Hi i need advice on charcoal basket

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gazzmartin

Newbie
Original poster
Feb 14, 2016
2
10
Hi im from bexley in kent uk
Ive made a uds and now need a charcoal basket could i use a supermarket basket for this ?
 
Welcome to the forum.  Try the search feature at the top right of the page.  Search for charcoal basket and you should see some helpful info.

Mike
 
Hi Gazz, Welcome to our "Family" and "Addiction"

Plenty of good folk on here, ask any questions you can think of, and you will get your answers.

Please take time to look at the UK Smokers Forum,

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/3161/uk-smokers

And introduce your self on the UK Roll Call

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/229926/roll-call

We have had our 2nd UK Smokes weekend, where members attend and cooked over the weekend, dates and plans are already in place for 2016. Please use the link below to view the website.

http://www.uk-smf.co.uk

Shopping basket could work as long as its not galvanized, I think they are chrome plated, like most BBQ racks. Try doing a burn in, with it before you put it into the UDS.
Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]
 
Hi Gazz - Welcome to the forum. I am from Kent and so probably not that far from you. Where are you?

 
There are a growing number of fellow UK BBQ/smoking enthusiasts on the forum and we also have the benefit of the vast experience of our friends from the USA and elsewhere. The forum is all about sharing knowledge and experiences and although there is a lot of discussion about BBQ hot smoking here there are also a lot of other passions - like cold smoking and sous vide. You will also get a lot of good advice on food safety here. The forum follows the USDA guidelines, however they are very similar in most respects to the UK.
 

You could use a supermarket basket but as Steve suggested give it a good burn-off before you start to cook with it.

The question about whether or not to use a galvanized basket is not so clear cut. There are many posts on various forums warning about the "dangers" of using galvanized components in a smoker, however when pushing for people to provide supporting evidence of these "dangers" there appears to be no credible evidence to back it up. Definitely avoid using galvanized components that come into direct contact with the food - but there appears to be little or no evidence that it could cause a problem if used in the fire basket.

 
Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions. The only dumb questions are the ones that don't get asked.

Wade
 
texas.gif
  Good morning welcome to the forum, from a nice sunny and warm day here in East Texas, and the best site on the web. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything.

Gary
 
Hello and Welcome!

I use a CharGriller Duo, and looked at all of the ideas for Charcoal Baskets I could find on here, and nothing seemed worth the work, nor do I have the skills/ equipment to cut and weld metal.

I actually just purchased a wire basket that I found in the bathroom section of my hardware store, just made sure it was uncoated stainless, and not galvanized.

I basically just walked through my local Home Depot putting things in my cart I thought might work, until I found the perfect thing and size.

My guess is that it will probably warp or melt through in time, but I have used it for a half a dozen cooks so far and it still looks as good as new (besides being blackened), and has held its shape perfectly.

This is almost exactly like what I got:

 
You ask about using galvanized metal.  The zinc galvanizing begins to vaporize more or less around 800 F.  The zinc vapors are rather toxic.  A smoker does not remotely reach 800 F inside anyway, although the charcoal basket would.  Any deposited grease and carbon seal the surface anyway.  

I used some galvanized lawn edging to cut some tuning plates for my offset smoker (not an electric like yours).  A study of the metallurgy led to soaking the pieces in muriatic acid from the local hardware store for about $8 a quart.  Like magic, the galvanizing dissolved completely in 30 seconds leaving shiny clean steel.  The galvanizing was clearly gone as the steel started rusting in 5 minutes.  

I rubbed vegetable oil on the steel and stopped the rusting instantly.  I have used these inside the smoker for 3 years so far and had absolutely no rusting.  



Be sure to use the acid outdoors as the fumes that come off can burn (they are hydrogen) and the mist is irritating to the lungs.  

I think the galvanized basket would work fine.  A little oil that polymerizes would protect it real well.  Actually, the steel might be better than the metal under the chrome plating.  

Good luck.  
 
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