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I didn't take photos because it was one delivery dude and me hauling stuff. It came in two crates because the lid was in its own crate. The dude unbolted one crate while I undid the other. This was done so he could help me put the lid on. He was a real big help so I greased his palm generously. Well...I had to...he didn't have change for a dollar. Anyway, he leaves happy and now I get to put everything together, which I love to do. New style basket splitter, new style rotisserie basket...all good surprises today. Two boxes of coffee char thrown in for the fun of it. The build quality can't be beat and I look forward to "burning it in" tomorrow. If any of you fret about rolling the smoker off the pallet...don't. This is my second one but it was just as easy as the first one. The pallet is CLEARLY marked with a sticker at the bottom that essentially says "roll the sucker off on this side." See? You can't mess up. There are two bolts by each leg at the bottom that you remove first thing. Then you lift the crate off. Super easy. And last but not least, the top of the pallet is the ramp you use to roll the smoker off the pallet. Aunt Bee could do it. As most people already know, Dennis is a top notch guy to deal with. He'll do anything within reason to keep a customer happy. Dennis never gets tired of talking to potential buyers or owner that don't understand something. If any of you are on the fence about buying one of these cookers, you can't really imagine how over-engineered and heavy duty every part of this smoker is. Spend the money, cry once and then you'll have something to give the grandkids one day. They're probably spoiled brats anyway. Some of these photos are grates and heat deflectors in a cabinet I have in my shop. The dog is more spoiled than the grandkids.

My little Jack likes to come by when I'm watching TV and let one go unannounced, she looks at me and then runs upstair to Mom. I can only imagine.

I have not moved a small grill like the one you have, but I have moved several 23" and an older 19.5". They move best when in the crate. I used a load strap to strap the crate to a hand truck and with assistance of another moved it into and out of a pickup truck via a ramp I made. To go up the stairs, remember that the person leading will be on higher footing the entire way, thus causing them to hunch over. It might work better if you can get a hand truck or refrigerator dolly, leave it in the crate, and the lead person pull, while the trailer person lifts/pushes. Take each step one-at-a-time using a coordinated pull/lift/push motion. Slow-n-easy wins the race. Good luck with it.

Put the tiles on prior to the cure, I would say they have to be treated also. It's safe to cook, it doesn't affect the food while it's venting on the outside. If your referring to the basket refractory housing it will be ok to adjust to reseat them if they moved in shipping, however don't touch them afterwards, there won't be a need and they have a tendency to lock in place, attempting to readjust later could cause damage. Placing oil on wood is always advisable, it's a good thing, prevents cracking and helps to keep the wood looking good from the sun stress. Place on, let it sit for a time and wipe off the excess.

You could have helped them more Tony if you wouldn't have been holding a beer.

Thanks johnny. Tony, 26 wind chill is cold in Louisiana...especially in the south. But I froze for a good cause. The KK is now officially "vented" and it'll be ready to cook some kind of animal tomorrow. The new "tool-less" rotisserie cradle is very nice. The whole thing is very impressive. And using it today made me remember something MacKenzie said a few times. Pebbles rule. I know I won't get any lip on that either. I'm really excited about cooking something tomorrow and Sunday. After moving everything and putting the lid on I told the delivery dude that I was feeling it in my back. He must have thought I was a delivery person or an 18 wheeler driver because it sounded like he called me an old trucker. My hearing ain't too good either.

I had to move my 23" up a flight of 8 stairs in my house to get it on the deck. I built a ramp for the stairs out of 1/2" plywood. It took 5 of us to push/pull it up the stairs and I had taken the top off first! 3 guys with straps/ropes pulling from the top of the stairs and 2 of us below to steady it and hold it from sliding backwards as it went up the ramp. Footing was the main issue, as my feet wanted to slide on the ramp. If you rent hand trucks, get one for moving refrigerators; they can handle the weight, have larger wheels and often have a belt/pulley assembly for strapping it down. Good Luck! ☘️

Better than when mine would do that while snoozing in my lap! 🤪

Cherry picker - no Scissor lift - yes Sent from my SM-G998W using Tapatalk

Thanks for the comments. The plan is to break it in today and let it vent. Cooking will start tomorrow. I may start taking crates apart today too if the chill factor gets above 26.

Hand truck / refrigerator dolly is the way to go from what you described. Since it is out of the crate, use moving blankets and straps to lock it to the hand truck.

Beautiful! Now cook something!

Lol, he couldn't break a Dolla. The long wait is over, hope you poured yourself a cold one and sat back to admire it. A thing of beauty, congrats

Finally the wait is over and obviously well worth it. Stunning.

