Grate cleaning pan

[siletzspey]

Maybe you all know about this...

After banging up a bath tub and kitchen sink trying to clean some WSM 22.5 grates, I spent ~$14 on a thick plastic "water heater drain pan", and a plug for the drain outlet.

Though the 24" ID (inner diameter) pan would be big enough, I got the 26" ID  28" OD pan (pictured) so I'd have a little more water during the cleaning process.

The first cleaning effort in the pan will be tomorrow morning. Earlier it occurred to me to use the pan as a catch basin while rubbing down some pork butts and wings. For once, I didn't have spice dusted all over the counter top and floor.

Here's the obligatory meat picture, my very first shredded pork butt.

--SiletzSpey

 

[SmokinAl]

Great idea on the drain pan! I'm going to pick one up today!

Your PP looks delicious! Nice job!

 

[roller]

Great idea and your PP looks great.

 

[ellymae]

Great idea!

 

[siletzspey]

Follow-up...

The drain outlet with removable plug turned out to be very useful. With plug in, I soaked the grates in soap (Tide), then pulled to drain most of the water into the sink. I had to tilt the pan to drain all the water. It was great being able to rub-n-scrub on a flat surface.

All in all, the easiest cleanup to date.

--SiletzSpey

 

[scarbelly]

It looks like a great idea - my grates are square - so I need to check and see if they will fit - if so this is going to be a great solution 

 

[siletzspey]

It looks like a great idea - my grates are square - so I need to check and see if they will fit - if so this is going to be a great solution 

The pans come in various diameters, including much bigger than my 26ID/28OD.

Forgot to mention. Also measure your counter-top depth. I think 25" deep is a standard counter-top depth, so at 26ID/28OD, my pan hung over the edge. My hand-sprayer hose was also a little short to reach over the pan, but for rinse-down it was easy to move the pan over the sinks.

--SiletzSpey

 

[scarbelly]

Thanks - gonna check this out next time I am at HDpot

 

[johnnie walker]

That's a great idea, SiletzSpey. The PP looks yummy. 

I take it you're a steelhead fisherman from the name and avatar?

 

[smokinhusker]

Great idea and the PP looks yummy!

 

[boardpuller]

Thanks for the fantastic idea should make clean up much faster and EZer.

 

[coffee_junkie]

I toss my grates on my weber gasser on high and hit with a wire brush when it gets to smokin good, it keeps the mess outside and doesn't get the dish towels, sponges, walls counter black.

 

[siletzspey]

I take it you're a steelhead fisherman from the name and avatar?

You nailed it. The Siletz River on the Oregon Coast is my favorite, and when I chase steelhead (sea-run rainbow trout) and salmon, I often do so with flies and rods that trace their style to the River Spey in NE Scotland circa the 1800s.

For what its worth, flies of old were often tied with materials from localized food critters like chickens and pigs (pig hair). The now-extinct breed of chickens that existed along the River Spey had especially long and webby feathers, and contributed greatly to the sweeping flowing look of a "spey fly". The Siletz Spey Fly is my own concoction, and has landed plenty of 24 - 34" steelhead.

--SiletzSpey

 

[DanMcG]

Great idea, thanks for sharing it!

 

[johnnie walker]

Nice! That's a neat fly.

 

[ipyrek]

Is it OK to use soap (Tide) on the grates, or is it better to use something more natural even though it may not get them spotless. How clean is clean enough ?

 

[missed-em]

My MES racks fit in our dishwasher, but this is a great idea for the Weber grill and (hopefuly) soon to be UDS.  Just so happens I'm going to Hme Depot today!

 

[siletzspey]

Is it OK to use soap (Tide) on the grates, or is it better to use something more natural even though it may not get them spotless. How clean is clean enough ?

Elsewhere I saw someone recommend Tide for grease cutting, but I limited my use to an hour-long pre-soak in hot water, then switched to Dawn for the scrub down. I don't know if Tide added much, but the crud practically slipped off when touched.

--SiletzSpey

 

[sprky]

Just a thought here. You could also put the cleaning pan over a grill and heat the water thereby giving it an extra boost. just a thought

 

[missed-em]

Lowes only had in aluminum. Didn't make it to HD.