How to Store and Winterize a Grill

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Cold does not rust a grill.

Grease, ash, and trapped water do, and all three are things you leave behind in October.

A grill that gets one honest hour in the fall starts clean in April. A grill that gets a cover thrown over a dirty, damp firebox comes out of the shed with a rusted-through bottom and a burner that will not light.

The whole job takes about an hour.

Here it is in order.

Burn it off, then actually clean it

Run a gas or pellet grill on high for 15 minutes with the lid closed.

On a charcoal grill, do this at the end of your last cook while the coals are still hot.

Brush the grates while they are hot with a bristle-free scraper rather than a wire brush. Loose wire bristles end up in food, which is a real and documented injury, and a $15 scraper removes the risk.

Scrape the underside of the lid once it cools.

Those black flakes are carbonized grease, not paint, and leaving them means they drop onto your food in the spring.

Empty the grease tray and replace the catch pan or its liner. A tray of old grease over five wet months is both a rust source and a fire risk on the first cook back.

Then wash the firebox interior with hot water and dish soap, rinse it, and let it dry completely in the sun. Water sealed under a cover is the thing you are trying to prevent, so give it a full dry day.

If the grates need more than a scrape, the full method is in how to clean and season a grill grate.

Ash is what actually eats a charcoal grill

Empty the bowl and the ash catcher completely, down to bare metal.

Ash holds moisture against steel all winter and corrodes the bowl from the inside.

Wipe the interior dry, then leave the vents open a crack so any condensation has somewhere to go.

Store leftover charcoal indoors in a sealed bucket. A damp bag lights badly and burns cold next season, which is covered in the lump versus briquette breakdown.

Oil the grates before they sit still

Wipe cooking grates with a thin coat of a high-smoke-point oil like canola or grapeseed. Thin is the operative word, since a thick coat goes sticky and gummy over the winter.

Cast iron grates need this most. Bare cast iron rusts in a humid garage in weeks, and rusty grates are a large part of why food sticks in the spring.

Better still, pull the grates and store them inside the house.

They take up less room than you think and they come out perfect.

Propane rules that are not optional

Close the tank valve fully, then disconnect the regulator from the cylinder.

Store the cylinder outdoors, upright, and away from heat and ignition sources.

A propane tank never goes in a garage, a basement, a shed, a closet, or an apartment, whatever the weather is doing.

Keep it off wet ground so the foot ring and valve do not corrode, and out of standing snow.

Never store a grill indoors with the cylinder still attached.

If the grill goes in the garage, the tank stays outside, separately.

Bag or cap the open end of the hose and the burner tube openings. Spiders build webs in venturi tubes over the winter, and a blocked tube is the most common cause of a yellow, lazy flame or a fire behind the control panel in the spring.

Pellet grills want an empty hopper

Run the hopper down to nothing, or vacuum out what is left with a shop vac.

Pellets absorb moisture fast, and swollen pellets harden in the auger tube. A jammed auger is the single most common pellet grill repair, and it is almost entirely preventable by not leaving fuel in the hopper for five months.

Vacuum the fire pot and the ash out of the barrel. Ash left in the pot makes ignition unreliable the next time you press the button.

Store the pellets themselves indoors in a sealed bucket with a gasket lid.

A paper bag on a garage floor is a wet bag by January.

Unplug the grill and protect the controller. A cover with a panel flap, or a plastic bag taped over the control face, keeps water out of the electronics.

Cover it only when it is cold and dry

The full case for and against a cover, including what one has to do to earn its place, is in the guide to grill covers and storage. The short version follows.

A cover on a warm or damp grill traps moisture against metal and accelerates exactly the rust you are trying to stop.

Buy a fitted cover for your specific model, $30 to $50 for most grills (checked August 2026). A loose universal cover flaps, scrapes the finish, and fills with water in the low spots.

Look for vents in the cover.

Vented covers let condensation escape instead of holding it against the lid.

Secure it in wind.

A cover that blows off in December is a cover that did nothing.

Where it lives for five months

A garage or a shed is fine for the grill itself, with the propane cylinder stored separately outdoors.

If it stays outside, keep it off bare concrete or dirt. A couple of pavers, a pallet, or the grill's own wheels on a dry pad keeps the legs and the underside out of standing water.

Close the lid and latch anything that latches.

An open grill is a five-star hotel for mice, and mouse nests in a burner tube are a spring headache.

Check it once mid-winter. Two minutes to make sure the cover is still on and the tray is still empty saves the whole exercise.

If you cook through the winter anyway

Propane pressure drops as the tank gets cold, so a cylinder that pours fine in July can struggle at 15 F. Keep the tank fuller than half through the winter and preheat longer.

Expect longer cooks and more fuel. A gas grill can use noticeably more propane holding 400 F in the cold, and a pellet grill burns more pellets to fight the same wind.

Keep the lid closed and work fast.

Every open lid in January costs more heat than it does in July.

Never move a grill into a garage, a breezeway, or a tent to escape the weather.

Charcoal and gas both produce carbon monoxide, and enclosed grilling kills people every year.

Clear a path and light the area. Ice underfoot with hot food in your hands is how a good night ends badly.

Waking it up in the spring

Leak-test every gas connection with soapy water before the first cook. Brush it on, open the valve, and watch for bubbles at the fittings and along the hose.

Inspect the hose for cracks, and look at the burner tube openings for spider webs. Yellow, floppy flames mean a blocked venturi and the grill goes off until that is cleared.

Clear the burner ports with a paperclip or a small wire, then run the grill on high for 15 minutes before food goes on.

Check the firebox for rust-through and the grates for pitting. If a burner is corroded, replace it now, because a burner with holes in it causes uneven heat and flare-ups.

Replace the igniter battery while you are at it. It is a $2 fix that saves a lot of swearing, and it belongs on the same list as the other tools worth owning.

If spring inspection turns up a rusted-out firebox, that grill is done, and the best gas grills roundup is the place to start over.