johnnymnemonic

nope. I have had my egg for years and the only time I ever cracked my firebox I accidentally spilled liquid into the grill. For the first few years I used the old wire-style electric starter and then I went to a looftlighter, but I only light about a baseball sized amount of charcoal, open the vents, close the lid, walk off and come back and set the vents and let my egg come up to temp slowly. It's not luck. You take care of your stuff, it lasts.

nice picture!

As a long time BGE owner, I can tell you that it's not "high heat stress" that cracks a BGE firebox. I am on my second firebox on my BGE but this is because I accidentally spilled marinade down into my egg several years ago. I have had my 2nd firebox for 8 years. They improved their design as well. It's not fully split like the KK firebox, but it has one cut in it that allows it to expand and contract. I'm not trying to tell you not to get a KK. if you have the money for one, get one. I am still waiting on mine and still using my egg. The BGE is a fine product; nothing wrong with it - especially since they don't "end of life" their models. You will be able to get parts for it 20 years from now. And with the egg, if you do crack a firebox and it's not due to negligence like mine was (they can tell the difference), they will replace it for free. They replaced a fire ring for me for free. I have been wanting a KK for years and I'm about to get it. We will see whether I keep the egg or not. I am nostalgic and I did a lot of great things with it over the years.

Do you make Bad Ass BBQ @DavidMcKay? https://www.badassbbq.com/

The best thing about owning a KK is the community of KK users. This is a really cool thing to read. I will share as much as I can and continue to participate here. I cannot say enough about this community of people. This has to be the best product on earth to bring together such great people.

I hope so too - you should let us know when you have a model to look at. I'm sure I'm not the only KK fan who likes to geek out on grills, if not own multiple types.

@DavidMcKay The KK "looks" ceramic. It would be a little pedantic if this forum were renamed to the Komodo Kamado grill/smoker/oven "Refractory Cement Forum". Scientifically there seems to be a debate on a google search. Refractory material IS ceramic, I *think*. But most ceramics are not refractory. Here's a page I found that may be useful. https://www.refractoriesinstitute.org/tri-pages/tri-what-are-refractories.asp. First sentence "Refractories are ceramic materials...". I would pardon the snobbery a little bit from this crowd. We have expensive taste and we ordered the "bugatti of Kamados". Most Kamado grills are the equivalent of clay pots. In fact my father-in-law's 26 year old BGE looks like it is made out of a brick like material. He has a chip in his and it's red brown in color just like a brick. He got his while they were still made in USA. Mine's white-ish. More cheaply made, much younger (only about 11 1/2 years old). Made in Mexico, it says on my plate setter. Anyway, the KK is made of refractory material, heavily insulated, etc. It's a BIG difference. I'm still waiting on mine, but I'm stoked. I coveted one of these things for 10+ years - now I have a 42"SBB only a couple weeks out. Anyway - I'm with you - splitting hairs about the word "ceramic" is unnecessary. Just get a KK.

@Newbie1925I am assuming your 42SBB has been stuck in the same container ship as mine. If so, the ship is docked. I think it's a couple weeks out now. Getting excited?

boat is en-route to dock this morning. Woo Hoo.

Long Beach port congestion is still ongoing. Really unreal. The ship was in the vicinity something like 12 days ago and has been at anchor for 9. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is crazy! I am so glad my KK is anchored at port though. It will get here eventually. The situation is much more worrisome for supply chains than end customers. It is also fascinating. Boats can’t even anchor and are just milling about out there. Might eventually make international news like the suez situation. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm going to keep it all if I can @MacKenzie @tony b. I should have space somewhere to keep it so that I can rebuild it for moving. (I don't anticipate moving any time soon but I also do not ever anticipate parting with my KK). My KK is still stuck at anchor off long island. I'm looking forward to posting a deluge of pictures.

I cannot wait for my KK. Y'all are making me hungry

it's a money clip type thing (nope it is a hell of a lot bigger than that now that I look at the picture). No clue.

