Should I convert this gas grill to a griddle?

[Mosca]

I’m going to think out loud here, and invite comments.

About a year ago I was gifted an old Broil King Signet grill. I got it home and inspected it, and the grease tray is rusted out. Total parts would be less than $100. But I would still need a gas tank, which is another $50ish (empty). And, replacing that grease tray requires almost complete disassembly of everything short of the frame, and that’s all frozen together through years of use. It will be a busted knuckles job for sure. Now that I’m retired, I have the time, but do I have the inclination? Not sure of that one.

On the other hand, there are kits to convert a gas grill to a teppanyaki griddle. Looking into it, the flat top would be $220. I would get a useable grill area of 23”x15”. I’d still have to get a $50 tank. I wouldn’t have to fix anything, though.

But, I’ll have almost $300 into something that is kludged together. And it might not work as well as just spending the money to get an actual griddle. And right now I use a stainless half moon over an S&S on the Weber kettle, or two cast iron half moons on the LBGE.

I don’t think my motivation is to have a griddle; it’s to avoid wasting a decent gas grill. Every time I think of buying a griddle I can’t justify the cost. But I like projects. I wouldn’t be buying a griddle. I’d be doing a project and keeping a gas grill out of the landfill. I would really hate throwing that thing out, even though it was free.

[rickgregory]

Short answer? No. Not unless you just want a project. If you want a griddle you can get a Blackstone for the same or less money.

[bmillin]

Figuring out the grease management is the hard part

[CinderKeeper]

If you still have decent heat distribution on the burners, the cheapest option I would consider is just buying a couple Lodge cast iron griddles, or whatever griddles strike your fancy, and throwing them on top of your grates. I had one griddle, then purchased another to throw on my Char Griller Grillin' Pro. It fits the grates on that model almost perfectly, the griddles are 16.75" x 9.5", not sure what the dimensions of your grates are but you can always shop around for a griddle or two that would fit snugly. The Lodge griddles are about $35 a piece, so even with two or three, you're coming in well under $220. Since my setup is just two griddles smooshed together there is a big seam running down the middle, but I consider this a small price to pay for a griddle top. I'll even spin it as a feature rather than a bug as I can separate the foods I'm cooking.

The grease management is always going to be a looming specter, if you're cooking bacon or greasy meat it is definitely going to drip over the edge and into the grill body unless you're fastidiously mopping it up as it cooks, but for a free, beat up grill, just put some aluminum foil in the bottom, a bucket underneath, or wipe it up every harvest moon or so, whatever's clever.

I love the hillbilly griddle conversion I have for my gasser, cheap, easy, works great.

[Mosca]

That 16.75” front to back seems pretty standard. This grill is 15”, so it would need custom sizing; that’s what drives the price up. I was also looking at Grillgrates, I could get a set that fit across. But all those solutions would require addressing the grease control, ie fixing the grease tray underneath. If I do that, I’ll just fix the thing as a gasser.

When it gets a little warmer I’ll see if there is a simple solution that avoids complete disassembly.

[fzxdoc]

The only thing that I can think of that gives a gasser an advantage over a standalone griddle (if you're talking equal amounts of expenditure) is that the mess, the splatter specifically, is pretty well contained within the gasser. That may not be an issue if you're cooking over a surface that you don't care about. But if, like my situation, the cooking area is a deck that you don't want splattered with grease, then a gasser with a mat in front of it and a good griddle on the grate is a good idea.

Kathryn

P.S. FWIW, you might want to look at a Steelmade flat top griddle for the grill, mostly for the uniformity of the heating surface, the fact that they are an American business with an American product comprised of American materials, and that they are nice folks with whom to deal.

[Alabama Smoke]

I have the Steelmade Kathryn is referencing. Its not expensive and works well. You do want to buy the stainless grease pan also. It is additional but not expensive. I got mine because I did not want to clutter my back porch with more than I already have. I have a 4 burner gasser so I have room to cook hot, med or med low and still have space to move cooked food to the side. That burner is not on on purpose. The griddle gets warm there to keep cooked food warm. Love mine.

