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Dennis, I'm no intellectual property attorney, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Please tell me your patent attorneys have examined the air control manifold on the KK BB 32 for possible patents. I'm telling you that thing is is most innovative air control feature I've seen on a kamado. It's shear genius and you should be able to protect that thing, or so it would seem in my poor pumpkin head.

But of course! Congrats, Dennis! You worked for it, you earned it, you deserve it! All Meathead did was reaffirm the blatantly obvious to those of us who own a KK.

I just got a CyberQ WiFi from BBQ Guru. I've done a couple of cooks with it on my KK BB 32, aka, The Beast. As I've noted elsewhere here on this forum, temperature control on The Beast is remarkably easy with very few transients. Temp is rock solid once it's dialed in. So the question is: "Do I NEED a temp controller?". Decidedly NO! The temp controller is nice to have but certainly not a necessity. I like being able to sit at my desk in my home office and monitor my cooks. The fact that the CyberQ is WiFi based is a big plus. Bluetooth is limited in range and limited to line of sight. Not so with wifi. Another feature about the CyberQ that I like is it has 3 food temperature probes. You can monitor 3 different items being cooked at one. Now you can really load The Beast with meat. You can do butts, pork loin, and a chicken at once and monitor all three at once. To me this is a real bonus.

It's been quite a while since there have been posts to this thread, but I'm going to jump in and add my 2¢. I got my KK BB 32" aka The Beast about 2 months ago. I've been cooking on ceramic kamados for over 20 years. I started out as do many on a large Big Green Egg. I learned the art of kamado cooking on that cooker. It got Humptied during a move and I replaced it with a medium BGE as I was now single. Big Mistake! I learned the hard way that SIZE MATTERS! Then along came the Primo XL and I was in heaven. Now I own the KK BB 32. The reason I got the 32 over the 23 is specifically because size matters. I regularly entertain 6-10 folks at a time and while the 23 could fill the bill, size matters. I've always said that when it comes to size, it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and can't get it! Look, it's simple,economics. A 23 will feed, as Dennis says, about 6 people. My KK BB 32, The Beast, can easily accommodate double that number for significantly less than twice the price! So for me and the way I entertain, it only made sense to purchase the 32". Let's look at operation of the KK BB 32. Talk about easy! The 32 defines easy operation. Temperature control is incredibly easy. Dennis is an engineering genius. Period. The air control manifold on The Beast is the most innovative way of controlling air flow through a kamado I've ever seen. The manifold consists of two dials. The left hand side will be familiar to any KK owner ... Its a dial type with index marks. Everyone knows how to adjust airflow using a dial. No big deal. It's the right hand side of the manifold that is really brilliant and innovative. This part of the manifold is a dial that has 5 holes drilled in it. The holes range in size from about 1/8th of an inch on the small end to about 3/4 of an inch on the large end. These holes, especially the small ones, allow for fine tuning on temperature. By themselves in conjunction with the top vent, low-n-slow temperature control is a cinch. I have two charcoal baskets; one exclusively for use with the Extruded CoCoNut Charcoal and the other for use with my regular lump charcoal, i.e. Fogo. I only use the extruded charcoal for low-n-slow cooks. I use Fogo for all cooks over 400°F. Swapping charcoal for the type of cook becomes simple. I have used the basket splitter sparingly. In fact, I really don't see much use for it in my style of cooking. I always start each cook with a full basket. I only light a single spot for my low-n-slow cooks and I want the fire to be able access an entire basket over a 12-18 hour cook. For high temp runs, I will generally light 4 spots in the basket and get a hot, hot fire cranking in The Beast. Load up the grill with the steaks! If I'm doing steaks for SWMBO and myself, two spots lit is more than sufficient. I will say that i do wear my welders gauntlets when i sear steaks, chops, etc that are low in the belly of The Beast. It's dadgummed HOT down there! Charcoal usage on The Beast is minimal. This is the most efficient kamado I've ever used in terms of how much charcoal is burned for a cook. The Beast never ceases to amaze me. Whether I'm searing steaks, cook pizzas high up in the dome, roasting turkeys, or smoking ribs or butts, The Beast is the most versatile kamado I've ever used. It adapts to me. It doesn't force me to adapt to it. I have yet to run into something that The Beast can't accomplish and do it effortlessly. Again, with respect to size, I firmly believe its better to have it and not need it than to need it and can't get it. Size matters. If you entertain or cook for no more than 6 people, the 23" will most certainly be a great cooker for your needs. However, if you cook for or entertain for more than 8 people, you should really consider the KK BB 32". It's the single most amazing cooker I've ever used.

Hello TopHat, While I do not know who else has a 32 besides Susan, I can tell you about my experiences with a 32. I do burgers, hot dogs, steaks, low and slows, pizzas, reverse sears, indirects, directs as well as other things with the 32. When used, it is normally for preparing food for about 14 people (90% adults) and growing. I do not use a basket splitter and really do not use as much fuel (lump / extruded coconut) as I anticipated due to the size of the 32. The 32 is used an average of 4 days/nights per week regardless of the season. I thought that I would need a blower to regulate temps, but quickly realized that I did not with the 32. It is a well designed and very efficient grill/oven/smoker or whatever you would like to call it. As strange as it sounds, I am contemplating acquiring an additional 32! You will be pleased with the 23 or 32. Just remember "It is better to have and not need than to need and not have" when it comes to these beauties. Good luck!

I had been using a BBQ Guru where possible for close to a decade. Then, last year, it broke and I didn't like any current feature set (I want an oven dial, period) so I didn't buy a replacement. I'm very happy with all manner of cooks, including overnight, flying manually. This is coming from someone who was hooked on automation, so I do know what I'm missing. One does have to think more about manual control; I like that. It takes time for fires to stabilize, and this involves a predictable drift, so one has to be around to make adjustments for a few hours. The Guru is great if one would rather run errands, go to bed, etc., but it isn't necessary. I've been playing with ways to fix the air inflow, to make the outflow adjustments more understandable and predictable. For example, to heat soak my KK several hours at 400 F for bread (this acts hotter in the actual bake because of radiant heat), I use just the empty Guru port as my only air intake, and count half turns for the dome hat. It takes me three or four half turns to reach 400 F, then fewer, ultimately one half turn, to maintain 400 F.

Congrats Dennis, but I'm not surprised!!<br /> <br /> <br /> Robert

Congratulations Dennis - a well-deserved award for this engineering masterpiece!

Agree with steelerguy. One may think twice regarding a purchase and the award based on what they think of as "cost", but a whole different ball game if you are looking for "value"!

Ditto what Smokydave said Dennis...no better words from me!

Congratulation Dennis! It's very well deserved and our luck that you have a great mind!

Noticed this a couple weeks ago while perusing the AmazingRibs site. I was really hoping to see a KK on there and was not disappointed. Always nice to see a review that isn't just looking at bottom line, but also takes into consideration the work of art a KK is. Let's be honest, you can get the job done with a less expensive cooker, but NOTHING is going to look as good while getting the job done (or just sitting there).

Seriously Cool, Dennis!! Congratulations!!!! I love the Amazing Ribs website, especially for debunking a lot of BBQ "myths" out there!