How To Stabilize Your Iron Grate and Maximize Its Oxygen Flow (for under 20 bucks)

Mac in NC

I recently pondered upon the idea of finding a way to keep my grate in one place when I'm stirring my lump for an upcoming cook. It seemed that every time I stirred the lump, somehow or another I would end up tipping the grate just far enough for the charcoal to fall to the lower portion of the Egg which resulted in a string of obscenities from me and a delay in the cooking process while I fished out the grate. Well, not anymore.[p]Now for starters, I have never claimed to be an engineer nor will I ever claim to be. Therefore, I'm sure there is another solution to the problem I've corrected but I've never read about it on the forum. (Heck, I'm just surprised I came up with an idea that worked). If this method has already been discussed, then may all kudos go to the original poster. I am by no means attempting to plagarize another's idea. I just have not seen any postings similiar to this one in my year on the forum.[p]Now with that said and done, here is what I did. I began by measuring the diameter of the grate containment area (mine is a med.) and found it to be 5 3/4" across. The distance from the bottom of the Egg to the ledge on which the grate sits was 3 1/2".[p]I traveled to my local hardware store and picked up (4) 3 1/2" long hex bolts with a 1/2" head as well as (4) washers. (price-$3.00) I visited a local welder (Don Proctor of Don's Welding, Raleigh) for my welding needs. Don put the hex bolt through the top of the grate hole and slid a washer up from the bottom and spot welded the bolt to the washer. He indicated that iron is too soft a metal to weld upon and therefore this was the prefered method. He even had a piece of scrap BBQ grating and cut me a spare grate for nothing! (price for weld-$10.00)[p]When I got home and installed the modified grate, it fit perfectly. However, I remembered that welding the four bolts through the grate holes would take away some of the oxygen flow. An idea came to mind and I was back to the hardware store. I figured if I could raise the grate up just high enough to bring the grate off the firebox, I would be able to create an additional area for oxygen to flow around the lump allowing the lump on the edges of the ring to light at the same time as those in the middle. This would also assist an allowing accumulated ash and smaller chunks of charcoal to fall easily down to the lower level. I was able to accomplish this with the purchase of (4) 1/2" couplings. (price-$3.00). The couplings are adjustable so they can be raised or lowered to your liking. I installed mine on the new grate legs which in turn, raised the grate approximately 1/2" above the fire grate. When I fired up the Egg this evening, ALL the lump was burning within 10-15 minutes! Needless to say, I was quite impressed with the results and thought I would pass the info. along. I would assume I spent 4 bucks or so driving around today so that's where I came up with a $20.00 project. [p]Sorry that I don't have a picture of the end result but I don't have a digital camera. Maybe TNW could help me post one(?) In the meantime, feel free to drop me a note if you have any questions. Love to help you anyway I can. Mac

WessB

Mac in NC ,
Pay close attention to the expansion from heat to the grate and bolts to insure they are not flexing outward causing you to break fireboxes...I was breaking fireboxes on a regular basis when I had bolts in my grate...Can not prove thats what caused it, but since removing the bolts I have only broken 1 firebox...and after the first 6 months of egg ownership I have not dumped a grate, but we all did it in the begining...just my$.02¢[p]Wess

LasVegasMac

Mac in NC,[p]I'm a bit confused on this. I have two large BGE's - both came with the ceramic grates. I ordered two iron replacements - both now in use.[p]When I do the stir up to get ready for a new cook, I use the handle for my Dutch Oven lids - and I give it a good 4 or 5 spins to get rid of the small stuff, ash, etc.[p]Not once has the grate tipped to let the lump fall through.[p]Are you using the same grate (BGE)? I remember reading posts about buying iron grates from Lodge. Some what cheaper but the edges were not beveled so it did not "seat" that well. Is this what you are talking about?[p]Or is it something about the medium BGE?[p]LVM

Steve-O

Mac,
I am SO glad to hear that someone else has that same problem. It pisses me off to no end when I tip up the grate while stirring the ash. Of course, it always happens when I'm in a bit of a hurry, or when the weather is especially bad (too hot, too cold, rain/snow, etc). Then all the old lump has to be removed, the bottom of the egg cleaned out, etc, etc. I found that this occurred most often when I still had my ceramic charcoal grate in my large. Now that I have a cast iron grate, it happens less frequently, but I do still catch the grate once in awhile - like Monday night! Your solution sounds interesting. I think I will try stainless lag bolts, washers and nuts so that I can remove them if I feel a need to do so. Thanks for the tip.

