Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-Burner Outdoor Gas Range--A Winner!

[surfdog]

Well, my IR gun will be at the ready Uncle Bob and I will certainly report back any findings.

Many years ago I watched a true artisan make a pizza in a wood fired oven...about the time that most of us would have declared it "done" he lifted it from the oven floor and held it up near the top of the chamber...where all that heat was collecting. That SERIOUSLY melted the cheese & finished cooking the toppings. I’m looking at doing much the same if I think that’s the key.

[fzxdoc]

I'm sad to report that after 2 years of pretty heavy use, our Camp Chef Somerset IV Outdoor Gas Range is just starting to show signs of rust on the front panel. It's kept on a covered deck and always stored with a cover.

Is there anything I can do to retard the progress of these rust spots? Cheap stainless steel is the undoing of many an outdoor cooking appliance/smoker/grill.







Kathryn

[Uncle Bob]

Bar Keepers Friend, buy either dry and make your own wet slurry, or their already fluid in the bottle. Rub with the brushed grain using a terry or microfiber towel. It contains oxalic acid which will clean the rust and give it some oxide formation that will slow future corrosion.

[fzxdoc]

I wish I could triple-like your post, Uncle Bob . Thanks. Any sign of rust on your Somerset IV?

K.

[Uncle Bob]

Kathryn, some small spots on the painted flange that the grate sits on but I'll just treat that with some phosphoric acid when I get to it. None on the stainless pieces yet, but I do treat those with the sprayable stainless "cleaner" product that contains oil which is what gives that uniform color/tone when applied smoothly. That oil likely helps would be my guess.

[jfmorris]

fzxdoc Kathryn - so sad to hear this!

I love my Camp Chef FTG900 flat top, but will say up front that the trim ring around each control knob - which is black on your cooker - is chrome plated plastic that has all cracked and started peeling. It was doing that when it was 6 months old, and while they might have sent new trim rings if I had called, I would have to remove the burners to replace them, so didn't bother. Chromed plastic never holds up, and I have no idea why they would use it in an outdoor high heat application. Aside from that, its holding up well.

My Weber Genesis II E-410, purchased in January 2019, is showing significant rust on the two stainless steel side tables. I am going to try some Barkeepers friend on it today before I cover it up (used it last night), and will report back whether it cleans it off or not.

[fzxdoc]

I wait with bated breath...

K.

[jfmorris]

Stand by Kathryn fzxdoc - gonna go do it now!

[jfmorris]

fzxdoc Kathryn, here to report back!

First, here is what I was seeing on a side table of the 2 year old Genesis II grill:



There is really more than the photo shows - going all the way to the back. Reflections make it hard to see.

Here are the cleaners I tried:



The Weiman spray had been used BEFORE the photos. It doesn't touch the rust. I tried the Bar Keepers Friend soft cleanser next. With a damp sponge, that just didn't do the trick - it cut it some, but not as much as I would like. So then I went to the dry cleanser, sprinkling onto a wet sponge and putting some elbow grease behind it. Here are the results from one pass.



You can still see a little difference where the rust was on that front edge of the side shelf, but its much better, and a little more elbow grease might do the trick. I wasn't thinking about it at the time, but you probably want to go with the grain of the stainless, and not do a circular pattern like I was doing. Any scratches on my side table were there before this treatment however, if you look at the before and after photos. All in all it looks like Barkeeper's Friend is in fact the way to go about remedying this on cheap stainless steel.

[fzxdoc]

Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to experiment and to take photos. I'll for sure use Barkeeper's Friend. You're a gem, Jim.

Kathryn

[jfmorris]

fzxdoc glad to help, and I had been meaning to try this for quite some time. Now I just gotta go back and do the other side table and cover the grill up before dark!

[FireMan]

Yes Kathryn, he is a gem Jim. Now say it 20 times real fast.

[Uncle Bob]

So, a note on the Barkeeper's Friend usage. In addition to the oxalic acid I mentioned above, there is also a mild abrasive in their formula. The premade fluid product will work somewhat better if it is allowed to sit on the surface for awhile to let the acid work on the corrosion as long as it stays wet. Making your own slurry from the powder form gives you more flexibility to use less liquid which lets the abrasive material do more work (and yes, straight line rubbing with the grain/texture, not circles). Both the acid and the abrasive are in modest quantity mainly for safety because most people are not experienced enough to use higher levels. Both products could be purchased from chem supply houses, but I'm hesitant to recommend that without some training/experience.

BTW, that brand of stainless cleaner jfmorris showed is one of the brands I referenced in the post above that contains oil.

Here's a pic of a different cooker that I cleaned with the wet BKF product where the front panel had become corroded from some high temp use. The cleaned spot on the left side of the pic was about 5 minutes work with the help of a generous amount of elbow grease using as I described above.

[fzxdoc]

Wow. That's impressive.

K.

[surfdog]

fzxdoc Uncle Bob is spot on...Barkeeper’s Friend is a MUST HAVE product IMO.

For stainless that is NOT subject to heat...I’ve been known to use a 2k clear coat.
It basically seals it from the elements.

It’s available in "rattle cans" (think spray paint) but I generally use a 2-part automotive clear.
A rattle-can is around $22+...but once it’s been activated is only usable for about 24 hours...then it’s done and will no longer spray. It’s a 2-part clear in a can. So line up those projects if that’s the direction you want to go.

For stainless subject to heat...Barkeeper’s Friend and a dash o’ elbow grease. ;-)

On the "table-top" of my WSGC, which sees almost no heat unless I set something on it, I use Simple Green to clean the latest schmutz and then a stainless cleaner like jfmorris suggested. ALWAYS applying with the "grain." I don’t believe that stainless is as robust as the stainless used on my 2005 Summit gasser...but neither have shown any signs of rust/age. Being in SoCal perhaps helps with that. The gasser just gets the occasional scrub.

[Dr. Pepper]

Maybe I'm too relaxed (no-one has ever accused me of that, BTW), but I apply in circles, in spite of the grain. Cleans faster that way. And, I also don't clean. That's the fastest.