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BBQ Grille Grates - Anyone made any?

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larry4406

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Here is the grille.

Also just looked at the rotisserie motor and its a 5/16" hex drive. The manual shows that the drive shank was stepped down compared to the main section and appears to have had a bearing on the far end with handle. The eyelets on the weights and skewers appear to be 1/2" ID.

Spit shaft sells for $192. I don't think so....
 

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steaks&anvils

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larry4406 said:
Here is the grille.

Also just looked at the rotisserie motor and its a 5/16" hex drive. The manual shows that the drive shank was stepped down compared to the main section and appears to have had a bearing on the far end with handle. The eyelets on the weights and skewers appear to be 1/2" ID.

Spit shaft sells for $192. I don't think so....
Click to expand...

FYI. I see rotisserie sets fairly often at the thrift stores. Cost $20 or less.

BUT it takes time to stop at a thrift and look every week.

Also, most times there are pieces either missing or scattered all over the shelves. Dumb *** people open the boxes to look to see what is in there and don't put them back.
 
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lilredex

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My neighbour built a brick outdoor oven and needed a grill for it. I built him one from rebar he had. He used it for many years until everyone lost interest in pool parties (the teens and preteens grew up). He tore down the oven and filled in the pool....now has the best garden around here.

When my BBQ cast iron grills fell apart I thought about making some until I found some on a scrapped BBQ. One was a grill and the other was a reversible plate. A perfect fit.

Everything was fine until I found these vids:



So, I started on my BBQ flat top. It is not finished yet, but will look like that pictured. It measures 14 X 24".

Just a heads up for any Canadians looking in here. If you see any rejected BBQ tanks dumped off at your filling station with that Tank Traders band, grab them or atleast the bands. They will save you the entry fee to that program and you'll never have to buy another tank. I have three tanks going now.

https://tanktraders.com/
 

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larry4406

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lilredex said:
My neighbour built a brick outdoor oven and needed a grill for it. I built him one from rebar he had. He used it for many years until everyone lost interest in pool parties (the teens and preteens grew up). He tore down the oven and filled in the pool....now has the best garden around here.

When my BBQ cast iron grills fell apart I thought about making some until I found some on a scrapped BBQ. One was a grill and the other was a reversible plate. A perfect fit.

Everything was fine until I found these vids:



So, I started on my BBQ flat top. It is not finished yet, but will look like that pictured. It measures 14 X 24".

Just a heads up for any Canadians looking in here. If you see any rejected BBQ tanks dumped off at your filling station with that Tank Traders band, grab them or atleast the bands. They will save you the entry fee to that program and you'll never have to buy another tank. I have three tanks going now.

https://tanktraders.com/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the 2nd link! Inspiring. Frankly, part of the reason for splitting the grill grate in half was to maybe permit a flat top.

Wished he showed the details on his electronic ignition. Ours died in less than a year. Grill is 15 years old +/-. Why can cars go 100k miles without changing spark plugs yet grills **** out so quick. Guessing real applied voltage and constant use.
 
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ducksface

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It makes for a nice, easy to clean grill.
Now if they fit in your dishwasher, I'll be two for two.
 
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72Camaro

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I’m surprised Wolf doesn’t have a lifetime warranty on the grates. I have a Blaze, they offer a lifetime warranty on every part that’s 304 stainless, which happens to be 99% of the grill.
 
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strength_and_power

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Firstram said:
Your welder will weld stainless just fine but, the welds will get rusty unless you step up to stainless wire and tri mix gas.
Click to expand...


Probably still would be susceptible to rust unless one was to replace the drive rollers and liner.
Use the grill often enough and rust will never be an issue.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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The Cobbler

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every chrome plated steel grill gets rusty and looks nastier as time goes on. plain steel will rust even faster. not sure I would have spent the energy on making a steel grill.
but you did a superb job, it looks great .
 
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larry4406

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72Camaro said:
I’m surprised Wolf doesn’t have a lifetime warranty on the grates. I have a Blaze, they offer a lifetime warranty on every part that’s 304 stainless, which happens to be 99% of the grill.
Click to expand...

The original grates were cast iron and were porcelain coated. The coating chips then the core rusted further pushing the coating off. I wound up media blasting the coating off and using the cast iron grates for quite a while but they too rusted out. Not sure what warranty they had but they are long gone.
 
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larry4406

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The Cobbler said:
every chrome plated steel grill gets rusty and looks nastier as time goes on. plain steel will rust even faster. not sure I would have spent the energy on making a steel grill.
but you did a superb job, it looks great .
Click to expand...

Thanks - I am hoping that between seasoning and use the robust design means they grates will last quite a while.

Embarrassed to say but it was an all day project. And beer was involved.
 
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larry4406

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lilredex said:
Here is the rest of the story.

https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-an-Outdoor-Griddle/#discuss

Those igniters are a fairly common item at most big box stores.

This is the one I have, yet to be installed.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00062AP3O/?tag=atomicindus04-20
Click to expand...

Thanks for the links. He still glosses over the igniter aspect.

