DennisLinkletter
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Posts posted by DennisLinkletter
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Everything is airflow.. My mantra is "Charcoal always burns at the maximum volume for the given airflow."
If it's not hot enough, open the damper top. It's too hot, close it a bit.If your fire went out and it was not an issue with the moisture content of the charcoal it did not have enough oxygen to burn. I'm guessing the top was too tight/closed and the exhaust was not getting out. For 235º the top is barely cracked, and it's easy to close it too much and kill your burn.. We've all done it. I usually put my hands near the damper top to feel for the hot air if there is no smoke to see. I drive my cooks from the damper top.. If it's not leaving the top, it's not getting in the lower draft door. The vacuum is from the hot air exiting.
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No such thing as even or uneven burning.. If you are cooking indirect it does not matter where the charcoal is burning only the volume lit. You only need to light only one place.
The only reason to light three places is if you are grilling and need all the charcoal to be burning.. -
It looks pretty stealth to me!
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Just wanted to ping this 2014 post to new members can see it..
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On 2/26/2024 at 3:08 AM, RIcanBBQ said:
In case someone was looking for an alternative to Billows. I have a Serious Big Bad and had a hard time the last two years trying to get a set temp of 225-275. Most times it will start there but then spike over 300 and stay there or almost go out for brisket cooks, . After researching on these forums and else where I purchased a Fire board and Humphreys fan. Three cooks so far and temp is stable without huge spikes or going out on over night cooks. No adapter needed for the Fan and Fireboard is awesome. I close bottom vents and open the top 1/4 turn.
Also, I only need the fire to just ignite and when I set the temp it will get the small fire exactly where I need it and hold.
Hope this helps.
Your damer top setting was too far open.. Remember, charcoal always burns at the maximum volume for the allowed airflow. If it's too hard, there's too much air; if it goes out, you are choking it off. And you were not taking into account you get a false reading when you first light the grill because the body is sucking up so many BTUs.. When it finally gets to heat.. it rushes to 300 because that was your airflow setting. I suggest you try opening the damper top, hauling it back until it touches the gasket, and then move it just about an inch. That will get you about 235º
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I was told that BBQ Guru was not always willing to sell only their fans (???)
If you run across that, there are these, but I also do like the damper on the Guru fans. You could always choke the airflow on the Humphreys with something too..
Humphreys Fan for Fireboard
Regular price$ 69.00 USD
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Please feel free to call me should you have any questions or if there is anything I can do for you.
I'm online taking calls and chatting daily EST from 12 pm to 4-ish.
Dennis Linkletter
Owner/ Builder
Komodo Kamado
Bali, Indonesia
US Warehouse: Las Vegas
• Los Angeles (424) 270-1948
* Australia +61 3 9018 6628
• Whatsapp +62 818 850-860
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37 minutes ago, Dennis said:
Hey Dennis,
Unless I missed it, did you review which models can be set up using the dividers to create 2 zones? I am in-between the 23 and 32.TIA
Charcoal basket splitters are available for all KK grills; only the 32 and 40 have the adjustable fence. The smaller ones just split it 50-50.
23 or 32"? The big question is, will you use it mostly for low and slow or grilling, and do you need to grill for more than four people at once? High-temperature grilling is straight-up heat from the charcoal, so you'll lose the 3-4 inches from the firebox around the outside of your grate as far as the sweet spot for grilling. So the 23" main grate has a 15-17" grilling sweet spot.. Remember, the lower grate is 21" because the body tapers down to the legs. A 21" grate has about a 13"15 sweet spot. The 32" is left to right and 22" deep like a full-size gas grill, 30% more territory.. -
There is no escaping physics.. the grills expand when heated.
That is an expansion tear.. it will be larger at high temps and then close back down when it cools.. the material is designed to do this.. there are stainless shards in the hotface that keep it together like rebar in cement.-
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Heylo Franck,
We shipped to Belgium last year, I can get the agent's details for you. They work with my forwarder, so no funny business.-
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Favorite big City for food.
With a Thai wife, Bangkok is our second home..
We had a house just behind Queen Park next to the Emporium for many years.
So hard to cook there when little specialty kitchens are literally everywhere.-
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On 1/24/2024 at 7:37 PM, Syzygies said:
I've always wanted a flywheel slicer.
When you buy the best, it only hurts once!
Yikes, These can cost a very pretty penny! Click for eBay link-
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On 7/5/2022 at 11:54 PM, CaptMorg82 said:
Dennis do you use a warming drawer for that long of a rest? Or does it maintain a hot enough temp in a cooler to be safe to eat?
Yes, I hold it at 150-155ºf in my oven.. but I let the brisket cool down to about 165º first before it goes in.
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47 minutes ago, Stile88 said:
@DennisLinkletter i didnt realize you made a 38 what are the specs on that??
great informative video you can really see the differences thanks!!!!
LOL...
I don't, but it makes perfect sense for me to build one..
Stay tuned!-
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12 hours ago, ingramrobert31 said:
Dennis I have a k23 bought new in 2017 it doesn't have the wing nut set up like the newer ones will a cold smoker work on it ...thanks Robert Ingram
For earlier KK grills that do not have the new faceplate, we have a special curved feed tube with an adapter to use in the BBQ Guru port.
Please contact customer service if you can't find it. -
42" Baking Stone for sale Deer Park NY
A customer's son wanted a 32" but ordered the wrong size baking stone,. They somehow did not read it clearly being labeled a 42" Baking Stone on the special shipping box which is cardboard outside, plywood inside and lots of foam (because they always get broken by UPS), opened it up.. and even after seeing it's the wrong stone, (it's two pieces not one) threw away the highly engineered original crate/box...
