Grill Upgrade Part II - Ceramic Briquettes

I just helped a friend of mine install a new 42" Lynx grill and it got me thinking that I'm long overdue for a in depth grill cleaning and replacement of some parts on my own 42" Viking Grill.

The Lynx seems like a nice piece of equipment and my friend is hoping to get the same 20+ year lifespan that I've enjoyed.

The main reason the Lynx got me thinking is that it had ceramic briquettes and an infrared zone.
I'm a big fan of the ceramic briquettes having some great experience with PGS grills at my Florida condo.

The inside of the Viking grill originally had sloped flavor grids which inevitable rust and rot away requiring replacement every 3-4 years. They are supposedly stainless but definitely don't stand up as well as all the other stainless components in the grill.

The plan was supposed to be easy:
Order some new flat grates to go above the burners and some briquettes for on top of that.
Then I started researching the briquettes and came across a variety of different brands in different shapes and thicknesses.
I settled on replacement Ducane ceramic briquettes made by Flamette. These had very positive reviews which indicated I might have 2-3 times the lifespan as some of the other brands out there.

I also ran across a product called Grill Greats ceramic briquettes which looked very interesting. Basically these flat plates with small holes looked like they would produce a grid very much what is like in the infra-red burner zone of some of the grilles out there.

So I decided to do one zone of each the Ducane style and Grill Greats.

I went to an on-line cut to size metals company and ordered replacement stainless pieces to cover the burners and a custom fit grid made of expanded metal.

In the meantime I removed the old parts from the grill and gave it a thorough cleaning on the inside.

I drilled holes in the stainless flat bar using a cobalt drill bit. After doing the first one by itself I figured out it would go much faster to tape several together and drill them at the same time.

Use the old burner shield as a template

Mark holes to drill

Drilled out holes

Be careful, the stainless shavings are razor sharp!

I then mounted the bars to the grill:

And added some cross-bars for additional support:

Then I inserted my new stainless sheets to support the briquettes:

I put in the Grill Grates zone:

Put my stainless griddle back on:

And installed the Ducane style briquettes zone:

And ready to go:

When I turned the grill on and quickly figured out I had a major problem, the expanded metal sheets I used for supporting the briquettes warped with the heat.  This was a major disappointment but only a temporary set-back.

I ran down to the nearby Home Depot and picked up a stainless steel Weber replacement grill grate set.  Then I took out all the briquettes and replaced the expanded metal.

When I was laying down the Grill Greats a second time a light bulb went off and drawing from the Weber and Fire-Magic style of slanted flavor grids I reinstalled the Grill Greats slightly overlapping so that they had an angle to them.

Both the Ducane style and Grill Greats provide a nice even heat.  The Grill Greats actually get much hotter.

This phase of the grill upgrade is now complete.  I have a fantastic 3 zone grill and I'm very happy with the results. Unfortunately my IR thermometer died so I can't get official measurements right now, but definitely will check it out sometime in the future.

I've already done a bunch of cooking and look forward to learning the nuances of the new cooking zones.

You can pick up the recommended Ceramic Briquettes for your grill here:

r1 rinaic's Favorite Things - Grilling