Surely I'm not the first person to wonder how sweet it would be to have a
heavy cast iron grill grate in a standard Weber kettle, instead of the
stock, light-weight stainless steel grate that has zero heat capacity.
Unfortunately, I haven't found much information on it other than Weber
itself doesn't make one. Has anyone found any 3rd party companies that do?
Can a reasonably decent metal-working shop fabricate one (at a reasonable
expense)? A Weber kettle with a cast iron grate would truly be the perfect
grill...

Cheers,
Terry

Terry Caton wrote:

> Surely I'm not the first person to wonder how sweet it would be to have a
> heavy cast iron grill grate in a standard Weber kettle, instead of the
> stock, light-weight stainless steel grate that has zero heat capacity.
> Unfortunately, I haven't found much information on it other than Weber
> itself doesn't make one. Has anyone found any 3rd party companies that do?
> Can a reasonably decent metal-working shop fabricate one (at a reasonable
> expense)? A Weber kettle with a cast iron grate would truly be the perfect
> grill...

It would cost quite a bit of money to pay a foundry to set up to pour that
grill. If you wanted to buy 50000 of them then the setup cost might be
reasonable, but for one? Probably not.

It might be possible to buy a thin cast plate and have it laserjet cut for just
a couple hundred dollars, though.

Grant

"Denny Wheeler" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 16 May 2008 21:21:30 GMT, Grant Erwin
> > wrote:
>
>>Terry Caton wrote:
>>
>>> Surely I'm not the first person to wonder how sweet it would be to have
>>> a
>>> heavy cast iron grill grate in a standard Weber kettle, instead of the
>>> stock, light-weight stainless steel grate that has zero heat capacity.
>>> Unfortunately, I haven't found much information on it other than Weber
>>> itself doesn't make one. Has anyone found any 3rd party companies that
>>> do?
>>> Can a reasonably decent metal-working shop fabricate one (at a
>>> reasonable
>>> expense)? A Weber kettle with a cast iron grate would truly be the
>>> perfect
>>> grill...
>>
>>It would cost quite a bit of money to pay a foundry to set up to pour that
>>grill. If you wanted to buy 50000 of them then the setup cost might be
>>reasonable, but for one? Probably not.
>>
>>It might be possible to buy a thin cast plate and have it laserjet cut for
>>just
>>a couple hundred dollars, though.
>
> Not laserjet. Just laser. Or waterjet. I wonder how much my firm
> would charge to do such a custom job. We have 4 lasers...
>
> I was thinking--how about finding a blacksmith, preferably one who
> welds? Good smith could make what would effectively be a wrought iron
> grate--I don't see why such wouldn't have the same qualities as a cast
> one, at least if made of, say, half-inch bar stock.
>
> Hell, we probably could do it where I work--but, being a largish
> company, I suspect we'd charge too much for such a small job.
>
> "Every single religion that has a monotheistic god
> winds up persecuting someone else."
> -Philip Pullman
> --
> -denny-
> (not as curmudgeonly as I useta be)

I have the ability and the stuff to do this.
--
James A. "Big Jim" Whitten

www.lazyq.com

Terry Caton > wrote:

> Surely I'm not the first person to wonder how sweet it would be to have a
> heavy cast iron grill grate in a standard Weber kettle, instead of the
> stock, light-weight stainless steel grate that has zero heat capacity.
> Unfortunately, I haven't found much information on it other than Weber
> itself doesn't make one. Has anyone found any 3rd party companies that do?
> Can a reasonably decent metal-working shop fabricate one (at a reasonable
> expense)? A Weber kettle with a cast iron grate would truly be the perfect
> grill...

Home Depot had round cast iron cooking grates when I was there
today. I didn't look to see what they were a replacement for, but
they looked Kettle sized.

-sw

Denny Wheeler wrote:
> On Fri, 16 May 2008 18:35:00 -0400, "Big Jim" >
> wrote:
>
>>>
>>> I was thinking--how about finding a blacksmith, preferably one who
>>> welds? Good smith could make what would effectively be a wrought
>>> iron grate--I don't see why such wouldn't have the same qualities
>>> as a cast one, at least if made of, say, half-inch bar stock.
>>>
>>> Hell, we probably could do it where I work--but, being a largish
>>> company, I suspect we'd charge too much for such a small job.
>>>
>
>>
>> I have the ability and the stuff to do this.
>> --
>> James A. "Big Jim" Whitten
>
> There ya go, Terry. Someone who knows how, and even better, *why*.
>
> So Terry probably lives a long way from FL, if Murphy's in the office
> today.

Maybe Big Jim could ship 'em out :-)


--
Dave www.davebbq.com

What is best in life? "To crush your enemies, see them driven before
you, and to hear the lamentation of the women." -- Conan

Dave Bugg wrote:
> Denny Wheeler wrote:
>> On Fri, 16 May 2008 18:35:00 -0400, "Big Jim" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>> I was thinking--how about finding a blacksmith, preferably one who
>>>> welds? Good smith could make what would effectively be a wrought
>>>> iron grate--I don't see why such wouldn't have the same qualities
>>>> as a cast one, at least if made of, say, half-inch bar stock.
>>>>
>>>> Hell, we probably could do it where I work--but, being a largish
>>>> company, I suspect we'd charge too much for such a small job.
>>>>
>>> I have the ability and the stuff to do this.
>>> --
>>> James A. "Big Jim" Whitten
>> There ya go, Terry. Someone who knows how, and even better, *why*.
>>
>> So Terry probably lives a long way from FL, if Murphy's in the office
>> today.
>
> Maybe Big Jim could ship 'em out :-)
>
>
IMHO, a cast iron grate would be good, but the rough texture would trap
food particles. Unless seasoned and pampered, it'd also rust. If I
were going to the trouble to get a custom grate made for a beloved
cooker, I'd consider asking a welding shop to put together one from
round SS stock, about 1/4" in diameter.


--
Nonny

Nonnymus
Never believe a person who is
Drunk, Horny or Running for Office.