How Often Should You Replace Grill Grates?

Barbecue season is the prime time of the year since it’s the perfect opportunity to consider upgrading your old barbecue gear to enhance the flavor of your meals during the summer. On average, a grill grate lasts between 2 to 4 years before needing a replacement because using a grill grate in suboptimal condition poses a significant fire risk. It is crucial to replace a grill grate if it is:

(1) Warped
(2) Rusting
(3) Becoming brittle
(4) Missing parts

Grill Grates

Keeping your grill grate clean is a necessity to keeping your grill safe and in perfect condition. If your grill is warped, a tool called a flexi-shooter can be used to stretch and straighten the grates out. Alternatively, take your grates to a local professional to have them reshaped. Or, you can use the grates on a paint stirrer to bend out the warped sections and straighten them out for a whole new look. To do this, simply purchase a paint stirrer in the paint stirrer section of your home improvement store and begin heating your grill up on the hot end. Then slowly apply downward pressure to the center of the grill grate, while starting the bend of the stirrer in the center of the grate.

What To Do When Your Grill Grates are Worn Out

Once your grates are worn out, it’s best to get in contact with a trusted grill equipment specialist. Replacement parts can be pricey and they’ll know which grill you’re replacing your grate on so that they can give you a good estimate of how much the replacement parts will cost you. If you still don’t want to spend a large sum of money, you can check out the best cheap grills that you can buy online that don’t cost a fortune. Another option to consider would be to use kerosene grills for outdoor grilling, which is a simple way to have grill grates that are not only made of stainless steel, but are also cheap and easy to repair and maintain.

How to Know When it’s Time to Replace Your Grill Grates

Here’s how to tell when it’s time to replace your grill grates. The first thing you need to check out is the grate itself. If you’re seeing rust on the stainless steel or plastic material, that could be a sign that it’s time to replace it. If you notice the grate doesn’t fit the kettel tightly, that’s also a sign that it may be time to replace it. If you’re using a grill grate for multiple years, you should look for it to be missing specific parts so that you know you have to replace it. A lot of times you won’t notice the missing parts until you get them out of the grates. Your grill grate should be flexible, the same shape as when you first bought it, and should be easy to clean.

Conclusion

Grill grates must be inspected and periodically cleaned, otherwise they can become an accident waiting to happen. So think twice before keeping grates that are worn out, cracked or missing parts. It’s time to give them a new lease on life. To help you purchase and maintain your grill, take a look at our exhaustive grill guide on the latest news in grilling!