I purchased this
stainless bucket, and bent the handle so it would fit the hooks and come up closer to the 'ash hole.' I use a cheap 2.5" paintbrush to sweep everything in. A couple of times I've lifted out the Burn Shop basket to carry off the ashes that remain in it, but that beast is heavy and awkward, especially when trying not to spill anything while navigating the long stairs off my deck. So I now sweep it first, then pull it off and set it on an adjacent prep table. I've used the shop vac once or twice, but given where it's kept, and that I need an extension cord for it to reach the grill, it's also inconvenient. Cordless would make it easier, but I wonder about the inconvenience of reguarly emptying a small vac filled with fine ash.
Coming from a Weber 22", this cleanup routine is the one minor downside, for me, of the PK. On the kettle it was so easy to swish the cleaning fins back and forth a few times, and then walk the full pan of ashes for a quick flip into the woods (I live nowhere near the west coast!) or fire ring every few cooks.
While I do really like the Burn Shop basket, I wish it completely replaced the charcoal grate. Since you've regularly got to take both out, plus the grill grate, you need some space, and surfaces to set them on where grease and grime isn't a problem.
But none of this is a big deal. When using lump, I can probably go 5 or 6 short cooks before cleanout. Briquettes leave a lot more ash, so somewhere between 2 - 4 cooks there. It only takes a few minutes, and my grill is new enough that even cleaning it is part of the fun. We'll see how long that lasts!
