Setting Up a Collapsible Grill: First Setup, Step by Step

The exact assembly order for a tab-and-slot collapsible charcoal grill, where to put it, and how to take it back down, using the Slot Grill.

The first time you put a flat pack grill together it takes a few minutes of looking at the parts. By the third time it is muscle memory. This is the order Slot Grill gives on its specs, setup and care page, with notes from the point of view of someone doing it for the first time.

Before you start

• Pick a stable, level, non-combustible spot: bare soil, gravel, sand, concrete or a fire-safe pad, clear of structures, vehicles, tents, dry grass and anything that can burn.
• Lay the parts out flat. You have two end pieces, two side panels (one with two tabs at each end, one with a single tab at each top end and three tabs along the bottom), two grates, and griddle plates if you bought them.
• Gloves are handy: cut steel edges are clean but firm.

Assembly

1. Start with one end piece, SLOT GRILL text facing out.
2. Add the two-tab side panel. Insert the two tabs on one end of it into the slots on the end piece.
3. Add the second end piece. Text facing out, slide the other two tabs of the side panel into it. The end pieces are universal, so either works on either end as long as the text faces out.
4. Lock in the V. Take the remaining side panel. Set its top tabs onto the top of each end piece, then slide its three bottom tabs into the bottom of the first side panel. The sides interlock into a tight V.
5. Check it. Every tab fully seated, grill level.
6. Add fuel, charcoal or cooking wood, and light it (see lighting charcoal).
7. Set the grates on top, or swap one half for a griddle plate.

Do the first assembly at home, cold, on the kitchen floor or a driveway. Doing it once without a hungry crowd watching makes the first trip easy.

Taking it down

1. Let the grill and ash cool completely. This takes longer than you think; give it time.
2. Empty the ash into a metal container (see ash handling).
3. Lift off the grates or griddles.
4. Slide the V side panel out, then pull the end pieces off the other side panel.
5. Stack the flat pieces with the grates and griddles.

The Slot Grill also comes with two grate keys that double as bottle openers, according to the specs page's what's-in-the-box list.

Fire safety on any collapsible grill

• Outdoors only. Burning charcoal makes carbon monoxide, which you can't see or smell. Never use it in a garage, tent, camper, vehicle, boat cabin or under a roof or awning.
• Non-combustible, level ground. Soil, gravel, sand, concrete, pavers or a fire-safe pad.
• Clearance. Away from walls, vehicles, tents, overhanging branches and dry grass. Kids and pets kept back.
• Seated tabs. Check every tab is fully in its slot before you add fuel.
• Water and gloves at hand. Hot steel looks exactly like cold steel.
• Leave it alone until cold. Don't move or take apart a lit or warm grill.

Mistakes new flat pack owners make

1. Too much charcoal. A small firebox gets very hot. Start with half a chimney and add.
2. No cool zone. Without an empty end, a flare-up has nowhere to go.
3. Cooking on black coals. Wait for gray ash.
4. Old ash left in. It blocks airflow; empty it before every cook.
5. Heavy oil when seasoning. Thin coats cure; thick coats turn gummy.
6. Packing it warm. Wait until steel and ash are cold, every time.

Questions people ask