Now, I'm now I'm the bad guy for politely telling them by phone call, I'm sorry they could not return it a homemade box. It will probably get broken on the return or going out to a new customer (at my cost). And of course, the new merchandise experience we work so hard on with our packaging would also be lost.
He then actually had the audacity to post this bad review about it.. ARGH..
We gladly accept returns but they often need to be in the original packaging.. Especially grills and heavy objects with specialized packing.
But I'd still like to help him sell it.
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It's been a long, painful recovery from my torn rotator surgery..
Tore the muscle not the tenon so it was MUCH more challenging. Two months in a sling, three months of terrible no-sleep nights, lost 7 kilos.. Argh and double Argh.
Back on my feet and starting up video production again.
First one:
Smoking Meat With The Komodo Kamado Smoke Generator-
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13 minutes ago, Tony8919 said:
This looks like a good post to continue and address my question. After completing the burn in process and doing a few more cooks I noticed some cracks around the ledge of the grout where the top closes. Is this something that should have grout added to it? I live in Michigan with a lot of moisture and freeze/thaw cycles so I want to ensure I do it right. Attached is a picture of the largest crack but there are a few more.
There is no escaping physics. The grills expand when heated, creating those small cracks.. They are called crazing in the business, and the material is designed to do that. It also has stainless steel shards all throughout the hot face, which works like rebar.
Don't worry at all about those cracks/crazing..
The grills have always been pre-heated in the factory. What stumped us was how a grill could be taken to 1000ºf + for 24 hours in a kiln in the factory, and then heated again with charcoal to 800ºf before crating could vent moisture 3-4 months later in the US. We realized they were picking up humidity on the sea transit.
We now meticulously wrap the grills with low-density polyethylene plastic wrap and throw in a big bag of silica desiccant beads to capture any moisture that may sneak in. This has pretty much stopped the venting. There will still be some uncured acrylic solvent that vents from time to time at high temps.-
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Happy Holidays to all..
I just realized Komodo Kamado turned 20 last August. First grills sold were on Ebay and I had to use an escrow company for payment because there was no way to collect funds online.. Calling the US was over VOIP, I bought cards with X amount of minutes.. Dial a number, enter a code, get a US dial tone, call the customer.. 15 seconds before disconnect there would be a warning beep..
One model became, seven and the rest is history.. How far we've come, so much to be grateful for..
Thank you all for your support over the years, I really appreciate it.
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1) If I were doing a high ticket/Snake River Farms brisket, I would absolutely pull the splitter, (which takes seconds) and put the meat dead center with foil and drip pan on the lower grate.. The heat left, and right sides of the meat would be completely uniform..
If you want to leave the splitter in I'd still put the meat over the coals with foil to make your airflow indirect.. Might not be noticeable but with the splitter in and the meat on the other side the far side will be a lower temp.. Not sure if it will change the outcome in a noticeable way but one side will definitely get more heat. Note.. All offset cookers have directional heat and they get great results..-
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Two more with an early 23" but note the snow is not melting except the lower part of the damper top where the hot air exits.
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To swap the jets is pretty straightforward.
The jet with the larger hole is for natural gas.-
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Uneven fuel burn?
in KK Cooking
Posted
Please excuse this delay, I wrote this out last night and then closed the window by accident and lost it.. Did not have it in me to start again!
Dennis.. I'm sorry to say you probably need to forget everything you know about controlling temps from your last Kamado. It did not have forced airflow because of the gap between the firebox and the grill wall. With glazed pot grills, air goes around the firebox and through the charcoal. In your KK, all the air is forced through the charcoal. The hot air leaving the damper top crates vacuum, which sucks fresh air through the front door and forces it through the charcoal. Air will always take the path of least resistance and will find the best way to feed the burn.. even or uneven, it all has to do with the resistance/how the air travels through the charcoal. Once your charcoal is burning, you can almost forget the lower draft door settings for low and slow unless it's completely closed. I always use the pencil-sized hole on the right dial, but if the top is choked down, you can even open the lower vents all the way without affecting the airflow or temp. The volume of air entering the grill is only what is permitted to leave the top. Temperature is airflow, and the best way to limit the airflow is with the damper top. With pressure or vacuum, a lot of air can be sucked or blown through a very small hole. Likewise, with no vacuum or pressure a large hole will have no airflow. Watching this video might help visualize the airflow differences.. Click on this
YouTube - Komodo Kamado Grill Basics
For low and slow cooks, the heat coming off the walls creates uniform heat distribution, not where in the basket or how many places the charcoal is burning. (high temp grilling yes) For low and slow temps, you are only burning about a large orange volume of charcoal. It should be in one place, as there is not enough charcoal burning to distribute it around the basket. The heat rises, and the hot air hits the foil and is well distributed. (does not need any fancy gizmos designed by Harvard students-LOL) As long as it does not directly hit your meat, you are good. I do not suggest cooking on the lower grate with a 32 or 42 using the splitter to create indirect heat for a low slow cooks. The walls on the far side down below will not be properly heat-soaked. I always light my low and slow cooks in the middle of the charcoal basket, but don't worry where the burn ends up.
I do not suggest heating your grill to 600º first if you plan to cook low and slow. Once you know your damper top setting is for, let's say 235º, light your charcoal, set your top, forget it, and walk away. The damper top settings will always be the same. Actually, they will be the same after the damper top rope gets flattened and hard; when you first get your grill, the rope is flat, and as it breaks in, your settings will change a bit, but once flat, they will be the same always. I do suggest taking notes about your cooks, but the most important thing is to have fun with it!