I have one of these:
It is a Pit Boss tabletop portable gas grill. It is ridiculously awful. I snagged it from WalMart for $49. The finish is beautiful and it is actually made from some heavy duty stainless, so it is a good foundation. Since I got it at WalMart, I could easily return it (which I may do) but that's not a GRM solution. Let's brainstorm.
It has two problems. 1) the burner is a large, u-shaped 12,000 BTU thing. As you can tell from the tapered bottom and the regulator on the side, this requires that the burner is up too high. The burner is about 2" below the grate, and the heat plate is almost touching the grate. This means that whatever you put on the grill will be charcoal on the outside and raw inside. 2) it doesn't matter where you set the flame, it is always 500 degrees. This might work for a thin burger patty or a ham steak, but chicken is out of the question.
Option 1: Remove the large, U-shaped burner and install (or fabricate) a smaller burner closer to the bottom, then replace the v-shaped heat plate with maybe a perforated cast iron something... maybe a rusty yardsale griddle with holes drilled in it.
Option 2: remove the gas part altogether and fab up a pan for charcoal
Option 3: modify this current burner to not put out 12,000 friggin BTUs.
If I fabricate for option 1, do I just take some 1/2" black pipe and drill a series of 1/16" holes in it and tack it to the carburetor? Is there some guestimate chart for "BTUs per hole" so I can guess how many holes I need and what size?
If option 3, how would I go about it? I figure I could braze every other hole and adjust the carb, but I would also imagine the flow of the holes in the burner is proportional to the regulator flow? Simply blocking the flow at the end might cause backflow out of the carburetor, yes? I would also imagine that it would reach a point of minimal effect. The first several holes I block would likely not decrease heat because the flow and flames from the other holes would just increase.
For reference:
Here is the burner. Not the greatest angle, but as you can see it is only about 2" in the hole.
And here is what I was thinking (pathetic attempt to draw in perspective)
Raise the grill. Maybe a six inch tall rectangle to space the lid from the base and then some hooks to tower the grate to a better height away from the burners.
Wally said:
Raise the grill. Maybe a six inch tall rectangle to space the lid from the base and then some hooks to tower the grate to a better height away from the burners.
I like this. Pretty simple and doesn't add to the real estate on the tiny patio.
Any chance you can flip the burner so the holes exit down?
im not sure if it would help, but would at least move the flame down a little.
After you raise the grill, will there be space to put some inverted V channel over the burners? That should spread the heat out better, too.
My Weber gas grill has those, which are supposed to keep the oil from direct flame, so it helps in multiple ways.
Count your $50 as an education fee, toss it in the river and buy a proper grille?
For 50 smackers and as small as it is I suggest keeping it around and only using it for stuff that a regular grill doesn't get hot enough for. Seared Tuna steaks springs to mind, or skirt steak which is always a pain to not overcook whilst still wanting a nice sear.
Heck, pair that lil' guy up with one of those sous vide thingies and I'm sure you would be eating pretty well.
This may be dumb, but why not get a handful of stainless hose clamps and clamp onto the burner to block some of the holes?
alfadriver said:
After you raise the grill, will there be space to put some inverted V channel over the burners? That should spread the heat out better, too.
My Weber gas grill has those, which are supposed to keep the oil from direct flame, so it helps in multiple ways.
It has a v-channel over the burners. That channel is almost touching the grate.
I would just convert it to charcoal cause that's free. But you could probably get a universal burner and drop it in.
No Time said:
Any chance you can flip the burner so the holes exit down?
im not sure if it would help, but would at least move the flame down a little.
I just completed this to try it. It makes the burner glow red hot and it is... umm... a very interesting shape now. It still works, but I don't think the burner was designed to take all that direct heat. Flipping it back up once it cools down.
Curtis said:
Wally said:
Raise the grill. Maybe a six inch tall rectangle to space the lid from the base and then some hooks to tower the grate to a better height away from the burners.
I like this. Pretty simple and doesn't add to the real estate on the tiny patio.
Place a couple of simple house bricks on the edge of the gates and the place an additional cooking grate on the bricks.
This moves the food farther from the flame.
The lid might not close.
Experiment with sizes but 4 tiny Terra catta pots turned upside down might also act as a lifting base.
In reply to Curtis :
I guess that can be eliminated as a potential solution....
