jdbower Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 I've been drooling over Dennis' functional artwork for over a year and a half now. I've been postponing my purchase mostly because I had been trying to build a house first, so as soon as I gave up and moved to a real house in MA I placed an order. As luck would have it I was away when it was originally ready to be delivered but I'm back now. Of course, the delivery guy ran late - 12-4 turned into 4:30 as things started to get dark. After unloading the truck and getting the pallets up my driveway it's now too dark to see what I'm doing - well, too dark for decent pictures at least. So to tide you over, here's a sample of things to come. The rightmost pallet doesn't look too happy () but from what I can tell it's just the shipping pallet, Dennis' packing pallet seems to be doing just fine. You'll have to excuse the image, rather than use a flash I decided to go with ambient lighting and a 6 second exposure at a noisy ISO800 - it's really much darker than it appears in the shot. Yesterday I stopped by Costco for some dead animals and a FoodSaver, I've already got the Stoker ready to go, and there's a turkey brining as we speak. More tomorrow - if I can sleep tonight knowing it's out there waiting to be used! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted December 13, 2008 Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 Can't wait to see more Jeff - Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted December 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2008 Tougher than Teamsters I think Dennis' new tagline should be "Tougher than Teamsters". I was a bit concerned about my 23" Gen2.2 given the state of the pallet (looks like someone dropped it) but it came through with only a loose top gasket - a very easy fix. The pallet itself is a work of art, better built than most of my furniture it provides a ton of protection for an already heavy duty product. It's a little bit naked without the thermometer installed, but the Tel-Tru was inside awaiting calibration at the time: I've got several more pics to share, but this is just a taste. I'm outside in the dark grilling up a pork tenderloin for a late dinner (and confusing the neighbors to no end I'm sure - they saw me lugging the crate up the driveway with the tractor yesterday and now I'm outside grilling on a, what the heck is that anyway? ). By the way, there's got to be some sort of a scam going on. I decided I wanted between 300 and 350F so as the ECC came up to about 300 I randomly repositioned the dampers. The temperature magically settled at 325 as if it read my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted December 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Something you can't really appreciate until you've actually bought one are all the little touches Dennis puts into the packing of these things. All the accessories are individually tightly wrapped in foam to protect them. All the tools you'll need are included, a prybar is marked on the corner of the crate and a socket for adjusting the springs is inside (OK, so you may need something to undo the lag bolts, but I'm sure putting another wrench inside the crate wouldn't be a very good option ). All the movable parts are blocked off with a dense foam material so the lid doesn't pop open (even when someone at the shipping company drops the crate ). The accessories box is also labeled with the contents to help you figure out what everything is. But probably the nicest feature are these: At first I thought the green ropes held the KK to the crate, but then I noticed they weren't attached (it's the yellow tape that holds it in place). They're pre-tied lift points to help out move the KK around in case you don't have a rope and to protect you against a bad knot. Even though the useful lifespan of this rope is only a few weeks and one use they actually taped the ends to prevent fraying. Just slip a 2x4 (or pallet fork ) into the loop and lift the KK off the pallet. It's almost like Dennis has actually given some thought to unpacking these things. About the only thing that would be better is to make the crate out of hardwood and include a small wood chipper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphoran Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 So Jeff, What's in the small crate? Did you get a 19 AND a 23??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted December 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 What's in the small crate? Minor snafu with shipping, I always get the bad luck with shipping. I think it may have to do with the local literacy rates - they think a calzone is just another word for "hot pocket" up here. You'll find out what's in the small crate soon, or at least what should have been in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Hmmmm... Now you've got my curiosity piqued... I thought you would be unveiling a 19" little brother (or sister) to your 23" KK. Floors maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted December 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 No need to be in suspense, it was a little brother to the big guy (there aren't that many products that Dennis sells!), but they accidentally shipped the wrong color. If only I had bought from a company with good customer service, then there would be a new cooker rushing to me as we speak. Oh wait, I did! And it is! Needless to say Senior will keep me more than busy enough while I wait for Junior to arrive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amphoran Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Ooooooooooh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Aaaaaaaaaah! (Sorry, couldn't resist!) Lookin' forward to a report on the 19.5"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted December 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 Second time's the charm A minor shipping SNAFU on the first delivery delayed my other toy slightly, but (as so often happens in the KK world) everything has been made right. My first impressions of the 19.5" are pretty good, it's got the same KK quality and is probably all I'd need for most cooks. Still, if I had to choose just one it would probably be the 23". Only time will tell which one will be my primary and which one I'll use for cooking two things at once. On the left is a monster 22" carbon steel wok from Eastman Outdoors to round out my cooking needs. The legs on the burner "tripod" are in the low position which is much more suitable for steaming or using it with a stock pot, in the high position the wok is much more comfortable to use. I may need to wait until Spring to actually use it at this rate, but when I get the chance I'll let any interested parties know my thoughts on it thus far. It's kind of a grey, overcast day so I'll try to snap some more interesting pics when the sun comes out. And hopefully when the dirty snow melts or gets covered with a dusting of fresh stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I'd like to hear more about the wok when you get a chance Jeff - fire that puppy up in the garage and let us know how it treats you! Even more, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the 19". It looks to be a bit more friendly for apartment dwellers or even Multi-tenant units that don't have the same space as single-family homes offer. All that and only giving up 4" of cook space is pretty nice. You've got 'em side by side, please give us your immediate impressions and then your real-world experiences as time allows - Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted December 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 Don't worry, you'll hear plenty about both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
