40-Ft. Grill Feeds A Crowd

40-Ft Grill Feeds A Crowd AG WORLD Once the Delphos Kiwanis Club’s grill gets going it cooks up a feast fast! The grill area spans 160 sq ft with room for 600 chicken halves or 750 pork loins Dave Smith a member of the Delphos Ohio club and spearhead of the group who built the big grill says it was needed “At our biggest fund raiser last year we did close to 900 chicken halves ” he explains “We used to borrow individuals’ grills and often they weren’t in the best shape We decided to build one for the club ” Smith says it took about $3 200 in materials and around 300 hrs to design and fabricate the grill on a trailer So far they have used it at three community events The 40-ft grill consists of four stainless steel “pits” Each is 4 ft wide by 10 ft long and 2 ft deep The trailer holds two pits with wing pits hinged at either end End panels on each pit slide out for easy clean up of coals and ash The trailer and its pits are framed with 2-in steel tubing Angle iron was used on wing pits to reduce weight The trailer has double trailer axles for a better ride on the road easily handling 65 mph road speeds Torsion axles keep a low profile which is important for grilling When in transit or not in use the wing pits fold up over the trailer Currently set up with counter springs it takes three guys to fold them into place Smith intends to install hydraulic folding this coming year To set up the grill the telescoping trailer hitch a pipe-in-a-pipe design is released and extended The front wing pit can be folded into place over it The hitch provides support and makes it easy to move the grill if needed Once the end wing pit is folded down the grill racks are put in place Each pit is designed to hold three 3-ft wide by 4-ft long twin layer stainless steel grill racks Handholds centered on each rack ride in notches on the rim of the pit A pin extends out at one corner of the rack to rest on the rim of the pit “The design lets one person rotate the racks so we do it more often for a better grilled product ” explains Smith “It dips about 19 in into the pit The coals are only about one layer thick on the bottom Any more and the racks would get too hot ” Work tables with fold down legs at one end were designed to attach at either end of the grill One is designated the set-up table where chicken halves are prepared for grilling As the first rack is filled it’s moved into a grilling position Once the chickens have been grilled the rack is carried to the serving table “The design keeps the prep area separated from serving for food safety ” explains Smith “Using all stainless steel makes clean up easy and all the parts including grill racks and tables store in the trailer pits It was a lot of fun to make and has made grilling at these events a lot easier ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dave Smith Delphos Kiwanis Club P O Box 173 Delphos Ohio 45833 ph 419 236-6867; davesm@unverferth com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.