My grille has 6 burners and uses (3) two port rotary igniters (i.e. two electrodes per rotary). Problem for another day.
 
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larry4406

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Four years later and the A36 carbon steel grill rods are failing. Material is spalling off the rods and we have stopped using it for grilling unless we use the cast iron insert from the Weber Performer laid on the grill grates.

I will need to redo this project, but will use stainless 304 rods instead this time. Will keep the 3/8" diameter rods, but will decrease the spacing (gap) from 5/8" to perhaps as tight as 3/8".

Will retain the bar stock ends (I have plenty still). I will just use my existing MIG setup to tack the end rods and deal with any minor rusting that might occur there from contamination by using the wrong carbon steel wire and gas.

Need to get a proper cutoff wheel to cut stainless rod without contamination.
 
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larry4406

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mike93lx said:
I believe its just a matter of cross contaminating, not specific consumables.
Click to expand...
Thank you, cross contamination makes more sense.

When I built the prior version, I did not have a band saw that I do now. Would contamination be a concern using a "used" saw band?

Anyone have recommendations for for an external chamfer tool? Last time I used my
belt sander. If I did this again, I assume I should just use a new belt to avoid contamination.

1732461472038.jpeg1732461515039.jpeg
 
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larry4406

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PCustoms said:
Why go through all the effort and then weld it with standard mig wire
Click to expand...
It's only 8 tack welds which are on the ends of the grates. They show no degradation, whereas the rods in the center are degrading from direct heat exposure. Only the end rods get tacked to the square bar to hold the grate assembly square and they are not in the flame area.

I would need to buy a spool of stainless wire and get a tri-shield gas bottle. If I skip this, then I can use what I have. If these were cheap, then it might be something to consider.

Edit - the end square bars will be A36 carbon steel while the rods will be 304.
 
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hobie18

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Dave Santana, Rcplanebuyer is the answer.
Best to contact through Craigslist. Avoid paying ebay or facebook etc.

These are the ones weber group uses. Tvwbb, etc.
 
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y'sguy

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I have a couple of Hasty-Bake cookers. One is the portable Stainless steel model I actually found on the side of the road. No kidding! It was missing the grate, however. I simply welded one out of some rebar I had and it works perfectly. Heavy, so it holds the heat well. I usually clean off my grills when cooled down and then spray them with non-stick to keep them from rusting.
 
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Beerhippie

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I know this is GJ, but some of y'all are really overthinking the stainless contamination problem.

This is a grate for a grill. It's not a surgical tool. It's not an airframe. It's not for use in a nuclear reactor. It's not even for use in a brewery.

Besides, if you don't want welds in SS to rust, regardless how careful you are about contamination, you have to acid-passivate the project. Same goes for SS that has been ground, cut, or heated to a significant degree.

Passivation is the removal of any exposed iron from the surface of the SS, leaving behind a molecules-thick layer of nickle and/or chrome. That's what makes it stainless.

I use nitric acid to passivate. It's fun stuff.

If you're heating your grill grate to where it starts to spall, the SS won't be stainless anymore, either.
 
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zak77

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I've bought the flavorizer bars from RCplanebuyer on ebay and have been happy with what i got.

Larry, since you're making these again i'll send you the specs for my weber and you can make up another set.:ROFLMAO:
 
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larry4406

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Beerhippie said:
I know this is GJ, but some of y'all are really overthinking the stainless contamination problem.

This is a grate for a grill. It's not a surgical tool. It's not an airframe. It's not for use in a nuclear reactor. It's not even for use in a brewery.

Besides, if you don't want welds in SS to rust, regardless how careful you are about contamination, you have to acid-passivate the project. Same goes for SS that has been ground, cut, or heated to a significant degree.

Passivation is the removal of any exposed iron from the surface of the SS, leaving behind a molecules-thick layer of nickle and/or chrome. That's what makes it stainless.

I use nitric acid to passivate. It's fun stuff.

If you're heating your grill grate to where it starts to spall, the SS won't be stainless anymore, either.
Click to expand...
Good insight.

The end stainless rods will be tacked to the A36 bars to hold all things square, so its a stainless to carbon steel weld regardless.

Spalling might not be the right term, but the rods are rusting and look like a skin is peeling off. I will try to get a picture. Normal gas grill usage so unsure how I could possibly be overheating the grates. Original grates were porcelain coated cast iron which are long gone.
 
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Beerhippie

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larry4406 said:
Good insight.

The end stainless rods will be tacked to the A36 bars to hold all things square, so its a stainless to carbon steel weld regardless.

Spalling might not be the right term, but the rods are rusting and look like a skin is peeling off. I will try to get a picture. Normal gas grill usage so unsure how I could possibly be overheating the grates. Original grates were porcelain coated cast iron which are long gone.
Click to expand...
I've made several things around here with salvaged brewery parts and equipment--kegs, fittings, etc. and often just weld them with regular E70-S6 mild wire in my MIG (I have wire and gas for stainless, but I don't have a Teflon or UHMW liner for my gun, so the stainless wire only feeds if the cable is perfectly straight). Most of these live outside and the rust isn't really anything but an esthetic problem.

