I ordered my Black Beauty Gen II OTB (just like Jasen's) on June 5, 2007.
I had been cooking on my MexiK #5 for less than a year. I was initially excited about my purchase of a MexiK, but I gradually became disillusioned after becoming aware of the many design and construction defects in the MexiK cookers. As do most Mexik owners, I found it necessary to attempt regular DIY repairs in an effort to control air flow. When I received my MexiK there were 1/4 inch gaps between the lower draft door and the wall of the cooker (that took some fixing!) and the dome and the bottom of the cooker wouldn't seat together. The factory quality control on my cooker was nonexistent! I also had to make numerous (unsatisfactory) band adjustments as I found the top and the bottom sections of the cooker did not align and could not be made to align. I purchased some Permatex Ultra copper High Temp Silicone to make a tighter fit between the dome and the base. I finally had to completely REMOVE the springs in the prop tubes in order to get the dome and base to somewhat align. Boy! This 73 old senior citizen got tired or lifting that HEAVY dome! Of course all MexiK owners have probably experienced the fun on trying to loosen a stuck damper top! Once my damper top was stuck so tight even my young neighbor (6' 3" & 220#) couldn't get it unstuck. I finally purchased a Klein Grip-It 18 inch strap wrench on the internet to help me get my damper top unstuck. This post would get extremely long if I tried to list all the "fun" times I have had with my MexiK. But the readers of this post who have (or had) a MexiK will know what an experience it is to deal with the inherent design and construction failings of a MexiK and then try to also deal with the almost nonexistent customer service that one gets from that company.
One day while surfing the internet I somehow came across the KomodoKamado website. Lucky day for me! On 10 June 2006 I became a registered member of this forum and I have been lurking ever since (almost daily!). I have enjoyed reading some great posts by some great members!
Well now for the good news. On August 23rd I received delivery of my new Gen II Ultimate OTB Black/Black Komodo/Kamado. I call her "Black Beauty" and a real beauty she is!
My KK was delivered by Oak Harbor Freight Lines. The driver's name was Ramon. I had requested a lift gate truck home delivery. Ramon got the KK off the truck on a pallet jack and pulled it up my sloping driveway (667#). I wanted the KK around the side of my house and into a side patio. We had two gates to go through and the KK crate was too big to go through the second gate. Ramon and I were able to uncrate the KK easily (thanks to the new 8 lag screw crate design and Professor Salt's sticky on the forum) and we were able to roll (great casters!) the KK over my rather rough paver patio into it's new home without mishap. Ramon even cleaned up all the debris and the crate (still in one piece) and hauled everything away. Ramon spent almost an hour with me and I was happy to give him a nice "toke" (hey, this is Las Vegas!) for his help which made him very happy and so both of us were happy.
The good news is that everything was accomplished without mishap and I now have a beautiful new KK (and a rather dejected looking MEXIK) sitting on my side yard patio.
From date of order to date of delivery was 79 days. I have only good things to say about my experience with Dennis Linkletter. We have corresponded by email with no problems. He even telephoned me from Indonesia to see if everything went OK with the delivery. The purchase was handled though PAYPAL and went very smoothly.
I have been cooking with my new Black Beauty for several weeks now and I am simply amazed at the very noticeable difference in quality between the KK and the MexiK. The design, the technical improvements and the quality of construction of the KK over the MexiK is readily apparent to everyone who sees the two together even if the viewer has never seen a ceramic cooker before.
Many Thanks to the Komodo Forum and many Thanks to Dennis!!
From one happy KomodoKamado customer!
Lew (PKRPLR)
