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Raising the fire grate

Stanley
Stanley Posts: 623
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Not sure who posted recently about using bolts as legs to raise the fire grate for better draft circulation. Today as I cleaned out my MBGE, I contemplated that idea. Seems like the legs would make raking with the ash tool a bit more complicated, no? Anyway, I'm thinking about an alternate solution that I'd like to bounce here. I'm thinking of making something like S hooks out of stainless wire to hang the fire grate from the firebox holes. Any thoughts?

Comments

  • If you want better draft, why not get a piece of expanded stainless steel cut? I think a 8" circle will work on the large.
    The Naked Whiz
  • S hooks might create pressure points on the fire ring.Just a thought.

    Jimmy
    Come visit NOLA
  • Pyro
    Pyro Posts: 101
    It looks like a good idea. Have you tried it yet? What results? From what I have seen in my own cooking and read on this board, clogged grates resulting in poor airflow is one of the most common reasons for ruined cooks.
  • Ar-Cee
    Ar-Cee Posts: 105
    I have been using BBQ Gurus turbo grate for about 6 months. I have had no fire based problems since. Really makes the low temp fires stable, and will run up to TREX temps with ease. It does tend to encourage lazy fire practices. I just dump, map, and go. Fits with spider and AR. Ordered it when I ordered my Guru. For me it works as advertised, (which today, I consider to be a good thing). Just my 2 cents. rc
  • Pyro
    Pyro Posts: 101
    RC,

    Thanks for the input. The turbo grate makes very good sense, I was trying to accomplish the same thing by raising the grate, increasing air-flow area from the existing less than 20% to 80% and later to an effective area of well over 100% through stacking layers. The turbo grate does all this and more. My first attempt was using the charcoal grill from the Weber ‘Little Joe’. It was a clear improvement over the standard BGE grill, but certainly nowhere near what was needed. Your directing me to the turbo grate saved me the time and money needed to construct the next generation.

    The 'dump, light and relax' needs to be the standard on all ceramic grills. It already is on every other type of grill. The idea of dumping pieces of charcoal onto a mat, stacking them into the grill in a certain order (big pieces on the bottom, mid size pieces next and then finally the little pieces carefully placed is as out of date as 'double clutching' in a modern luxury sedan. While double clutching demonstrates the individual driver's expertise, ninety-nine percent of the population prefers an automatic transmission, and putting charcoal onto the grate in a quick dump.

    Wayne