Need help with POSK.

[cruzmisl]

Hi All,

 

My Father in law has a POSK (another brand) that he hasn't used in several months since he winters in Florida. He came back to find his POSK tophat frozen shut. He asked me how strong I felt and explained what needed to be done. Being a previous owner (and sadly the catalyst for his purchase) I knew using brute force would rip the top right off the crumbling disaster.

 

Anyway, my question is how does one go about freeing the top hat safely without destroying the frail cooker.

 

Thanks!

Joe 

[tinyfish]

What about starting some charcoal to heat up the cap.

[Cookie]

I had a POSK way back when and had this happen on one occasion in the winter.  I took some cooking spray (PAM) and sprayed the hell out of the threads, receiver, etc.  I let it soak in for a couple of hours then got a good fire going in the basket and closed the lid to let it warm things up.  It eventually loosened up and broke free.  I then took the top off and took a wire brush and scouring pad to everything and hit it with cooking spray again.  From that point on, I made a point to hit it with the cooking spray from time-to-time for fear of a repeat event.  Seemed to work.

 

For anyone reading this thread that doesn't know...POSK refers to an inferior brand of Kamado that many of us had prior to Komodo Kamados.  You do not need to worry about such issues with the Komodo Kamado....apples and oranges.

[5698k]

Apples and oranges? I prefer to think there's Komodo Kamados, then there's everything else.

[cruzmisl]

Thanks Cookie. I'll have him give it a go. 

[tony b]

Even RJ, the owner of the POSK company, would put out info on how to free a stuck damper, so it was just "par for the course" with that design. (Notice how Dennis uses square ACME threads to avoid that problem!). Another option is to use a propane torch to heat up the threaded rod from underneath until it spins freely. Then apply a good lubricant, WD40 or even Vaseline. I used both methods during the time I had my POSK. As noted by Cookie, just don't exert too much torque trying to spin the top free, or you risk breaking the neck of the lid where the bolts go in. 

 

Good Luck, you're gonna need it (seriously!)

[bryan]

Jack it up and slide a NEW Komodo Kamitado under it.

[Syzygies]

I helped a friend release his stuck #5 POSK damper. Think "strap wrench" and design a tool two people can operate, involving a stick and straps. Working without an improvised tool is a shoulder injury waiting to happen.

 

The damper assembly can simply fail rather than twist free. We also used some scary solvent like WD40, which we were careful to burn off.

 

When I had my #7 POSK (before my 23KK), I found a stainless steel nut and bolt matching the damper threads. I'd regularly disassemble the damper, then have a swingers partner-swapping party with these four parts and some food-grade grease. Cleans out the built-up gunk and corrosion. Notice that there are threads that can't be cleaned by use alone, because they're past where the damper is completely shut. A lot of crud builds up past this point; a separate nut can clean past this point.

 

With this maintenance procedure, there should be no further problems. Although, one gets these problems by not using the POSK. If one isn't using it, one isn't carrying out maintenance either. Give it to someone who'll use it (like I did) and buy a KK.