paul1927

Thank for posting about the tiles. I had been searching for those ever since I saw thermochromatic mugs. http://www.wondermugs.com/productpage.a ... entalmagic I also thought photochromatic tiles would be an attractive upgrade, if they exist. It appears they do: http://www.infotile.com/services/techpa ... 20tiles%22 I have a few photochromatic t-shirts and the kids love 'em as do I. http://www.solaractiveintl.com/images/t ... um_out.jpg

Hi taniah1 I wish I could tell you their name. I was fairly good at keeping receipts, but things change. My best guess at being able to track this product down would be an old Service Merchandise catalog. Unfortunately, I believe Service Merchandise is out of business and I'm wrong on that score. Here's their web address http://www.servicemerchandise.com/ . What is the chance that an old timer from Service Merchandise would remember such a product? If they cooked with it, then I'm pretty sure they'd remember it. BTW, speaking of obscure cooking gadgets. I had this grapefruit knife that instead of a traditional curved serrated blade had a curved bread knife blade. No comparison in the quality of the cut! I must of bought 10 different grapefruit knives to try and get that same clean easy cut and every time the cut is good or very good but NOT excellent like the bread knife blade.

"The infrared burner works by focusing the flame of a standard gas burner onto a ceramic tile that has thousands of microscopic holes in it." http://bbq.about.com/cs/infraredgrills/a/aa033101a.htm I have NO idea whether there is any merit in this idea. I saw it on the Food Network where they were bragging about tempatures of 1100 degrees F fast (in 3 minutes?) using gas in conjunction with this Infrared Burner. Anyway I decided to do a web search and came up with the link, supra. Although I have a gas grill, I alway use a cooking bag which eliminates the wonderful flavor gas can provide--it's a tradeoff a clean pest free grill for less flavor. This is one of the things that I LOVE about the Kamado--even though I live in Florida pests are NO problem because the Kamado can be closed almost airtight. Is the large gauge grill still in the works or did cost and or technical problems intervene?

I think a Kamado could be design to look like almost anything. A dragon. A turtle. A gator. (The last 2 are very tasty, btw. And, I wouldn't mind trying the dragon = iguana.) The real beauty is does the forum contribute to the function. In South Florida, I think the answer would be YES for the turtle or gator and I'm aware that is somewhat of a stretch. Does designing a Kamado to look like a a turtle truly contribute to its function? Depends on ones POV. And, I LOVE the idea of a dragon in the right setting. I can see the fire and coming out of his nostrils and the tail could act as a control center. In reality, it just seems too diverting. Perhaps as a hobby . . .

Like I said. I'm partial to ambiguous or illusion art like http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=br_ ... s=Wordplay or http://www.solarmagic.com. Kids really love Wordplay (and the tees) and the best childrens book done in that vein, but better is "Round Trip" by Ann Jonas (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068809 ... e&n=283155). I've even suggested thermochromatic sp? (appears or changes with tempature) art to Dennis, but it probably too novelteeish. I also like message/puzzle art like Rebus ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080691 ... oding=UTF8 ) You are correct the Komodo is cool and it makes sense with the name being the same as the Q, but so many people are afraid of lizards and or snakes. Paul

Also, there was a "plunger" that stood centered at the top of the "pressure box." When the "pressure box" was open or contained NO food for cooking the "plunger" stood low and when closed with food in it, it would stick out more . . . the thicker the food the the more it would stick out.

