Charcoal Side Burner for Barbecue

It's nice to have a pot of beans going when cooking up hamburgers. Many gas grills have propane side burners, so why not charcoal side burners? You could cook things with your barbecue like beans. Or cook things by themselves using it as an outside burner, cooking soups, coffee, tea, your bacon and eggs at the campsite.

Side burner on the ground - One way to do this is to make a side burner that sits on the ground. I've done this.

Clip on side burner for grill - This would be simply a cylinder attached to the side of the grill.

Burner on grill - Another way to do this is with a piece of pressed sheet metal that sits on top of the grill creating a burner. It could have a slider insert that works like a shutter to adjust how much heat comes up to your cooking pot.

Burner in the grill - Put a couple bricks in the grill to make a burner.
-- steam_cannon, Jul 26 2009

Char-Griller http://www.chargril...h=21&products_id=34
This is but one brand. There are many others. [Sometimer, Jul 27 2009]

Steam Cannon's Link, as a link http://tinyurl.com/n7xzlw
[goldbb, Jul 27 2009]

I have a smoker grill with a side box. It has cooking grills in the main section as well as in the smoker box. I'll post a link with a pic...
-- Sometimer, Jul 27 2009


That would be cool if the ideas baked. But that looks like a smoker attachment, not really a side burner. If it's a smoker attachment it vents into the main grill and would affect grill temperatures if you're using it. Also it doesn't look like it would fit pots or pans like a burner would.

Some grills have propane side burners and that's more what I'm thinking, but with charcoal instead of propane so it's real simple. Like this charcoal bucket stove: http://tinyurl.com/n7xzlw
-- steam_cannon, Jul 27 2009


Surely a gasifier-type stove would be hotter and more fuel efficient than the linked-to bucket stove. The extra heat comes from mixing air into the (carbon monoxide rich) smoke of the charcoal fire, and then burning the smoke/air mix.

I know that they're usually described as "wood gasifier" stoves, but charcoal should work just as well.
-- goldbb, Jul 27 2009


Gasifiers are an option, but have problems...

More complext gasifier stoves can definitely use charcoal. I've made different types of wood gas / gasifier stoves and they are an option. The problem is that good gassifier stoves tend to be kind of complex. The problem I've seen with wood gas stoves is they usually require a lot of fiddling and processed wood such as wood chunks or technical equipment like blowers. And on a personal level, unless you have access to a wood chipper, charcoal is easier to make and is easier to get a long steady heat from without doing anything fancy. Better woodgas stoves need blowers and so overall I think they are more appropriate for restaurants then for personal use.

But I'll tell you a way you can use a side bucket stove much like a wood gas stove. If you load it with wood shavings and light the wood shavings on the top, the top down burning is smokeless. Basicly it's a wood gas stove without the wick or blower and it works because the materials is thin and airy enough that a blower isn't nessisary. This doesn't last as long as charcoal, but it can be used for cooking. I've done this for making coffee, for cooking hotdogs and for lighting charcoal.

Rocket stoves / elbow stoves, are also nice and efficient, but they too require a lot of fiddling.

Anyway, it's a grill and if you're using a grill you probably have charcoal around. So that's why I think a simple charcoal side burner makes sense. :)
-- steam_cannon, Jul 27 2009



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