For outdoor cooking of mouth-watering grilled dishes, the barbecue grill is an indispensable tool. But on the condition that compliance with the stated preferences.
To understand which option is the most suitable and whether you can take matters into your own hands, you need to find out the advantages and disadvantages of all popular types of gratings.
The purpose of the barbecue grill
A barbecue grate (grill grate) is a device with which various foodstuffs are cooked on an open fire or in a specially designed oven.
Photo 1. Some barbecue grills have legs in order to set them over the coals.
The use of lattices has a whole several advantages:
- food is being prepared without oil, which has a positive effect on health;
- on it convenient to place several types of food at once;
- easy in the process control the degree of frying;
- the structure itself does not take up much space;
- does not require any accessories.
Important! When cooking over an open fire, observe safety precautions: wear protective gloves, control the intensity of the fire, avoid contact with flammable objects.
Barbecue grills are divided into several types. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, after analyzing which it will be easy to decide on the appropriate option.
Choosing a mesh material
Considering that today there are many different interpretations on the topic of barbecue (brazier, electric grill, gas barbecue oven, etc.), it is worth clarifying - we will talk about grates suitable for use in conventional garden ovens.
Nickel
This is the most popular choice. Manufactured from nickel-plated steel. They come in both with one working surface and with two folding ones, which are fixed together with a clamp.
Main dignity:
- Price. This is the most budget option on the market.
- Variety of shapes and sizes. For the non-standard form factor, the same production technology is used, but the starting material is thicker - steel bars of a larger diameter. This gives the barbecue grill the necessary rigidity.
- Prevalence. Such grills are sold in absolutely any store, and it will not be difficult to buy it even at the very last moment on the way to a picnic.
Main limitations:
- Weak fixation of rods. This problem is especially common in small lattices. With careless handling, the wire begins to move in different directions, and compact products fall into the fire.
- fragility. After just a few applications, the applied coating flakes off, and its particles stick to food. If after that you continue to use the grate, then rust will appear on it.
Cast iron
This material is practically "indestructible", which makes it perfect in many ways:
- He does not oxidize. This means that rust will never touch it.
- Respect for products. Firms that have put production on stream cover finished products with a special composition, which prevents sticking and burning food to the grate. Like the famous "thinking about us" pans.
- Durability. Over many years of use, this material is more likely to get bored than deteriorate.
- Fixed hole diameter. The grate does not deform under pressure or heat, and pieces of food will not fall through the holes.
- Wide range of sizes. Choosing the right option for your oven is not a problem.
Possible limitations:
- First and foremost - price. Cast iron barbecue grills are much more expensive than their counterparts in the shop. This, of course, pays off in full with durability, but not many are ready to lay out such an amount right away.
- Uniformity of forms. Most often it is a rectangle or circle. If there is a need for a non-standard form, then it is better to look for something else.
Caring for such a grill you can’t imagine easier: it can be cleaned in any convenient way – both wet and dry. Special storage conditions are also not required.
Stainless steel
Not the most common choice for grating, but having a lot virtues:
- Unique shape and size. If frequent use for non-standard forms is expected, then this is the most suitable option. It won't take long to find a replacement.
- Durability. Stainless steel is a material that is very resistant to high temperatures and does not deform over time.
- Optimal stiffness. The rods perfectly retain their original position, while not squeezing the products excessively (taking into account moderate loading).
Minuses in use:
- burning food. Since the material is not coated with any non-stick compound, there is a possibility of food sticking to the grate during cooking.
- Price. It’s not as expensive as cast iron, but it’s not a “drop in and buy” option either. This is a thing that is bought consciously for many years.
- inaccessibility. You rarely find such a product in stores, so many people prefer to make them with their own hands.
Despite the fact that food particles remain on the rods after cooking, look after behind bars is very easy. All soot is removed under running water with a special brush and dried well.
You will also be interested in:
How to do everything with your own hands?
If you want to make a barbecue grill yourself, then it is best for this stainless steel. Of all the materials available, it is the easiest to obtain and easy to work with. From it you can make absolutely any shape and size that will fit the existing furnace.
