Gateway drum smoker cleaning?

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tbag

Knows what a fatty is.
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Do I really need to clean/wash the inside on my gateway drum smoker?
I clean the bottom from time to time but I have not yet cleaned the walls.
Just watched a clip on YouTube where they clean the inside to the metal and they recommend to do so every 4-5 cooks.

I have had my gateway for about 1 year and never done anything yet and it still works great, no bad smell or taste from the inside so why clean it?
Isn’t it the same as other cooler that it’s like a layer of seasoning?

Or is the whole thing about cleaning it so often just to make it last for years and years?

Hope for some good reply’s:)
 
I have a Hunsaker and I scrape the grease off the floor through the hole regularly. The other day it was still warm from a cook and I tried to scrape the gunk off of the inside of the lid, but it wouldn't budge. One day I would like to try giving it a deep clean, but I worry that I won't do it right and I will end up with rust.
 
As long as you keep the bottom clean of ash and rancid grease you're good to go. Had a WSM for 2 years and a Hunsaker for a year and a half and never did a deep clean. Have a Gateway now and I may do a deep clean a year from now or I may not as long as the bottom is clean of ash and grease that's all I care about. If the lid gets too gunked up, I'll clean the lid with degreaser. Been using oil dry on the bottom of the drum to keep it clean and man does it make life easy.
 
Weber recommends a thorough inside cleaning of WSMs about once a year with dish washing liquid.

Harry Soo loves the build-up of grease inside his WSMs, because he thinks it helps give great flavor to BBQ'd meats.

Who should I trust? Weber, or the great and accomplished Harry Soo?

I trust Weber. Yet I love Harry Soo.
 
We do our drums once a year. I noticed a bitter flavor, particularly on pork if we go too long. I used Zepp degreaser and a pressure washer. Sam’s Club has a good degreaser as well, but don’t get any on the paint.
 
I have 3 Gateway's. I go no more than 3-5 cooks w/out cleaning. In the winter, I only cook on one and will go 10+ cooks. But, cleaning is the first thing I do on a warm day. A clean cooker is noticeably different in taste than a dirty one. I use the stuff from Sam's that's in Tim's video: https://www.facebook.com/GatewayDru...-drum-smokersblues-hog-char/1963231323967903/

It's a great feeling to see it shine like new just like in the video. If you go too long, it takes some scrubbing to get it new again. Otherwise, spray and rinse every 3-5 cooks. It just depends on how dirty your cooks are.
 
Thanks for the reply’s.
We don’t have these types of spray here in Norway to use for it I think.
What else should I do?
This is how the gateway looks today.


I tried to clean the inside with the best i could find in our local store but it did not work.

The degreaser spray from sams club is made by Ecolab. They also have a product called greaselift, is this the same product? Or do I have to order a bottle from the states and get it shipped? Hope not because the shipping alone is more than $35.


https://youtu.be/QycCRzNee7U
 

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tbag said:
Thanks for the reply’s.
We don’t have these types of spray here in Norway to use for it I think.
What else should I do?
This is how the gateway looks today.


I tried to clean the inside with the best i could find in our local store but it did not work.

The degreaser spray from sams club is made by Ecolab. They also have a product called greaselift, is this the same product? Or do I have to order a bottle from the states and get it shipped? Hope not because the shipping alone is more than $35.


https://youtu.be/QycCRzNee7U
Click to expand...
Ecolab degreaser will work, they specialize in cleaning and sanitation chemicals for commercial application, that's what I have used in the past.
 
KevinJ said:
Ecolab degreaser will work, they specialize in cleaning and sanitation chemicals for commercial application, that's what I have used in the past.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the quick reply.

Do you still use the ecolab greaselift or do you use something else?
Or was it another spray bottle than the greaselift you used? That’s the only one that we have here.
 
Aside from cleaning out a build up of grease, in my opinion there is no practical reason to clean so frequently - saw some other people putting kitty litter in the bottom too - crazy. I was watching man fire food and one of the oldest smokehouses in Texas I think it was Mueller BBQ and they had one of their pits catch fire and burn down. They rebuilt it from new and when they did their blind taste test on the show they were able to pick which one was from the new pit. They were actually trying to take grease from the old pit to season the new one. All that is flavor.
 
foam2 said:
Aside from cleaning out a build up of grease, in my opinion there is no practical reason to clean so frequently - saw some other people putting kitty litter in the bottom too - crazy. I was watching man fire food and one of the oldest smokehouses in Texas I think it was Mueller BBQ and they had one of their pits catch fire and burn down. They rebuilt it from new and when they did their blind taste test on the show they were able to pick which one was from the new pit. They were actually trying to take grease from the old pit to season the new one. All that is flavor.
Click to expand...

Here is a good article on the subject

https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/barbecue-myth-seasoned-smokers/
 
I have now ordered the Members Mark Commercial Oven,grill and fryer cleaner spray.

Is it enough to spray on and rinse with water a couple of times?

Is it now free of all toxic+++ and ready to cook on? Or is there more to do to make it safe to grill on my gateway?

Anyone here that have tried this product?
 
tbag said:
I have now ordered the Members Mark Commercial Oven,grill and fryer cleaner spray.

Is it enough to spray on and rinse with water a couple of times?

Is it now free of all toxic+++ and ready to cook on? Or is there more to do to make it safe to grill on my gateway?

Anyone here that have tried this product?
Click to expand...
Watch this YT vid it will answer all your questions, cleaning mine out tomorrow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tje6mfg_F8&t=18s
 
I tried the Ecolab greaselift but it did as well as I hoped.
Maybe I have to scrub a lot.

Could it work with spraying on the greaselift and then use my pressure washer?

Would this clean out the drum? It’s a good layer on the drum:)
If it does not take it all, would it be enough?
 

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I have tried to order the Members Mark Commercial Oven,grill and fryer cleaner spray three times now but every time I try they tell me that it can not ship overseas.
Don't know if there is anything in the spray that can't leave the us:)?

Since I'm not able to buy this item, what should I do?

I can't feel any bitter flavor from the cooker but only a nice "smoke" flavor.
I don`t use wood, only lump charcoal so its probably not as dirty as it could be.


What should I do IF I really need to clean the drum now that I can't get the spray that everyone tells me to buy???
 
Your smoker looks good to me and I wouldn't worry about it at this time, not sure how hot you can run a drum but a high heat run might make carbon and easier to wash out if it gets to bad. Need to scrape the PB down a little now that warm weather is here.
 
Well with my 3rd application of Members Mark the stuff on the walls of my Hunsaker final came off to my satisfaction - it was pretty gunked up and the lid and vortex still have some work to do. But it smells noticeably better and look I forward to cooking on it.

While I was at I decided to clean out m KBQ - the grease was nowhere near as bad so that came off like magic :clap2:
 
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