Minimax/Large Fire Grate.

Peytonwat

I have a minimax and large. I was shopping at my local Ace hardware and came across an OEM BGE fire grate labeled as fitting the minimax and large. Didn't buy but decided to look at the grates for my two eggs. Noticed the holes in the minimax grate was significantly smaller than the one in my large. Could this be a cause of time to get to temp problems for minimax owners? Does anyone have any info on why there are two different sizes? Any advise would be appreciated. 

SGH

Peytonwat said:

 Could this be a cause of time to get to temp problems for minimax owners?

Absolutely. The less air, the longer it takes to get up to temp. This is true on any grill, smoker or kamado. 

 Does anyone have any info on why there are two different sizes?

I have no idea as to why BGE did not make them the same. Maybe their thoughts were that the smaller minamax wouldn't require the increased air flow of the larger holes. 

Any advise would be appreciated. 

In my opinion, change from the factory cast iron grates to SS High Q grates. They will give you all the air flow that you are going to need. I have the High Q grates in my mini, large and kamado joe jr. They are a huge improvement over the factory cast iron grates. 

cookingdude555

 Agree with @SGH. I put a kick ash basket for the mini max in my small egg. It completely changed the performance of my small due to the increased air flow, and raising the fire grate from low in the small to up where it is at in the mini max. The small and mini max have the same air intake door as the mini, so air flow is affected more by other variables than the bigger eggs. 

SGH

@Peytonwat
Here is another quagmire to ponder. The holes in the mini fire grate are larger than the holes in the large fire grate. Here is a shot of my factory mini fire grate and my factory large fire grate. You can plainly see that the holes in the mini fire grate are larger. 

To give you an idea of the difference, I wear a size 13 ring. I can stick my finger in the mini grate holes up to the first knuckle. My son wears a size 10 ring. He can stick his finger up to the first knuckle in the large. Pretty good difference.