Important! Argon is best suited for welding stainless steel, so if you have it, feel free to get down to business.
Stages process:
- From a suitable stainless steel sheet, stepping back about three cm, cut out the middle part.
- Between outer and inner border draw a dividing line.
- For the main part, take wire from the same material with a diameter about 3-5 mm.
- Trim the bars to such a length that they, crossing the hole, reached the drawn line.
- Weld ends in this place. It is not necessary to weld the rods together at the points of contact!
- Make cuts at the corners of the frame and wrap free edges inward, tightly pressing against the rods themselves and in the voids. This will protect against cuts.
- distribution frequency use the wire of your choice. But make sure that pieces of food do not fall into the holes.
- Availability pens— is not always necessary. If you need it, then make it from a thick rod, attaching a wooden holder to the end. The length of the handle should not exceed the width of the grate itself, otherwise the balance will be disturbed.
- With a strong desire, you can deviate from the canons and weld the bars lattices are not standard rhombuses, but snake or some other weaving.
Homemade grills are also made of cast iron, but this method is rarely practiced due to the technically complex process. Welding is very demanding. precise temperature control and the use of special electrodes. At the slightest deviation from the norm, the structure of cast iron begins to collapse. For simple amateurs and beginners this method is absolutely not suitable.
There are many devices for cooking on a fire. Braziers, tripods, various tagankas, let's combine all this diversity into one universal design.
Required tools and fixtures.
1. Welding inverter.
2. Angle grinder.
3. Magnetic corners for welding.
4. Sharpening machine, you can get by with a grinder.
5. Industrial hair dryer.
Required materials.
1. 3/4" metal water pipe.
2. Metal water pipe with a diameter of 1/2 inch.
3. Metal strip 3 cm wide and 3 mm thick.
4. Metal square with a section of 10 mm by 10 mm.
5. Metal profile pipe with shelf dimensions of 20 mm by 20 mm.
6. Metal profile pipe with shelf dimensions of 15 mm by 15 mm.
7. Corrugated fittings with a diameter of 10 mm.
8. Rolled fittings with a diameter of 6 mm.
8. Wire with a diameter of 3 mm.
9. Nuts, bolts, washers.
10. Welding electrodes.
11. Heat resistant paint.
12. Cutting and flap wheels for a grinder.
From a pipe with a diameter of 1/2 inch we cut a segment 80 cm long. From a pipe with a diameter of 3/4 inch we cut 4 pieces of 5 cm and 2 pieces of 2 cm.
We weld a nut to the pipe with a diameter of 1/2 inch from the end, this will be the rack itself.
A pipe with a diameter of 3/4 inch is better to use a seamless one, otherwise you will have to cut the seam inside because it interferes with inserting the pipe into the pipe.
If the pipe is still seamed, then you can quickly cut the seam by holding the rasp in a drill.
We drill holes in 3/4 inch pipe sections.
Weld nuts on the holes.
We weld small pieces of rolled reinforcement with a diameter of 6 mm to the threads from the bolts. Got a stand mount.
We make a frame for the hob from a metal strip. The dimensions are calculated based on the dimensions of the existing grill grate.
In order to maintain the correct angles, when welding, we will use magnetic corners, but we still check the diagonals.
In order for the grill grate and the hob not to fall through at the bottom of the frame, we weld two more strips.
We cut out one shelf a little for the handle of the grill grate and make cuts for the skewers.
We weld the hob for pans and pots from a metal square. The size of the surface should be a couple of millimeters on each side less than the size of the frame to avoid jamming when heated.
We weld small legs at the bottom to level the hob with the level of the frame.
We fasten the frame to the rack from a profile pipe. We cut off 15 cm from each profile. We weld a section from a profile of 15 mm by 15 mm to the frame. In a section of a profile pipe measuring 20 mm by 20 mm, we drill a hole on one side and weld a nut for fasteners. We weld fasteners to the rack to the other side. Profile pipes are inserted into each other and fixed with a clamp in the required position.
