Cleaning your kamado grill
Posted by Eric Spicer on
A clean grill is a happy grill.
So they say, the reality is that a clean grill is a well performing grill. Cleaning out the ash ensures that there is proper air flow to the rest of the grill, a key function for controlling temperature. Luckily for us kamado style grills using natural lump charcoal create very little mess. That mess can be taken care of in a variety of ways.
Our preferred method of grill cleanup is using and ash pan and ash tool. We like to ones that we make (duh) and highly recommend them (also duh.) The trick to getting the firebox extra clean is to get the ash pan as close to the firebox as possible. We put a small downward facing lip on our ash pan that fits into the air vent for your firebox. This allows you to get much closer to the firebox. The second trick is using a good quality ash tool. Our ash tool is designed to get as much ash out of your kamado and into the ash pan as quickly as possible. If your fire grate is performing correctly you should have loose ash and no big lumps to take out. Give the inside a good once over with the tool and make sure there aren't any stuck on pieces or hardened piles of ash. Once it's all cleaned out you are good to grill.
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
Original Video - More videos at TinyPic
Another method of cleaning out your grill is with an ash vacuum. Don't try this with any old shop vac though, ash vacuums are specifically designed to take ash and the possibility of a high heat situation. Using a shop vac which could have residual dust in it could lead to a fire hazard. If you are using an ash vacuum it is still a good idea to give the inside a scrape with an ash tool and loosen up the ash before vacuuming.
There you have it, the two best methods to clean out your grill. Remember a clean grill is a happy, well performing grill.
Ash Pan: http://auraoutdoorproducts.com/collections/aura-outdoor-products/products/ash-pan
Ash Tool: http://auraoutdoorproducts.com/collections/aura-outdoor-products/products/ash-tool