[Mosca]

Here’s how much I resist throwing things away: for years, I kept a complete air conditioning system for a 1968-1975 Volvo 164 series. You know, just in case I bought an old Volvo 164 that didn’t have A/C. Because you never know.

[JCBBQ]

Sounds like you need Marie Kondo. We had a garage snd basement filled w crap. I’ve thrown out 50%. Mentally I’m in a better place. Probably gonna throw out another 50% of what’s left. It feels incredible to let go of all this stuff.

[rickgregory]

I mean... your time and money. But if you do this, will you have a really nice griddle? Or a junky thing that mostly works but that you can't toss because of the money you'll have invested?

I'm a bit biased because I'm on an early spring crusade to get rid of crap that I've accumulated over the years.

[Old Glory]

The griddlestore griddles are very nice. My only reservation would be you buy a custom griddle top for an older grill. What happens when the grill falls apart? You are stuck with a nice griddle top but no grill? Or you have to buy a new grill the same size.

[jfmorris]

Mosca, having used things like the flat side of Grillgrates, Grillgrate griddle panels, and a Lodge cast iron griddle on a Weber Genesis gas grill, and then having a 6 burner Camp Chef flat top to compare it to... there is no comparison. Performance, even heat and control, as well as griddle space, would be much greater on a real griddle. Not to mention a better grease management system.

I would put that $300 you are talking about and put it towards an actual griddle/flattop, versus putting a griddle top on an old rusted out gas grill. Also - those Signet grills are famous for running HOT, so I would worry about being able to get low to medium temps on the griddle. Most griddle cooking is done between 350F and 400F griddle temperature.

Also, if you have Costco nearby, they sell empty tanks a for a lot less than $50 - I am thinking $30ish. I've gotten 4 new tanks the past 2 years at Costco, and my Costco fills them for about $7 a tank - to a full 20 pounds, unlike the 15 pound fills on the tank exchanges.

[McFlyfi]

I just filled 3 tanks on Saturday. 15 gallons was just over $63.00

[tbob4]

I absolutely love my Blackstone griddle. With that said, projects are pretty rewarding. From a practical standpoint I agree with what others have written about buying a griddle. However, it sounds like you want to try something fun - I say go for it.

[rickgregory]

Re-reading your OP, I think you need to think about motivations. If you don't need and wouldnt really use a griddle regardless, then why bother? I mean, you say you cant justify the cost of buying one... but you'd spend $300 to convert this?


If you really just don't want to junk a Broil King, you could fix it up so it's a nice grill again and sell if to defray the parts cost. But at base, this is all you. I'd never have picked it up in the first place (I have enough junk, see above )

[jfmorris]

Rereading your original post I think I would buy the parts and take time to fix this grill, but skip the griddle too for it. Then use it or gift it to someone you know needs a grill. Only your know wha your time is with and how much time you have to fool with fixing a grill to keep it out of the landfill.

Jim

[coolfins]

I'm a project guy as well. I started out with a Campchef cast iron griddle on my Napoleon. Size and grease management were a real problem. I ended up buying another napoleon and building a flat top from the two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=494nQXJUxbQ

I'm now working on my third flat top conversion for a friend. If you're just looking at dollars, it probably doesn't make sense, but keep in mind all you need is good burners, the other old rusty parts you don't need. I say, go for it!

[Mosca]

Nice project! That’s a bit more than I’m looking at. But very nice!

[fzxdoc]

Wow. You're ready for anything with that setup. Nice job on the flattop build. I really enjoyed watching your video.

Kathryn

[CinderKeeper]

Great video! Had to subscribe, that rig is an absolute BEAST!

[SmokeyGator]

If you want a project, then go got it. But you can buy a new 36 inch Blackstone griddle for about the same price. It will be larger. However, it will not be a project.

[Mosca]

Thanks for all the advice. I’m going to look at fixing the grease tray and keeping it as a gas grill. There is probably a way to make small throwaway aluminum trays work for that, it would just be a matter of securing them and replacing them periodically I think.