jdbower

It's not a perfect solution, but I have a bunch of these for situations like this. There really is no good solution for power bricks, sideways works on half my power strips, vertical the other half. Ones that move up perpendicular from the plug work well, but not if I care about clearance. I really want a DC infrastructure solution so we can just avoid them entirely, but that means rewiring every house out there.

I've completed (?) a six year trek from NJ to MA (where I acquired my KK) and then down to NYC. For the better part of a year my KK was sitting idle at my mother's place, but as of yesterday it arrived back home. I don't know yet if I'll have much time for the forum life, but I just had to share a picture of my KK in the sky: Sadly some minor issues during the move including some tile replacement needed and a missing knob, but I'm sure I'll be able to get it back up to snuff soon enough!

Re: Future KK owner looking to touch and feel your KK! I know a little place near Chicago that may oblige http://www.ziersprime.com/

Re: extruded loading question

Re: extruded loading question I agree with Syz, I dump in roughly half a box every so often and it burns just fine for me.

Re: Gas Lighter Useful or Not Worth It? Thank You It's a matter of preference more than anything else. I use it in my 23" because I've got it, but realistically I'm a little ambivalent towards it. Using an external torch is probably a bit more practical since I can use it with all sorts of things, but the built-in burner is nice in that you light it, plug it in, come back in 15 minutes, remove it, and you're done. Having a 20Lb propane tank means I rarely need more fuel. I do remove it once things are started, otherwise you've got issues about cleaning out the ashes, wondering if you've left it on, and moving the propane tank away from the lit KK just in case the Stoker goes crazy and brings it up to 1500F is a little piece of mind. Note that my 23" is extruded coconut charcoal. For my 19.5" with regular lump either a paraffin wax packet or a chimney starter (usually if I've got the firepit going) is my weapon of choice. Or tell a joke at my wife's expense and her glare will get me to temperature in no time flat!

Re: Gumbo for Cotton Bowl Cajun and BBQ have a lot in common, I love red beans and rice as a side to my BBQ.

Re: Attachment Downloads There's no real way to know whether a picture was downloaded just to view or if someone actually downloaded it to save it. What I'm uncertain about is whether the counter records the number of times the image is viewed or the number of times the image is clicked on (which typically brings up a larger view). Most of the downloads in a forum are just to view the image, but once it's been viewed the user can always save it by right clicking on the image and selecting "Save As." Since the browser already is displaying the image, the server doesn't need to know when this happens so it's kind of hidden from us.

Re: outdoor kitchen The legs on a KK don't remove very easily (I'm sure it can be done, but you'd need some masonry skills and tools to do so without compromising the structure). However, Dennis did special craft one for swalatee79 - you can see a picture of it here (scroll down for some detail shots with the KK). Personally I like having the wheels so I can move it around if I need to, but his 19.5" does look right at home in his kitchen.

Re: Gonna buy one Monday!! I've yet to meet a person with buyer's remorse, congrats and make sure you charge the camera batteries!

Re: Foreign objects in lump charcoal Hopefully you don't find bits of Phineas Gage in there...

Re: Foreign objects in lump charcoal

Re: outdoor kitchen I do burgers on the main grill all the time, unless you're looking for "black and blue" burgers you can probably even double up and use the upper grill at the same time. Steak is a little more difficult depending on the type (I like my sirloin at mid-high, but my filet seared), but typically the final/initial sear is done quickly so doing the bulk of the cooking, transferring to a plate (or second KK), and doing a quick sear assembly-line style seems pretty feasible as well. However, I don't tend to cook for very large groups (I want to say 8 was my limit so far). What I don't like about the big gasser on the side is the propane vs. charcoal flavor. At grilling temps and with "junk meat" like burgers it's a bit more subtle, but it's still there - even if after the A1 or hot sauce it's mostly in my mind Edit: The rotisserie is a neat toy, but personally I haven't found much use for it (which pains me because I know Dennis put a lot of effort into integrating it!). The tools you get for removing the grills are fantastic helpers, especially if you want to do a sear and remove the main grate while it's still hot. Beyond that, a GrillFloss for rough scaling, silicone gloves, and a long set of tongs are good additions. You'll have to figure out for yourself how you like to light the thing. A charcoal chimney is good, many people like a MAPP torch, there's the propane option, and the little paraffin-foil starters. Many of these are best when paired with a chimney, so that's a good first purchase.

