Keeping your Grill alive.

[grasshopperglock]

Every summer I see grills set to the side of the street. Bottom completely rusted out.


Ill offer up a trick to keep your grill going.


The science behind it. Wood ash, dissolved/leeched in water makes sodium hydroxide. Common name, Lye. So when the grill sits outside in the rain, morning dew, the ashes turn into acid and it eats the bottom out. Even clean grills have wood ashes in the seams.

To combat this, sprinkle baking soda on the bottom of the grill. Use the whole box if you want. The baking soda is a base. It'll neutralize the sodium hydroxide.


Keeping the grill going longer.




If anybody else has a tip about keeping the grill going. Post it up.

 

[mroper]

I had some paper type washers between my lid handle and grill. they disintegrated any suggestions on what to put there in its place. the handles are plastic i figure it was to protect them from melting

 

[BRD@66]

I wouldn't use a base to neutralize Lye... maybe use an acid, like vinegar, to neutralize to wood ash base.
Replace the missing "paper type washers with a "washer" of oak wood

 

[grasshopperglock]

I had some paper type washers between my lid handle and grill. they disintegrated any suggestions on what to put there in its place. the handles are plastic i figure it was to protect them from melting

It's not going to hurt the handle. The heat travels through the contact of the bolt no matter what. It's not isolated.

 

[ScorpionHunter]

This is great information. I just ordered a replacement bowl for my 9 y.o. Weber. It was cheaper than buying a new one. The current bowl has rusted through. I'm going to stay on top of keeping this one clean and see if it will last longer.

 

[A.Texas.Yankee]

I'm thinking of building my next charcoal grill. The Weber is my go to, but the price vs quality on grills nowadays is atrocious.

Sent from some where out there.

 

[ScorpionHunter]

I was thinking about learning to weld and building a grill, too. Like a Santa Maria style where you can raise and lower the bed of coals.

 

[x12aesq]

FWIW

I wouldn't use a base to neutralize Lye... maybe use an acid, like vinegar, to neutralize to wood ash base.
Replace the missing "paper type washers with a "washer" of oak wood

http://www.soapalooza.com/blog/2014/01/how-to-handle-a-lye-spill/

 

[Texasjack]

Baking soda will not neutralize lye. Lye will eventually react with carbon dioxide and form baking soda.

The enemy to the metal is water absorbed by various salts in the ashes. Clean out the ash and that will greatly slow down the corrosion problem.

 

[mroper]

A cover for your grill helps

 

[TheDan]

My "grill" is a small clay fire pit I got from HEB for $40. I bought a grill grate to go on top of it from Home Depot for $15 if I remember correctly. No issues with it rusting out