Thread: tips for making a barbecue

I have built one in black steel -used a cast iron drop in plate - and CI burners.


Back in the old days everyone had a flatty BBQ, just a cover over the plate with no hood. The mate and I built a pair from sheet steel so that we could cook out side, meaning cook cakes and roast and everything that could be cooked in a kitchen oven.

Mind you it was a good idea at the time as cooking inside in the build up to the monsoon season was never pleasant.We just about lived outside

If have since seen a ripper stainless BBQ made from a split keg 18 gallon..
Unless you already have the all the stainless stuff it might well be cost effective to buy a completed stainless steel jobbie from K mart or Bunnings.

PS By very carefull of the plate as I have seen a nickel plate mistaken as stainless, "nicked" from industry make some people ill.

3mm in the correct grade s/steel is all I would use as it will suck the heat away big time. The spacing of burners height to plate will be different as well.


Cheers
Grahame

I have no experience building BBQs, but I know stainless saucepans tend to catch and burn. I think I would go for mild.

thanks Grahame, I walked into bbq's galore ready to grab something and saw some great units but couldn't believe the price tags on some of them. I was just after something simple, so that got me thinking...

thanks for the tip on stainless versus nickel plated.... gotta be careful with that sort of thing!

I definitely would make the body our of the stainless, but undecided with the plate - might go the cast iron drop ins as you have Grahame. I'd be worried about the 3mm plate sagging, etc., so was originally thinking thicker.

Bryan - thanks. I've never a actually cooked on a stainless plate BBQ before, but am already reconsidering based on what you guys have said.

Cheers

- Mick

3mm stainless plate as a cooking surface will buckle, and is tough to clean (food sticks to it quite badly). You can get cast stainless plates that are thicker and ribbed underneath that you could base your build on, or just go with the regular cast plates that people have been using for years. they last forever if you look after them.

If you have the space there are blokes making awesome barbies out of old 200L drums...just make sure your donor drum is one of the ones used to transport orange juice concentrate from brazil....should be easier on the palatte than an oil drum if theres any residue left behind.

Correct on 3mm it will buckle.Years ago I was lucky to get hold of a piece of 15mm stainless from a factory that made commercail cooking ovens, that fitted into the old style besser brick and pebble top barby,,fantastic I was the envy of all my mates,still using it today,cleans up great with a bit of water,can cook anything.
Today I have at our beach place a hot plate from BBQ galore that about 5mm thick with a lip all around,works great and cleans up just as well.
Just clean it after use and spray a bit of oil on it till next time.

Don't get the plate too hot as this will discolour it,add water after use and scrape off junk with a broad knife,it does not stick and is easy to clean.
Should the plate get dirty after many uses,put a fine wet and dry on you sander with a touch of water,this will clean it up and polish it back to new.

Mick,

Heatlie make some neat, simple to the point of being Spartan, stainless steel barbeques. Here's a link. Might give you some ideas.

Heatlie Barbecues - Stainless Steel BBQs

And here's a link to a pdf about stainless hotplates.

http://www.heatlie.com.au/images/fac...nlesssteel.pdf

Wish I could make my own.

BT

This BBQ is about 20 years old. Made from heavy galv 44. Top is 45mm smaller than bottom. Had to do that to fit burners etc in. Frame is made from bed frame angle.I have caster wheels to make it easier to move. Needs a lot of cleaning and other work. I had a rotisserie made from a car wiper motor but the gear arrangement I had is not strong enough. Keeps slipping. Was good for a while. The top cover is too small for anything but a small roast on the rotisserie. I salvaged a piece of stainless sheet from work to build a new one. The side shelves fold down.

Attachment 191376

Half grill and half plate. Both made from mild steel. The plate is 1/4inch, the grill is half inch diam rod attached to angle on sides. Both sit on top of frame edges.

Attachment 191377

4 burners in total. I bought these, the valves and knobs and made the rest including the manifold.

