Russ

19 minutes ago, Longhorn203 said:

I long thought the Kalamazoo Hybrid was my dream conventional/gas grill. But after seeing the prices of their vertical smoker and now their "Kamado", I'm convinced they are simply in the business of fleecing consumers. Went with Alfresco for my gas grill.

The price of a Kalamazoo is directly related to the cost of building it (materials, components and labor). As head of product, my primary mission is to ensure our grills are the absolute best, and that means not cutting corners in engineering or production. I never tell anyone "you should buy a Kalamazoo." I only tell people if I could afford any grill I wanted, I would choose the Kalamazoo. The pricing makes them unattainable for most people, including myself, I will stand behind the design and the quality without hesitation. 

I think the Alfresco is truly a good grill. I am sure you'll get many years of enjoyment from it. The same is true of the Komodo Kamado. I have nothing but respect for these products.

On 9/29/2019 at 9:57 PM, DJM said:

Took a couple of reads and looking at the pictures but think I get it now. Unlike traditional Kamados where the firebox is stationary and you adjust by moving the food, this one has one cooking level and different fire grate positions. With one cooking level, putting the fire grate at the lowest level creates the most distance from the food. Doesn’t seem it would have as much control or be as versatile as a KK where you can use multiple positions during the same cook. Reverse sear would certainly be an interesting endeavor.


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DJM, you understand it correctly. The cooking grate up top has only one position. The fire grates can be adjusted into three different positions. You can, however, use multiple positions for the fire as part of the same cook. You can also, if you choose to do so, cook food on the fire grates down inside the body of the grill. There are three fire grates included. One "main" fire grate, which is always placed in the lowest position. Two half-width adjustable fire grates can be placed in either of the two higher positions. They can be placed side-by-side on one level to fill it; or they can each be on a different level. These adjustable grates are also used to hold a water pan or cordierite diffuser if you like. The fire grates are cut from 1/4-inch stainless steel plate (same as the cooking grates).

I hope this information is helpful.