The thrust base of our design for compactness is made in the size of the frame. We weld nuts to four pieces of corrugated reinforcement on one side. Nuts are better wide or you can weld two together. The other edges of the reinforcement are welded to the rack mount.
We cut off a section of 60 cm from a profile pipe measuring 15 mm by 15 mm. We weld fasteners on the rack to the other, a limiter, on one side. This will be the hanger for the pot.
We weld the remaining fasteners on the rack from above and weld the bent reinforcement. On this detail we will hang a poker and all sorts of campfire accessories.
Of course, you can do without a poker, but it is more convenient with it.
We cut off five pieces of 15 cm from the reinforcement, weld the threads to one side, sharpen the other side. The resulting pins will be stuck into the ground.
From the wire with a diameter of 3 mm we bend the hooks.
All the details are ready, it remains to paint them with heat-resistant paint. After drying, the parts must be thoroughly heated with an industrial hair dryer to bake the enamel, otherwise it will crumble.
For ease of transportation, a tarpaulin cover was sewn for the entire product and separately for small parts.
Now the instructions for assembly and operation.
We fasten the pin to the rack and stick it into the ground.
The remaining pins are screwed to the stubborn base and also stuck into the ground. If the ground is hard we hammer with an ax, this will only give stability. Fix with clamping screw.
We install and fix the stop for the hob at the desired height.
We install and fix the hob itself.
We install and fix the suspension stop for the kettle at the desired height.
We install the suspension.
Hello. Today I want to talk about how I made a tripod for a fire.
... As I have repeatedly mentioned, from time to time my friends and I go by car to the forest, where we live in tents for several days. This tradition has been going on for more than twenty years, and we are slowly "acquiring" the things necessary for a comfortable stay in the forest. Among them is a tripod for a fire, which freed us from such an activity as searching for suitable "slingshots" and crossbars in the forest, with their subsequent installation near the fire. The tripod that we purchased was of the following plan (photo from the Internet. Now is not the season, and ours is hidden somewhere on the far shelf.)):
During operation, a number of shortcomings were revealed, namely:
1. There is no way to quickly adjust the height of the cauldron suspension. (At bonfires, as a rule, there is no "knee" to quickly make the fire smaller)))) With abundant boiling, one thing remains - to regulate the heat by raising or lowering the cauldron (cauldron). To do this by moving to another link in the chain is good only in theory! In practice, at least two people are needed - one lifts the cauldron (and it is heavy!), The other outweighs the chain. And even doing it together on outstretched arms over a blazing fire and a boiling cauldron is still a pleasure!)))). In addition, if you outweigh it high, then the rest of the chain strives to dip into the boiler))).
2. Not wide enough! Our company is large, and if, for example, a fifteen-liter boiler hangs, then it should hang only below! You can’t lift it, because the “legs” narrow from above. In order for it to fit high too, the tripod must be over two meters high...
3. Insufficient compactness. Even when folded, it is over a meter long! Not in any trunk enters along, or across! And if you put it diagonally, it takes up a lot of usable space!
4. It cannot be put aside if it is temporarily not needed! That is, I would like the tripod in the assembled state to be a rigid structure that can be put on a glove (it can be hot!) Just temporarily set aside, and then just as easily put back in its place. (And when In doing so, she did not change her geometry, even if she was carried by one "leg") And ours, when trying to lift it, adds up. (And she is hot!))). That is, you can still remove it and throw it aside, but now, putting it back over a blazing fire is problematic! You need to wait until the fire goes out a little.
Given all these points, I decided to make a new one with my own hands. And here's what I got:
In this photo, it is not fully expanded. The lower segments of the "legs" are telescopic!! If you extend them, then the height from the ground to the hook (in its upper position) is 1m. 60 cm!! It's just that now is not the season for trips "to nature" and I photographed it indoors, the dimensions of which did not allow such a massive structure to be fully captured in the frame.))))
