Grate cleaning Tricks

I knock off the big chunks and throw mine in the dishwasher. When they come out they arent perfect but everything wipes off much easier.

I put some simple green in water, let them sit overnight then run them through the dishwasher.

^^^^^^^ Same as Smokin, but with Dawn dishwashing liquid...heavy.

Soaking in hot, soapy water for 20-30 minutes has always worked for me. Gunk then comes off pretty easy with a scotchbrite pad.

Simole green + water in a large rectangular plastic container for a few hours/overnight, then the gunk wipes right off.

I soak mine overnight in a disposable mortar mixing tub with a generous squirt of Dawn then throw them in the dishwasher. Now I need to find something big enough to hold the grates for my 260

Thanks for the good comments all. I think I'll get a big tub - my dish sinks aren't large enough to completely submerge my grates. I'll get a big tub and try the simple green to soak overnite.

Chef-Boy-Arnie, good luck on finding a big enough tub for your SM260 grates !

I soak mine with a dishwasher powder,(a prior tip from this forum) wipes right off in the am..

Lessons from a once-newbie. When I got my 008 back in 2004, I was pretty anal on getting the grates clean. Bought the tubs, used greased lightning or similar and with a little scrubbing, I got them squeaky clean.

But it didn't take long to wear all the plating off the grills. (Not a big problem). I eventually moved up to an 055 and also ordered the stainless racks since I didn't want to have the same problem. But I changed my mind set on cleaning and haven't used the stainless racks yet.

Now I stick the racks in the dishwasher about every third smoke, and very lightly scrub them when they come out. All of the food and most of the black comes off without heavy scrubbing.

No more tubs or chemicals.....

^^^^^^^ I like your system, but my wife won't let me put the grates into "her" dishwasher without some pre cleaning. The overnight bath in Dawn with a light knocking off of the heavy stuff works for her. They come out of the dishwasher very clean, but not like new.

I've been thinking about the stainless steel racks, but the old ones are done once the stainless arrive.

Is this were I get yelled at for admitting that I use spray Pam on my grates so most of the stuff comes off really easy....

How can anyone yell at you for being smarter than us.

liddown, I thought everyone did

I use Pam in my ice cube trays.

Do you see an oily substance floating on top of your drinks?

I place my grate in my gas grill and crank up the heat. I don't use the gas grill very often for grilling since my SM025 arrived. Then I hit them with the wire brush and wipe with veg. oil.

I use this brush shortly after smoking while the grates are still warm and the residue hasn't hardened. I have a 008 and an 009 and do the heavy cleaning before I remove the grates from the smoker. It will knock off most of the hardened stuff if I get lazy and forget.

http://www.amazon.com/GrillPro...beque+cleaning+brush

You can also find this brush at Lowes.

Chef-Boy . . .
I picked a mid size plastic mortar mixing tub at Lowe's store for 5 bucks - they have a larger versin for 30 bucks that looked like it could accomodate the 260 sized grates. Not sure where you would store the tub though...heh.

quote:

Originally posted by Chef-Boy-Arnie:
I soak mine overnight in a disposable mortar mixing tub with a generous squirt of Dawn then throw them in the dishwasher. Now I need to find something big enough to hold the grates for my 260

Thanks astronorick. I'll be by Lowe's tomorrow night so I'll stop in and pick one up
Storage is the least of my worries, at least for now

Hey Pags sorry I missed your question. By the third or fourth drink I don't notice much.

I purchased a black square plastic rabbit cage dropping pan at Tracktor Supply. It will hold 3 racks from an FEC120. Add water and concentrated degreaser and let it soak overnight or at least 4 hours. Comes off great!