Grill Cleaning
This year I debated for quite a while about whether or not to write my annual spring cleaning your grill article. I am one who grills year round I just do not clean out the body during the long cold winter months. Generally speaking I clean my grill thoroughly, inside and out five times a year, early in spring, through the summer as needed, and once in late fall. It is also important to note here that I only cover the grill in the winter months, our grill is kept under an overhang on our porch. Leaving the cover off is hard on the finish of the grill but I would much rather look at my grill then a glorified tarp.
This particular year my spring cleaning will consist of disassembling and painting some of the parts and painting them with a black high heat rust-oleum. Which is the reason I decided to write this article again this year. The the main reasons for my thorough spring and fall cleanings are so that I can inspect the grill part for wear and tear and to oil (with cooking oil) all of the internal grill components.
Phase one: Remove all the grates, heat shields and anything that can be removed by hand scrape them with your grill brush and then soak them in hot water. I let them soak for an hour and change the water then adding soap let them soak again then scrub them clean then rinse.
Phase two: Using a plastic paint scraper, scrape out the body and hood of the grill. If you can scrape all of the gunk into the drip pan, if not scoop it out of the grill and throw it away. Remove drip pan scrape out and discard gunk. These areas can be cleaned with soap and water after the built up grease is removed. It is worth noting that before I began coating all the interior parts of my grill with cooking oil I would have to use an oven cleaner (never use oven cleaner near an open flame) to remove some of the thicker gunk built up in the body of the grill.
Phase three: Clean the outside of the grill with soap and water rinse with hose. I let the grill dry in the sun be sure to check the inside of the grill for standing water that may have gotten into it.
This is the point where I removed the vent stacks and lightly sanded then painted any part that was showing signs of surface rust.
Phase four: Oiling internal parts with cooking oil. I soak a paper towel or rag with cooking oil and wipe down all the interior parts of the grill. The most important part to oil up are the gas burners, this will penetrate any rust and slow the corrosion down extending the life of your burners considerably.
Phase five: Replace the parts that were removed for cleaning and coat those with cooking oil as well. Let the oil soak in the cold grill for an hour or so. Then heat up the grill just until the oil starts smoking and then turn it off and let it cool down. Heat expands metal allowing the oil to penetrate as much as possible. The next time you heat your grill up all the way the excess oil will burn off completely.
If you have any newly painted parts on your grill you will want to bake the new paint on. Follow your grill manufacturers directions for this. My particular grill calls for heating the grill up keeping it under 700 degrees for one hour to set the paint.
My particular grill has a charcoal side as well. On that side I shop vac out any left over ash then clean and oil the grates and barrel as described above.
The inspection of my now 2 year old cleaned Char Griller Duo turned up a problem with the tabs that hold the heat deflectors they will probably give out sometime this year. I have a simple fix planned already I'll just need to get the hardware. Also the heat deflectors are beginning to show some rust and pitting, I think that the sanding painting and oiling should extend their life another couple of years. The gas burners are in great condition for a low end grill after 2 years. On the charcoal side there is some exterior rusting beginning on the lower barrel and the off-set firebox. At this point it is not anything that a little paint won't fix and the charcoal grate is still in good shape all things considered.