Kamado Cleaning Maintenance Tips

Ok, you've used your ceramic kamado BBQ a couple of times or maybe more. Then it's high time to give your Bill a clean. Here are some handy tips for that.

The Grill Bill kamado is built to stand outside always, in all weather. And if you follow the instructions below, you'll enjoy your Grill Bill kamado for a lifetime.

Grill Bill Kamado Maintenance: The Easiest Kamado to Clean

Because our Grill Bill has a smooth design, and no odd little dents, our kamado is super easy to clean. Just wipe it with a cloth, and you're done. So no fiddling with dents and holes where dirt gets stuck and is hard to clean.

1. Ash

Regularly remove the ash at the bottom of your Grill Bill kamado with an ash tool or ash tray, this improves airflow and makes the temperature easier to control. Always leave a small layer of ash, this makes controlling the kamado easier. Only remove the ash tray once the kamado has cooled down completely.

2. Food residue

After barbecuing, always remove all food residue from the grill grate with a dedicated steel brush

Besides brushing it clean, we recommend coating the stainless steel grate with a layer of oil now and then. You can re-season the cast iron grate when rust appears.

Keep the side tables clean to prevent mould. Occasionally coat them with vegetable oil or outdoor furniture oil, so they stay looking good for longer. If you like a slightly weathered look, just cleaning is enough.

3. Firebox and fire ring

After 10/15 bbq sessions, remove the firebox and fire ring for a moment and wipe the kamado clean, try to leave a small layer of ash behind as in step 1.

4. Burning off

If your Grill Bill kamado is really dirty, you can burn it clean, here's how:

1. Fill the kamado to the edge of the fire ring with charcoal and light it with a firelighter.
2. Once the firelighter has burnt out, you can place the heat deflector or multilevel system in the kamado so it can gradually come up to temperature too. Your grill riser might be dirty too, so place that as well.
3. Leave all vents open and let the temperature rise to a maximum of 200 degrees! (Note that your dome thermometer differs 20 to 40 degrees from the temp. at grate level.) So 200 degrees on the thermometer is roughly 240 degrees at grate level. Now let your kamado burn off completely for about 30 minutes.
4. Important; let moisture evaporate first. After about an hour at 100 degrees, moisture has definitely evaporated, after that you can fire your kamado hotter. If you don't do this, there's a chance the moisture expands, which can crack the ceramic of your kamado.
5. Now close all vents and let your kamado cool down, it's now completely clean of food and fat residue. Once done, give it a quick sweep and you're finished.

Disclaimer: The goal of burning off is not to make the kamado white again on the inside. The goal of burning off is to burn away fat residue, and cremate food residue and bacteria. You'll have to accept that the kamado will never look like it did straight out of the box.

Pro tip: The black soot layer absorbs more heat, which makes the kamado run more smoothly and better. So the more you use your Grill Bill, the easier it gets. And the more often you burn the kamado “clean”, the trickier it can get. Our tip is that it's best to only burn off when the grate is very dirty and/or to make it part of a periodic maintenance routine.

5. Stainless steel

Stainless steel doesn't mean rust can never appear. If rust does appear, remove it with a cloth or sponge. Buy a can of silicone spray and spray these parts regularly, vaseline also works well. Prevention is better than cure, right?

Ash tray: At the bottom of the kamado, barely visible, but not invincible because of that. That's why it's important to;

1. Remove charcoal from the kamado when you're not using it for a while. The charcoal becomes damp, and so does the ash tray.
2. Clean the ash tray now and then and coat it with a layer of oil.

6. Ventilating

Ventilate your kamado well, especially when using the rain cover. This gives moisture and mould less chance to build up in the kamado.

If you're not using your Grill Bill for a while and don't have a covered patio, put the side tables in the shed

7. Rain cover

Using a rain cover? Make sure the kamado is clean and dry before covering it. Open the vents fully so the kamado can keep airing out. If you won't be using your Grill Bill for a longer period, we recommend removing the side tables and storing them separately.

8. Hinge and bolts

During periodic maintenance it's important to check the hinge and bolts properly. Retighten any loose bolts (also the ones on the top vent, right at the top), and check the hinge. Here's how adjusting works.

Don'ts

1. Never use cleaning products to clean the inside.
2. Burning clean doesn't need cremation mode, a temperature of 250, max 280 degrees is fine.
3. Build up the temperature slowly, so any moisture can escape rather than expand. Firing up too fast damages the kamado because the moisture expands too fast. Preferably 45 minutes at 100 degrees, then slowly raise the temperature, especially in cold and damp weather conditions.

Bonus tip: Handy to know

If you always work with the same 'clean kamado', you'll eventually know exactly how to set your vents to get a certain temperature, and how fast that happens. If you sometimes work with a clean and sometimes with a dirty kamado, the temperature can react differently each time.

Want more tips?

Also read the Grill Bill user tips