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New bar grates

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    New bar grates

    My Jambo came with expanded metal grates, the first time I've had to deal with them, and so far I've found them to be a pain to clean. I've decided to fabricate some new bar grates with the help of my uncle, who has a welder and a lot of skillz.

    I'm basing my design off of one that a company on FB sells. They use 3/8" bar, looks to be at 1" spacing, welded to angle or plate on two sides. See below for a photo. They use cold rolled steel, and told me they don't hear of issues with rust, and the best thing to do is just make sure I cook on it often. They also said cold rolled is better than stainless because it retains heat better (and obviously it is cheaper too). The issue is that I don't get to cook that often for a variety of reasons which aren't going to change in the short term.

    So my questions for all of you:
    1. Which would be better for an offset, stainless or cold rolled?
    2. Stainless bar costs about 3x as much, is it worth it if I don't cook much?
    3. What grade of SS is best? 304? 306? 316?
    4. Anyone who has made your own, is the center bar really necessary?

    Click image for larger version

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    #2
    My bottom grates (roller grates) on my Grid Iron are about 21" back to front, stainless, and don't have that bar and don't need it. They are HEAVY DUTY. I get stainless when I can and use a power washer to clean.

    Comment


      #3
      I've just been dealing with the expanded metal grates all these years, they're a pain to clean but I deal with it I suppose. To me, I don't want a lot of mass on my grates because I don't need the grates to hold heat as I would on a grill. On my smoker I want the environment to be the heat, not the grates. If you don't want to pay for stainless, maybe just wipe the cold steel grates down with some oiled paper towel each time you're done, or spray with Pam and wipe. As far as the center bar, hard to say. If you're doing a lot of heavy stuff like briskets, you may see them dipping in time. But you may not.

      Comment


        #4
        Use 5/16" and 304 stainless . Put 2 extra cross bars in to stop it bending in the center. The outside frame you can use 1 1/4 x 1/8" angle. Much easier to clean and doesn't wipe the rub off if you have to reposition the meat.

        Comment


        • jfmorris
          jfmorris commented
          Editing a comment
          This matches what my stainless expanded metal smoker grate has - it has angle stock for the outer frame, and a grid of bar stock underneath the expanded metal.

        #5
        Originally posted by PBCDad View Post
        So my questions for all of you:
        1. Which would be better for an offset, stainless or cold rolled?
        2. Stainless bar costs about 3x as much, is it worth it if I don't cook much?
        3. What grade of SS is best? 304? 306? 316?
        4. Anyone who has made your own, is the center bar really necessary?
        1. My smoker, built in 1985, uses a stainless expanded metal grate, with stainless bar stock in a grid pattern to support it, all welded into a stainless frame (it looks like angle iron but I am guessing is 304SS like everything else). I clean my grates with a welding brush, and burn off at high every once in a while. So, I vote for stainless.

        2. Stainless is worth it if you don't ever want to make or buy another grate. Cold rolled steel will rust if you don' maintain it and oil it to prevent humidity/condensation causing rust.

        3. 304SS in my opinion.

        4. Mine is stainless expanded metal, so obviously I need a enter support on a 24" x 36" grate. I think you need it on one made from stainless bar stock, in order to help give structural integrity to everything.

        Comment


        • tbob4
          tbob4 commented
          Editing a comment
          Great info

        #6
        I understand the purpose of the center bar to be to keep the bars from getting out of alignment due to warping from the heat or something, not for strength or deflection. I wouldn't expect more than 1/20th of an inch deflection under the most weight I could conceivably cook at once, and a single 3/8" bar can support up to 340# (sorry, I'm a structural engineer). Is warping due to the heat an issue?

        Huskee I was thinking the same thing regarding heat retention, I'm not trying to create grill marks on my slow-smoked stuff.

        Ahumadora I've been thinking about the outside frame. Using angle would raise the grate up off the rails a bit, which is fine, but it would also mean the weight of the meat gets transferred through the spot welds to the angle and then to the rail. The bars are sort of hanging off the angle, which makes the welds a bit more critical (again, very low overall weight). Is this what you normally do? I was thinking that ideally I could use a bent plate 1" x 1/4" so the bars are resting on the rails, but I don't have the equipment to do bent plate like that.

        Thanks for the advice so far, I think I'll bite the bullet and go with stainless. Buy once, cry once, right?

        Comment


        • Ahumadora
          Ahumadora commented
          Editing a comment
          How much meat you intend to load it up with to break welds in a direct pull ? As for raising it up with the 1 /14" angle you can solve both problems with this highly technical solution. (Flip the grate upside down). Use 316 rod to weld it to the mild steel frame (or just MIG weld and call it good). With a thin 5/16" rod over a 20" span will tend to warp or get bent from use/abuse. Run one in the center and it's ok.

        #7
        Me - I've been cooking on the same expanded metal grate for 30 years. Use a stainless bristle welding brush and some scotch brite pads, and it comes pretty clean! Mine only accumulates crud where the bar stock is welded underneath the expanded metal as a support, and I just hit it with the brush and don't worry too much - its all good once it hits 212F (100C) or higher.

        Comment


          #8
          For the grade of stainless, as you go up in number, the greater resistance to rust. 304 is all you need if you want stainless. Note: if you don't polish the welds really good, rust will start fairly quickly.

          If you plan to wash and pamper your grates, I would get the stainless. If you wash infrequently, get the rolled steel and save some money. Just scrub of the chunks and wipe with a little oil.
          Last edited by NapMaster; June 3, 2019, 09:16 PM.

          Comment


            #9
            If you make anything out of SS you need to keep in mind that SS expands more than steel. So if you make a grate out of SS bars you need a center support cause your grate will warp and end up with a wave grate going against the bars. For those who didnt understand that , one may warp up and the one next to it may warp down. If you have ever been around a reverse flow with a SS reverse flow plate it will pop and creek more than one with a steel reverse flow plate.

            Comment


              #10
              Intersting input...any pics to prove this? (for info purposes?)

              Comment


              • dcrumrine
                dcrumrine commented
                Editing a comment
                No pics to prove it. Just 30 years of being a welder/fabricator and a lot of experience of welding stainless and heating stainless and learning how different metals react to heat.

              #11
              Huskee I'm pretty sure you were asking dcrumrine but I figured I'd take this opportunity to upload a few pics of the grates my uncle and I did this past summer. We made grates not only for the cooking surface, but also for the firebox and a little shelf that stands off the grates and is raised up 6", for the times when my 48" smoker isn't big enough (it's already happened). No pics of the firebox or shelf, but you'll have to take my word that it all turned out really well, and it sure is easy to clean and care for!

              Click image for larger version

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                #12
                PBCDad you and your uncle should go into business making those. The round ones for cookers like Weber kettles are not that easy to find, almost impossible in 5/16" rod done in 304 stainless. I'd pay good money to replace some of mine made out of carbon steel.

                Comment

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