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Always been curious about these so I finally took the plunge-and glad I did!!!😲 Smoked at 200 degrees for 3 hours over hickory and oak using CocoChar (only charcoal I ever use in my KK) then bumped up to 275 to finish off, total cook time was 5 hours (no wrap)...Great bark and "very" tasty, these are SO easy to do-WILL DO AGAIN!!!👍😊

I always wait till they have a sale of some sort and use my rewards points too, I have two shelves in my freezer just for SRF lol.

I forgot to take pics while cooking but the end results were good 😊

finally got to fire the grill. it's been raining for days with typohoon weather

I can second the recommendations already given. For a long and slow cook, it is completely fine to use a full basket. Then you use foil +/- a drip pan on the lower grate to set up your indirect zone. Obviously make sure you are using dry and good quality charcoal- but I have used at least 5 different brands of lump, and this method works just the same with all of the brands I have tried. With a full basket, light one small area of charcoal (grapefruit sized as Dennis says) and walk away. I usually have my vents wide open, and as soon as I see the dome temp shift above 100F, I set my vents to my desired temperature. Set and forget.... never mess with or check anything ever again. Always at temp for a low and slow within 60min. Like most frequent users, I have a good sense of where 225/250/275/300/350/400F are on my top-hat in terms of degrees of turn. In more than 3yrs of very frequent use, I have only had the fire die once. On a very windy night the charcoal seemed to burn from where I lit out to the left-hand edge, and burnt down all the charcoal in that area, seemingly with no way to get back to the rest of the bed. Truly bizarre, and a one-off. If you're still not sure- set up a call with Dennis, he will set you right. This should be a non-issue... in fact, the absolute ease of temp management is what sets the KK apart. Like many here, I've never used a controller/ fan/ bellows- and don't see any need to.

32, 38, 42" Grate Comparison 32" Upper 418 sq" (2,698 cm2) 1 pce 32" Main 576 sq" (3,716 cm2) 1 pce 32" Lower 544 sq" (3,514 cm2) 1 pce 38" Upper 496 sq" (3,202 cm2) 1 pce 38" Main 688 sq" (4,437 cm2) 3 pce 38" Lower 602 sq" (3,878 cm2) 3 pce 42" Upper 614 sq" (3,958 cm2) 1 pce 42" Main 774 sq" (4,984 cm2) 3 pce 42" Lower 730 sq" (4,714 cm2) 3 pce

Look great. I really enjoy beef ribs but hard to find in my local stores. I have gotten the big "dinasour" ribs from Snake River Farms and those are great but pricey.

Install the top two bolts finger-tight. If you have some of the original black foam (or any small piece of styrofoam- half-inch square) that was sent with the tables, you can use it down low next to the lower bolt to hold the plate out if necessary, then tighten the lower bolt only until the table is level then tighten the top two down tight leaving the lower where it is..

I'm not sure how you are lighting the surface of the "entire area of charcoal", but please don't. Just light a grapefruit volume of charcoal in ONE place.

My first thought is that your charcoal has gotten damp somehow and isn't catching except under direct flame. As C6Bill said, don't chase the temps around. The beauty of the KK is the "set it and forget it" nature of the dampers. Fill the basket, light one spot, set your dampers for the target temp and walk away. Your experience with the 50F degree difference between dome and grate initially is true to form, and as you noted, it balances out as the cook progresses. The basket splitter is typically only used when you want two-zone heat, like doing a slow roast on the cooler side, followed by a reverse sear on the direct heat side. Or, using the rotisserie so the meat rotates in/out of the direct heat zone. While you can use the splitter arrangement to do a long low & slow cook (butts, briskets, etc.), I prefer the full basket setup with the foil barrier, as C6Bill described.