26” Cast Iron Grate for my new Weber Kettle??

[TXNewbie]

So I sold my 22” Weber kettle in 12 hours for $100, and just received my 26” Weber kettle.

Anyone ever upgrade to a cast iron grate?

How do they perform? Is there a brand you recommend?

 

[Pocchampion]

I use grillgrates. They are easy to maintain and if I flip over I can use them ass flatttop.

 

[RemoGaggi]

I'm not a fan of cast iron grates because of the extra weight and maintenance they require. I don't believe they add anything to the quality of the cook. The original grate on the 26" is plenty heavy duty.

 

[rwalters]

I do not have CI grates for my 26 kettle, but I do have and use GrillGrates quite often. Love em’!

 

[mike243]

I am not a fan of cast iron either,heavy stainless if I have my choice

 

[Robert]

I do not know of any cast iron grates available for the 26. Not saying there are not any available, I just do not know of any. You should be fine one your grates for a while so you can keep looking. Killa Grilla produces some nice stainless grates that are heavier than the ones available from Weber. I bought some last year from there for my sons and I and love them so far. Grill Grates have a big following. I have a set but have not used them yet. I need to try them out.


Good luck on your search.


Robert

 

[KevinJ]

I do not know of any cast iron grates available for the 26. Not saying there are not any available, I just do not know of any. You should be fine one your grates for a while so you can keep looking. Killa Grilla produces some nice stainless grates that are heavier than the ones available from Weber. I bought some last year from there for my sons and I and love them so far. Grill Grates have a big following. I have a set but have not used them yet. I need to try them out.


Good luck on your search.


Robert

I have the Killa Grilla SS Grates on my 22" they are definitely heavy duty and they were the heaviest SS Grates I could find for the 22"

 

[Bigfish8]

So I sold my 22” Weber kettle in 12 hours for $100, and just received my 26” Weber kettle.

Anyone ever upgrade to a cast iron grate?

How do they perform? Is there a brand you recommend?

I own a Weber 22 and a Weber 26 and both have the Weber Grates with the sides that flip up to allow addition of charcoal. I have not tried other style grates as I love the side flip up function.

I am curious why you might be interested in a Cast Iron Grate and if you had one on the Weber 22 you sold? My guess is that you want to produce sear marks on your food and if so as others have mentioned Grill Grates work extremely well. You can easily use Grill Grates when you want to or store them under the kettle when you don't.

Ken

 

[sudsandswine]

I have cast iron grates on my Primo grill and far prefer them for grilling steaks than the regular porcelain coated grates. The sear they produce is much better. You could probably set a section of cast iron grates from another grill on top of the stock Weber ones and get the same effect, unless you're wanting the entire 26" covered in cast iron.

 

[TXNewbie]

I’m trying to get a more robust grate that can retain heat more effectively for great searing.

I’m open to either cast iron or heavy duty stainless.

 

[rwalters]

I’m trying to get a more robust grate that can retain heat more effectively for great searing.



I’m open to either cast iron or heavy duty stainless.

I believe that Craycort manufactures cast iron grates for the 26.75 kettle. Their website isn’t the best... perhaps give them a call.

https://www.cast-iron-grate.com/

 

[TXNewbie]

Thanks guys.

So I looked at both the villa grilla stainless grate and the craycort cast iron. I love cast iron in the kitchen, but not sure which I should go with in this instance.

 

[McSpazatron]

The weber 26 comes stock with a stainless grate. Mine is at least 4 years old, and is holding up fine with frequent very high heat searing cooks. It’s discolored and no longer shiny in the spots where I sear, but the steel has not eroded, unlike like the regular grates that come on the weber 22. I consider the 22inch grates disposable. The 26 inch grate is definitely more permamanent.

The CI grates, if you find them, will be heavy. When you move the grill, or scrub the grates, your 26 is going to shift around, and that stresses the sockets for the legs (webers weak point). I would worry the extra weight of CI will lead those sockets welds to break much earlier than they would otherwise.

Another thing to keep in mind... good searing comes from active high heat. The fact that CI retains heat doesnt matter if you have a hot fire. The best searing, in my opinion, happens with thin steel, like a wok, or carbon steel pan. You can get a great sear on CI grates, but that will be because you have a real hot fire behind it.

 

[sudsandswine]

I think it has to do a lot with surface area contacting the meat...cast iron, by necessity, has wider bars on it from casting. The CI grates in my Primo by surface area are probably 70-80% metal coverage, whereas round bar style grates like those that come with the Primo and Weber kettle are probably more like 20%. I can run a much cooler fire on my Primo and get a better sear than the traditional grates would. I can get a nice sear at 325* dome temp with the CI grates, whereas I need to be well over 500* with the stock grates. 500*+ dome temp with cast iron grates, forget about it...not gonna match that with the stock ones. Probably the same reason people like to flip over their GrillGrates brand grates.