Here's what I needed to make it:
1. Profile pipe with a section of 15 by 15 mm.
2. Profile pipe, section 20 to ... mm. (Needed for the manufacture of a U-shaped guide, so any trimming of a profile pipe with one wall of 20 mm is suitable)
3. Sheet iron 5 mm thick. (I have a "corrugation", this is not necessary)
4. Cut off the M14 stud.
5. square (rolled) 10 by 10 mm.
6. square (rolled) 12 by 12 mm. (Needed to reinforce the bends ("knees") of the "fifteen" pipe, so short cuts are suitable).
7. Suspended spring element from the Armstrong suspended ceiling system.
8. Wire with a diameter of 4 mm.
9. Cut of the railing tube 16 mm. (Not necessary.)
10. M6 bolts 25 mm long. (3 pcs. for the manufacture of axes "legs")
11. M6 cap nuts. (For the same.)
12. M6 wing bolts. (3 pcs. For fixing the telescopic parts.)
13. Nuts M6. (normal)
14. Nuts M14.
15. M5 wing bolts (3 pcs.)
16. M5 wing nuts (3 pcs).
17. Heat-resistant enamel.
I wrote this list - and I myself am in shock !!! After all, he made something simple, one might say, a primitive product, and it took a lot of names of materials!
But nothing!! We are not looking for easy ways!!! The product turned out, and meets all the criteria laid down by me! So - time and effort spent not in vain!
So, where did I start? .. Do you think from a drawing? If so, then you are only partly right!
The fact is that I never make drawings of my homemade products! This takes time, and it is never enough! Plus, crafting is my hobby! So, each product is made in a single copy! Therefore, after its manufacture, the drawing will certainly not be needed! And since God did not offend me with spatial thinking, I prepare all the "drawings" of homemade products only in my head! As a rule, I do this while driving, where I spend a lot of time, daily spinning around the city. And I draw individual details only on the blanks, before taking on the grinder!)))) And if I need the size I intuitively need to "translate into meters", then I imagine the future detail, holding a tape measure in my hands, looking at it, and mentally trying on a future detail for it))))
But now I still drew a little... That is, I just drew a sketch of a tripod of such dimensions as I would like, on a scale of 1:1 on a sheet of cardboard.))).
And then it's easier. Applying the blank to the sketch, I made one of the three main elements. (I started with the upper parts of the "legs").
According to my idea, this part will have two short "shoulders" bent at a certain angle at the ends. The upper "shoulders" will be dressed with ends on the axis, and, through them, hinged to the top plate. The upper and lower plates will be pulled together with an M14 pin, and the "shoulders", being sandwiched between them, will provide a rigid fastening of the "legs" and the desired angle of their arrangement ...
In short ... Here, look at the photo of the finished product, you will immediately understand everything))):
If the pin is loosened and the plates are separated, then "the legs can be folded to a position where their long parts become parallel:
That is, the folding mechanism of the main nodes is clear. By tightening the plates with a hairpin, we force the "legs" to diverge until their upper "shoulders" are firmly clamped between the plates. The design will take on a rigid final shape.
Since it is impossible to bend a profile pipe at the right angle, I, having estimated the desired length of the "shoulders" and the desired angle from the template (sketch), made cuts?
Since the upper "shoulders" will have to withstand heavy loads, I decided to strengthen them. Cut out one wall
From square rolled products 12 by 12 mm I cut off three segments and made transverse cuts in them with a depth of about half:
Then, Bent to the desired angle using the "sledgehammer-impact method"
The angle was "measured" by applying blanks to my sketch.
After that, I hammered the resulting amplifiers into the pipe:
Then he bent the "opened" parts to them and boiled them well, paying attention to the incision at the fold.
After pre-treatment with a cleaning wheel, I drilled holes for the axles:
Everything... The upper "shoulder" is ready. I made the lower one with similar amplifiers, only I had to cut off the “shoulders” completely, hammer in short amplifiers, and then boil them, because the design there will be a little different:
Having found the center, I drilled holes in them for the stud:
From a cut pipe with a single wall of 20 mm, I cut out three “landing” ones for the upper “shoulders” (as we remember, they are square in section with a side of 15 mm, and the inner size of the landing ones turned out to be 16 mm.):
And welded them to the top platform.
