Some fun grill history

[RebelSS]

 In the 1920s, Henry Ford, in collaboration with Thomas Edison and EB Kingsford, began making charcoal briquets commercially from wood scrap from the wood used to make cars parts in Ford's Detroit auto plants. Ford also began selling small portable grills (above, courtesy of grill collector Ed Reilly) and promoted picnics and camping as a great use of automobiles.

Not long after, the menswear store Abercrombie & Fitch (they were very upscale in those days) becan selling a portable grill in a suitcase amde by J.M. Huntington Iron Works in La Canada, CA. It was also sold mounted to cart with a work table. This one, from Ed Reilly's collection, is from the 1930s.

In 1948 Grant "Hasty" Hastings introduced the Hasty-Bake oven with a hood, and an adjustable height charcoal tray. They are still made today, and the modern version is one of my all-time favorite grills. It is remarkably similar. If it ain't broke...

In the late 1940s, Winfield & Irene Alter of Tulsa, OK, began working on a kettle made of cast iron that used a rotary vent. It first came to market as Cook 'N' Kettle in 1947, I think. Special thanks to Ed Reilly for the photos above.

In 1951, George Stephen, Sr., was frustrated by his inability to control the heat in his backyard grill. He had the welders at the Weber Brothers Metal Works, where he worked, cut up a buoy that was to be used for Lake Michigan boating. The Weber Kettle was born and introduced in 1952 (shown at right). Weber claims that among its innovations was a tight-fitting lid and adjustable air vents that allowed the cook to control temperature, but they may have been Jack Alters' innovations. Much of the early marketing involved touting the merits of "covered barbecuing". The system is efficient, burning a minimum number of briquets during cooking." Probably no other single invention has influenced the American diet more since the invention of the electric refrigerator.

Before long the Japanese Hibachi, a small portable charcoal grill without a top migrated to the US and next thing you know they had lids and handles, perfect for President Eisenhower shown here doing his guy thing on a porch at the White House, and perfect for Gidget's beach parties.

Founded in 1853, the Columbus Iron Works in Columbus, GA, manufactured kettles and ovens, stream engines, as well as swords, pistols, and rifles for the Civil War. In 1925, the W.C. Bradley Companyacquired control, and in 1953 it started selling its first Charbroil charcoal grill. Bradley has aquired numerous other manufacturers and is today one of the largest in the world. In 2006 Bradley moved all manufacturing to China, but the company headquarters are still in Columbus, and the Iron Works has been restored and turned into a convention center.

Somewhere somebody cut the top off a steel drum, dumped charcoal into the bottom, and put a metal grate on the top. His neighbor had a better idea. He cut a steel drum in half lengthwise, hinged the two parts together like a clamshell, and attached four legs. Next thing you know, in 1957 Popular Mechanics is running plans for making a barbecue from an oil barrel (shown here).

In the 1940s Chicago Combustion Corporation (now called LazyMan) began making gas grills for restaurants with lava rocks replacing charcoal and in 1959 they adapted 20 pound propane cylinders used by plumbers and began selling portable gas grills.

Also in the 1950s, Bernzomatic began selling portable gas grills. Ed Reilly thinks this one is from around 1956.

In 1960 Walter Koziol's Modern Home Products produced consumer gas grills, the Charmglow Perfect Host, in Antioch, IL. It was round, 22.5" across with a reflector and wind break over half the grill. A rotisserie could be mounted to the reflector. It used natural gas piped to it from the house. During the 1970s, Char-Broil became the first brand to put a liquid propane tank and a grill in one box. Gas grillssoon became more popular than charcoal because they are easier to start and stop and there is less cleanup.

[McGurk]

This is all I learned from my Dad and grilling:

 

I've had to teach myself a lot...

[RebelSS]

Whoopsies!!!   That's the same gas grill I have.....they're worth the money.

[McGurk]

38 minutes ago, RebelSS said:

Whoopsies!!!   That's the same gas grill I have.....they're worth the money.

I use a Weber, but it's a bit older.  Just like this one:

[pikestabber]

Cool info. Thanks for posting, Rebel!

[smurfy]

9 minutes ago, pikestabber said:

Cool info. Thanks for posting, Rebel!

I agree, except I didn't know REB was that old!!!!!!!!!!

[leechlake]

someone should post the history of the hijacker to keep things balanced.

[RebelSS]

I've got the new Spirit. Love it. Gotta love that battery electric ignition system. None of that annoying  push and  *click*click*click* stuff. Just touch the button .

http://www.weber.com/grills/series/spirit/spirit-e-310

[leechlake]

there's nothing better than the art of dropping a match in the right place to light your grill.  The windier the better I say.  If you aren't excited when you've gone through ten matches in the book and only have one match left and it seems wet and the gas has been going for 45 seconds you aren't alive!!!  Ignition systems are for pansies.

[smurfy]

 I own a weber gas grill also. dang if I can remember what one especially since I just wrote it down cause I need a new cover!!!!!!! as far is ignition systems, I go all in on union safety.........no matches!!!!!!!!!! that grill has to be 15-18 years old and haven't need to replace the fire starter system.

