Chagriller Ash Pan......Junk

So I've had my Chagriller Smokin' Pro for about 3-4 years. I absolutely love it and use it often.

My one complaint though is the ash pan that came with it. My first ash pan lasted a few years and eventually the grates started to rust out and the welds were breaking where it was connected to the pan. I figured this wasn't too bad and bought another last April.

Well now it is a year later with the current ash pan and the grates are sinking. I'm guessing it is from the heat of the coals. The welds are holding fine and I have no rust issues. But it looks like I took a sledge hammer to the grates toward the middle.

I contact CharGriller hoping they could help me out somehow and all I get is an email back saying "Sorry we don't have any other options. We get this complaint alot. If you want to buy a new one, go for it.".

WTH? You get this complaint a lot and yet you continue to stock the same one? You aren't looking to improve the product?

So has any of you with a Chargriller modified the ash pan so it doesn't fall apart? I was thinking about buying some good grates and customizing them so they fit on the ashpan.

ive got a super pro and bought a side fire box for it it comes with cast iron grates for grilling first thing i did was cut them back some so theay would fit lower in the box and put my coals on them it seems to have saved my ashpan so far

timbarber84 wrote:

ive got a super pro and bought a side fire box for it it comes with cast iron grates for grilling first thing i did was cut them back some so theay would fit lower in the box and put my coals on them it seems to have saved my ashpan so far

So you have the grates from the SFB on top of the grates of the ashpan?

If not, what are the hangers connected to on the grates?

It'll happen regardless of your brand. I had both Weber's and a CG and the charcoal grate on all of them have warped/deformed due to the heat - that's why they all sell new charcoal grates. The only way to prolong the grate life as I see it is to have thicker gauge metal rods.

rogerja wrote:

It'll happen regardless of your brand. I had both Weber's and a CG and the charcoal grate on all of them have warped/deformed due to the heat - that's why they all sell new charcoal grates. The only way to prolong the grate life as I see it is to have thicker gauge metal rods.

I'm sure the stainless steel grates that come with a weber are 100000x better than what Chargirller uses. I would like to use some of the grates that came on my Weber Genesis S-320 and mount them to the ashpan. Those things are thick and would probably hold up forever.

Go to your local welding shop and have them weld something up for you. That's what I did with my Gator Pit and it cost me about $20. What I had made will last a lifetime.

tex

Title should read
"Chargriller = Junk"

p-nut wrote:

Title should read
"Chargriller = Junk"

I'd have to disagree. For the price I think they are pretty nice units for a charcoal grill. A lot of room and the rest of the grill has held up just fine. The only junk part is the ash pan IMO.

As a smoker, I wasn't too pleased with it. But that is because I am not into modding and babysitting a smoker as much as the chargriller required. I bought a WSM for smoking and would never attempt to smoke on the Chargriller again. It is purely my charcoal grill now.

RedWings wrote:

I'd have to disagree. For the price I think they are pretty nice units for a charcoal grill. A lot of room and the rest of the grill has held up just fine. The only junk part is the ash pan IMO.

As a smoker, I wasn't too pleased with it. But that is because I am not into modding and babysitting a smoker as much as the chargriller required. I bought a WSM for smoking and would never attempt to smoke on the Chargriller again. It is purely my charcoal grill now.

I totally agree. I still use my CG for grilling and have the 22 wsm for smoking

To each their own.
I had an outlaw for 3yrs and fought it all winter long.
Never again....

p-nut wrote:

To each their own.
I had an outlaw for 3yrs and fought it all winter long.
Never again....

p-nut... Havent seen you in awhile! Maybe I just haven't been paying attention. Careful brother... you are fixing to talk religion.

Old Smoker wrote:

RedWings wrote:

I'd have to disagree. For the price I think they are pretty nice units for a charcoal grill. A lot of room and the rest of the grill has held up just fine. The only junk part is the ash pan IMO.

As a smoker, I wasn't too pleased with it. But that is because I am not into modding and babysitting a smoker as much as the chargriller required. I bought a WSM for smoking and would never attempt to smoke on the Chargriller again. It is purely my charcoal grill now.

I totally agree. I still use my CG for grilling and have the 22 wsm for smoking

Yep. Had a Duo for about 3 years and used the hell out of it. Taught me how to make good Q. Now I have a massive 24 X 48 Horizon and am really glad I cut my teeth on the Char griller. Really makes me appreciate my heavy duty pit that much more.

For the record, I still love my Outlaw but if I've got one complaint it's those ash pan grates. CGs are great for the price but I've finally gotten to the point where I cut some expanded metal to replace those ash grates.

I'm convinced it's just the nature of the part, though. I've had similar issues with my fireplace grates as well. Heat + moisture + ash = corroded metal, no matter what the application.