A salvage yard in Mount Gambier has lots of old BBQs in various states of repair and a pallet with about 50 of these burners sitting out in the weather.

I had trouble with starting the BBQ recently and after some searching found that one of the burners had rusted out leaving a hole. This BBQ is in the weather at the moment but with the lid always down, but it has been stored under cover until about 2 years ago to make room for restoration stuff on verandah.

Another point is you need a big regulator for a BBQ like this. I have a variable pressure one. I forgot to mention that I also bought the original regulator as well, and from a BBQ shop, with the other stuff. They sold me the wrong one. With the variable regulator it rocks.

Attachment 191378

Dean

Bob, thanks - the more spartan the better. The heatlie's look great. Very good info on the stainless plates too. It's interesting how they come clean on the lower heat transfer for stainless and "don't expect it to stay shiny". It's refreshing to see some honest advertising - makes me want to buy one. I notice they recommend 5mm stainless if you don't overheat the plate, but 10mm if you're less attentive.

Dean - she doesn't look as good as the Heatlie bbq's but I like it anyway. thanks for the tips.

As an update, I was cleaning out a bit of the workshop today and came across (wait for it...) 2 cast iron bbq plates and some grill sections Surely it's a sign

Cheers

- Mick

I was surprised to read this on the Heatlie website:

"Stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat and therefore the hottest part of your plate will be directly above the burners."

Very disappointed to read that, as I was planning on replacing my cast iron plates with a SS ones. Might have to reconsider that now.

Originally Posted by jack620

"Stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat and therefore the hottest part of your plate will be directly above the burners."

Thats why lots of saucepans have a S/S-Alum-S/S sandwich base... Maybe you could find a really large frypan.

Stuart

Ive got a stainless 6mm barbie plate, I am happy with it, but you do get hotspots right above the heatsource, the heat doesnt seem to transfer out to the edges as well as a cast iron plate. I have just learnt to cook on it accordingly, you get used to it.

I havent had any trouble with food sticking, and it cleans easily with a wide paint scraper after use.

Originally Posted by WelderMick

Bob, thanks - the more spartan the better. The heatlie's look great. Very good info on the stainless plates too. It's interesting how they come clean on the lower heat transfer for stainless and "don't expect it to stay shiny". It's refreshing to see some honest advertising - makes me want to buy one. I notice they recommend 5mm stainless if you don't overheat the plate, but 10mm if you're less attentive.

Dean - she doesn't look as good as the Heatlie bbq's but I like it anyway. thanks for the tips.

As an update, I was cleaning out a bit of the workshop today and came across (wait for it...) 2 cast iron bbq plates and some grill sections Surely it's a sign

Cheers

- Mick

Mick, I'm glad you like the austere Heatlies. I was thinking that I might be an orphan in my fondness for the abbreviated look.

As a teenager in the late sixties, the ubiquitous barby was half a 44 gallon drum with a sheet of steel for a hotplate. Wood was the fuel and most of the meat was charred. No one gave a toss because they were usually . A barbeque and a keg usually went together. The good old days.

BT

We use BBQ's with MS plates for scouts all the time. 5 or 6mm steel seems to do the job without any problems. Typically they are like the Heatlie units and the kids don't seem to be able to break them. I see ads for these $5000+ "outdoor kitchens" and wonder who buys them (and how often they get used too). If you have CI grills and plates then by all means use them - the heat will spread out nicely. Remember if you have too much metal (too thick) you will have to let it warm up before you can cook - can be a trap if you are running late with lunch...
It might be worth looking on the web at sites for Webbers etc - usually they have technical descriptions that tell you how superior their product is, but if you are building from scratch there might be a feature or two that you can pick up.

Michael

Originally Posted by Anorak Bob

A barbeque and a keg usually went together. The good old days.

BT

spot on.... and a bucket of schoolies (prawns that is... not the fine new generation that hangs around the gold coast around this time of year)