Smoker bottom grid

01 · WHAT IT DOES

Leaves an air chamber under the embers

The three legs hold the plate off the floor, and that gap is where the bellows air comes in. Some of the ash also drops through the perforations and stops smothering the embers. Set it down on its legs and load the fuel on top, without packing it until every passage is closed. No miracles, though: it will not fix damp fuel, an overloaded chamber or a blocked air inlet.

02 · WHETHER IT FITS

95 mm: measure the inside of the body, not the outside

It drops in easily on smokers with a 10 cm body, which is most of them — the stainless ones, the sheet-metal ones and the XXL — and also in the 110 mm Dadant, where it sits with more play. It will not fit compact models or the miniature. If it ends up loose that is no problem: some beekeepers leave the original plate on top and use it as a double floor.

03 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Once cold, lift it out to empty the ash and check the legs, the perforations and the centre screw. If you also want to contain the embers and hold back sparks, that is the spark arrestor, a different part sold separately.