Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Rodents love barbecues

Hire someone to get up in your grill

Brandon Methey
Brandon Methey

Every year I make Patrick clean the grill, and every year he complains.

Brandon Methey, owner of the BBQ Doctor mobile service (619-333-0540) spends most of his time cleaning, repairing, and installing high-end barbecues. “The grills I work on range in price from $1000 to $15,000.” (Below that, he notes, the $200–$300 cleaning fee doesn’t really make financial sense.) “Lynx is one of my favorite brands. They’re really well made, parts are readily available, and their service department is on point.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Lynx grill

Methey begins by taking the grill “completely apart. First, I take off the hood and remove the cooking grids. I even take the burners apart. Then I degrease and clean from top to bottom. The cooking grids are usually the worst, but it really depends on how long it’s been since the grill was cleaned. I soak the internal parts in a tank of hot water, and 99 percent of the time, hot water and elbow grease are all I need for the rest of the grill. But if it’s really bad, I’ll use a mild degreaser. My tools are razor blades, steel wool, and special grill bricks. I even made some custom tools of my own. The only thing I can’t get off is rust.”

The advantages of a clean grill are not merely cosmetic, he says. “Number one, it’s good to get all the carcinogens off of your grill. People think you can just burn it off, and it does make food debris all ashy. But the ash just falls below the cooking surface, and you’re still cooking that into your food. And people don’t like to hear this, but it helps with rodent control. Rodents love barbecues. At least half of the barbecues I work on have rodent droppings where the burners are, and/or nests, and/or actual rodents inside. People are cooking rodent droppings along with their food. And, lastly, if you clean your grill on a yearly basis, it will last much longer — two to three times as long.”

In between cleanings, he recommends keeping the grids clean by “shutting the barbecue off as soon as your food is done. Then, when you go to cook again, turn the grill on high and let it heat for five to ten minutes. Then take your grill brush and clean the grids. Leaving grease on the grids between uses helps protect them from rust. Also, keep the top closed, and if possible, keep a cover on the grill.”

Repairs run $85 an hour, plus parts. “Usually, an igniter doesn’t work or there’s trouble getting good gas flow. I also remove old grills and install new ones for $200. That means I install it, test it, and put a polish on it. If you’ve already got a grill island, I can do modifications as needed for $85 an hour, or a consultation for $50.”

Jim Gordon, owner of West Coast BBQ Grill Repair and Service (619-328-5590), also prefers to work on higher-end grills. “We mainly work on brands like Lynx, Firematic, DCS, Twin Eagle, Al Fresco, and Weber. When we clean, we like to take off the hood. The briquettes are usually ceramic and can be cleaned with water and a brush. I don’t use any chemicals on them, because they would come off when you started up the flame. Sometimes, the cooking grids are set at a weird angle, and you can’t clean them with a straight stroke of a tool. In that case, I’ll use a briquette to clean the grid.” Cleaning runs $185 to $275.

When it comes to repairs, “igniters wear out, and spark modules go out. Those parts take a beating. Sometimes briquettes get old and crumbly, so we replace those. We also do varmint protection. If the grill is in an island, I use a little bit of rabbit wire in spaces around the grill, and I’ll even plug holes with stainless steel wool.” Repairs run $85 an hour. Gordon also does grill installation and haul-away, and he recycles old grills and patio heaters (call for quote).

“When I’m contacted about grill cleaning, I ask about brand, control knobs, and size of unit,” says All About Fire (855-397-7877) owner George Brown Jr. “Then I can give a good price-range estimate for cleaning. Most range from $225 to $300. We also offer repairs [$85 an hour] and gas hookup. We do natural gas-line hookups as well as bolt propane, where the grill is hooked up to a large propane tank on the property.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Top Websites To Buy Instagram Likes + Bonus Tip!

Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?
Brandon Methey
Brandon Methey

Every year I make Patrick clean the grill, and every year he complains.

Brandon Methey, owner of the BBQ Doctor mobile service (619-333-0540) spends most of his time cleaning, repairing, and installing high-end barbecues. “The grills I work on range in price from $1000 to $15,000.” (Below that, he notes, the $200–$300 cleaning fee doesn’t really make financial sense.) “Lynx is one of my favorite brands. They’re really well made, parts are readily available, and their service department is on point.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Lynx grill

Methey begins by taking the grill “completely apart. First, I take off the hood and remove the cooking grids. I even take the burners apart. Then I degrease and clean from top to bottom. The cooking grids are usually the worst, but it really depends on how long it’s been since the grill was cleaned. I soak the internal parts in a tank of hot water, and 99 percent of the time, hot water and elbow grease are all I need for the rest of the grill. But if it’s really bad, I’ll use a mild degreaser. My tools are razor blades, steel wool, and special grill bricks. I even made some custom tools of my own. The only thing I can’t get off is rust.”

The advantages of a clean grill are not merely cosmetic, he says. “Number one, it’s good to get all the carcinogens off of your grill. People think you can just burn it off, and it does make food debris all ashy. But the ash just falls below the cooking surface, and you’re still cooking that into your food. And people don’t like to hear this, but it helps with rodent control. Rodents love barbecues. At least half of the barbecues I work on have rodent droppings where the burners are, and/or nests, and/or actual rodents inside. People are cooking rodent droppings along with their food. And, lastly, if you clean your grill on a yearly basis, it will last much longer — two to three times as long.”

In between cleanings, he recommends keeping the grids clean by “shutting the barbecue off as soon as your food is done. Then, when you go to cook again, turn the grill on high and let it heat for five to ten minutes. Then take your grill brush and clean the grids. Leaving grease on the grids between uses helps protect them from rust. Also, keep the top closed, and if possible, keep a cover on the grill.”

Repairs run $85 an hour, plus parts. “Usually, an igniter doesn’t work or there’s trouble getting good gas flow. I also remove old grills and install new ones for $200. That means I install it, test it, and put a polish on it. If you’ve already got a grill island, I can do modifications as needed for $85 an hour, or a consultation for $50.”

Jim Gordon, owner of West Coast BBQ Grill Repair and Service (619-328-5590), also prefers to work on higher-end grills. “We mainly work on brands like Lynx, Firematic, DCS, Twin Eagle, Al Fresco, and Weber. When we clean, we like to take off the hood. The briquettes are usually ceramic and can be cleaned with water and a brush. I don’t use any chemicals on them, because they would come off when you started up the flame. Sometimes, the cooking grids are set at a weird angle, and you can’t clean them with a straight stroke of a tool. In that case, I’ll use a briquette to clean the grid.” Cleaning runs $185 to $275.

When it comes to repairs, “igniters wear out, and spark modules go out. Those parts take a beating. Sometimes briquettes get old and crumbly, so we replace those. We also do varmint protection. If the grill is in an island, I use a little bit of rabbit wire in spaces around the grill, and I’ll even plug holes with stainless steel wool.” Repairs run $85 an hour. Gordon also does grill installation and haul-away, and he recycles old grills and patio heaters (call for quote).

“When I’m contacted about grill cleaning, I ask about brand, control knobs, and size of unit,” says All About Fire (855-397-7877) owner George Brown Jr. “Then I can give a good price-range estimate for cleaning. Most range from $225 to $300. We also offer repairs [$85 an hour] and gas hookup. We do natural gas-line hookups as well as bolt propane, where the grill is hooked up to a large propane tank on the property.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Next Article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.