Re: New to ceramic cooking I liked Chris Lilly's book - probably the only cookbook I've read cover-to-cover.

Re: outdoor kitchen I'm in the two KK camp (one 23" and one 19.5" - but if I were to do it over again I'd do two 23"). I'm occasionally tempted by a Weber Performer or similar grill for quick burgers or brats, but the 19.5" isn't that much longer to get to temperature and is much more versatile (I use the big one for low and slow using extruded coco charcoal and mini-me for high temp with lump). I do, however, still use propane. I have a 65kBTU burner I use for a large outdoor wok and having a few more side burners for other stuff like simmering sauces would be useful. A gas grill, or even a Performer, would probably not be as valuable to me as extra counter and storage space or the holy grail of outdoor kitchens - the sink!

Re: Is the Benzomatic JT850 the best? Think of it like the compressed air cans. When you turn them upside down the liquid comes out and instantly turns to gas creating a freeze spray (when a liquid turns into a gas it's endothermic - absorbing energy [heat] from the surroundings). If you did the same thing with flaming liquid propane you'd end up with a lot more propane gas than you wanted, and probably two fewer eyebrows When you turn the cannister upside down it's a one-way valve trying to prevent anything from escaping, but you can force the liquid propane into the bottle from the other direction. That way when you stop forcing the new propane into the bottle the valve kicks in and prevents it all from escaping.

Re: Alice is HERE!!!! Alice, eh? Hopefully you don't light with propane and have the flame go out. Otherwise when you relight it will be "Bang, zoom, straight to the Moon!" At least you'll soon be saying, "Baby, you're the greatest!"

Re: Just figured I would ask... The CDC is ready: http://emergency.cdc.gov/socialmedia/zombies_blog.asp And what makes you think the KK's will be left behind? Mine is ascending with the righteous!

Re: Build Your Own BBQ Controller (w/Wifi) The interface is initially USB, then Bluetooth. But I can't see why it wouldn't be able to be extended to WiFi or even 3G/4G. Seems like there should be a method of pushing data to the phone/tablet and writing data to the controller. Of course, the real purpose is to have an open standard so you can build neat things like controlling your phone's music player via your car. Open standards are nice that way

Re: Build Your Own BBQ Controller (w/Wifi) Just a slight tangent, looks like it may soon be trivial to interface an Arduino-based device with an Android device: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/0 ... od-tm.html

Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway No dropped connections, but there seems to be a race condition if you power the Stoker on at the same time. My guess is that the Stoker sometimes boots before the link is established and it doesn't get an IP address. Once it's working it doesn't seem to break the connection, but obviously hardwired to a switch is going to be a better solution if it's possible.

Re: Tiny Stoker wireless gateway Yes, I use a NetGear model (perhaps a bit older) and it works fine. I have it running the entire length of the house, plugged into a power strip, through an extension cable to the Garage, down the entire length of the house (and through the circuit breaker in the middle) to my router. Works great and pretty reliable, but I try to power it on first and then power on the Stoker a bit after.

Re: Stoker Enclosure Nice! I put a small dish towel at the bottom of mine to absorb stray moisture. It doesn't work when it's really humid (I've had an incident where condensing humidity killed my Stoker - luckily the KK maintained temp and I woke up just about when the brisket reached 195). It looks like there's a nice lip in front of the probe holes, if that's enough to force the probe wires down a bit it could work as a decent drip loop.

Re: Three Extruder Machines are in the House! Don't forget the "white fuzz of quality" found in some other brands

Re: BBQ BROWNIES Try a cheesecake - with the coconut charcoal it leaves just a hint of sweet smoke that had everyone guessing what spice I had added.