Stampede Grease Drain Plug - Rodent Prevention

[Hilbe]

Shout out to forum member Charles Shell. I think I sent him 15 to 25 prototypes of a grease drain port plug for his Stampede before we got one that fit. No more worries about mice/rats climbing into the barrel.

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

Why not just cut out a piece of 1/4" window screen to fit inside snugly and the grease can still run out yet keep the rodents out.

 

[Hilbe]

Why not just cut out a piece of 1/4" window screen to fit inside snugly and the grease can still run out yet keep the rodents out.

Rodents will chew through a screen in seconds if they see a way to enter. The plug at least blocks the visual and will take time to get through.

My old house I replaced window screens regularly because the mice somehow thought they could get in. I had 1 of them last a day

 

[Hilbe]

If you live anywhere near a woods, brush, field, etc mice will come to your house/grill. I had one die inside my weber genesis a few years back

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

I think they'd have quite a challenge as 1/4" screen wire is considerably thicker than window screen wire.

 

[Ronnie Byrd]

I like this. How did you make it

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

Just pretend your wanting make it the shape of a cardboard box before it's assembled. just cut out a rectangle 2" longer than each dimension, then cut out the corners to the actual size of the opening. Then fold the excess over to make right angles to fit inside the opening snugly with the flaps inserted first so it will take needle nose pliers for you to get it out for cleaning. This is a good project for the OCD among us.
A simpler way would be to cut out a piece slightly wider than the tube opening and long enough to be folded the same angle as the trough and the one side will be held down by the drip pan while the other side will cover the opening. I guarantee the rodents will have shorter incisors if they manage to chew thru the wire!

 

[charlesrshell]

I like this. How did you make it

I'm pretty sure he uses a 3D printer.

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

Nope, I'm too technologically challenged for 3D printer, just tin snips and some accurate cutting and bending. I haven't had to make one because we have a half feral cat that is the apex predator!!

 

[KRedman]

Shout out to forum member Charles Shell. I think I sent him 15 to 25 prototypes of a grease drain port plug for his Stampede before we got one that fit. No more worries about mice/rats climbing into the barrel.

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How can I get one? Or at least the file? Looks perfect. I thought about carving one out of wood or cork.

 

[charlesrshell]

How can I get one? Or at least the file? Looks perfect. I thought about carving one out of wood or cork.

Contack @Hilbe. He sells them in https://www.etsy.com/

 

[KRedman]

Contack @Hilbe. He sells them in https://www.etsy.com/

Just ordered one. Turns out he’s not too far away from me. Thanks!

 

[SlowmotionQue]

You guys are way over thinking this matter.

You only need something thick and heavy on the inside.

And with the drip pan wedged against it.

If he can move that or chew his way through it, well then I'll let him in myself.

 

[Mastertech59]

You guys are way over thinking this matter.

You only need something thick and heavy on the inside.

And with the drip pan wedged against it.

If he can move that or chew through it, well then I'll let him in myself.

I love it and agree that people are way over thinking this matter. That's why I originally came up with the external wooden plug idea, simple, cheap and it works.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

If I had wanted to be mean, I could have turned it the other way in the same direction as the hole.

That way, once he made is way up the tube he wouldn't be able to back his way out of the socket nor chew his way forward.

But trapping him inside the socket would be a bad idea.

The stench were he to die in there would be worse than the remedy.

And so I turn it sideways to block his entry any further than the grease port itself.

 

[Greg Jones]

Well, overthinking it is a relative term. I don’t have a rodent problem, but if I did... Would I want to leave a socket in my grill where I would have to take out the grates and the drip pan every time I wanted to grill something, or wrench on something with that socket? Or go buy some mesh wire that would cost me $$$ to cobble something together? Or I could fashion one from a piece of wood, assuming I had the resources to do that. Which I do, as I’m a woodworker, so in full disclosure I would go that route personally.

But if I wasn’t a woodworker, I could part with $5.00 and go that route instead. It‘s good to have options, and someone here willing to create a solution to a problem

 

[charlesrshell]

I don't have any rodent issues so I just stuff my spout with paper towels to prevent it from draining on the floor.

 

[Greg Jones]

I don't have any rodent issues so I just stuff my spout with paper towels to prevent it from draining on the floor.

Wait, what? You got all those prototypes and you are using paper towels?

 

[charlesrshell]

Wait, what? You got all those prototypes and you are using paper towels?

LOL, yep. Only one of all those prototypes fit. I helped Hilbe figure out the right size drain plug for the Stampede. Apparently it is different size than the Bull or the Chinese has different size drain spouts.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I understand. Each to his own. Slightly lifting the right grate and removing the socket is not a problem for me.

I don't have to take out the drip pan. I simply raised it a tad on the right end and drop the socket. Then let the drip pan wedge between the socket and the lip which holds the drip pan in place

I also have several sockets, and prefer this way as this isn't one of my sockets which gets a whole lot of use, but that's just me.

I chose the socket above, but anything heavy enough to keep rodents from moving it, and too tough for rodents to chew through, would work.