I wouldn't get too worried about starting a fire with charcoal. Many of us do.Wren wrote: ↑Sun. Dec. 10, 2017 10:57 amI thought it had to be shaking down ash that brought live coal to ruin my pan, because where else would it come from, but I always stop shaking as soon as I see the first live ash or light from above because I read long ago( one year soon) that a certain amount of ash on my grates is good.
So happens I have my feet up and am beginning a Harry Potter because my youngest has told me to, and I could hear chunks of charcoal falling into my precious pan. Usually we are moving around and I don’t hear it I guess.
Too bad I started cleaning out the fire pot completely in the morning if restarting, instead of leaving everything but the ash that would fall through the grates as I used to.
That’s too bad, but at least I know how it happened now. Not that the pan is ruined but I can see light through in one area. Yeesh . No more charcoal on my grates. WHAT was I thinking.
And a few hot coals landing in the ash pan is no big deal. It would take a lot to burn through it. Are you saying there is a hole through the pan ? Could it have been caused by rust ?
As for leaving a lot of ash on the grates, yes, some types of grates need that protection. But, it takes a lot to hurt triangular grate bars. Remember that, unlike most other designs of grates, the triangular ones extent down a lot in cross section. As hot as the top surface of those triangular bars are getting, there are two equal sized surfaces getting cooler incoming air drawn over them. Just make sure to rotate them at least once every day, don't ever try to force a jam through and they should last a lifetime.
Paul