Old Smokey Charcoal Grill General Use & Care

The Old Smokey Charcoal Grill is simple to use and easy to care for. Its elegant design makes it easy to get great results everytime. You'll soon find yourself to be an expert, and everyone will want to come to your house for barbecue (get them to bring the drinks and side dishes...)

First, make sure all the parts made it

  • top half
  • bottom half
  • top grill for the food
  • bottom grate for the charcoal
  • 3 legs
  • handle (#22 has 1 top and 2 side handles)
  • top damper (#22 has 2 top dampers)
  • bottom damper
  • package of nuts and bolts
  • owner's manual (you can download a copy here)

Tools you'll need

  • flat head or phillips head screwdriver
  • 3/8" wrench or pliers

Start by finding and setting aside the longest 2 screws. You'll use those for the handle. If you have a #22, find & set aside the 6 longest screws because you have 3 handles to install. Find the 6 2" screws, and attach the legs using 2 screws per leg. Don't over tighten the legs. If they flatten out they won't be as sturdy. The dampers take the 1/2" screws. The handle takes longest (2 1/2") screws. Use the lockwashers for the handle, and make sure the head of the screw is recessed in the handle.

The bottom grate sits on the lower set of leg-mount screws, and the grill sits on the top set of leg-mount screws. Easy, huh?

By now you've noticed the metal has some oil on it. That's the way the metal comes to us from the mill, and sometimes our machines get oil on the metal as well. So you'll want the first fire in the Old Smokey Charcoal Grill to be good and hot to burn that oil off.

We like to use Red Hot Firestarters to get the fire started, but there are other ways - chimney style starters, lighter fluid, electric heating elements, etc. Use your favorite and be careful.

Don't barbecue indoors, no matter how large your fireplace is.

Fire is hot. Anything next to a fire, especially a fire in an Old Smokey Charcoal Grill, will also be hot. Don't put your hand or other body parts, or parts of anyone else's body, in or near the fire or hot metal.

Pull up a chair, have a seat and barbecue! Or, get some of our long legs.

You can make the bottom grate last longer if you clean the ashes out after the grill cools. And don't let the ashes get wet, because they hold water making a paste that advances the tendency to rust.

 

  California Proposition 65 WARNING: Combustion byproducts produced when using this product include carbon monoxide, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.