I don't use my GrillGrates all that often, maybe a once or twice a month. But when I do I usually smell what I can only describe as a metallic-y smell coming off the Grates when the coals get hot. It's hard to describe as I can't think of anything else like that I've ever smelled. At first I assumed it was just because they were new but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Has anyone ever experienced this or is my nose losing its mind??
I have grill grates on my pk/gas weber.and green egg...after cooking i flip them over the fire for about 10 minutes to burn off all residue,works for me...really like the grill grates a lot...i get them over 600 with no issue at all
The melting point of aluminum is 1221F or 660C. So unless you are putting them in direct flames for an extended period, I doubt the aluminum would be getting too close to the melting point. The anodized coating might be damaged before that - I know the Grillgrate.com folk recommend not going much beyond 800-900 with them. Not a problem on any of my grills.
I've been using them, for 4-5 years, on both charcoal and gas, and have not noticed a metallic smell. I usually don't cook on them until they have preheated for 10-15 minutes, so it is possible any such odor burned off before I opened the grill to brush them off and start cooking.
I own a PK360 and used to get a similar metallic smell every so often, but never had an impact on taste or anything. Recently, I did a deep clean and noticed the vent covers had warped. I replaced them with the stainless steel plates and have not noticed that smell.
My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:
SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron Griddle
Grill Grate for SnS
Grill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
Steelmade Griddle for Summit gas grill
Fireboard Gear:
Extreme BBQ Thermometer Package
Additional control unit
Additional probes: Competition Probes 1" (3) and 4" (1), 3 additional Ambient Probes. 1 additional Food Probe
2 Driver Cables
Pit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Pit Viper Fan new design (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
Thermoworks Gear:
Thermapen MK4 (pink)
Thermapen Classic (pink too)
Thermoworks MK4 orange
Temp Test 2 Smart Thermometer
Extra Big and Loud Timer
Timestick Trio
Maverick ET 73 a little workhorse with limited range
Maverick ET 733
Maverick (Ivation) ET 732
Grill Pinz
Vortex (two of them)
18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
3 Lipavi Sous Vide Tubs with Lids: 12, 18 and 26 quarts
Avid Armor Ultra Pro V32 Chamber Sealer
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot 10 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Charcoal Companion TurboQue
A-Maze-N tube 12 inch tube smoker accessory for use with pellets
BBQ Dragon and Dragon Chimney
Shun Classic Series:
8" Chef Knife
6" Chef's Knife
Gokujo Boning and Fillet Knife
3 1/2 inch Paring Knife
I fire up the gasser with custom GGs pretty regularly for searing. Those puppies get hot hot hot! No metallic smell at all. After use, I give them a good high heat cleaning with a wad of aluminum foil.
I have my PKTX and one set of Weber 22in GGs wired to the cheaper chrome grates for each grill, rails up for SCA practice sessions - at this point I’ve accepted that I may need a lot of seasoning and cross hatches for their unwritten rules of their judging.
I flip them over and do a quick burn off most of the time.
if I want to really strip them clean, I get my WSCGC super hot and let the GGs bake in there, b/c of the superior heat retention and efficiency I can turn the carbon to ash pretty quickly w/the coals in the low position.
I usually do my WSCGC GGs at this time, too...those I don’t wire to a grate and use, mostly flat side up for all over crust.
The overall effect is like putting your oven on self clean...it also usefully gets rid of half used lump and briquettes.
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