Dave's Not Here

Mac in NC ,
Sounds like a good solution to one of my favorite gripes, but don't the new "legs" get in the way when cleaning out ash?

The Naked Whiz

Mac in NC ,
Email me the photo and I'll put it where you can include it in your post.[p]Personally, I put three bolts for legs on a Lodge iron trivet. It worked pretty good, but the whole thing warped and eventually I just replaced the whole thing with a piece of expanded stainless steel. Next time you are over, I'll show you the old one.[p]TNW

Mac in NC

Dave's Not Here, I positioned the legs so it does not cover the gap in the fire box. There's a lot of talk of warping (response posts) but I haven't seen it yet. Then again, I've only built two test fires. Time will tell. Mac

Mac in NC

LasVegasMac, [p] No, I too have a replacement from the BGE factory. The problem I seem to have is when I'm attempting to spread some of the hot coals to the outer edge in order to get those to burn as well. Every now and then, I'll catch on a chunk stuck in the grate and the whole thing tips over on end. The result is a half ended grate with a pile of hot coals being deposited down to the lower extremes of the Egg. There is no way to reestablish the grate without removing it all together. Then I have to scoop out all the lump, reposition the grate, dump the lump back in, replace my food grate, etc.[p]I think what I like about this is that I no longer have a problem getting the outer edges of the lump to burn even when I start my fire in the middle. I can only assume this is from the increase in air around the edges. Then again, I'm no scientist either. Just my hunch... Mac

Mac in NC

The Naked Whiz,[p]I don't have a digital camera so I think I'll just leave it out. Thanks anyway. I think everyone's got the jist of what I did. If not, they are welcome to ask me further instructions. [p]I took what you and Wess said about the posts expanding to heart. I think tomorrow I'll remove the couplings, slide the expanded grate the welder made for me over the posts and reattach the couplings. Maybe this will serve two purposes. (1) Keep the posts from expanding and (2) catch any medium sized lump that may fall through the now open ledge. Mac[p]P.S. Jimmy says hi. Picked up two bags of lump this weekend from him. He says the next time he sees you, he is going to give you 30 min. to sell him on the egg. I warmed him up for your spill though. I asked him if he could slow smoke pork on his grills and after removing it, sear a steak to celebrate. He just had to smile.

The Naked Whiz

Mac in NC ,
Re: 30 minutes to sell him on the Egg? SHEEEEEEYIT. I've been selling him on it ever since I met him. Boy's got a thick skull or no money. Oh yeah, I remember now. He was replacing 32 windows in his house and for some reason put the weather-integrity of his living quarters above getting another grill/smoker. You gotta wonder, eh? Oh well, I'll take my best shot. I convinced Steve up in Northridge in about an hour, but I had ribs cooking. Maybe I need to get Jimmy over for some arm-twisting. Or maybe some nose-twisting.[p]By the way, I know it is illegal to discharge a firearm in the city limits, but what if you have a snake in your back yard, the dog is going nuts, two birds are squawking and divebombing it, and you have four, no five, screaming females (including a set of 5 year old twins crying) imploring you to get rid of it? I ended up using the stick and a loop of string tool (maybe I could sell them on my web page?) to lasso the snake and then set him free on the other side of the creek. I think a gun would have been easier....[p]TNW

Mac in NC

The Naked Whiz, Snake in the yard with five screaming females around? Who cares about the city ordinance!! Blast him! And if you feel uncomfortable about doing it, feel free to call me. Can't stand the slimy b*st*rds.[p]I think you can sell Jimmy on the Egg. I mentioned how well that Maple Leaf and the Egg went sooo well together. (I caught a small flicker in his eyes when I brought it up) Give 'em Hell Whiz... Mac