Re: Pressure box? I thought I saw "their" statement on your website or a statement very close to it. I would say it is sort of like a pressure cooker. In the appliance that I had (no longer manufactured to my knowledge and I haven't found any references to it) there were 2 grilling surfaces surrounded by a "moat." The "moat" was designed to trap the juices and grease during cooking, but it didn't drain and was supposed to add flavor to the cooking process. I would place the salmon steaks on the LOWER grill and then close the box. When closing the box there would be resistance supplied by a very large spring located above the UPPER grill--the upper grill moved up and down with effort. When completely closed it was necessary to latch the top closed. When closed the whole unit was supposed to be sealed creating additional heat/pressure. Power was supplied by a standard 110 V outlet and both the LOWER and UPPER grills were heated--with very high heat according to the instruction manual. It cooked food *very* fast; faster than a regular pressure cooker and created a wonderful "crust" -- sort of a carmalized surface without the need for sugar. When I first bought it I was very skeptical because I thought how much better could it be than just regular pan frying? (I pan fry outside to keep the kitchen free of grease and odor.) I gave it a try because I thought it might be useful on rainy days and besides I like regular pressure cookers for stew (and it seems to be the only thing capable of cooking corn). When first looking at the salmon steak I was thinking if it tastes half as good as it looks, then I'm going to be a very happy camper. It tasted even better. My father wanted to know what in the hell I added to the salmon steak because it was so good. He was very surprised when I told him it was just a new appliance that applied pressure as well as heat when cooking. The negative was that it didn't last and I had to keep buying new ones. Attempting to visualize a pressure box for the Q isn't very easy for me. I see a large spring and I see a "sealed" box locking in moisture/juices and I see pressure and I see lots of heat and I see it "grill pressure cooking vegetables." I hope you can see a lot better than me. I think if you tasted the pressure grilled salmon steaks that I made and saw the appliance that made it, then you would want to build a similar contraption that would work within the Q. BTW, I have purchased other "grill presses" from big name companies and really they don't come close to what I had. There was no spring, but who cares if it gets the job done. And, they weren't "sealed" when closed which is somewhat important to me, but I can always take the "grill press" outside if it gets the job done. I think the main problem with these "grill presses" is that I had become accustomed to a much better product although the "grill presses" looked a lot more attractive and functional. My appliance looked like a box. The "grill presses" seemed to be lacking heat and pressure and I hardly used them because the end result was nothing special. In fact, I've given a couple away just so they wouldn't be a total waste. Paul

I've got the old model and it is one of my most frequently used appliances. The new one looks even better : http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts/zu ... fac_z.html. Anyone try cooking rice on the Q? So far my attempts to cook vegetables on the Q have been a dismal failure, but brownies have turned out excellent. I'd like to see Dennis make a pressure box featuring a powerful spring . . . the idea comes from an appliance that I had years ago. In fact, I bought 5 or 6 of the appliances one after the other because although they were expensive and appeared to be top quality the extreme heat and enclosed pressure gave them a limited life. I would keep buying them too, if they were available. The retailer told me that it was discontinued because of quality problems--easy to understand. Anyway, the combination of extreme heat and enclosed pressure (didn't dirty the kitchen ) made plain salmon steaks with a wonderful golden crust while wonderfully juicy on the inside. Almost as good as ribs on the Q! BTW, one of my favorite foods is fried corn on the cob. Since Sonny's BBQ closed their doors that has been just a fond memory. I'd like a Neuro Fuzzy Corn on the Cob cooker.

That is a wonderful idea or a horrible idea. The photo of the Komodo is cool. An artist would more likely than not screw it up.

WOW!!! That is one HUGE burger and it looks mouth watering. And, I thought Fuddruckers one pounders were big.

I've been using the Coconut Charcoal and the last half to third of a box has given me 4 cooks (ribs slow cooked at between 200 and 250 degrees F) averaging about 4 hours per cook. I was even thinking of trying to go for a 5th cook! The way the Komodo retains heat *after* the fire is out I wouldn't be suprised if a skilled person could do 8 to 10 cooks on the amount of Coconut Charcoal that I used. Part of the reason that I think that I'm able to get so many cooks is that when I cut the airflow the seals are really airtight now (that did take some work trying to copy Dennis's new side by side seal that should work perfect, but didn't work for me; I ended up adding another seal to the side by side configuration) and the fire is killed quick. Another reason maybe that the Coconut Charcoal is old and arrived in bad shape---Damn that Conway. I would be very interested in buying more if there was a significant cost savings to buying a container (but, currently I have a large number of unused boxes) because usually I'd rather overbuy and get wholesale prices. The key is how much of a unit savings is there compared to buying retail. Paul

Hi Dennis, Yes, the bracket and stainless steel shaft look like a significant improvement. It is good to see you making improvements. I'm always concerned about quality being cut to try and keep the prices from skyrocketing. And, usually I'd rather pay more for the quality. In my area (Miami, Florida) there has been mind boggling inflation or if you're working for the government information specialists it is considered deflation.

