dwr435 Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 I m sure most of these questions have been answered before but I didnt see them in my reading so here it goes. I am doing some research for a new grill purchase in about a year. I like the versatility the KK seems to offer, ie high temp searing, gas for quick cooks, low and slow, pizza bread cooking, any help on these questions is greatly apreciated. Can the gas burner be replaced with a different burner? Would this void the waranty? What is the highest recomended temp? What is the available Sq inch cooking space on the 2 sizes? Is moisture retention the same/worse/better than the other ceramic grills? What are the average delivery costs? Are ceramic cookers banned from BBQ comps? I have not seen any on tv coverage of comps other than eggs at eggfest? Thank you very much for any help. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 Re: Reszearch questions Some of these will need to wait for Dennis, but I'll see what I can answer. Can the gas burner be replaced with a different burner? Would this void the waranty? I would imagine it depends on what you replace it with. If you swap it out for a reasonable burner that you can use as a primary heat source I doubt there will be an issue, but if you swap it for one that offers 2 million BTUs of raw pork-to-charcoal-in-6.3-seconds power I'd say you may have an issue. KK is friendly enough that they've tended to offer warranty repairs for a lot of stuff as long as gross negligence isn't involved. What is the highest recomended temp? The thermometer goes up to 750F, anything in that range should be OK and possibly higher. How high did you want to go? What is the available Sq inch cooking space on the 2 sizes? A lot I don't have exact numbers but if they don't appear shortly I can try to measure. The grills aren't a regular shape so calculations aren't as trivial as they are for a round grill. There are also multiple levels, you could have three levels going in the 23" grill (main grill, upper grill and lower grill or main, lower, sear) or two in the 19" (main and upper or main and sear). The measurement is roughly the diameter of the main grill so we're talking about around 415 square inches for the 23" main and nearly 300 for the 19.5" before you take into account the accessory grills. Is moisture retention the same/worse/better than the other ceramic grills? I'll let people with more experience with other brands chime in but I'd say the same or better is a safe bet. It's a very well-sealed unit so I doubt it'll be worse and the walls are very thick to trap heat - less charcoal used to maintain temperature means less airflow which means more moisture. What are the average delivery costs? They vary widely based on location and over time. In Boston I needed to have a second shipper deliver from a NY terminal to the New England area. I'd ask Dennis for a shipping quote to your city/state to get a more precise answer. Are ceramic cookers banned from BBQ comps? I have not seen any on tv coverage of comps other than eggs at eggfest? You may want to check any particular competitions you're interested in but I doubt it. You'll see a lot of BGEs for two reasons. One is they're very popular and very well marketed, high sales volume = more visibility which leads to an even higher sales volume. The second is that they're much lighter than a KK is which makes them more portable. They're also pretty much assembly line products which means you don't cry as much when one breaks - you just replace it. Not great answers to most of your questions but hopefully it helps a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcoliver Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 dwr435 wrote: Is moisture retention the same/worse/better than the other ceramic grills? It is very difficult to measure this but what I can say is that the KK is the only ceramic grill with a dual composition body, ceramic outer surfaces with insulated center. It is also the only ceramic grill with an interlocking lip between top and base. These upgrades should definitely provide a superior result. dwr435 wrote: Are ceramic cookers banned from BBQ comps? I have not seen any on tv coverage of comps other than eggs at eggfest? They are definitely not banned. I used to know a team who used POSK's in most major competitions, traveled all over the country and were quite successful. Their names were Dave and Kim. They no longer do it because of an unscrupulous sponsor but they certainly aren't banned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwr435 Posted March 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Thank you for the replys. I am just trying to figure out what to buy and this seems like a really good choice. Please excuse my spelling. To explain my questions a little more, or reasons behind them. I was asking about the burner as the pics seem to resemble the comon cheaper burners out there, not being critical and i dont own one so i dont know, but for something of this value I would like to be able to put in a stainless steel burner for better life and also get some more heat out of it possibly. I was asking about the temp as I would like to get up to around 1000 degrees for tandoori style cooking and making breads/pizza. As far as the grill space I was curious if a 19 would be big enough, but the costs arent that far off from each other that it may be a moot point. As far as the cooking comp question, I was just curious as all things have pros and cons and i wasnt sure if they were banned because of some advantage they had or if they were too heavy or something like that. Thank you for the information I gratly appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetzervalve Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 I have experience with the gas burner and I prefer to use a chimney starter. The burner was fine, but it has issues due to ash etc. The chimney is fast and easy and no gas tank sitting around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcoliver Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 I would suggest you get the stock burner and use it for a while. I use mine all the time and I've never had any problems with it. I did add an adjustable regulator 0-30psi(I think) and can get to temps in the 500 deg. range with just the gas and I only have it turned to the half way point, never tried all the way, may be able to get to 1,000 deg. but I have no need for that. With gas and charcoal you can definately get to 1,000 deg. however it may be a bit dangerouse due to flashbacks. I don't think it will hurt the grill just maybe some eyelashes and other facial hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Goodness, yes. Be sure to read the posts on flashbacks. I think that should be required reading for ANY new owner (and most of the older ones, too). My eyelashes and eyebrows grew back. Whew... Who has the link to Whizzy's article/photos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firemonkey Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Who has the link to Whizzy's article/photos? I think he even has a video of a flashback (intentional using pulleys and rope) on his site. That was kind of like the BBQ equivalent of the drivers ed movies from high school Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Here's the link to that particular article in the Hitchhiker's Guide to Ceramic Cookery: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/flash.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 :::shudder::: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Uh oh, I think Sanny's having flashback flashbacks! Deja vu all over again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwr435 Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Thanks for all the info. This really does seem like a great set up. Has anyone done any tandoori style cooking on one of these? Or wood oven style pizza? Have a great day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Several of us have done pizza's on the KK. Thin to medium crust pizza done in about 5 minutes! Best crust outside of a pizzaria! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg_R Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 I was asking about the temp as I would like to get up to around 1000 degrees for tandoori style cooking and making breads/pizza. I have had mine up that high in the dome area (much hotter down near the coals of course). However, I've found that 750-850 degrees is the sweet spot for real pizza (2-3 minute cook). I have not done Naan bread yet but have cooked Tandoori chicken and that has been a more direct cooking method (right above the coals). One great thing about the KK at these high temps is that the exterior remains much cooler than other ceramic or steel offerings. Definitely read up on flashback (an issue with any grill at high temps). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwr435 Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Thank you for the info. I will certainly look more at the flashback issue. From what i have seen it mostly pccurs when a really hot fire is deprived of O2 and then some is introduced, is this pretty much accurate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdbower Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 From what i have seen it mostly pccurs when a really hot fire is deprived of O2 and then some is introduced' date=' is this pretty much accurate?[/quote'] That's pretty much it. You've got a lot of heat in the chamber but you can't actually burn off the volatiles until you add oxygen. Once you open the dome of a very hot oxygen-starved fire you give it the O2 it needs. And, quite often, you also give it eyebrows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyboy Posted March 18, 2009 Report Share Posted March 18, 2009 What ever you do, don't let flashback scare you away; it's very controllable. Like anything else potentially dangerous; once you know the danger you can take proper measures to avoid it. Having a good pair of elbo length gloves is a good idea when high temp grilling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