Here's an example:

53510068679_0b66c0b599_b.jpg

It's now been in the weather for over seven years and has a few rust streaks, but nothing structural.

54165911067_bc56932f3b_b.jpg

As it looks today. The worst, really, is the spatter on the keg. I was too lazy to give the entire keg a high polish. All welds are mild steel, as are most parts that aren't beer keg.
 
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VR6ix

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larry4406 said:
I will need to redo this project, but will use stainless 304 rods instead this time. Will keep the 3/8" diameter rods, but will decrease the spacing (gap) from 5/8" to perhaps as tight as 3/8".
Click to expand...

Unless you need Ø3/8" for strength, which can be mitigated other ways, it might be wise to down-size on the solid 304 rods to account for the lack of thermal conductivity that is stainless steel. Even little baking sheets for a toaster oven, the SS takes so much longer than steel or aluminum to transfer heat and cook food! Gotta get those grill marks, bud 😎

I have searched McMaster-Carr high-and-low for the holy grail of seamless thin-wall hollow stainless tube with an ID that slip-fits a solid aluminum rod inside... does not exist :confused: but that would be the cats meow for a forever bbq grate that really performs 👍
 
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Beerhippie

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VR6ix said:
Unless you need Ø3/8" for strength, which can be mitigated other ways, it might be wise to down-size on the solid 304 rods to account for the lack of thermal conductivity that is stainless steel. Even little baking sheets for a toaster oven, the SS takes so much longer than steel or aluminum to transfer heat and cook food! Gotta get those grill marks, bud 😎

I have searched McMaster-Carr high-and-low for the holy grail of seamless thin-wall hollow stainless tube with an ID that slip-fits a solid aluminum rod inside... does not exist :confused: but that would be the cats meow for a forever bbq grate that really performs 👍
Click to expand...
Unless you can find SS tubing that fits a copper rod.
 
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mike93lx

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scooby074

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Some Stainless Grills I made back in 2022

Making BBQ parts

The BBQ was going to give me Tetanus. So in the spirit of GJ I decided I should make some new BBQ grills. Constructed of 3/8 roundbar , 304 SS. Mig welded. Ole rusty. Notice the flaking. I framed it in angle to use as a template. This was a mistake, see below. Raw Materials. 3/8 SS...
www.garagejournal.com www.garagejournal.com

capture-jpg.1722382
 
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larry4406

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VR6ix said:
Unless you need Ø3/8" for strength, which can be mitigated other ways, it might be wise to down-size on the solid 304 rods to account for the lack of thermal conductivity that is stainless steel. Even little baking sheets for a toaster oven, the SS takes so much longer than steel or aluminum to transfer heat and cook food! Gotta get those grill marks, bud 😎

I have searched McMaster-Carr high-and-low for the holy grail of seamless thin-wall hollow stainless tube with an ID that slip-fits a solid aluminum rod inside... does not exist :confused: but that would be the cats meow for a forever bbq grate that really performs 👍
Click to expand...
The grate is 21" deep and the design I am using only holds the ends of the rods in square stock, so the rods have a clear span near 21". I made the grate in two sections due to weight and there are only 8 welds (end rods to bars).

I don't have a stiffener rod at the middle like you see in some commercial grates. This would require more welding.

Seems to make pretty good grill marks as-is!

I have read somewhere about hollow stainless tube with aluminum inserts....
Grille Grate Fabrication Drawing.jpg1732701402538.jpeg
1732701685360.jpeg
 
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jblnut

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If you really want some heat resistant stainless find some 409 rods. It’s not quite as corrosion resistant as 316 but it’ll hold up to the high heat better. I doubt it’ll ever rot out in a grill.

Beerhippie said:
I know this is GJ, but some of y'all are really overthinking the stainless contamination problem.

This is a grate for a grill. It's not a surgical tool. It's not an airframe. It's not for use in a nuclear reactor. It's not even for use in a brewery.

Besides, if you don't want welds in SS to rust, regardless how careful you are about contamination, you have to acid-passivate the project. Same goes for SS that has been ground, cut, or heated to a significant degree.

Passivation is the removal of any exposed iron from the surface of the SS, leaving behind a molecules-thick layer of nickle and/or chrome. That's what makes it stainless.

I use nitric acid to passivate. It's fun stuff.

If you're heating your grill grate to where it starts to spall, the SS won't be stainless anymore, either.
Click to expand...
I used to weld 316SS pipe on a daily basis when I worked for a company that installed milking equipment on dairy farms. Since they’re producing food grade stuff (milk) we had to install it all with some very high standards. Welding SS with mild steel rods or cutting it with a disc/blade you’ve used for mild steel will be just fine for a BBQ grill.
 
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Muckin_Slusher

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I built this thing.

The rods are 1/4 inch round. Because of the round hoop that they're in they have no place at all to grow. Also because the outer hoop is heavier and doesn't get as hot as the grill rods they warp badly. It's not the end of the world, I just need to be careful with not getting them too hot when burning off the residue.P9011014.JPGP9011016.JPG
 
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