EggheadRalph

@SyzygiesI recently bought a double bottom drip pan for my 32" and I just got it. I got it with the intent to use as a heat deflector and I see you do the same. Because of airflow, do you still use the splitter cooking low and slow when using the drip pan?

@Justin MulweeI used the half grate last week for my reverse sear ribeye cook. Check it out! I found that it's a great (no pun intended) size and I wouldn't want it to be smaller. I cooked the ribeyes on the half grate til about 100⁰ and then I threw them on the lower grate to sear and pulled them off at 128⁰. Perfection!

Reverse seared ribeyes at 450⁰ topped with chanterelles simmered in a garlic butter sauce. Steamed and grilled the corn and broccolini on the Napoleon grill at medium heat for about 15 minutes. Pulled the ribeye off the lower grate at 128⁰ internal temp and it's perfection. YUMMM!

Ah, good to know. I got a face full of ash while testing it too which made me really think about it. Lol. I think for high speed, the fan is great to pre-heat soak the KK, but once it's at temps, turn it off and let the vents do the rest. If my HVAC tape fails, I'll look into buying a Dremel too. Thanks.

@5698k are you suggesting for longer cooks, I completely remove the divider entirely and fill the whole basket underneath the splitter tops? If so, that would make sense! Thanks.

Thanks for the tip @jdbower on the Therm works universal mounting kit. I don't own a Dremel so I just used HVAC duct tape to keep my Fireboard fan together and block off the airflow leaks. Works like a charm! However, at 40%+ fan speed, I did notice that it blew a lot of residual ash around at first from the previous cooks (which could go on your food if you turn it on midcook so be mindful of that) so be sure to keep a clean area if you're going to use higher fan speeds midcook. Also, I noticed that because of the angle of attack from point of entry, for the fan to be more efficient, the lump charcoal should be on the right side of the grill, not the left (although they'll both work of course because it's a vacuum). Regardless, I suspect I'll only use this fan setup for higher temp cooks when I'm a bit rushed for time but still want to eat damn good food.

100° below target! Perfect. Thank you very much @tony b. I really appreciate it. Perfect starting point for me. I just ordered another temperature probe for my Fireboard so I'll be able to really gauge temps at main grate and lower grate areas as I've read they can really differ. I may have to get some ribeyes now for this weekend.

Thanks @Tyrus I appreciate that. I thought of cool names to name it, but nothing stuck. I remember reading a forum article here years ago about how a guy named his KK "Puff" for the dragon, and that's always stuck with me. However, all of the dragon names seem like too much and unrelatable so instead, I've decided to refer to it as "The Forge." I think that's pretty badass/medieval sounding as well, and very fitting for me as I have 3 different flamethrowers and tend to cook with 900°+ high temperatures on my other grills. Now I just gotta get a sign that says "The Forge" to place above it. Thank you very much for the inspiration! Love it!! One question. If I want to speed up the process to get to 225°, and I leave all of the vents open, at what temperature should I start closing the vents off to be safe? 140°? Last time I overshot it, I was around 160°-180° or so (I wasn't paying too much attention) before I closed it off to 1/4 turn + 3rd hole open at the bottom and I landed at 250°. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who does this expedited airflow process to get to starting temps, and I know that these KKs heat soak like no other. Thanks in advance.

Some more pics of the setup. After years of neglecting the Yoder smoker and not treating it the way I probably should have, I built this gazebo just for the Komodo kamado. My space is tight here (8'x8'), so between these three workhorses, I should have all my needs covered. Additionally, I modified the Napoleon propane grill as well, so I removed one burner and replaced it with an infrared burner that gets over 1000⁰F in 30 seconds. Between that and the Ooni pizza oven, I will never have the need to cook with hot temperatures in this Komodo kamado, and that will preserve the longevity of this beautiful masterpiece.

Thanks guys. Yeah, I've practically read every forum article and watched every KK YT video out there by this point (I've been following this forum for years even without a KK). I did exactly what you all suggested and cooked it at 1/4 turn + 3rd hole open at the bottom (lit half the basket splitter). I suspect maybe I should have been at 1/5th turn instead of 1/4 turn and that's the learning curve that I'm going to have to figure out. I think I also had the vents open until about 160-180° or so (I wasn't paying too much attention) before I closed it off to 1/4 turn as I was trying to promote more airflow after lighting the lump. Perhaps I should have just started off at 1/4 turn to begin with (but alas, patience is a virtue...)? The ribs in the end weren't bad, but I know with a little practice, I'll make them perfect.

After 6 years of wanting a KK, I finally pulled the trigger. Sold the Yoder ys640 pellet grill and my Louisiana Grill kamado for this upgrade. Just did my first cook tonight: baby back ribs. Overshot 225⁰ and was chasing temps afterwards...gotta better learn the top vent positioning, but am excited to learn. Cheers!

Hello, I have the basket splitter setup on the max setting now and my low and slow cook went quicker than I thought (lasted like 3 hours). I realized maybe I should have removed one of the center top plates out to put the divider plate more in the middle. Cooking low and slow (225⁰), what's your experience with where the basket splitter is positioned? How long will the cook be if you removed one top plate or two top plates? Do you ever remove the center divider plate and fill the basket up with charcoal below the top plates? I'm doing ribs and want indirect heat. Thanks.

I'm in the SF Bay area, and am ready for this. Let me know if you have something for sale and if you're far away, you'll need to crate it up to ship. We'll figure it out. DM me.

I saw this same grill on FB marketplace today. Is this still for sale? Only asking because you said you were moving 2 years ago and you had to sell it because of your housing situation. Thanks.

I'm in the SF bay area (North Bay) if anyone wants to go in on it with me.