Perfect deflector for PB24 (CGS Spider)

[m-fine]

So, I know many of you are looking for a good deflector solution for the Pit Boss.  I believe I have the perfect solution, although it took a bit of work.  You may be able to custom order one or get them to make a bunch for us if there is demand.

 

What I got was the Ceramic Grill Store's Vision XL Spider.  It sits in the notches in the firebox and puts a ring about 2 1/4" down below the main grate.  You can then set a 16" stone or 2 half stones on the spider, and if you want, a 16" drip pan (also from CGS) on the stones.  You could also set a 15-17" searing grate on it to get closer to the fire.  

 

The main grate sits on the firebox as normal with plenty of clearance from the drip pan below.  Alternatively, you can flip the spider, and it will hold the main grid up near the felt line.  

 

What needs to be done to mod it?  The Vision XL spider is 23" across and the PB internal is only 21.5, so you need to trim the 3 feet to get it down to about 20.5-21" or so.  Also, the width of the legs is 18" which JUST fits in the PB fire bowl.  I was worried about thermal expansion so I re-bent one of the legs to get it down to about 17 1/2" - 17 3/4" which leaves plenty of room.  CGS may make one for you or start carrying it as a model if we give them these dimensions.  Let me know if you need help with that.  

 

See pictures below and fire away any questions...

 

 

Legs trimmed.

 

Sitting in place.

 

With 2 16" half stones

 

16" Stainless drip pan on stones

 

Clearance from grid to drip pan rim and base.

 

Upright and with Grid at felt line

[Beermachine]

I hope you have a patent for that? lol

[m-fine]

I forgot to mention that with the half stones you should be able to do an indirect and a direct zone.  I will have to try it out at some point and let you know how it works, but others are doing it with smaller 18" large BGE's a KJ's.

[m-fine]

I hope you have a patent for that? lol

 

HAH, I bought it, so hopefully CGS has a patent.  All I did was a bit of bending and cutting to change the size slightly but it is 100% their design that they have been selling for Eggs, KJ's and visions for years.

 

https://ceramicgrillstore.com/collections/vision-xl

 

 

https://ceramicgrillstore.com/pages/spider-for-large-big-green-egg-introduction

[handyd]

Thanks for the post.  I just emailed the CGS yesterday with the dimensions of the Pit Boss fire pit asking if it would work.

 

Maybe they will sell a modified version for the Pitboss, but for now, cutting 3" off each side is no big deal.  I like this solution much better then the Pit Boss Deflector.

[m-fine]

To be clear, I cut a lot less than 3" off each leg, and I re-bent one leg to give room for expansion. The cutting was super easy using a grinder and cut off wheel. The bending is not super hard since 304 is fairly ductile, but it takes some tools and effort. If you have a welder you could also cut and re-weld one leg 1/4" shorter. I think in would be fairly simple for CGS to make it the right size since the ring size and bend locations are all the same.

[mattslc]

This looks great.  I'm in on the custom spider order if CGS ever does one for the PB.

[DXM12]

I e-mailed CGS this morning to see if they'd consider making a spider accessory for our grill and just received the following response:

 

We were just at the hardware show and took a good look at their product. We will address this next week and hopefully have something up on our website within 2 weeks.

If you like our Facebook page, we will announce there when the product is available.

Thank you for your interest in Ceramic Grill Store products.

Terri & Tom Vogds

Sent from my iPhone

 

 

Very encouraging!

[m-fine]

Ecellent! I sent them my measurements and a link to the pictures here and also offered to send more of either if they need anything.

With the right tools you can mod the Vision XL Spider in a few minutes, but if they will make products for these directly, it will be even better.

[Jesse]

From my experience there customer service is great and I don't see any reason why they couldn't custom make what you need. Good work though getting it going. 

[handyd]

Ecellent! I sent them my measurements and a link to the pictures here and also offered to send more of either if they need anything.

With the right tools you can mod the Vision XL Spider in a few minutes, but if they will make products for these directly, it will be even better.

 

Seem like the more we email them, the better off we are.  They still haven't responded to my email from last night.

 

I'd order to vision one but don't have a grinder/tool to cut such heavy bar.

[PB24 CAFE]

Thanks for this DIY Design.   Cut 1 3/4" off legs. Works Great !!

[Jack.]

Welcome, PB24 CAFE.

[jrobert05]

I just ordered the Pit Boss spider and 2 half deflector plates from CGS! There are now available from The Ceramic Grill Store.

[DXM12]

I just ordered the Pit Boss spider and 2 half deflector plates from CGS! There are now available from The Ceramic Grill Store.

 

Wow that was fast! Thanks for the heads up!

 

I just ordered the Spider, 2 half deflector plates, and the stainless steel dripping pan. It's great that we have a very responsive accessories partner for our grill!