Homemade grates

[cheesegenie]

I was going to make some grates out of rebar, but my uncle gave me
an old BBQ. The cooking grill is kind of heavy and just the right size
for grates. The grill is kind of flat ,seems like a casting.Do you think
it would take the heat and last a while at least? It is made for cooking.

[Dave Y]

Chessegenie,
you can always try your bbq rack for a grate, I don't think it will hold up.
Have a back up plan in place. Please note i turned 1'" rebar into pretzels last year. I made a new set of grates for this season. What I made them out of is 2" pipe. drilled air holes in them and laid them in crossways, as i have along fire box. they seem to work quite well. I am, concerned about them lasting more than one season. Hope this helps.

[brookledge]

Rebar is a soft iron and will not hold up to heat.
Try to find something that is made out of cast iron to use.
Nothing is more frustrating when the grates drop to the ground when you have a good boil going. I remember that I had one of my grates fail and tried to use heavy angle iron but that didn't hold up.
One thing that may help is if you have a forced draft and keep the ashes cleaned out.
Keith

[cheesegenie]

I think I will start with the backup plan. Pipes. I do have some real grates
from an old evaporator (cast). They are too long and I don't know if I could cut them, hate to ruin them too. But I suppose I could try ,instead
of leaving them in the shed forever.I hate to waste stuff.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Guys,

Here is a great grating system that will last several years. You can go to Lowes or Home Depot or a stove place and they have the fireplace grates that have legs on them. They are about 18 to 24 inches long and about 16 inches wide. Buy however many you need to go across your arch and you may have to cut one to fill in the space fully. Then make a frame out of angle iron and sit the grates down in the angle iron frame. The grates do curve up on each side and you will have hills and valleys in the grating system, but it won't hurt a thing. I used this type of system for years and it works AWESOME. Be sure and get cast grates with small holes in the and not just the welded bar grates. I built a system for my 5' wide homemade evaporator I had for around $ 75 a few years ago! :D :D If you have a really wide evaporator, you can put firebrick or regular brick in the middle of the angle iron frame on both ends to help prevent sag. I also supported the sides of the angle iron frame with bricks. The angle iron was about 2 inches wide, so the brick sticking out an extra inch didn't hurt a thing.

Talk about a fire and draft!!!!! Awesome! :wink:

[Splashdam]

Regarding grates, Is 2" stainless steel angle good material?

[powerdub]

When the railroad fixed up the track around here a few years back they gave me a bunch of those thick angle brackets they use to hold the track in place. They are about 30" long and really rugged. I used those for three years without warping them until I got a new arch. I was using forced draft on them too.

[digman_41]

Cheesegenie,

Go to a scrap metal yard and buy a square cast iron storm sewer cover.
You can cut cast iron with a cut-off blade on an angle grinder easily and make it fit your specifications. I got some awesome grates for 20 cents per pound took one and a half for my 3x8 about 30 dollars worth.

Mark

[junkyard]

I went to my township garage and bought a bunch of old snow plow cutting edges. I set them on edge with a spacer between each oneand a piece of allthread to hold them together. the edges are about 6 inches wide by 5/8 ths
of an inch thick and 5 feet to 10 feet long depending on what plow or wing they fit. Real heavy but last a looong time, and cheap what ever old iron is going for. Often times they have other truck and heavy equipment parts in the iron pile that may have a use.
Jack

[ibby458]

I've used 4x4x1/2 angle iron. Cut to length with a torch and blow 3/4" holes all over it. I put them in the arch with the V pointing up, spaced 3/4 inch apart. THe gaps and holes let in plenty of air from the blower. At the end of the season, they looked like they did the day I put them in.

Wish I could get some of that SS angle at a reasonable price!

[Fred Henderson]

Old cast iron radiators (home type) makes a good set of grates.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Ibby,

How long does a set of the angle iron grates last and do the warp or rust out? I think the biggest key with any grates is keeping the heat off of the underside and a blower keeping the bottom of the grates cool has got to help :)

[Sugarmaker]

We have five years in angle iron grates. 3-1/2 x 3-1/2 x 3/8 thick. Yes they are warped like a sway back old mare but they still hold the fire so we will use them till them fall through. (we do have forced air this may help keep them cooler).
Chris

[maple flats]

The grates that came with my evap are cast but are shaped like angle iron. The directions said to face the v point down so the top could fill with ash and help insulate the grade from the heat. This might also be a good idea on regular angle iron too, but take them out after the season and clean the ash out so dampness of the rest of the year does not get the ash wet which is caustic(= eats up the steel)

[ibby458]

I pointed my V up, to mimick the forced draft Leader Grates. I only used them one season (with forced draft), but there was no warpage or damage at all. Being 1/2" thick might be the difference. I've sold that evaporator & flat pan, but am helping the new buyers get started, so I can keep an eye on it.

I'll post back on the end of this season with how they held up.

[wisnoskij]

Instead of starting a new thread, I thought posting my related question here might make more sense. How wide should the gaps be in the grating? And does the direction matter? Forced Air.

[l3rian]

I'm planning an oil tank arch and trying to figure out all the details also. I'm thinking the grates should run lengthwise. It seems like it would make tending the fire easier. You can slide wood in and out vs it catching on every edge of the grate if they were crossways. I read somewhere (probably here) that someone built theirs with the grate even with the bottom of the door. That way if you need to stop boiling, you could just pull the fire out. My father in law had some grating material. I think he said it is a platform to stand on off of a paving machine or something. I used it last year to hold my bucket I was boiling on. Best pics I have of it, but you get the idea. It's heavy, but didn't warp. I might see if I can talk him out of it. Also, you can see i had a lot of weight on it trying to block the wind and contain the heat. You can see why I need to build an arch lol.
2151621517

[ir3333]

...as suggested angle iron with the v as i typed it spaced about 1/2". The v will fill with ash, stay cool and last a long time.
The gaps will act like a bellows if the the draft is underneath and provide good velocity at the fire
Experiment with pieces of plate in front of the door and the back of the firebox to force the incoming air centrally, having
no gap on the firebox sides

[aamyotte]

...as suggested angle iron with the v as i typed it spaced about 1/2". The v will fill with ash, stay cool and last a long time.
The gaps will act like a bellows if the the draft is underneath and provide good velocity at the fire
Experiment with pieces of plate in front of the door and the back of the firebox to force the incoming air centrally, having
no gap on the firebox sides
Do you run the angle front to back or side to side?

[ir3333]

good question...mine is front to back but the Smokey Lake Dauntless is side to side.The key is the air coming up is
forced inward increasing the speed until it exits through the grates. Venturi principal..reduce the diameter and you increase the speed.
I think that is the only place you want velocity.
I can't see the direction front to back or side to having an effect other than short side to side pieces might be stronger.