Hi Rojack, Why do you ask? Some time back Mexican Kamado had a sale on Kamado Charcoal and it really arrived in a mess via Conway. Seemed like Conway really went out of their way to abuse the charcoal. Anyway, I like it for slow cooking, but for high temp grilling I use primarily Lychee wood from my backyard or Avocado wood.

Ceramic Rope Gasket I will be experimenting with the 1/4 inch Square Braided Rope gasket (hopefully it is not too thick) (http://gasketsinc.thomasnet.com/item/ga ... -23?&seo=1). Perhaps there are better places to purchase this item or better solutions? I plan on black Rutland Furnace Cement and will use an outer seal on the bottom half of the cooker and an inner seal on the top half (like Dennis is now doing). For the top damper the 1 1/4 inch Rope gasket is working perfect so I'll leave that be for the time being. But, ultimately I think the inner/outer seal combination with the 1/4 inch Square Braided (ceramic) Rope gasket is the way to go. This gasket is suppose to withstand tempature of 2300 degrees F so it should easily stand up to my high heat cooking as I only approach 1000 degrees F. I'll also be checking out the Ceramic Woven Tape gasket 1 inch (http://gasketsinc.thomasnet.com/item/ga ... -23?&seo=1). BTW, I've been using my Q almost daily usually for grilling at high temperatures so probably I'm one of the few who might benefit from a ceramic gasket.

Hi Rojack, I replaced both the top vent seal and one of the main body seals. I would say that it was fairly easy. I really don't like working too much or I would say it was simple. The hardest part was just getting the proper supplies. I asked Dennis where/what to buy and he ends up sending me out a roll of 1/2 inch +- gasket seal--FAST. I still needed to buy Furnace Cement. Dennis thought this would be available in my area, but I couldn't get it from Home Depot even by special order. I ended up getting a 16 oz tub (plus a spare) of black Rutland Furnace Cement (http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/produc ... t_id=20326). Plus a 25 LB bag of Castable Refractory Cement to satisfy my curiosity (http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/produc ... t_Id=16156). And, as things turned out I didn't even use the the roll of gasket seal that Dennis was considerate enough to supply because I wanted to try the 1 1/4 inch Rope Gasket (it is HUGE) for the top damper (top vent) and the 1 inch tape gasket for the main body (lower, not upper) (http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/produc ... t_Id=16704). The Rope Gasket was huge success and I'm glad I bought it. The Tape Gasket for the main body I'm not so sure about. The reason I'm not so sure about it is that although it worked perfect intially the other gasket (upper, not lower) on the main body started to fail. Anyway, my concern is that 1 inch tape gaskets might be a tad large if I try to install them as upper and lower gaskets for the main body. Also, I think Dennis has come up with an excellent gasket solution especially for the main body. Essentially, instead of the upper gasket resting on the lower gasket in the closed position the upper and lower gaskets will be side by side when in the closed position. BTW, I had VERY recently had a serious product failure. The screw and bracket on the top damper failed! I explained what happened via email to Dennis and he was quick with a reply and explanation of what he believed had occurred. Turned out he was dead on the mark. He took full responsibility and sent me out the needed parts--FAST. My father told me "This guy is too good to be true!" And, that is how I feel. (Let me add the negative so that everyone doesn't think that I work for Dennis or something crazy like that. First negative is that welding needed to be done and I do NOT like welding at all so now I was dependant on a welder shop. Well, the old man who had done brilliant work for me in the past and treated me like a valuable customer was not around so I had some young guy do the work (same company). The price was expensive, quality questionable, NO guarantee, and bad attitude. Needless to say that welder shop won't have my business in the future. Second, it was very fortunate for me that I had previously bought a 25 LB of Refractory Cement out of curiosity. The job required around 12 LBS, which if you look at what needed to be repaired you might think a pound would do the job. I still can't understand how I was able to use so much cement.) If anyone would like to see the Q that Dennis sold me, then they are more than welcome to visit me (Miami, FL) because I think it is the greatest.

Cast Iron Hi Skyrider, Thanks for your input on cooking with cast iron. After 60 years of cooking with cast iron I would have thought you would have almost a religious feeling about it. My grandmother used coated cast iron pans that worked like magic for her. Unfortunately, I've bought top of the line coated cast iron and the quality is just not what she had. By quality I mean 1. weight and 2. coat quality. It was difficult for me to lift her pans, using just one hand, even without the food! She was one strong lady. The coat quality was such that I couldn't mess it up NO matter how much I screwed up. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that I couldn't damage the coating. I would of added cooking quality, but I never did learn to cook very well using her pans, but she sure made one mouth watering dish after another. At the time I was wishing she'd get some super light pans. Same old story: Didn't appreciate what I had until I lost it.

