Medium Kick Ash vs Fire Grate?

MaskedMarvel

Greetings friends,

I was going to get a new fire grate for my medium, like I have for my larges, but am considering going with the Kick Ash bucket instead. 

Worth the 4x price difference?

thanks
8-D

stlcharcoal

Absolutely......get the kick ash can too.  Makes for a super easy clean out.

Or just get a piece of expanded stainless steel.  That's what we used to produce.  Whatever the case, don't spend money on that cast iron restrictor plate.

4TheGrillOfIt

It’s going to end up being a lot more than 4x the price because you will most certainly end up getting one for your large as well as a kick ash can.  It is awesome.

eggheadminer

Kick ash can is a gamechanger. The clean up is a breeze, but also being able to shake the ash out before you're next cook. 

Corv

I have the Kick Ash basket in my medium and found that I needed the grate, too. My only real complaint is that the basket does somewhat limit how much charcoal I can use. But overall, it's worth it.

stlcharcoal

Corv said:

I have the Kick Ash basket in my medium and found that I needed the grate, too. My only real complaint is that the basket does somewhat limit how much charcoal I can use. But overall, it's worth it.

I don't understand how it would limit the amount of charcoal.  Why are you using the grate as well?

WeberWho

stlcharcoal said:

Corv said:

I have the Kick Ash basket in my medium and found that I needed the grate, too. My only real complaint is that the basket does somewhat limit how much charcoal I can use. But overall, it's worth it.

I don't understand how it would limit the amount of charcoal.  Why are you using the grate as well?

I use mine with the grate but I don't use my DFMT. Without the fire grate temps moved all around with the lower vent. I didn't feel like relearning vent settings. So the grate stays in with mine. 

RRP

Another Happy Kick Ash basket user here on my Large and I don’t use a grate under it. Now with that said mine is one of the old ones with bunch-o rust, but still kicking the ash! When it finally falls apart I certainly will replace it with the new style plus add the can as well.

Corv

It burned poorly without the grate so I put the grate back. And the KAB is slightly smaller than the BGE volume for the charcoal, so I simply don't seem to get as much in there.

stlcharcoal

Corv said:

It burned poorly without the grate so I put the grate back. And the KAB is slightly smaller than the BGE volume for the charcoal, so I simply don't seem to get as much in there.

I'm still confused how it would burn poor......the grate restricts the airflow.  The KAB lets 3-4x more airflow through, but you limit that using the draft door.  You're kind of losing out on that benefit by running the grate.

As far as the lost volume, I just if you're setting it on top of the firegrate, you could lose a slight amount, I can still run 18-20 hrs at 225F, so it's not that much.  The same could be said about charcoal--the bigger the chunks, the more the air gaps, the less the amount in the firebox. 

MaskedMarvel

Medium - seems they don’t make a bucket for the basket?

stlcharcoal

They do......I've sold plenty of them.

Fitfarms

I Was in same situation and got the KAB well worth it

Slkegger

About the egg burning better with the grate in. It depends on how much you use and clean your egg. I cook almost every day on the egg, lots hot n fast. Doesn't burn a lot of charcoal for those so I maybe clean the bottom on weekends only. If I just use the Kab lots of smaller pieces fall to the bottom of egg and after a couple of uses there is a substantial coal bed below  the Kab using the incoming air before  it even gets to Kab.  Fire n heat way too low in the egg wasting incoming air. If I leave the grate in the fire stays on top and after a couple uses the small charcoal bits hold the cab off the grate a bit giving even better airflow. 

As to the ash can, great idea and fast cleaning.
WARPED ALL TO #!?#%$@ ON THE FIRST USE AND BLOCKS HALF THE AIR HOLE IN THE XL.

stlcharcoal

Slkegger said:

About the egg burning better with the grate in. It depends on how much you use and clean your egg. I cook almost every day on the egg, lots hot n fast. Doesn't burn a lot of charcoal for those so I maybe clean the bottom on weekends only. If I just use the Kab lots of smaller pieces fall to the bottom of egg and after a couple of uses there is a substantial coal bed below  the Kab using the incoming air before  it even gets to Kab.  Fire n heat way too low in the egg wasting incoming air. If I leave the grate in the fire stays on top and after a couple uses the small charcoal bits hold the cab off the grate a bit giving even better airflow. 

As to the ash can, great idea and fast cleaning.
WARPED ALL TO #!?#%$@ ON THE FIRST USE AND BLOCKS HALF THE AIR HOLE IN THE XL.

It doesn't make any difference.....BTUs are BTUs.  Those fines in the bottom are not wasted.  They burn, heat goes up, and that's it.  If they are doing what you suggest, you would see a much higher temperature.  So you lower the O2 that can get in via the draft door and/or DMFT, and that prevents further lump from igniting.

It doesn't matter what you have in the BGE are far as hardware, size of charcoal pieces, how you stack it, amount of charcoal,etc......the law of conservation of energy stands.  A set temp is using the same amount of BTUs.  Now that varies a little bit based off the outside temp, wind, the internal temp of the meat, but once things are stabilized, it's pretty constant.

bella21

Sorry, have I been doing it wrong forever? I use my grate and also the kick ash basket? 

Slkegger

stlcharcoal said:

Slkegger said:

About the egg burning better with the grate in. It depends on how much you use and clean your egg. I cook almost every day on the egg, lots hot n fast. Doesn't burn a lot of charcoal for those so I maybe clean the bottom on weekends only. If I just use the Kab lots of smaller pieces fall to the bottom of egg and after a couple of uses there is a substantial coal bed below  the Kab using the incoming air before  it even gets to Kab.  Fire n heat way too low in the egg wasting incoming air. If I leave the grate in the fire stays on top and after a couple uses the small charcoal bits hold the cab off the grate a bit giving even better airflow. 

As to the ash can, great idea and fast cleaning.
WARPED ALL TO #!?#%$@ ON THE FIRST USE AND BLOCKS HALF THE AIR HOLE IN THE XL.

It doesn't make any difference.....BTUs are BTUs.  Those fines in the bottom are not wasted.  They burn, heat goes up, and that's it.  If they are doing what you suggest, you would see a much higher temperature.  So you lower the O2 that can get in via the draft door and/or DMFT, and that prevents further lump from igniting.

It doesn't matter what you have in the BGE are far as hardware, size of charcoal pieces, how you stack it, amount of charcoal,etc......the law of conservation of energy stands.  A set temp is using the same amount of BTUs.  Now that varies a little bit based off the outside temp, wind, the internal temp of the meat, but once things are stabilized, it's pretty constant.

Yes BTU's are BTU's but the radiant heat would probably be lost. 
I have also cooked enough and tried enough settings to know there is a difference when indirect between top vent mostly closed with bottom  more open and bottom almost closed and top full open at 400f+. Bottom almost closed and top wide open at 400f+ will cook the bottom of your food faster than top, and if the top is mostly closed with bottom open you can cook high in the dome and the top of food will cook before the bottom is cooked. This is less noticeable at lower temps but still affects a turbo brisket, and like you said negligible when stabilized but that can take up to 2hrs some times, an easy tell is if the dome temp drops too much when the meat goes on cuz the thermo was reading radiant heat from the platesetter  not the actual dome temp.