cruzmisl Posted July 19, 2009 Report Share Posted July 19, 2009 Hi All, This is a bit of a story so hang on. I sent Dennis an Email letting him know I needed another cooker for the fourth of July weekend (this was June 29th). I was having a PARTY! Dennis said the only one he could get me in time was the black one used on the Today show. It needed to be shipped to Michigan and this one was on the east coast. All of the west coast models would have taken too long to get here. Dennis let me know it had been cooked on a few times by Chris Lilly. I'm thinking what do I care if its been cooked on. Its a great cooker touched by and eaten off by celebrities for crying out loud So I gave Dennis the go ahead and he said he'd ship it out. Two days later its at the terminal in Michigan. UPS can't get a letter to me in two days let alone a 600lb BBQ. I was excited so I left work early rounded up 4 friends and went to pick it up. As usual moving this beast was a challenge. My friends and I (who by the way HATE when I get a new K) are quite adept at moving these bad boys. We heaved it off the pick up truck and set it on the driveway. I removed the shrink wrap and checked out the cooker through the crate. I noticed that the KomodoKamado name plate was shifted and the grout was broken around the nameplate. I thought to myself, "this isn't good" and as I suspected it wasn't. Once the cooker was removed from the crate I noticed that the bolts that hold the nameplate/latch assembly had been torn apart from the cooker. It was clear that someone had tried to use the handle to lift the cooker onto the pallet. A note to those who aren't familiar with moving Komodo's - DON'T USE THE HANDLE TO LIFT THE COOKER. It is not designed to lift 600lbs. I spoke to Dennis and he assured me that its an easy fix and the structural integrity of the cooker had not been compromised. Dennis also said that he'd be happy to send me a new cooker if that's what I wanted but I'd have to pay the difference in price for it. Since the cooker had been "used" he gave me a solid deal on it so I thought that was fair. I wrestled with the idea for a few hours and decided since my wife's job was a victim of the economy and crating the cooker back up wasn't my idea of fun, I'd give the repair a try. Dennis said that if it didn't work I could swap it out so really what did I have to lose? I broke out the tools and got medieval on the cooker. I ground out all the loose bits of refractory material, blew out all the dust and mixed up a decent amount of JB Weld. I then clamped the faceplate in place, secured the bolts making sure they were straight and poured the JB weld in the hole. Dennis sent me some refractory material but I was impatient and couldn't wait The JB is good for 500f and has a high shear strength so I was pretty confident it would work. Also if it didn't, I knew the refractory material was coming and could easily grind it out and start again. 24 hours later I removed the clamps and tape, resecured the latch and closed the lid. SHAZAM! It worked like a champ! I've been cooking on it for the last week and it's tip top! I just need to smooth some of the grout material over the JB and no one will ever know. So what's my point? My point is this. I called Dennis, the owner of the company, who managed to get me a cooker delivered in 2 days. While it was damaged, through NO fault of his own, he offered to take it back no questions asked and send a different cooker. Please remember that shipping these things to and from would cost almost $1K that would have come directly out of his pocket. Furthermore, he shipped the repair materials worldwide express which took three days (that's express from the other side of the globe) which I'm sure wasn't cheap. Lastly he always responded to my emails which is very important. So what appeared to be something big turned out to be something very easy to fix and more of an aesthetic repair. Thanks Dennis for getting me squared away and sticking by your customers! Its truly appreciated! A picture of my new black beast in action! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanny Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 As good as new! Maybe better, since is has Chris Lilly mojo on it! Good for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetzervalve Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Well done Sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted July 20, 2009 Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Great fix! - And it looks terrific! I am glad this story had a happy ending. For those less mechanically inclined, I would take the insurance route against the carrier. I like that this KK came out just fine, however the negligence appears to be on the part of the movers and they should pay for the fix (which in this case should be a new cooker and the cost to transport!) Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzmisl Posted July 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2009 Well the shipping company didn't damage it but someone else who put it back on the crate. Shipping company was quite gingerly with it. That said the insurance route wasn't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB Posted July 22, 2009 Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Great job with the repair. Looks like you should head down to North Carolina and teach Naked Whiz how to use masking tape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzmisl Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 Ha ha. Yeah I saw that. I was very careful about controlling the ooze. Trouble with JB Weld is that it takes forever to cure so if there is a hole or a leak somewhere, you'll know it. I'm going to send him an email and see how his repair is holding up. I remember he did that years ago. I filled mine in with the black grout and its almost imperceptible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
