Modding an old gas grill into a griddle

[IowaGirl]

I have an elderly Warm Morning grill (1970s vintage, I believe) that's been sitting forlorn and unused since January when Santa delivered a new Weber Genesis 3 burner to my deck.

I'd like to give the WM a new job as a grill for cooking pancakes, eggs, etc. and serve as an overflow grill for things like burgers and chicken if needed (probably very seldom, but I do occasionally host parties for 10-20 friends).

This grill has a lower grate to hold lava rocks or ceramic briquettes. It takes a fairly long time to preheat the grill with the rocks/briquettes in place. I'm thinking maybe I should leave these out if I'm going to optimize it for griddling. But what are your opinions?

Due to the way this grill is designed, the cooking grates (https://www.grillparts.com/broilmast...duct_id=DPA111) should remain in the grill to properly support a griddling surface. So what to use for a griddle? Some ideas I've had --

Add a layer of GrillGrates' griddle sections (https://www.grillgrate.com/the-griddle/) on top of the grates.
Buy a stainless griddle insert to fit.
Use a large 2-burner sized aluminum griddle from Chef's Design that I already own -- https://chefsdesign1915.com/product-...es-and-grills/

Any suggestions or advice, whether silly or serious, from the peanut gallery?

[Attjack]

Great idea. Whatever you do you will need to include a grease collection system that might also serve as a vent which I would think would be appropriate as well.

That said the Blackstone griddles are pretty cheap. If you have something fabricated it could easily cost more than a Blackstone.

[HawkerXP]

The end of July and you still have SNOW on the ground!?! That should take care of the silly part.

[IowaGirl]

Yep, and what's worse is I have to walk back and forth to work uphill both ways in that snow. Barefoot no less. (I'm at that point in life where being pregnant ain't no concern no more, so no snide nor silly comments on that point, genl'mens.

[texastweeter]

the real question is, are you barefoot??? Inquiring minds want to know! IowaGirl

[IowaGirl]

Yeppers! At least at the moment.

[jfmorris]

I would try the griddle you already own first, and see if this thing gets hot enough with and without the lava rocks. I wouldn't spend the money on a griddle insert until I tried that first... otherwise, sounds like a feasible plan!

[RonB]

That's what I would do.

[JimLinebarger]

Would one of the Little Griddle's work with the dimensions of you grill? The full size is 25"x16". I have the GG griddle. The 2 issues I have are: 1) there are no sides so food/grease can fall onto the burners. 2) The seam where they join has a small bump the length of the seam. That means no continuous flat surface. I end up using each griddle plate as an individual griddle.

[IowaGirl]

That's been my reservation about the GrillGrate griddle too -- no place for the grease to go. If I orient the grates to their highest position, the Little Griddle might fit, but just barely.

[Attjack]

Good to know. I was intrigued when I saw them but quickly decided they may not be for me.

[texastweeter]

have some 1/2 inch plate cut to fit. Season like a carbon steel skillet. I would try without the rocks first and check with an IR gun for hotspots. If needed, use firebrick or such to even out the heat. I was always under the impression the rocks were more to catch grease and such to vaporize for flavor and try to hinder flairups than to even out temps.

[IowaGirl]

We've got a really good metalworking shop in town, and it's possible the Bodley boys might be able to cut a plate for me. Good point about the rocks being more for flavor than for evening out the heat. The rocks are a messy pain, regardless of what they're there for.

[fzxdoc]

I just recommended this to Hugh, and I would do the same for your consideration, IowaGirl , only because I'm considering it as well for my Summit S650. I like the lack of hot spots on this griddle, plus it has a grease catcher available:

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...044#post685044

Kathryn

[IowaGirl]

Thanks for the suggestion, Kathryn. I've been following that thread, but it's been awhile since I drooled over the Baking Steel griddle you posted about, so I'd forgotten about it. I'm certain that would do the trick!

[fzxdoc]

Just to clarify, this link is not for the Baking Steel Griddle, IowaGirl, but to the Steelmade Pro griddle with drip catcher for the gas grill. It makes the gasser look like a Blackstone but with more even heat distribution. Uncle Bob got me looking at the Steelmade Pro, although I have yet to purchase one. Still thinking about it.

https://steelmadeusa.com/collections/outdoor-cooking

Kathryn

[IowaGirl]

Yes, you're right -- I mis-spoke. Again, my thanks for your suggestions. I'm curious to see where this goes -- at the moment it's just a "pie in the sky" discussion until I get a replacement burner.

[IowaGirl]

Lots of good ideas -- thanks y'all. I think for starters I will install the new burner without the rocks and see how my kitchen griddle performs. That griddle has a non-stick coating on it, so I'm not too sure it's the best idea to use it routinely on a gasser. But for a test run or three, it will be fine. If that goes well, I need to decide what griddle top makes the most sense.

One related question -- is it critical to have a generous gap around the edges of a griddle so there's plenty of air flow through the grill body? I know the GrillGrate advice is to leave about a 1" gap all around, if I read their instructions correctly, and there's some air flow through the holes in GrillGrates. A solid griddle would restrict air flow even further. Not to mention some expansion of the metal from heating.

[fzxdoc]

IowaGirl , FWIW Grill Grate now makes grates that fit the gasser's grate opening exactly, so for that style the 1" rule does not apply. Perhaps it still applies to the type of Grill Grates that sit on top of the gasser's own grate, though.

Kathryn

[Barry Friesen]

I had an SS insert welded by a buddy to fit my gasser and followed the guidelines at griddlemaster.com

You need to leave space at each side to allow some heat to get out as it gets hot under there! I run all my burneres at just above low setting and it works great! It doesn't have a grease collection system but I scoop out grease with my spatulas into a bowl and I'm good to go!

[Greygoose]

I owned one of the same and it lasted 20 + years and then fell over
outstsnding piece of cooking hardware