Chimp main grate

[sarredon]

Hello all! My MCS was exacerbated by the Memorial Day sale. And turned out I had plenty of credit card points to cover the treatment which was a grilla chimp! One of the few types of smoker I don’t already own.

I did the assembly and set up yesterday and noticed the main grate sits kind of loose. It shifts left and right and even back and forth a bit as there is nothing for it to latch onto. The top rack sits in a couple holes that keep if from moving, but the bottom rack seems to nothing of the sort. The grate appears to be oriented properly with the stainless tabs down. I know this is a small smoker, but I find it hard to believe the main grate is supposed to have that much movement. I can provide pics if helpful. Thanks bbq fam!


PS: I did email grilla but figured I could probably get a faster answer here!

[FireMan]

I know nothing, I see nothing, I didn’t even get out of bed this morning. Can’t hep ya, but it is on the way. Can wait patiently fer yer first cook, yessir!

[sarredon]

Haha thanks FireMan!

[fuzzydaddy]

I used to have a Grilla Grills Silverbac and its main grate also fit loosely in all directions but not enough to slip off the front and rear ledges it sat on. Hopefully someone with a Chimp will chime in soon and answer your question.

[jfmorris]

I think klflowers has a Chimp and can probably comment on how his grate fits...

[klflowers]

Yeah the grate moves around a bit, but it fits and won’t fall off the rims it sits own. I think it is because of the way it is made - the frame the door sits on extends slightly into the opening, so the grate has to be smaller to get it in the cooker. It is a small machine, so there isn’t a lot of space to get the grate through the opening. Makes it easier to get the grate in and out, I think.

[Clark]

On my Chimp the grate barely moves in any direction and I like it that way.

[sarredon]

klflowers thanks for the input. The grate doesn’t seem like it will fall. It does move about an inch left to right though. And that much movement really threw me for a loop. It’s not like any other grill I’ve owned, and like most here I have way too many! Clark I agree with you, I much prefer little to no movement. Honestly, I expected higher quality from grilla. So I’m trying to come up with a fix. Nevertheless, I’ll report back with what grilla says.

Here’s a couple pictures that show the movement. I’m not sure how to upload video here.

[STEbbq]

Upload it to YouTube and share the link here.

[sarredon]

STEbbq too smart! Thanks for the tip. Here it is.

https://youtu.be/hOKuyA2k2kE?si=q9gvSnHdnZxVSAe2

[STEbbq]

barelfly told me only a few days ago! Passing along his genius!

[barelfly]

STEbbq - genius….ooooh man that’s a stretch

[Sid P]

My Silverbac grate floats, but there’s maybe 1/4" of play. That looks like the wrong grate was sent to you.

[klflowers]

Mine moves about that much too. I guess I just don't have a problem with it. Nothing will fall off, and like I mentioned, it makes getting the grate into the grill easier.

[sarredon]

So heard back from customer support. This much movement is expected. The did say the grate could be hooked on to the probe bracket on the left. I may do that or work up some contraption to help accomplish the same thing. There are a couple small slots on the right I could place a small metal bracket in. Anyway, thanks all! I’ll post some pics of my first cook soon. The burn in was today!

[sarredon]

here’s the bracket

[klflowers]

I kinda remember when mine looked that shiny lol

[sarredon]

Wanted to share my first cook on the primate here to say thanks for all the feedback!

I decided to go with something different and did a turkey breast.

Started with dry brine for about 24 hrs. Went super simple with the seasoning and just used some tony chachere I had laying around. I also put some pats of butter under the skin.

I used lumberjack oak pellets. Once it was well and good heated up I threw the bird on. started in pro mode at 225, until I had good color, about 2 hrs in. Then bumped the temp to 375 to try and get the skin to crisp up.

Taste was great, but skin was still rubbery. Maybe I should have bumped up the temp a little sooner?Even got a little bit of a smoke ring. I think I’m gonna have some fun with this little smoker!

[Sweaty Paul]

Nicely done!

[Michael_in_TX]

Late to the thread, but the play will nearly vanish once the interior gunks up a bit and the brackets become sticky.

Also, if you have a loaf of bread starting to go stale, do a toast test. I found that my Chimp is significantly hotter towards the hopper. This has never been a problem, I just always put the thicker side of meat towards that.

It's a fun cooker. I bought it solely to do brisket, but I've enjoyed doing so many more things on it.