Cleaning grates

Everything goes in the dishwasher on prewash, pots and pans, and high heat here. Yep, messes it up pretty good, I just run an empty cycle after.

Why doesn't Cookshack at least offer a high grade 409 stainless steel set of grates as either a option when buying a new smoker or as an accesory item on their website? Chrome or nickel plating seems so cheap for such a nice smoker( not to mention crappy once they start to wear off)..
I can't believe they couldn't make money on this option.....

Mine are brown smoky colored now. Keeps the food from sticking Bright shiny just don't seem to work

Yep. I also like for everything to be all smoked up and seasoned!

does, or has anyone just taken the grates and side racks to the car wash ?

I am lazy, seems like a well spent 2$ if it works in 5 minutes.

I spend about 5-10 minutes per grill scrubbing

I fill the sink with hot water then add Dawn dish detergent. go about doing other stuff, come back in 15 minutes rub down the part that is immersed in the water then flip her around go do something else. Not a lot of elbow grease used.

Luv that dawn! I washed a car with it today! Probably a little harsh for auto finishes actually. Never 'dawned' on me to take grates and grills to the carwash high pressure wand. I bet I could set it on engine cleaner, let them soak, then powerspray them very clean! Good idea!

I have a big plastic container with a lid. Mix up 50/50 some cheap cleaner they sell in the auto section at Wal Mart (it's in a purple plastic container) and water. Make enough to completely cover the grates. Thrown them in, put the lid on, and a couple of days later when you remember about them, hit them with a soft brush and rinse them off.

John

LJ's approach tends to work better than the car wash,although the dishwasher is a dandy option.

Simple green in a pan of water works in about 15 minutes. Let'm soak and then clean off with a soft green scrubby. You can even see the stuff work, as you immerse the grills past the foam on the top you see the grill marks appear. Works for me.

Mack

quote:

Originally posted by 43551Mr.Beefy's groupie:
Why doesn't Cookshack at least offer a high grade 409 stainless steel set of grates as either a option when buying a new smoker or as an accesory item on their website? Chrome or nickel plating seems so cheap for such a nice smoker( not to mention crappy once they start to wear off)..
I can't believe they couldn't make money on this option.....

What I do on my Smokin-Tex, which has all S.S.grates is, buy a plastic cement mixer tub, they cost about $10 bucks. I can soak my grates in it along with my grill grates and anything else that size. Works fine, then after scrubbing a little, just hose off..

dan

To clean the grates I soak mine in the lid of an old plastic storage container. It's only an inch or so deep and fits the grates perfectly.

The solution is concentrated simple green in water around 1:10 concentration. Soak for 30 minutes or so then wipe with a sponge and rinse with a hose.

I know this is going to raise a few eyebrows but if you need to remove creosote deposit from the smoker then consider using a product called "Soot Out". Think I found it at Home Depot but may have been Lowes...

It disolves on creosote on contact. You will not believe it unless you see it. I was astounded to see it liquify creosote without having to rub or scrape anything. Forget using an adapted drill attachment to clean the vent hole!

Beware though, It's nasty stuff, so use with caution. Rinse thoroughly (I use a hose) then wipe out using distilled vinegar (or lemon juice) and then rinse again.


Kevin

Wild Turkey I agreed with you up until it states "this is nasty stuff'. I actually soaked my FE grates for 24 hours in that exact solution, works great (takes less scrubbing and since I have 12 racks, I want less scrubbing). Then I rinse twice and use a power hose (I don't want it on my food).

This has come up in a couple of posts lately.

Let me emphasize this point:

Don't use Nasty stuff with a smoker. Ever

There are a lot better alternatives than some of that stuff getting into your body.

You're risking your health if you don't get the stuff out and it gets on any food.

The food safe method is the Pipe Cleaner plumbers use to clean copper pipe. Probably cheaper than the other stuff anyway.

If you maintain your smoker before it gets bad, my 6 year old 008 doesn't have any of these problems. Just don't let it get so bad.

Smokin'

Point very well taken Smokin. Had an unfortunate experience with some not so well cured Mesquite chunks and a lot of creosote to boot.

I noticed when using the Soot Out that some residue remained even after 2 hose rinses. The vinegar appeared to remove everything.

Remninded me of the days back in England when my father would regularly paint our wood fences with a mix of creosote and old engine oil. It was quite the preservative and pungent too

Do you happen to remember the name of the Copper pipe cleaner?

It's a tool. I'll see if I can find a picture. It's just a handle with a wire brush that you can put down the hole and "scrub" it clean. 5 or 6 bucks probably.

Looks like this:




Another version:


For the stubborn stuff, just straight lemon juice works wonders and a scraper.