Here I will describe my mistake. Initially, I planned to screw the stud from below, so I welded an M14 nut to the top plate, protecting its thread from metal splashes with wetted paper:
But, already at the first "fitting" it turned out that it is very inconvenient to twist the hairpin from below - the "legs" interfere. So I drilled out the threads in this nut, and welded a similar nut to the bottom plate. Now the hairpin will be screwed in from above.
In the corners of the lower platform, I made cutouts for the "legs". Now, when we clamp our structure, the bottom platform into which the stud is screwed will not be able to rotate.
The next thing I started making a comfortable collar from a hairpin. First things first, I drilled an axial hole in it, with a diameter of 6 mm. I will need this in order to make a "cunning" cauldron suspension mechanism smoothly adjustable in height, which I will talk about later ...
Drilling the hole was difficult. Drilled in a vice. To do this, I screwed three nuts and "locked" them well. For them, and held in a vice, so as not to spoil the thread:
I constantly lubricated the drill, drilled at low speeds, monitored the parallelism of the drill in all planes ... And the drill was short. Then I had to aim from the other side ....
But it worked!
To make the collar, I screwed two nuts onto the end of the stud and welded them:
Then he drilled two blind holes in their faces (so that they reached the stud), hammered bolts into them and welded:
.... And I realized that I was wrong again !!!
Since my tripod when folded in cross section will have a triangular shape, it would be logical to make a case for it triangular! And in any case, such a knob will protrude beyond the tripod ...
So I cut off one bolt:
And welded two:
Such a knob can be turned so that it does not stick out beyond the upper triangular plate, and it will be even more convenient to rotate it than a bolt with two knobs.
Next, I started making the lower parts of the "legs". As planned, they will be telescopic. A 10x10 square will come out of a 15x15 pipe.
(The profile pipe has a wall thickness of 1.5 mm. Theoretically, it should include a 12 by 12 square bar, from which I made amplifiers. But in practice, it is only clogged there with a sledgehammer, since the pipe is welded, and has a welding seam inside. Therefore, I chose a smaller section).
The telescopic extensions will be clamped in the desired position with wing bolts. Therefore, having cut three pieces of pipe of the required length, I drilled holes in them closer to the edge with a diameter of 8 mm, and welded over them along the M6 nut:
This was hard enough to do with arc welding. To fix it in the right position and to protect the thread from metal splashes, I used a bolt, which is "not a pity")))
From all the pipes behind the welded nut I cut off the "extra":
Dressed him on rods:
Welded and sharpened:
Such a design will protect the inside of the pipe from clogging with earth if we stick it into the ground without unfolding the telescopic part, and, at the same time, serve as limiters - it will not allow the bars to go inside when folding more than necessary .... Yes, and it looks somehow more organic.
...Initially, I thought about how to limit the departure of these elements. And, even, he came up with ... but abandoned this idea because then the telescopic structure would not be collapsible! And, if sand gets inside, it will be problematic to clean! Therefore, I decided to exclude this moment, and in order not to accidentally stick out the "legs" more than expected, just paint their upper part with red enamel. As soon as it appeared red - stop! You can't go further!
Now we will make the top mount. It is supposed to fold up. But you can’t make it telescopic - the “knee” on the upper part interferes. And if you just fold to the side on the axis, then there will not be enough rigidity. So I came up with this compromise solution:
The “legs” will fold on the axis, but, having expanded them by 180 degrees, you can move them a little back so that their ends enter the upper part of the pipe, and clamp it in this position with a wing bolt with a wing nut. You get a rigid mount at two points - the hinge "will be immobilized by a telescopic moment!"
I implemented it like this:
I cut three pieces of a square with a side of 12 mm and drilled holes in them with a diameter of 6 mm:
After that, the grinder cut one side along:
To "muffle" the ends, I clamped them in a vise, putting a bolt into the slot, and simply bent the walls to each other with a hammer. After that, I “baked” a little with welding and turned it with a cleanup wheel to give the desired rounded shape. (Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of this process, so I post a photo of the finished element.