ChiKing

Ok, I am embarrassed to ask this, but when I got my komodo 23, I also got the pizza stone. Of course in my excitement I opened both boxes without looking at the labels. I believe the smaller one is the heat deflector that sits on top of the two bars of the firebox and the larger is the pizza stone that sits on the extended rack? Anyone mind confirming? - the wife really wants pizza tonight.

Thanks for the info. I think I am being too cautious as I lit it up for some ribs and spent 2 hours to get it to temp. I am guessing from the comments I can go faster up front and let the heat soak happen in the back half of an hour. I was just looking as saw that the probe I have on the grill grate is at 190 but the dome thermometer is at about 210. I assume my probe is more reliable, but is the dome potentially hotter than the grate? There is lots of learning to do which means I just need to keep smoking something until I get it right.

Thanks. I think general processes like that are helpful. I can try your way for hot temps. What do you do for 225 targets?

Thanks. Quick question. Other than making it go faster, is there a reason to light in 4 places and have it wide open right at the start? I did light it slowly last night just to see if I could get a feel for smoking temps on my way up

That is what I thought which has me concerned. I just don't know what I am doing wrong.

That makes sense, I was not pulling the wire filly though, I had it sticking out the side.

I was using some of this- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SV3S38J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Pulling out the dampener would add more in, but I thought the top defines the ultimate flow? I guess, if the top had more flow than the bottom, it would keep getting cooler and more flow from the bottom would even it out again? It just seems weird that at the dome it was only 550. I would think it should have kept going up to over 900. For the holes for the thermometer near the grate - Do you all pull out the rubber stops when your done cooking or do you just leave them in? If your not using a meter in there, you would technically have a small hole that leaks air?

I spent last night doing the off gassing process. I started at 6, slowly brought it up to 300F by around 7 and by 8 had it to 550. Everything seemed ok and I let it run for another 2.5 hours. I think I got all the smell out but not 100% sure. However, I was never able to get the unit higher than 550-575 and near the end it started to dip back down. I was using the dome gauge so I assume it was a bit hotter at the grate, but given that a Pizza needs about 700F I was surprised. Setup - Lump charcoal, all medium to bigger hunks and the basket filled. Bottom was fully open on the left and the right holes I se to the largest Top - Opened 4 full rotations. In the morning, all the charcoal was gone just about. Did I miss something? It seems most folks talk about opening 5-6 rotations, but mine will only go around 360 degrees 4 times before I hit the bottom pin. I also noticed that the place to put a grate thermometer is actually only about a half inch from the grate. Will that interfere with the reading if it refracts of the metal? Thanks

Thank you all for such thoughtful and detailed responses to questions. Between you all and Dennis being awesome it was a no brainier to buy the KK. I think I ordered it Wednesday night and only days later, it arrived in perfect order. I am 3 hours in to the Curing process sitting at around 575 and just seeing if I get any off gassing. Everyone was good to give ideas on how to get it in and while it was not a big load in, I was still nervous. However, 1 hour, a quickly built ramp and 1 friend was all it took. Such an great experience

Thanks. Is that base weight with the firebox removed? Seems like that will help a lot.

Hmm, I figured removing the firebox before ever being used would be ok. But I thought I read you should not remove the top unless you absolutely need to. I looked but curious if you know the weight of just the main piece and the main plus the top? It may or may not be worth removing. I can make a ramp ,l for sure and have one behind and one in front pulling with straps. I might even be able to post some safety straps. if I did not live in a city where you have to go through the house to get to the backyard I would have used my Jeep winch to pull it. 😂😂.

Hey all, So Monday is the day and I’ll send pics when done. I was reading up on the moving of the smoker and all the suggestions and details. It seems straight forward. My garage is at ground level and I can roll it through my downstairs with only one small bump on a doorway. however, I do have to get it up two stairs, about 13 inches onto a deck and then down again. I suppose for now I could keep it on the deck but would prefer to have it on the ground. Four guys and ropes sounds nice an easy in normal times. However, finding four guys to come to my house now, given everything going on it is not likely. Any thought on how I could do this with just two of us? It seems my options are ramps, just lift with two, dolly, or maybe take enough off so it’s lighter? here is a pic of what I need to lift up to. Double doors so plenty wide. thanks

The lighter version of the Terra Blue tiles.

Thank you all for your thoughts and feedback. I spoke to Dennis yesterday and he was great answering questions. Next up, I showed photos to my wife who thought it was pretty and she picked the color that would match our backyard theme. I was off to the races and ordered the 23" last night. A brisket and a pizza will happen real fast! have a great day. This forum has tons of good info so excited to learn more.

Thank you, Awesome answer and clarity. This will for sure help when I tell the wife... The colors are so nice, she will love that aspect.

Hi all, Had a few questions that I suspect this group could help me with. I looked at the KK maybe 5 years ago, but living in an apartment and the price, there was no way. I ended up buying a primo junior which has served me and the bellies of many very well. I was planning on just buying the Primo XL and giving my brother in law my junior, but then I started looking at the KJ 3 and the KJ pro and of course it brought be back to thinking about this beauty. So I just have a couple of questions and of course all opinions are welcome (its a forum). 1. Given the rapid updates of the kamado Joe Big 3 and Big pro, how much more BBQ quality am I getting vs style at this point? Specs are hard to red through and compare so if there is a big value difference, I am all ears. 2. I tend to run a brisket then hours later layer on racks of ribs and finish by upping the heat and grilling. on my primo I need to Get it open and closed quick but since its smaller its not hard to add stuff quickly. Is the KK easy to add stuff halfway and also do I need to worry about temp changes really fast once open? 3. What is the lowest temp I can cook with consistency and not worry about the flame going out. 4. 21" vs. 23" - it seems the main difference is in the main cooking area but not sure if there is something else. My average cook is 1 whole packer brisket, 3-5 racks or ribs and then odds and ends near the end. Thoughts on 21" vs 23". If I ever cooked two briskets at once, that would be nice but litterally may happen once every two years or my wife would kill me Thanks again