To avoid further damage, what I’ve done is to prop the charcoal basket, with ash pan attached, up at about a 45 degree angle or so against the inside of the barrel during storage.
That sounds like a fantastic idea. I looked closely at mine and it mimics Lynn's....the discoloration is confined to under the ash pan, but not outside of it. Kinda a pain to have to store the basket/pan differently, but anything I can do the extend the life of my favorite cooker is worth it.
Lynn, yes, unfortunately that is rust and yes, it was caused by condensation forming under the ash pan and being trapped there over periods of time. I’ve been preaching on this issue here for a long time to the point that folks are probably tired of seeing me post it, but you can see why it’s important. My PBC bottom rusted completely through because of it, and the hole has now grown to the point that it’s close to being scrapped. Thankfully yours doesn’t look that advanced. To avoid further damage, what I’ve done is to prop the charcoal basket, with ash pan attached, up at about a 45 degree angle or so against the inside of the barrel during storage. It irks me to no end that Pit Barrel doesn’t warn their customers about this issue to prevent it from happening, as it’s not something that folks would normally think about.
Jessterr Thank you for this post and your suggestion. I just now went out to my pit area and set the coal basket and ash pan as you posted. I think that this will greatly slow (or eliminate) the moisture/rusting issue.
I got all rust out with the wire brush. Sprayed it with canola oil. Burned a chimney of coals. And I've coated it with canola oil again, which I will do before every cook. Also put down foil before I cook. And store the ash pan somewhere else.
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