My 1 Star has risen

M

Maineac

New member
When I was looking for a pellet grill I went to a dealer who had a 1 Star and a 2 Star side by side. One of the first things I noticed was the difference in cooking heights between the two with the 1 Star being 32” and the 2 Star being 35” which felt like the right height for me. The problem was that I really wanted the 1 Star, so that’s what I purchased with the intention of increasing its cooking height.
So this is how I made the 1 Star taller. I had a local machine shop make risers (spacers) that were 2 inches in diameter and 2.5” long with 3/8-16 holes in each end. I made 4 studs from bolts and screwed them into one end with Loctite. I was going to make them 3” long so the height would be the same as the 2 Star but my gasser is 34” tall so I split the difference. The risers make my cooking height 34.5”. The whole thing cost $60.

A couple of other smaller problems solved:
Pellet storage - A friend with a cat gave us a bunch of empty kitty litter containers and they hold 20+ pounds of pellets. With snap-on lids they work great.

Cover coming off - The first week we had the General we had a wind storm in the night and the cover came off. I had a couple of magnets and one on each side does the trick.

What an absolutely awesome grill, but then…you all know that.

Risers painted and ready to install -

ready%20to%20install.jpg


front%20view.jpg


side.jpg


Thanks for looking.

Dean
 
MAK DADDY

MAK DADDY

Moderator
Very nice professional job Dean! Glad you are loving the 1 Star.

For those of you that want a little extra height on either the 1 Star or 2 Star we do offer 4" Caster set as well. They raise the grill 1.5" and do work better for larger gap deck boards etc.
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Oh that is one slick trick, Dean. Nicely done!


MAK DADDY said:
For those of you that want a little extra height on either the 1 Star or 2 Star we do offer 4" Caster set as well. They raise the grill 1.5" and do work better for larger gap deck boards etc.
Click to expand...

We ordered the larger set of 4" casters this past Fall to make it easier to roll the 1 Star around, since we don't leave it out. The additional height was a nice bonus!
 
M

Maineac

New member
Thanks, guys. I plan on spending many happy hours with the General so I wanted it to feel comfortable, and now it does. It's amazing how a couple of inches in height can change that.

Dean
 
Rubbin-N-Grubbin

Rubbin-N-Grubbin

New member
Dean....what did you use to paint your risers and did you have to primer them first? I hope you don't mind but I used your idea and made some of my own. I used 6061 T-6 aluminum and made them 3"....I work for a company that overhauls aviation parts so I just used a mill at work to drill and tap them myself.
 
M

Maineac

New member
I certainly don't mind that you copied my simple mod; that's the reason I posted it. I sandblasted and painted them with some Rustoleum flat and high heat gloss I had leftover from another smoker project. Aluminum - nice!
 
scooter

scooter

Moderator
Great mod. I like MAK DADDY's offering of larger casters also especially if moving the grill around a lot is part of normal usage


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk while driving one handed!
 
Rubbin-N-Grubbin

Rubbin-N-Grubbin

New member
I got my risers that I made put on today and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. The 1 star with the silver vein powder coating looks beautiful!!
 
T

Tomsmccann

New member
MAK DADDY said:
Very nice professional job Dean! Glad you are loving the 1 Star.

For those of you that want a little extra height on either the 1 Star or 2 Star we do offer 4" Caster set as well. They raise the grill 1.5" and do work better for larger gap deck boards etc.
Click to expand...

Not to resurrect an old post, but are the larger casters still available? I'd love to have my 1 star a bit taller.
 
S

SmokinKat

New member
Hey Tomsmccann-- we don't currently have any of the 4" casters, but we're in the process of finding a replacement for the ones we phased out. Big Poppa's will have them on their website as soon as we find some good sturdy ones that meet MAK standards. :)
 
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