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Actually you do need the splitter because airflow will always take the path of least resistance.. The air will simply go thru the open area with no charcoal.. this reduces the responsiveness of the controls also.. Ideally you want all the air leaving the damper top to be forced thru the charcoal. This way minor changes actually affect the volume of charcoal you are burning and the temp.

So- did a long burn in today, and maiden pizza to use the heat. Great success. A couple of questions arising from the day- 1. We talk of 'just off the gasket' for the top vent setting. I can feel the gasket friction for 90 degrees of turn from fully closed (but not over-tight) until I lose the feel of the gasket. So when people talk about 'a quarter turn open', are they generally referring to a 1/4 turn from fully closed, or a 1/4 turn from the point where you no longer feel any gasket friction at all. My sense was that this 90 degrees from fully closed position (just when I lose the friction) will be about right for my low and slow cooking. 2. I had the grill burning for around 9 hours, but as I had to go get the kids from school, I left it at around 400F prior to going for 500F for the 1-2 hour burn in. It would have sat at 400F a good couple of hours, so very well heat soaked- and when I got home, I put in the main and top grate and pizza stone and opened the top to 1.5 turns and the bottom a full 1/4 open (this setting had me shoot up to 500F previously)- but with the stone in place, it would not budge above 400F. I took the stone out- and within less than 5min was seeing >500F at the dome. Put the stone back in- 400F! Given how quickly it shot back up to 500F without the stone in place- am I right in thinking that the actual temp was closer to 500F all along, but shielding of the thermometer resulted in a falsely low reading? Certainly had solvent smell throughout... And the obligatory photos of the first dinner from the KK... Ham and cheese for the kids; pork/fennel sausage broccolini and chilli; salmon capers and spinach; and classic Margherita for us!

First time using the rotisserie the other day , thrilled with the results 😁

Thanks guys! I kept the 1/2 basket and it cooked fine. Last night's fish I had to let it burn a bit to get rid of some of the drippings that had landed on the coals. I'd dry brined the bird w/Yardbird rub, but it didn't do much. The seasoning pretty much dripped off. Spatchcocking has worked much better to keep the seasononing in place. I'll expirement w/a wet brine next time. I should have done a high heat cook at the end (or not tented in foil while resting afterwards). the skin was rubbery. My quartering skills post-cook were also similar to what you'd get tossing the entire bird in a blender

Though I've never raised children, I imagine myself acting like a new parent with the first child! Judging by my question about something as simple as hanging tools from a bracket ... had I been a parent, I probably would have wrapped the first kid in bubble wrap, and made him wear a helmet. Thanks for the explanation, Dennis, and others. Tom

It takes literally 2 seconds to install and remove the side table hangers.. Simply pull the front towards you a 1/4" until the tip pulls out of the hole. swing it out and toss it on the main grate. Done.. Installs just like a doctors stethoscope.. That makes hanging the side tables in the stored position a 5-8 second job requiring no tools.. No where on this planet can two items occupy the same location.. in this hangers situation, people act like this is a design flaw..

Randomly decided to try a prime rib roast on the KK (I usually do the “chef John” oven technique). Really happy! Smoked at 225-240, was a 5.5lb two rib roast and took just under 3 hours to get to 115. Took off and brought dome temp to 450ish, then seared on the sear grate right over fire for about 5 mins total. If/when I do it again, I’ll probably cook till 120 internal vs 115 as it was more on rare side vs mid rare but still delicious! Used small amount of apple and cherry, next time probably just use a single chunk vs 2. FullSizeRender.mov

Pizzas look vert tasty. It does take a good hour to get the pizza stone up to temperature.

Thanks- yes, that's how I've arranged mine... wasn't sure whether the indents on the flat pieces should line up with the charcoal basket sides, or the edge of the vertical slider. Burn in commenced!

Guacamole topped with siracha. Baby back ribs, sweet corn and baked potato rubbed with butter, garlic powder and truffle salt, topped with shredded cheese

Yes Bill. A perfect bird. Kk chicken retains the moisture. Well cooked. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Remi for your first question, yes the zero point is fully closed. Over a short time you won’t feel the gasket for the first 90 deg turn. For all cooks, open lower and top vents to get your fire going, when you are 15% short of your target temp, set the vents where you think it should settle at target( this will take a few cooks to know these positions), then only adjust the top vent for finer controls. No target is applicable for grilling, just ensure the fire is establish before putting food on. The fire will burn a bit of bad smoke while it is building to be established. It’ll also burn bad smoke for a short while if you snuff the fire back by significantly winding vents down. Like everything it’ll take a bit of practice of a few different cooks. Excellent looking pizza for your first crack. As mentioned, the stone is a heat sink for the first hour, put it in once your fire is lit and half way to target temp. Also, fill your basket with all cooks. When you finish cooking, close it down and the remaining charcoal will be preserved for the next cook for topping up. I’ve been caught short of charcoal in the basket only once during a cook…. never again. When refilling charcoal, push the smaller half burnt pieces to the outside edge of the basket and refill bigger pieces into the middle. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's just how it behaves. It will do the same thing if you heat it up without the grates and once you put them in, the temperature will drop noticeably. You're just adding cooler mass inside and it absorbs the heat, so the air temperature drops.

Yeah- had the stone in there for 50min before putting the pizzas on...the dome temperature behaviour still has me a bit confused, but pizzas were great so no big issue that's for sure.

Thank you, it tasted just as good as it looked 😁

C6Bill, I can see why you are trilled with your first roti cook, that chicken looks lovely.

No danger of cracking a tile.. remember these are the exact same tiles used in a pool deck, stairs and kitchen counters. They are VERY strong and durable..

I was also confused by theses brackets Tom. In my case, I have a 32 BB, I wanted to leave the side tables in the down position hanging from the mounting brackets when I was not using them. But these brackets prevented me from doing that because the shorter hooked ends were to long and interfered with the table hanging hooks. So basically, I could either use these brackets or store the side tables down, but couldn’t do both. So I cut the shorter hooked ends down to 1 1/2” and bent them up slightly to keep things from sliding off. Now I’m able to have a little extra utensil storage space and store my tables. Incidentally, I used a little of the dense foam that was in the shipping crate and cut a couple of pieces to put behind the bracket to keep the metal off the tiles. I notched each piece so the metal would seat itself to keep it from falling off. Guess I’ll just slip it off when I do high heat cooks.

Perfect execution! Nicely done

Great cook! But please unshackle your KK! 🤣 btw - autumn nebula square tiles do cook the best!! Just sayin'

Yep- today was the day. Our builder came by with his sons- had it ramped up and off the base no troubles at all. Into position and all unpacked; bit late to contemplate cooking, but thinking about burn in and pizzas tomorrow...

Congrats very nice color choice.

Adam I’m not sure about the 21”. The basket with splitter is round in my 23” so can face any direction. Most of my roti cooks are done with a full basket. I place the lowest grilling rack in and start the cook direct. When it starts dripping, I place foil or a tray on the lowest rack so it becomes indirect. Par boiled potatoes can be placed around the edge to cook. Other veges are tough to combine like a multiple cook. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm on a 23. The basket is circular, and can rotate to any angle. I chose fire in back for this cook, so the fish would be in front, not dripping into the fire.

Well, live and learn. I just went and took a picture of mine and it's vastly different than the ones in your picture. Yours must be specially made for use with the side tables. Mine has a solid plate on the back that you attached directly to the grill using the hex bolts.

I’m too lazy to use the basket splitter most of the time. I just shove a pile of coals to the corner and use the half grate/lower grate combo for indirect & searing. Works great for me this way