How to clean RT 700

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22
Do u clean back to stainless interior or leave for "seasoning"? How best to clean back to stainless? Most videos online are for 680.

Also how do u remove the light to clean. I thought i was to remove the cover but now I think i screwed up. Do i keep unscrewing? I don't know how I will get the light back on and it doesn't look like the light cover comes off on the rt700. All videos i watch showed that it did. Sigh

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In your third pic you can see two "spring clip" looking features, probably the same on the other side, or maybe only one. Regardless, those retain the lens via friction/spring force. Put the screw back in that holds the assembly and then pry off the lens, preferably without a hard tool, you might chip/crack the lens if not careful enough (don't know your mechanical aptitude). As for the gunk on the inside, that's a matter of catering to your OCD. If you go into most famous BBQ joints they have inches thick "seasoning" on their pits. If you can't take that, Barkeepers Friend liquid contains oxalic acid and does a good job of cleaning stainless...…………..well, that plus elbow grease.
 
I clean the grates/grills, and occasionally will hit the back and sides when I am brushing the grates. I'm not looking to remove the "seasoning" on the sides and back, just knock off any loose particles. I change the foil on the drip tray pretty regularly, but IMO no reason to "clean" it beyond that.
 
For the outside of the grill, as Uncle Bob said, the Bartenders Friend is awesome!
 
For the interior, I clean the grates before and after each cook. On the chamber, I'll knock down the loose goodness on occasion. No foil for me. It is much quicker (for me) to just scrape the drip tray if needed.
 
Everyone asks me whats my secret, well leave all that goodness in place and allow it to help kiss whatever you are cooking. Ok ok seriously, other then perfectly clean gear when watching tv shows, show me one competition rig that doesnt look well worn. I vacuum out occasionally and kinda clean off the grate, keep any grease build up in check but otherwise just let be. Learned this particular path from kamado cooking as there is no possible way to clean soaked in clay. Though you do have to be careful of too much build up, I havent had the bull long enough to tell you what that limit is yet but am quite good at recognizing that on the kamado side.
 
Whenever i take the innards out to clean, which honestly isnt very often. I used to foil the drip tray and that just turned into a pita so i just leave drip tray and clean when it needs it. When i pull that i also vacuum firepot. The longest i have gone is just about a hopper full of pellets.
 
I've only had my grill for two months, but I've already had two occasions where the "seasoning" has flaked off on to my food. So it looks like I'm going to need to clean it on a regular basis. The weather may be impacting it too, the other day it was about 35 degrees with rain and when I opened the lid at the end of cook wind blew in, peeled the flakes off and swirled them around.

It's pretty easy to scrape off with a plastic putty knife but it gets all over. It evidently doesn't stick to the stainless steel very well, because the powder coated lid hasn't had the same problem in my experience so far.
 
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I found 409 dissolves the brown build-up on the outside pretty quickly. But the carburized stuff is a bear.

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Great post and i had the same question...almost started a new string. Will refresh this one instead.....

So... I would like to hear what you think....I have a short clean version and a longer session (looking for points of view on this approach).

About every 3-4 cooks (depending on type-duration, etc.) i do the quick clean...
1) clean grates with scrapper and degreaser. Do this first so crud can fall on dirty foil on grease pan. Made the mistake initially of doing this last and found my brand new foil was covered in flakes of crud that came from grate clean up at the end.
2) Replace foil on drip pan - degrease drip pan under foil with Zep - few wipes (bottom of pan generally has ash stuck to it from combo of moisture and ash). Get it clean enough but only 5-10 mins on it. it is pretty dirty even with foil. And sometimes need to scape bottom to get ash off.
3) Vac out all ash. Pull deflector... vac out ash on bottom of pit... vac out fire box completely and add a handful of new pellets for next cook).
4) I scoop/vac out my pellets between cooks so for this cleaning i ensure to also vac dust out of hopper.
5) Clean light cover
6) clean temp probe
7) Wipe down whole exterior
8) Change grease catch/cup if necessary

Takes 30-45 mins or so?

Then about 2-3 times a year i do a more robust cleaning. It includes all of above but i also spray the entire inside with degreaser and let it sit for about 15 mins. And then use a putty knife/scrapper to scrape out the build up in whole pit. From the bottom of the pit - it comes out gooey/sticky but does scrape fairly easily. In some cases it gets me back to steel. For some areas i can't get it off like the rails, grease trap lip, etc. On the top it is powdery. flaky and will make a mess of your hands without gloves (like charcoal dust).

I have not gotten the whole thing clean which then makes me wonder whether i am wasting my time even scraping where i do? I end up with spots that look like original bar steel and spots that are still coated. I am sure if i got a toothbrush and other tools i could clean the whole thing... but i am NOT going to do that... so.. should i just not scrape crud at all?

I change the grease cup and clean my little bucket.

I use bar keepers friend on edges. As stated above.. note combining it with a cleaning pad..it will scratch (which i did unfortunately on the bottom stainless section above the shelf below the lid. So, i have a dull circular spot that looks terrible. Hoping to spill some grease on it to make it disappear. ha!

How do others work? Did i miss anything? Wasting my time on the deeper clean? Should i just stick with the quick clean every 3-4 cooks and be ok with the build up? Are there some out there that say...an all day clean once a year is imperative? Sanitary concerns?

I sure like all of those who feel just let it become a greasy mess because that is what the good places do. Ha.

Would like to get more perspectives here... Thoughts?
 
Just don't rinse your chicken....
I keep the outside fairly clean, never clean the inside except grates of course and change foil as needed. Pop the light lens out when I cant see the light.
Clean out the fire pot and vacuum dust about 3 times a years. If seasoning is starting to flake
off then slam the lid.
Maybe every 5 years I might take a putty knife and hit the inside.
Its a BBQ people not a god damned Ferrari!
 
Any thoughts on cleaning the lid? I see BKF is highly recommended for the stainless steel but is that safe for the black powdered lid?
 

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