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What Are Grease Pans and Drip Trays?

“Help! My bottom’s rusted out!”
You really do hear some pretty entertaining things working in the grill parts industry. Today we’re talking about your grease pan or drip tray.

In the gas grill industry, over the past 5-7 years, manufacturers introduced the concept of a grease pan / drip tray. A decade ago, most grills bodies consisted of just one piece with a hole in the bottom center where food grease dripped into a grease cup. Grillers easily removed the cup, dumped the contents and replaced it.

Then, grill companies moved to grill bodies made out of stainless steel sheet metal. So, they made grills where the bottoms of the grill were separate pieces. While some are riveted together, in most cases, you can remove these pieces. These trays are what we call “grease trays” or “drip pans.”

Why Do These Trays and Pans Rust Out So Quickly!?

Rusted Out Grill with Grid and Heat Plates Visible. Two red arrows point to a spot in the grill where the grease pan is rusted completely through. There is a hole in the grill.

It’s hard to see because this grill has so much rust, but the arrows are pointing to an area in the drip pan that is completely gone and you’re actually looking at the floor.

If you have a stainless steel gas grill, you know that all “stainless” is not created equal. When you grill, you have high heat and moisture in that stainless steel shell that makes up your gas grill. However, high heat plus moisture equals corrosion, even in stainless steel. As a result, you will commonly have a rusted pan or tray long before the rest of the grill rusts. We hear about it on a daily basis.

So What Can You Do?

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to find a replacement for your grease pan. Manufacturers like Backyard Grill and Dyna-Glo are not in the replacement parts business. Consequently, even if they HAVE the tray you need, it can be very difficult or take a long time to get it. After-market parts companies often do not make replacement drip pans because the cost is so high.

This is why you have to look so hard to find replacement options for your gas grill drip pans and grease trays. However, this year we are proud to offer a trays that fit many models of Dyna-Glo Gas Grills. We have heard from customers some of our trays even fit Backyard Grills as well!

Before ordering a replacement pan, it is extremely important to take out your old pan and measure it.
You will need the dimensions from front to back and left to right

GrillPartsSearch.com Now Carries a Line of Grease Tray / Drip Pan Replacements.

New Drip Pan Grease Tray grill part replacement. Material is Galvanized steel and the part is rectangular in shape. There is an American Flag and the Words "Made in America"

See our most popular Dyna-Glo Replacement here:
https://grillpartssearch.com/product/dyna-glo-drip-pan-grease-tray-galvanized-steel-15-1-4×28-5-8.html
Once again, please measure your original tray. We have many other sizes listed at the bottom of the product page.

New Drip Pan Grease Tray Liner grill part replacement. A set of four heavy-duty Aluminum pans, rectangular in shape. There is an American Flag and the Words "Made in America"

In addition to the USA-Made trays, we also have some aluminum drip pan liners. You can put these into your existing pan or new pan to extend the life of the part!
You can check those out here:
https://grillpartssearch.com/product/usa-made-medium-drip-pan-aluminum-4-ct.-16-x-11.html

It is our goal to provide you with the parts you need. If you are looking for other grill parts, leave us a comment below!

There are a lot of different ways to cover the burner in your grill. Some manufacturers cover it completely, some with metal, ceramic, or a combination of each!

While you want the part made exactly for your grill, the most important thing is to cover the burner itself. That’s why getting the measurements of the original piece in your grill is helpful when searching for a replacement. If the part will stay up in your grill, and it protects your burner, then it will work.

Here are the three main objectives of covering your gas grill burner:

protect the burner and prolong its life – by catching grease drippings

distribute the heat and reduce flare-ups- by dispersing the heat as it rises from the flame

add flavor – by vaporising those drippings and adding smoky grill flavor

Don’t slack on those three things! There are a few different systems available:

Briquette / Lava Rock Grates

are the original design to protect the burner from grease and distribute the heat from the flames. The grate sits on a ledge or tabs directly over the burner and holds briquettes or lava rock. They are listed on our website using the width (left to right dimension) and the depth (front to back dimension). You’ll need to replace the briquette grate when it is breaking apart and can no longer hold up briquettes or lava rock.

Briquettes / Lava Rock

is the material held by a grate that actually covers the burner. Briquettes are formed round, square or pyramid pieces of porcelain or ceramic. The porcelain briquettes are the most expensive and longest lasting; 5+ years. The ceramic briquettes are about half the price of porcelain and will break apart in 3-5 years. Lava rock is actual rock from volcanoes and is the most porous. It will add a lot of flavor but break apart in about 3 years.

Heat Angles/Heat Plates

This is the newer design to protect the burner, distribute the heat and add flavor to the cooking in a gas grill. In many grills, there is one heat plate per burner. However, there are also some grills that use two heat plates to span more than two burners. There are even a few grills that use only one plate for the entire grill. Heat plates are made to replace the need for briquettes or lava rock and a grate. There are some grills that are made with a heat plate that also hold up some kind of ceramic briquette as well. You will need to replace your heat plate if the original has holes or is falling apart.

Troubleshooting

If there is no heat plate or heat angle listed using your model number, get the dimensions of your original piece and call customer service. They will be happy to see if they have anything that is close. In many cases, a heat plate or angle will work in a grill even if it is not made specifically for that grill. The most important thing is that the heat plate covers the burner. If you don’t have any heat plate in your grill, look and see if there are ledges just above the burner. That’s where the plate or grate will sit. Measure the distance between ledges, front to back and left to right. We can find something that will work! If you want to change the system style in your grill, that is also possible. Just get dimensions and as much information about what your currently have.

If you have any other questions, just let us know!!

Happy Summer! It’s finally here!

-GG

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Tag Archives: drippings

Gas Grill Grease Pans and Drip Trays