Bet it was great. Made me hungry thinking about it. There's something about chuck roast and the way it falls apart. Each smoky little morsel is so good. I've since learned to smoke a decent brisket, and there are always giant hunks of heaven in a good brisket. But I really like the little ribbons of smoky meat that a chuck roast makes. mmmmm

+1 on doing it like a brisket. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Holy moly, what a thread. So glad to discover it on Labor Day Sunday morning. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Came up with the name for my 42 when it gets here. "Deep Thought". I bet a couple people on this forum will get that, instantly.

@Donothank you! - I agree the forum is a great resource and such nice people. I need to start reading about the delivery. Mine should be relatively easy for the freight people, but I might need to go ahead and line up some help to unbox and roll it down out of the crate.

@Newbie1925 I can tell you that using no probe, no alarm, etc I have gotten decent results on a Big Green Egg, even when going overnight. Only a handful of times have I woken up to a grill that is too cold. Heating up the grill without overshooting temp is easy with a Kamado. You make sure you light enough charcoal, then close the lid with the bottom and top vents open. The dome temperature gauge reaches your desired temp WELL before the grill is heat soaked. Once the dome temp reaches your desired temp, then you close your vents down. I've seen it a bunch with KKs, for 225 it's just that quarter turn up top. When burning the grill in I think is a great time (as others have done) to start with vents constricted and slowly open them and register the temperatures so you get to know your vent settings from the getgo. As far as the longevity of a fire overnight, a lot of it has to do with the way you set your fire and what kind of charcoal you use. Not having too many small pieces of charcoal inhibiting the airflow in the basket, for example. Anyway, like you I'm looking at the meater. I don't mind waking up, either. Now that I'm grilling / smoking on this level it feels like a drop in the bucket and more than ever I will want my food perfect. As far as the rotisserie, I've read mixed reviews. Some people on this forum say it's unnecessary and it's more equipment to store, etc. But there are some stunning pictures of cooks using the rotisseries. With as much cooking area as we have on the grates of our 42s and with such great refractory insulation, you don't really "need" a rotisserie to get fantastic results. However, I'm sure there are some results that you can't replicate without one - like how crispy you can get the skin on a rotisserie chicken on all sides. I'm sure you can achieve very similar results without one, but like everything there's an "ideal" solution and the rotisserie probably is an "ideal" solution for a couple of things. For me, it's not the ideal solution for most of what I do and I think the things I would use a rotisserie for will still come out VERY good without one. I don't want the extra equipment. The main thing I do is smoke lots of meat (pork butts, ribs, briskets, etc) - (and I grill as well). The 42 seemed like the ideal grill and because it is a KK, an amazing smoker too that I can use for a HUGE crowd. My guess is I'm going to be getting rid of my old BGE and gasser since this thing is so massive. IDK maybe not - there's a practical use for multiple grills sometimes. Anyway - I'm getting excited. It's almost irrational how excited I am.

@Newbie1925I'm in the same boat as you; about to get my 42" sometime in the next couple of weeks. I've been green egging for a long time. I don't even have a controller for my egg and have learned how to (almost always) keep the temperatures consistent even with inferior equipment. I think temperature control with the KK is going to be way easier. Anyway - I have decided not to get a controller for my KK, at least for the first few months. I will get a probe because of the probe port. (I don't have one of those yet, either, believe it or not). I work in technology so I just like to go analog when I'm cooking. Anyway - congrats, and I'm so glad to see another newbie on here. I will be watching with interest if you continue to post as we have the same grill and we're both noobs.

~ September 8th!!!!!!!!!!!

here's a hilarious video - can't believe they let this crap stay up there if this is still a serious product.

I've already said this in another comment but I figured I'd reply to the thread that I started. I'm almost beside myself with excitement over this. I ended up getting a cancellation for a 42" in the same color as my original 32" order. So before long, I'll have my 42" SBB in Matte Black Pebble. Accessories: side tables with stainless steel, baking stone, smoke generator. I should have it sometime in the next 2 weeks. I will share unboxing, whatever name I give her, etc.

found one in this thread a 45 pounder on the 42". Looks like I can even go higher! Not much higher but anyway. Rad.