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They sure look good !!!!

I managed to disassemble and reassemble without directions; I recall it was tricky. Believing it is meant to come apart is half the battle. Only once it is apart does one see how everything fits together. My favorite version of this: Thirty years ago I had a Pelican fountain pen, and unscrewing it to add ink I accidentally took it apart further than intended. I was stumped for part of an hour how it went back together, till I made the assumption that it was supposed to be reassembled "wrong" in a way that made the ink reservoir a third smaller. It went together in seconds. I decided to "fix" it, but I wanted a spare of the part I was about to possibly demolish. I called a dozen pen shops around the country (how did one even learn who to call before the internet?). I finally called Fahrney's Pens in Washington D.C., and was put on hold, then their repair guru they normally protect from the public answered: "You won't figure it out. It took me three weeks to make the tool. Just send your pen to me!" She hadn't even been able to convice Pelican there was a problem. She routinely "upgraded" any Pelican pen she worked on, but I was the first person in the known universe that had noticed this issue, besides her. We were ecstatic to talk with each other.

@Chief no, that chicken was the last cook with the hanger. been busy i haven't had a chance to do much with it..

Meat Candy!!

@David Chang Have you tried making a roast duck yet? Hopefully you can share your experience. I received my duck hanger and am getting everything ready to make some Chinese style roast duck very soon. When I first saw it, I had the same concerns as you did. It looks like the duck will hang very low, just above the coals and the hooks are too close together. My other concern is the coals flaring up from the grease since it's so close - I'm worried the bottoms will get burnt before they're done.

Thanks @C6Bill I ended up watching his YouTube videos and went that route. Think it turned out pretty good for my first attempt. Everyone loved it

Could someone post how to replace the LPG orifice with the supplied Natural Gas orifice? After initial examination, I am not sure where the NG fitting would go.

1) I dont think Flameboss does a good job on the lid open detection, but there is a setting to lengthen the time the fan stays off buried in their menu. I'd stick with the fireboard, it seems to do a better job of that, but that is just my opinion. My main issue with flameboss was their probes. I really liked the product other than the probes. But i think fireboard is a better product. 2) Just remember if you are using a controller close that bottom vent, if that is open at all while using a controller you will have trouble maintaining a consistent temp. I did it once just from force of habit, opened the bottom vent for 235 and then setup the controller and walked away, couldnt figure out why my temp wouldnt settle down until i went back and looked and saw what i had done lol 3) Ditch them both until you learn your vent control, do a short low and slow with ribs during the day so you can master the vents, they are really easy on the KK so you'll have a real good idea after one cook without a controller. I just took pics of the vent settings for future reference until i had it figured out.

@jeffshoaf makes some excellent points, as do the others in this post. My +/- 50F comment was about not fretting if you're cooking temperature is not exactly where you aimed. As noted, don't try and chase the temperature. You'll just get frustrated - and it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference in the final result. I 2nd the comment about the amount of charcoal in the basket - it's the amount of charcoal that gets lit, not how much total is in the basket. Snuff the leftovers for another cook. One of the benefits of the KK. I generally only use a single sheet of AL foil on the lower grate for an indirect cook. All you're trying to do is block the Infrared radiation of the fire from reaching the food. You only need to cover as much of the lower grate as the footprint of the food above to allow airflow. If you wrap the foil ends around the grate rods, you shouldn't have any issues with the foil moving about. Another thought about using any temperature controller & fan units - keep the damper on the fan output fairly closed (1/4 open). Make the fan do the work to push the air through the grill. Keep the top vent just barely open, open it just until you see smoke escaping. One of the things that can happen (a chance that this is what caused your spike) is that a good breeze blowing across the top vent can cause what's called "vacuum drag" and actually pull more air through the grill than the controller wants, leading to a "runaway." Once the grill temperature gets a few degrees above the controller's setpoint, the controller quits effectively working, as it can't lower the temperature back into the control band. You're at the mercy of Mother Nature at that point for the breeze to calm down and the fire to die back down so the controller can take over again once the temperature recovers to the setpoint. Keeping the top vent and fan dampers mostly closed will help prevent that runaway from happening.

The references to too much charcoal are referring to how much charcoal you have burning, not how much you have in the basket. The kk's are so well insulated and efficient that you require very little burning to get to lose and slow temps. It's tempting to start a big fire and get to temp quickly but you really need to light just a few pieces of charcoal and bring the temp up slowly. Having a full basket is just insurance that you don't run out of charcoal mid-cook; it doesn't go to waste since you can easily kill the fire at the end of a cook by closing all the vents and then reuse it for your next cook. The basket splitter is useful for making it easy to switch the type of charcoal between cooks and to create direct and indirect cooking zones. If you have too much charcoal burning, your temp controller is most likely smothering it to keep the temps down, so when you open the lid the sudden in-rush of air fuels all of that smothered charcoal and let's it flare up, causing the temperature spike - it's the back draft affect. Regarding a deflector, if you only have a little charcoal burning, you rarely need a deflector in a kk; I only use one if I'm using a drip pan to catch drippings for aus jous or gravy.