Fantastic Looking!! good luck with it, Enjoy

I have a 19" but can only answer a few questions: 1. I have lifted it a handful of times using the handles, and they work. They can definitely support the weight of the grill. That said, they are thin and having that much pressure on a small surface area where it touches your hands - I wouldn't do that for a lift up stairs. You are bound to have trouble. It will be heavy and hard to control with such small handles. It is also hard to hold it with two hands. As others have mentioned, even the 19" is heavy. I have taken off the dome before and the racks. Even still, the main body is a non-trivial lift for 2 people. Maybe you could do it 1 step at a time, resting it on the steps along the way. I wouldn't guess that 2 people could carry it up the stairs in one continuous lift unless they are powerlifters. If you bring it up stairs, make sure wherever you put it is structurally rated for the weight. The KK with a few people standing around it is a lot of weight for certain structures. 4. I have removed the fire ring before, and it is NOT recommended. I removed it because I was not using charcoal in the beginning - so I didn't need a charcoal basket or fire ring at all. I was using electricity. That said, I have switched back to charcoal and put the ring back in. I hadn't fired it yet when I took it out the first time. It still works fine, but It has crumbled a bit in some of the corners and I don't think removing it and reinserting helped. 5. I've had my teak tables for years and they still look good. I haven't used any oil on it yet. I'm not saying you shouldn't. The key is to keep them out of the sun and weather day after day. I cover my KK now, and leave them folded under the cover. Before I bought the cover, I took them off each time and kept them indoors. Therefore, no need for teak oil after all this time. Good luck with the move!

Looks awesome! I can't wait for that day

Congrats !!!! And that is one handsome pooch !!!!

Don't lift the unit by the handles, lid or no lid. Be aware when the lid is removed and reinstalled, there is an alignment procedure in order to maintain a good seal. If you can, don't remove it. Once it's been fired, the firebox shouldn't be removed. It can develop cracks due to intense heat. They'll never ever be an issue otherwise. J. Sent from my SM-G998W using Tapatalk

You mentioned that when adding a cut of room temp meat to an already established grill the temp drop is proportional to the mass of the unit and volume of space. Placing a cold piece of meat on the same grill will give a greater heat loss, retain it's moisture longer and that is what I try to achieve without changing the settings. This allows the piece to remain in the smoke longer when smoking large pieces. Working in additional moisture as a spritz and sealing the meat with a tallow to prevent moisture loss are contributors. There is always a means to an end, it's called technique. I practice mine with the tools I have and the KK does quite a bit of the problem solving, so that I don't have to.

That's not a dog, that's a horse! 😆 Unfortunately, big dogs like that don't live very long. 😢

I like big dogs, the longer the legs the easier they cam move through the snow 😁

In the last couple months I have been trying different techniques, sous-vide and reverse sear with a special emphasis on getting a good sear. The above advice seems to tack with what I have been seeing. At first, I was trying to get as hot a coal as I can, compliments of a hair dryer. This is how i stumbled on blowing the ash off before searing. Hotter isn't better though. I have found that the pit of coals should be of a natural disposition, which is to say at a natural equilibrium without the use of a fan, unless you plan on using the fan throughout the entire sear process, which creates an artificial equilibrium. It wasnt necessarily the blackness that was offputting about such a high heat (say 700-900f), or even the burnt pepper or garlic taste. I believe that supercharging the charcoal out of equilibrium causes it to burn less efficient and give a nasty smoke flavor. Which has become a rule: when using forced air, allow the coals to settle back down to equilibrium before using. As for the sear itself, I have found that letting the coals settle down, a quick blow with the hairdryer from below and above, and 5 minutes to stabilize at a temperature of 450-550 on my dome works best. I also use a kamado joe mini grate to sit down on top of the coals, giving an extra half inch or so of clearance from the coals. From there, I just turn when appropriate until seared to my liking. I have found getting off the coals a touch allows for no grit from the ash, and less "heat suckout" from the meat using conduction to steal heat and turn charcoal from red to black. I'm satisfied with my progress so far, but have advance plans to perfect the sear that improves on moisture wicking for more browning and searing. (hint: less charcoal, more airflow, artificial equilibrium, faster and better moisture wicking from surface of meat, less drippage and flairup, more brown, less black)

Congratulations and welcome!

At least you tried it. I haven't done a caveman in a very long time.

I had a thin venison rump steak the other day and cooking direct on the coals seemed to be a good way to get a good sear quickly without over cooking the steak. The soot that you see on the KK comes from blowing it off the embers before placing the steak on top. The steak was cooked rare, to my liking, but I did find it just a little bit gritty on the outside. I think it is a method worth pursuing and will try again soon.