Grill degreasing.

[Traab]

Ok, so, my grill is filthy and needs to be cleaned. Its one of those propane fueled ones if it matters. Now, I can take apart the racks and such and scoop out all the old grease drippings, chunks of whatever that fell off and stuff like that, but I wondered. Is there a reason why I couldnt just let the grease ignite and burn off? Will that damage the grill itself somehow? Or would that be a handy dandy way to get rid of all the muck building up at its base? Just let it burn itself out when there isnt any food to worry about and at most sweep out any ashes that are left.

[TheThan]

If the flames get hot enough you could damage the grill but I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Instead I’d worry about burning down your house with a grill sized grease fire. I’d go with a bucket of water, a bunch of degreaser and some hard work. Dawn dish detergent is readily available and a pretty good degreaser to boot. I'd stay away from anything super harsh like automotive degreasers for obvious reasons. i've used a scouring pad before, steel wool would also work but you'll wear out the steel wool really fast.

If your grates need cleaning then I’d suggest getting a good grill brush that’s nice and firm with stiff bristles, brass ones are nice. You can soak your grates a while to help dislodge stubborn stuck on crud that won’t come off with just the brush. You're local hardware store should have a selection of brushes. I've taken an old chisel and used it to remove stuck on particles before, especially stuff between the grill grates.

Since your grill is gas you might need to clean up your burners, if you still have your instructions they might give you tips on how to clean them and even take them apart.

the most important thing is to make sure you get all the degreaser off your grill before you start it up again. So clean it thoroughly.

( i had to clean my charcoal grill a month or two back, i feel your pain).

[Traab]

If the flames get hot enough you could damage the grill but I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Instead I’d worry about burning down your house with a grill sized grease fire. I’d go with a bucket of water, a bunch of degreaser and some hard work. Dawn dish detergent is readily available and a pretty good degreaser to boot. I'd stay away from anything super harsh like automotive degreasers for obvious reasons.

If your grates need cleaning then I’d suggest getting a good grill brush that’s nice and firm with stiff bristles, brass ones are nice. You can soak your grates a while to help dislodge stubborn stuck on crud that won’t come off with just the brush. You're local hardware store should have a selection of brushes. I've taken an old chisel and used it to remove stuck on particles before, especially stuff between the grill grates.

Since your grill is gas you might need to clean up your burners, if you still have your instructions they might give you tips on how to clean them and even take them apart.

the most important thing is to make sure you get all the degreaser off your grill before you start it up again. So clean it thoroughly.

( i had to clean my charcoal grill a month or two back, i feel your pain).


Its honestly not that hard, most of the stuff can be scooped out in chunks and tossed in the garbage, removing the grate is just for access to the burners and stuff, as they are nice and clean. I just figured if I could let it burn off it would be faster and simpler and a lot less messy. Im not worried about anything catching fire but the grill, its hardly the first time the grease has ignited over the years, I just dont normally let it go till it burns out. The design is basically the grill is built on top of a metal cabinet where the propane tank is kept out of sight. There isnt an opening for burning grease to fall out and ignite the deck its placed on. My only worry was damaging the grill itself. Like you said, im not sure if the flames would be hot enough to damage it. I figure keeping the top open would let the heat escape safely while keeping the grease ignited.

[Crow]

I just let it burn away.

[Vizzerdrix]

I always scooped it and toss it in the fire pit. Helps get it going.

[tomandtish]

Depending on circumstances, one thing I've discovered that actually works pretty well is putting them in the oven and running the cleaning cycle. 4-5 hours at 500 degrees will pretty much turn everything on them to ash.

However, there are some cautionary notes.

Don't do it if you have cast iron grills that you want well-seasoned.

Don't do it if you do not have adequate ventilation. Depending on how bad the buildup is, it may set off the smoke alarm.

Don't do it if you have anyone in the house if you have anyone with asthma or other breathing problems. Even with vents, etc., the smells can get intense.

But if you can meet those things, it will do a good job.

(I've only ever tried this with an electric oven).

[jmhguy]

i say just submerge it in hot soapy water

[Traab]

Well i ignited it. It seemed to work pretty well. I left it covered and on preheat till it got hot enough to catch fire, then turned it to low to keep it burning and left the lid open so the heat wouldnt be trapped and possibly damage the grill itself. A good portion of the sludge got burned away. Its probably better to give it an actual complete cleaning anyways or else I would likely have to do this more often as its doubtful I got it all.

[Fri]

I must say this is a pretty adventurer problem solving.

"I could do this the normal and tedious way but... eh, let's just burn it. Fire solves everything."

[TheThan]

I must say this is a pretty adventurer problem solving.

"I could do this the normal and tedious way but... eh, let's just burn it. Fire solves everything."

NO, no no,

High explosives solves everything, Fire solves most things. Subtle difference there. (that being said, you can set anything on fire if you try hard enough).

[Traab]

NO, no no,

High explosives solves everything, Fire solves most things. Subtle difference there. (that being said, you can set anything on fire if you try hard enough).

Remember im working with propane here. High explosives arent necessarily off the table. Anyways, yeah, I burned it, it got the vast majority of the grease inside the grill itself burned to ash. Nice and simple. I still had to pull out this removeable pan that catches all the drippings that make it through and guides it to the grease pan. Honestly, it helped remove at least one section of semi liquid nastiness, I just brushed the ash down into the next pan, but i still had to deal with the other 2/3 of the equation.