For reference, I have a 32BB. I use either a sheet pan or foil as a heat deflector. Foil will not move on you. Note, if the meat is going to drop a lot you may want to put a pan on top of the foil to catch the drippings. For a six hour cook, I'd recommend using the basket splitter. For a long 12+ hour cook I'd recommend a full basket of lump. 1/4 or 1/2 for a short cook would be more than sufficient. Bottom vent should be open maybe the first notch or two. Not too much though to keep it at 225F.

Consistent temps during the cook I have always considered tantamount to good BBQ and temp swings the enemy of good Q. Not sure what your referring to +\- 50 deg - are you referring to prior to putting the meat on being totally fine? I’m not so concerned with aiming for 235 and hitting 250-260 or more before I put meat on and staying at that temp but I am concerned about not maintaining that temp throughout the cook.

Sorry everyone I just have so many questions. First off I have both a fireboard and flame boss temp controllers - in this cook I was using the flameboss. I use fogo premium and cocochar. First, For low and slow I need to use some sort of deflector so I can get indirect cooking - is it better to use the Kk drip pan ( I have double insulated) or I have heard some use aluminum foil over lower grate - one layer or how many layers? Doesnt the foil have a tendency to move around or float from the hot air rising? How do you keep it down in place? Also, I think I am using too much charcoal - Dennis had me thinking a full basket of charcoal for a 6 hour cook is perfectly fine. Rum & Cook says he uses basket splitter pretty much always esp for low and slow 1/4 basket rarely 1/2 basket. I haven’t been using my splitter and have been loading up the basket 1/2 to 3/4 full. How open on bottom vent if top is 1/8 turn for 225-235? Wondering if I should just ditch the fan and just monitor grate temp with flameboss or fireboard. Then just learn vent settings? Thanks for everyone’s input.

I've had my KK for a bit over a year now. Temp control was something I stressed about when I began my journey. I was guilty of the whole "temp chasing" by making adjustments continuously. Using either just the vents or a temp controller, I learned one thing. Lesson learned is that the top vent only needs to be opened 1/8 of a turn to keep temps at or below 250F. I was opening it 1/4 or 1/2 and would experience temp runs like you have. Additionally, I no longer use Fogo XL or large charcoal like that. Basic Fogo is my go-to and I've had much more consistent temps.

This is the Billows damper setting I use: Just barely open with the damper plate. Let the fan work on the intake and output sides both.

I can’t help but think there’s too much fire lit, and you’re choking the fire. I have no issues with opening my lid mid cook, with no temperature spikes. I have my controller set up, light a small amount of coals and close the lid. I’ll open the top a full turn, and monitor the temperature increase. Once the temp is within 50° of my set point, I’ll set the top just off the seat. You want the fan to work to keep temp where you want it. I simply don’t have the issues you’re describing, so I can’t help but think that there’s a set up issue. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Todays lunch. Pecan crusted rack of lamb with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. On the 23 direct, 400 degrees, IT of 130 degrees, rested about 15 minutes. I mixed an egg white with Dijon mustard for the binder, the egg definitely added some grip for the pecans. Enjoy KooK on Steve

Good point on the damper David

Been awhile between roadside chickens! Shouldn’t have waited so long. Served open on Greek pitas, whipped up some tzatziki, salad, pickles, smear of humus and drizzle of chilli. What a dinner!

i am a fireboard user and we have a lid detection setting where you can disable the fan when there is a sudden drop in temp (lid open) i'm not sure if you can enable something like this in the billows app. if not, the fan may be overcompensating when you opened the lid as seen in the green spike. also what is your max fan speed set to? if max speed, it's going to be trouble.. also, are you using the yellow billows damper?

Not as bad as Fiona, I expect.

If you are using a controller make sure those bottom vents are closed and never touch them. When you go to wrap the ribs open the lid snd take the ribs out and immediately close the lid. Once wrapped open the lid and put them back in and close that lid. After I do that I always close my top vent about an 8th of a turn. Then walk away. Hope that helps

Lee was nothing here 👍

Couldn't tell the difference between the pictures. You have a good camera on the phone! Stay safe, @MacKenzie!!

And just in time before Lee blew in and possibly caused some of them to break off and damage your property. Smart move.