15 minutes ago, leechlake said:

someone should post the history of the hijacker to keep things balanced.

 since your self titled that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hey LL, what brand of golf ball do you hit around and then go chase?????????

[RebelSS]

Smurfy, measure yer grill and go to the big box store and grab a canvas cover....the Weber accessories aren't near as good as the grills. All that non-union foreign speaking labor, ya know. 

[smurfy]

I bought the weber cover when I bought the grill and lasted till now. granted I may have extended its life a year or to but I have looked at other covers and am not impressed............just for you though I will look again!!!!!!!!! as long as I don't have to head to china mart!!!!!!!! 

[leechlake]

6 minutes ago, smurfy said:

 I own a weber gas grill also. dang if I can remember what one especially since I just wrote it down cause I need a new cover!!!!!!! as far is ignition systems, I go all in on union safety.........no matches!!!!!!!!!! that grill has to be 15-18 years old and haven't need to replace the fire starter system.

 since your self titled that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hey LL, what brand of golf ball do you hit around and then go chase?????????

I'm a Titelst ProV1X guy but don't want anyone to lose focus here.

1 minute ago, smurfy said:

I bought the weber cover when I bought the grill and lasted till now. granted I may have extended its life a year or to but I have looked at other covers and am not impressed............just for you though I will look again!!!!!!!!! as long as I don't have to head to china mart!!!!!!!! 

for the cabin grill I found that my ATV cover worked fine and since I park my ATV in the garage didn't need it.  Besides grill covers can burn if you put on a lit grill.

[smurfy]

2 minutes ago, leechlake said:

I'm a Titelst ProV1X guy but don't want anyone to lose focus here.

OK mr HSO  hijacker!!!!!!!!!!! its why I melded my posts..............as to not get off track. think those balls are made by us union guys!!!

[leechlake]

I know, that's why they go crooked a lot and most days don't work.

[pikestabber]

1 hour ago, leechlake said:

someone should post the history of the hijacker to keep things balanced.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/videos/2014/02/12/a-guide-to-hijacking-history.html

[LindellProStaf]

Very cool Reb.  Back when the grills used were like those in the other thread my Cub Scout Den Mother had a Weber.  So that was about 1964 or so.  We would cook hot dogs on it for some Cub Scout meetings.  They were of course great.  I do remember we all would tease her son who was also a Scout about the weird grill that they had.  It must have been 10 or 15 years later before anyone else got a Weber.  All along she was the trendsetter and way ahead of her time.  She was a widow.

[RebelSS]

Same time I was a cub, LPS! I remember my uncle and Dad showing me how they cooked hotdogs "in the islands" (They both served in the Pacific during WWII)  Coffee can half full of sand, stir in some gasoline. We cooked dogs and marshmallows over the flames. Tasted like gas, but it was cool. 

 

 

Ever see one of these? Could wheel the food right to the drunks!  

 

 

 

And who doesn't remember the cheap Thermos grills from Woolworths? 

 

[leech~~]

8 hours ago, RebelSS said:

 In the 1920s, Henry Ford, in collaboration with Thomas Edison and EB Kingsford, began making charcoal briquets commercially from wood scrap from the wood used to make cars parts in Ford's Detroit auto plants. Ford also began selling small portable grills (above, courtesy of grill collector Ed Reilly) and promoted picnics and camping as a great use of automobiles.

Funny, since I have a gas grill now and miss the taste of charcoal.  I was just in Fleet Farm yesterday reading the bag of Kingsford to try and see what kind of wood they used to make their briquettes so I could buy the same in smoking chips, and read this.

I just could not find smoking chips on the shelf in old Model T wood!!

[smurfy]

One should ALWAYS have a Weber kettle to cook with. would never go without!

[delcecchi]

And people call me pedantic 

[leechlake]

pedantic means a perfectionist or meticulous btw or at least in my world.

I don't mean to brag but I have two Webers still.  Last night I used the one at home to make Ribeyes.  It had been a while and I forgot to open the lower vents so I lost the heat part way through but figured it out and corrected it.  The Weber is more of an art than it lets on to be but once you figured out the air flow perfectly you can be as pedantic as possible and still even please yourself!

[delcecchi]

9 minutes ago, leechlake said:

pedantic means a perfectionist or meticulous btw or at least in my world.

See, you are one too.  Welcome to the club, if there were a club...

[LindellProStaf]

And this is on topic since we were talking about Fords.  The term pickup came in about 1939.  When you ordered a new car it would be delivered to you home usually.  Then Ford offered the utility vehicle truck thing.  It had to be delivered to the dealer and put together.  The boards used to make the crate the vehicle came in were used to make the rear box of the truck vehicle.  After they reassembled the vehicle using those boards you had to go to the dealer and "pick up" your vehicle.  Hence the term Pickup Truck.......    Just heard that on the radio a while back....  I guess the rest of it was what went into the charcoal business which was genius too!

[delcecchi]

I think model T fords had a lot of wood in their construction. 

Here is a picture of a kit with all the wood parts (joke in bad taste deleted.  Use your imagination)