: 2
Dan -- a smoker in my opinion is not a grill and should not be treated as one. With a grill your get the temp up and "burn" off the last crumbs, a smoker does not generate the 350+ degs for a burn. We take the inside of the WSM down to porcelain once a year, the grates are cleaned after every contest.
Good Stuff?
You walk into your local diner and order eggs, the pan has not been cleaned in 2 weeks, you ask and the answer is "it's the good stuff" we never clean it. Dan does that make you feel warm and fuzzy or sick to your stomach?
Anal and proud of it ---
jim


Jim what do you do to take the wsm down to the porcelain?
#13 - May 21, 2010, 08:13:17 am

jim

  • Karma: 0
Once a year normally after the 3rd or 4th I get a cardboard box large enough to turn the lid over in. At Sam's  ( a new KCBS sponsor) I get their oven cleaner, spray it down let it set. While that is cleaning I lay the barrel on it's side using a very flexable putty I scape a round this gets a lot of the material free -- finish with scotch brite. The lid may take several coatings but it will come off, I finish with glass cleaner to get that new shine.
Myth -- you must use a "seasoned" smoker to get optmum flavor.
Fact -- Rock Springs -- the smoker was to new "clean" condition inside and out.
#14 - May 21, 2010, 09:09:10 am

Cornbred

  • Karma: 2
Sounds good thank you. I'm presuming you burn the wsm out before the next cook?
#15 - May 22, 2010, 12:03:41 pm

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