Lodge Pro-Logic 14-Inch Cast-Iron Wok with Loop Handles Hi Porkchop, It looks like I'll be giving Lodge a try. Not sure if I did the right thing going cheap with Amazon-- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00063 ... e&n=284507 -- because I just remembered a cheaply priced pressure cooker from Brandsmart. The brand and model of the pressure cooker were identical to one available at Service Merchandise (bankrupt?), but the price was too good to be true. Brandsmart's price was 50% cheaper than Service Merchandise. I double checked the brand and model number and yes they were identical. On closer examination the Brandsmart deal was a really bad deal for me. No copper and much thinner aluminium. I couldn't believe the manfacturer would offer such different products under the same model number and brand. It was a real quality brand too. After 5 years of heavy use I still haven't replaced a seal, but there is a little damage on the bottom of the pressure cooker. In the past I haven't been too big a fan of cast iron, but that is probably due to my lack of skill in breaking in an unseasoned pan. Or, perhaps I just like stainless steel better. Anyway, since I bought the Komodo Kamado I've been very eager to try high temperature wok cooking. I read an article in The Wall Street Journal explaining the need for extreme heat in wok cooking. I wish I'd saved the article because I've forgotten what was considered extreme heat except that a special expensive stove was needed to reach the extreme heat. I've been reading about your troubles with the Mexican K and it is depressing that you were treated like that. I sure as hell would and do clean the Q the way you described. And, that shouldn't cause any problems whatsoever. Also, you didn't seemed like a flamer at all in that one thread. My 2 cents: Assuming I would have kept my cool, then I would of accepted the offer to pay the shipping even though I think the shipping would have been overpriced. See, I didn't expect the warranties to be honored regardless of the company. I've been very pleasantly surpised by Dennis and it has been a real pleasure dealing with him. I really would love to fill my whole yard with his Qs. (Although, I'm somewhat concerned he might of made the new generation a little lighter than the older model that I have.)

Hi Porkchop, I was hoping that the new preseasoned cast iron by lodge would solve the rust problem. I never thought of cast iron as being dangerous even if there were air bubbles, but then again I wouldn't have imagined 2 gallons of water in Komodo either! I got the idea that cast iron was the greatest from a book titled The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual as well as from ancient memories from my childhood. I'm NOT an expert on cooking . . . and the gentleman who wrote the book may be dead wrong. He places a considerable emphasis on mass and fast heat transfer--for grilling. Cast iron definitely has the mass, but I wonder if it is much better than a heavy duty stainless steel grill. Even though I'm NOT an expert the ribs I make on the Komodo are even better than I was dreaming about. It is difficult to get good barbecue here in Miami or at least it is difficult to get what I like. The 2 best places were Sonny's and Rubinos (sp?) both of which have closed -- at least their locations near me have closed. Shorties is another barbecue place, but their style isn't what I drool over and at one of their locations the food is just plain bad--latin influence? Paul

Re: Break-in period... No longer needed. TEST REPLY >Some of my reply is contained in the quoted text above^. >Thank you for researching the cast iron. I would be very interested in hearing what you find out. You really seem like you are on top the cutting edge, which makes me interested in upgrading even though I'm a very happy and satisfied customer. >Best regards, >Paul

It arrived with some broken pieces and Dennis shipped out new pieces at his expense. Later the seals went and I emailed him just to find where to buy new ones and instead he mailed me new ones at his expense. I really didn't expect that type of guarantee. The quality Kamado is really exceptional compare to what I've seen. The only other Komodo I've seen in person was a Green Egg and it was a lightweight by comparison. I would definitely buy again especially from Dennis. One thing, however, is that breakin period of time before you can cook at high heats is rather long. Perhaps because it so wet here in Miami. The only improvements that I can think of would be better seals (seals made out of a different material) and maybe a CAST IRON grill option. I keep hearing cast iron is something special and I would like to tryit. BTW, the flip door on the stainless steel grill is really a touch. Paul