Cleaning tips?

[MJBunch]

Just ran my first set of ribs through my 780. Turned out really well!!

My question is about cleaning the unit. I understand vacuuming the ashes out and cleaning the grill rack. But I watched a video on cleaning (from Traeger) and it showed cleaning the inside of the smoker fully with grease cleaner. Is this due to risk of fire?? I've always left the build-up intact in my previous smoker. What are others doing??

thanks

 

[dunawayfamily]

Higher temps will ignite grease (375° for animal fat, 450° for vegetable based oils) ... so we use Simple Green (https://simplegreen.com/products - the top left hand bundle is one they sell @Costco locally), to wipe down the exterior and interior areas of the drum, along with the grease catch/drain into bucket ... have not done much cleaning of the chimney stack as of yet, but will focus on that in the near future ...

 

[MJBunch]

Higher temps will ignite grease (375° for animal fat, 450° for vegetable based oils) ... so we use Simple Green (https://simplegreen.com/products - the top left hand bundle is one they sell @Costco locally), to wipe down the exterior and interior areas of the drum, along with the grease catch/drain into bucket ... have not done much cleaning of the chimney stack as of yet, but will focus on that in the near future ...

Thanks for the response. I always felt that the build up over the years of smoking is a "badge of honor"! Plus I don't think I'll run my Traeger over the temps you referenced. I have a good grill for that.
Thx!

 

[davwhite]

Higher temps will ignite grease (375° for animal fat, 450° for vegetable based oils) ... so we use Simple Green (https://simplegreen.com/products - the top left hand bundle is one they sell @Costco locally), to wipe down the exterior and interior areas of the drum, along with the grease catch/drain into bucket ... have not done much cleaning of the chimney stack as of yet, but will focus on that in the near future ...

That link send me to my home country, Australia. What was the name of the simple green you used?

 

[dunawayfamily]

That link send me to my home country, Australia. What was the name of the simple green you used?

The All-Purpose Cleaner is what they sell @Costco ... https://simplegreen.com/products/all-purpose-cleaner ...

 

[davwhite]

Thanks for that, can't travel to Costco atm because of lockdown.

 

[Burgersb]

Higher temps will ignite grease (375° for animal fat, 450° for vegetable based oils) ... so we use Simple Green (https://simplegreen.com/products - the top left hand bundle is one they sell @Costco locally), to wipe down the exterior and interior areas of the drum, along with the grease catch/drain into bucket ... have not done much cleaning of the chimney stack as of yet, but will focus on that in the near future ...

Does that simple green leave an odor on the grill ?

 

[dunawayfamily]

Does that simple green leave an odor on the grill ?

No - no odor - it does "burn off" a bit at the next IGNITE with some white smoke ...

 

[Linefinder]

I'm a machinist by trade, and we use Simple Green in the shop to clean our mills, lathes, etc., of most oils and greases. It does a very good job. There are much more aggressive degreasers out there (Zep Purple, for example), but I'd hesitate to use them on a cooking surface.

Simple Green does leave a slight residue, but I'm confident once you've reached cooking temp the residue will be gone.

Edit: I've never tried Simple Green on a grill....never crossed my mind until this thread. I'm willing to give it a try.

 

[dunawayfamily]

I'm a machinist by trade, and we use Simple Green in the shop to clean our mills, lathes, etc., of most oils and greases. It does a very good job. There are much more aggressive degreasers out there (Zep Purple, for example), but I'd hesitate to use them on a cooking surface.

Simple Green does leave a slight residue, but I'm confident once you've reached cooking temp the residue will be gone.

Edit: I've never tried Simple Green on a grill....never crossed my mind until this thread. I'm willing to give it a try.

We have Cast Iron Grill Grates - do not use the Simple Green on those - we wipe those with a wet towel to knock off any crust/excess char ... the Simple Green is used to clean up the non-cooking surfaces inside-and-out ...

 

[Linefinder]

Agree. The Pro22 has p-coated grates, Cast, OTOH....brush or wadded up foil only, period.

 

[bfletcher]

Of all my outdoor cookers I have never used a cleaner nor degreaser on the walls of my pits. Having said that, on the few occasions I see a gunk buildup I'll wipe it off in an easy peasy fashion and I'll also lightly scrape any loose, peeling carbon deposits. I do religiously remove fat and drippings and scrape the grates. In the case of pellet smokers, I vacuum the ash between each use.

The fact that I don't clean my pit walls does not make it the right decision (but don't tell me I'm wrong, lol)

 

[Slimpicker]

Simple Green® Heavy-Duty BBQ & Grill Cleaner - Aerosol
Simple Green Heavy Duty BBQ & Grill Cleaner cleans heavy grease build-up, baked-on food and carbon deposits on grates, stainless steel parts, smokers, BBQ covers and more. The orally non-toxic, residue-free formula is safer for use on cooking surfaces

 

[Slimpicker]

After 3 smokes, I used the Simple green BBQ cleaner and it was pretty freakin good at getting it clean... hand washed the grate... used blue paper towels wiping up the rest of the grill, no big residue smell and today I fired up for pork steaks and I let it go to 300 for 15 minutes and all was good
I recommend!!

 

[Dugbbq]

hi
I tried the traeger cleaner it works and is safe .