Are the drip pan/deflector pans necessary?

[floridasmoke1]

I have an older GMG Davy Crockett.

Has anyone removed the two drip/slide pans underneath the grates and above the fire box shield?

I’m thinking about taking those out and simply placing a large baking pan underneath.

Would not having those two slide trays there cause any issues with heat? They are made with holes in them to slide and I guess adjust heat control.

 

[SmokinAl]

BUMP

 

[pineywoods]

I honestly don't know the answer but my thought is would the manufacturer put them in if they weren't needed? Seems to me they'd save the money.
If they have holes in them they may function as baffle plates.
As I said I don't know the answer

 

[Nefarious]

I think civilsmoker has a GMG, not sure if it is the Davy Crockett.

 

[bill1]

Masterbuilt owner here so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
I think all pellet cooker vendors shoot for 4 things:

1. uniform temperature across the grill surface. People complain when the burgers cook at different speeds. I have low expectations here and consider moving meat around just part of cooking. YMMV

2. Ability to reach high temperatures (basically sear a steak) which basically conflicts with #1 above. Again not a big deal for me...I either use the pellet crucible to start a basket of coals and charcoal grill in the pellet machine (for 1-2 steaks) or separately start up my Weber kettle (for >2)

3. Ability to slide grease/oil to the outside world (bucket or tray) where it's not a flare-up hazard. (Not a big scary thing to me...I cook far from wood structures and always have a hose handy even if I misjudged things.)

4. (This goes hand-in-hand with Number 3) Making clean-up easy for the owner, even after a large amount of messy chicken, etc. (I figure I've never had a clean grill before, why start now?)

Since none of these are that important to me, and I love to tinker, I seldom use any of the stuff that comes with pellet machines and play around instead with cast iron pans on 3/8 rebar stands, etc etc. You're proposing a baking pan, which isn't unlike my CI pan (which I put pellets in because I want more smoke flavor) but I think you'll want whatever pan you have over the crucible to have a very think bottom (like CI) to help spread the heat out. Also I'd avoid aluminum directly over the crucible...it gets incredibly hot!

And if the 4 "market-driven" reasons above are important to you, I wouldn't recommend tinkering around at all like I do.

You didn't ask but I've also added a water pan with heater element (because I like to adjust cooking humidity) and I've also added manual control to the induction fan speed...which isn't without safety ramifications that I'm relying on staying alert about. If you think this all sounds crazy, well you've been warned.

 

[civilsmoker]

Yes I have the Davy Crocket and you want to leave the pans in place or it will mess up your air flow and radiant heat design of the pans. The open holes are for grilling mode. I have used it this way all the time.

What do you want to remove them?

 

[BigW.]

I have not tried it but would be hesitant to do so. As stated above, heat deflection and grease management are both important. They are a pain to clean, but I doubt a baking sheet would hold up for long.

 

[mneeley490]

I simply line them with heavy-duty foil. Makes cleanup easier.