Hi Guys,

I am loving the forums! You are all so knowledgeable! I am hoping you can advise me....

I have recently inherited a gas bbq (grill??) which has three burners (?) and a gas ring. I have only ever used straigh-forward, easy-going charcoal bbq's before and this beast has come with no instructions.....I just want to know if this is useable as I am already quite in love with it (knobs, pipes, storage....) and I haven't even hooked it up yet...Will do this tomorrow. Should be interesting, have never done this before, have no instructions and a very large bottle of gas...

It has three different grill pieces which are as follows:

What looks like a cast iron grill (well heavy)- this looks a bit rusty and has a bit of a crack in it - is this for the skip??

A black grill (with holes), which looks like it has some kind of paint coating, which is peeling and the exposed metal is, again, a bit rusty - can this be cleaned? Is it safe? Or again, is it for the skip??

The last pice is a flat piece of grillness (no holes) which is flat on one side and ridged on the other - this has no rust, but does appear to have the strange paint coating, which I am struggling to understand - wont the paint just get burned off?? As it appears to have already been doing...

Can I cook on rust (my instincts are asking me, 'Would you EAT rust???) Am I able to clean all of the above rusty bits? If so what with? Whats with the paint?

Also, the burners are looking a bit dark and bumpy, if this is the beginings of rust, is my beast doomed? Or is it just filth that needs removing? Or should I just leave them well alone??

Please help...

Sounds like you'll need to post some pictures... Any idea what brand of a grill it is?

Bluesin

Thanks for your reply.

It is a Homebase grill. I dont think that will mean anything to you in the US....

missvee79
Are you saying that the mfg is Homebase ?
Is the model Homebase?
Or is it a custom grill?
If Homebase is the mfg can you tell us which Homebase?
Is the mfg from the UK, Australia or Canada?
Do you know how old the grill is?
Do you have the ability to provide us with pictures?

I just did a search and found "Homebase". It appears to be similar to our Home Depot, or Lowes here in the states.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/store...p;storeId=20001

Is this the "Homebase" you ar speaking of missvee79?

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.
The manufacturer is Homebase, the model is Valencia and it was bought in the UK. I have emailed customer services for more info re instructions and spec of parts as I also had a problem with the knobs (which I have now managed to fix myself - go me). I have no idea how old it is, but it is in pretty good shape (apart from, what I have now learned are called grates? From reading the forums...)and was owned by a South African, who really liked to grill, but then moved home and couldnt fit the grill in their car so just bought another one.... I will put pictures on in a couple of hours. Haven't actually tested it (!) but was assure that it is working....

I would really appreciate a lesson in jargon, as I am reading the forums like mad to try and educate myself, but just don't know what half of it means...Am off out in a bit for about an hour so will post photos after that. It's currently in my front room cos I took the hood off, and need someone to help me put it back on!!! And being in the UK, it's raining.

Have tried to upload pics, had trobles, hope it worked. When I said the grill was in good condition, I meant the outside.....please tell me it is useable!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that's the one.

Hi guys,

Thanks for your emails. Have been doing a lot of reading (am becoming slightly addicted to the forums) but I dont want to go ahead and do anything until I have had some proper advice about the grates (i think that is what they are called???). I am hoping I wont need to replace them as I dont think Homebase will be up for doing this, they certainly aren't as helpful as some of the stores I have read about on here...

Please see the pictures I posted earlier. They sure do look a lot worse in the pics than in 'the flesh'..... *not feeling optimisitic*

Missvee79
After looking at your pictures it appears as thou you will need grates (the heavy cast iron things you put the food on)
You will also need burners.
It appears that this is a 3 burner grill
Also it looks like you have some rust in the firebox. (the part the burners go in and the grates rest on)

Since this years stainless steel is of such poor quality, I dont think I would invest any money in this grill.

What I would do is go back to Homebase and buy the Weber E320.
It is on sale now for 299 pounds. That is a much better grill that will stand up to the EU weather and Weber has the best customer support around

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/store...ving%7C10308117

The grill/BBQ is a store brand, possibly made by a major manufacturer just like many of ours here in the states.

I've cooked on many gas grills/BBQs, that were in much worse shape than yours. And the food turned out wonderful. The rust on the grate/grid is not a problem if cleaned with a wire brush and kept oiled, if the coating is a problem for you it can be removed easily.

My observation of your pics is: pic 1 is the cooking grate/grid. It appears to be porcelain (glass) coated, and some of the porcelain has come off. 2 and 3 are the flame covers (each manufacturer has their own name for them) that go over the burners and below the cooking grate/grid (food never touches these, they are to distribute the heat evenly). 4 and 5 is a reversible griddle possibly teflon coated (a high temp plastic used on non-stick cookware). Looking at 6, it appears the left side burner is meant to be covered with the griddle without the flame cover. And the center and right burner would use the flame cover and cooking grate/grid.

Greg

On edit; I wouldn't spend any money on it, just use it til it doesn't work good anymore.

Thank you so much for the information! You have certainly cleared a few things up for me. I would have tried cooking on all of them.... I still haven't tried it out so I am just hoping it works!! If not I will take Ronald's advice and go for the Weber!!! I am hooked on it and I haven't even cooked on it! if that makes sense!

Re cleaning the grate/grid, I have read a few posts and some say that I should turn the grill on and let the grate/grid heat up before brushing with a wire brush, is this just to clean off food residue/gunk? I have already wire brushed the grate so just oil it now? Sorry for all the questions, but everyone I know has standard charcoal bbq's, and little ones at that, so have no-one to ask..

I have been reading loads and am going to try some of the receipes and get some photos up!! I can't freakin wait!!! Thanks again, it is MUCH appreciated.

Hi Ronald,

Thanks for your advice.

I haven't even tried the beast (my name for her, she may not be the biggest grill, but she's MY biggest grill) out yet, so dont even know if she performs. But am gonna give her a go and see what happens. If she is useless, then I am defo gonna go on your advice of the Weber, as I have got quite into this after reading the forums.

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions.

missvee79

Missvee79
There is nothing wrong with asking questions. We have all been there.
As far as cleaning the grill goes.
As a general rule you only clean the grates right before you cook. What that does is let the grates stay covered which minimizes rust. When you are ready to cook you then put the grill on it's highest setting. It will burn off any residue (much as the self cleaning cycle on a stove) For your grates you should coat them in whatever type of shortning or grease you have. ( you are basically seasoning the grates the way you would a cast iron skillet) When it comes to the wire brush you use for cleaning. Try to only use a brass wire brush. Brass is softer and is non abbrasive.

Hi Ronald,

Thanks thanks thanks for the info.

I have tried to take the worst of the rust off. I haven't got a brass brush, but have used the one that I use to do car bodywork? More abrasive, but trust, there was a lot of rust! Ah well, will know for next time.

Gonna get the beast going tomorrow, if it stays dry for long enough. Thanks for all your wisdom.

missvee79