Mini Maxed (Home Made Multi Level Grilling)

bigguy136

I've had my mini for over a week and I figure it's time to be creative. Here are a few options of cooking set-ups. I'll post each set-up as a reply so I can get the photos to match.

YukonRon

Brilliant!!!!!!!

bigguy136

I added 3 stainless fasteners with washers to the BGE grate. With this, I can add another inch between the plate setter or rotate the grate and the 3 fasteners drop between the plate setter and fire ring for original cooking height. The last image is with a cheap Ø13.5 grate as the lower grate.

SkinnyV

Nice work.

EggPerfection

Impressive.  Most impressive.

bigguy136

Thanks
I had about $18 into the 2nd grate and all hardware. About the cheapest upgrade I've ever done when it comes to BGE accessories.

NPHuskerFL

Nice!

minniemoh

Very nice versatility with that grid setup. Nice job.

smokesniffer

Very slick. Nicely done.

pescadorzih

Nice job! Thanks for the ideas.

bweekes

Looks great! Nice work. Any grate stability issues with the last setup (i.e., when you're cleaning the grate or moving food around on it)? 

bigguy136

I'm not a big fan of BGE's plate setter so I figure I better make something of my own. I'll do some welding to it but I want to play with it first before making the shape permanent.

Here is what I've made so far.

pescadorzih

Will the egg close with that setup? I was trying some configurations with raising the grate and I couldn't get that high.

bigguy136

@pescadorzih I used the factory grate in the raised position because it was Ø13.0 vs the webber replacement grate of Ø13.25. Using the smaller of the two allowed me to lift the grid higher.

bigguy136

And another tweak. I don't like those cheap a** rubber booties they call feet so I ran to my local Ace and I found some knobs that will work for the weekend and I'll order real rubber feet for next week. Here is what I added for now.

bigguy136

I ordered some new feet. These are a hard rubber, UV, gas and oil resistant. I also ordered some nice stainless knurled thumb screws.

sancho65

@bigguy136  would you mind sharing where you ordered the feet and thumbscrews from? Nice work on the extra grids and rubber feet!!

bigguy136

sancho65 said:

@bigguy136  would you mind sharing where you ordered the feet and thumbscrews from? Nice work on the extra grids and rubber feet!!

Here is the link to the feet

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-bumpers/=xvci02

And here are the screws

http://www.mcmaster.com/#thumb-screws/=xvcimp

I went with a 10-32 thread. The screw was 3/8" long. Here are the images from the page 

sancho65

@bigguy136 Thanks for the info!! I will be ordering them in the morning!  Once again your work looks spectacular!

bigguy136

sancho65 said:

@bigguy136 Thanks for the info!! I will be ordering them in the morning!  Once again your work looks spectacular!

You are too kind

I would recommend removing your MM and drilling your holes from the bottom side. If you drill from the top side, your drill will likely be tipped some and causing your drill bit to walk some.

Post some photos when you are done.

I have to say doing all these home made mods are very cheap and effective. 

Rex317

I'm thinking about adding a Minimax to my mobile camping gear. The Large stays on the porch. Is the short height of the Minimax the reason you're elevating the grill as much as possible? Is the meat too close to the heat even with the plate setter?

bigguy136

Rex317 said:

I'm thinking about adding a Minimax to my mobile camping gear. The Large stays on the porch. Is the short height of the Minimax the reason you're elevating the grill as much as possible? Is the meat too close to the heat even with the plate setter?

I added the 2nd level mainly for getting the food away from the plate setter. I think it was less than an inch between the food and plate setter. The raised grid also gives me a 2nd level if I need to cook more food than a single grid can hold. Also doing this, I was able to remove the plate setter and add a foil ring that is cheap to replace foil on and it cools down much quicker than the plate setter. I also didn't like how the heat came around the openings in the plate setter. I felt like I had to give up about 2" around the outer edge as my food was getting charred there. I guess that was the main thing that got me to re-evaluate the whole set-up.

Rex317

bigguy136 said:

Rex317 said:

I'm thinking about adding a Minimax to my mobile camping gear. The Large stays on the porch. Is the short height of the Minimax the reason you're elevating the grill as much as possible? Is the meat too close to the heat even with the plate setter?

I added the 2nd level mainly for getting the food away from the plate setter. I think it was less than an inch between the food and plate setter. The raised grid also gives me a 2nd level if I need to cook more food than a single grid can hold. Also doing this, I was able to remove the plate setter and add a foil ring that is cheap to replace foil on and it cools down much quicker than the plate setter. I also didn't like how the heat came around the openings in the plate setter. I felt like I had to give up about 2" around the outer edge as my food was getting charred there. I guess that was the main thing that got me to re-evaluate the whole set-up.

Makes perfect sense. Thanks for the clarification. Can a Mimimax do a good job with Lo&Slo smoking? What's the longest smoke I can expect to get out of a full load of lump in the Minimax?

bigguy136

So far my MM has been a quick light and cook. I would love to see how long it can go but I just haven't had anything to try yet. I do recall others saying 6 hours.

DutchMiniMax

Here is what i made for the MM, the 2nd grid is from a BGE Mini