Any precaution needed...............

[Ickkey]

Hello Everyone,

Received the phone call yesterday and delivery will be Friday afternoon woo-hoo! Is there any precautions (do's or dont's) I need to know before stoking this bad boy up? Hate to mess things up after all the time it took me deciding. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Hitman]

I've only had mine a few weeks, so I have just gone through the newbie drill.

First challenge is to get your KK uncrated, unwrapped, and located in your cooking location of choice. You will need some help getting it off the bottom of the crate, and if you need to take it up any stairs, you will probably need 3 other guys to help you. There is a thread here on the forum that discusses all the steps you will need to take.

Once the KK is positioned where you want it, you will probably need to adjust the spring for the lid/dome. The spring should be tight enough that the lid springs all the way open, but not so tight that it bounces/recoils back after it opens.

When you're ready to cook, next is to figure out the positioning of your grills, the heat deflector, and the drip pan. For cooking with indirect heat, you can place the heat deflector directly on top of the charcoal basket, making sure that it sits level and is centered. I suggest that you wrap the stainless steel liner in foil for protective purposes, but others don't seem concerned about that.

Next comes the lower grill, and you can place the stainless steel drip pan there if you wish. Again, I suggest you wrap it in foil for easier clean up. For my second cook, I put a few cups of water and a cup of vinegar in the drip pan, but consensus seems to be that it is not needed. I like the idea of the extra moisture. If you decide to go this route, do NOT forget to remove the drip pan after you're done cooking, or all the liquid will evaporate away as the cooker cools down (takes hours), leaving you with a real sticky mess to clean up.

Then comes the main grill, and if you're cooking a lot of stuff, the upper grill as well.

For direct heat grilling, you won't need the heat deflector or the drip pan. You can grill at three different levels. Lowest is the sear grill, which is the upper grill turned upside down. Next up is the lower grill level, a few inches higher, then is the main grill. I suppose you could also use the upper grill to cook at an even higher level

After cooking, don't forget to close off the lower air vent, and screw the top vent closed (not too tight).

Good luck!

[U2PLT]

Setting Open/ Closing Spring

Set spring adjust it so the lid will stop at half open position but will go full open with a movement up on the handle. This is Dennis's recommended procedure.

[mguerra]

another spring thing

Be sure to prop the lid securely and fully open before releasing the lid spring, if you plan to remove the lid for moving.

[Ickkey]

Thanks for the helpful tips. What about the first fire up, anything I should do or be concerned about breaking it in?

[mguerra]

No need to break it in, thermally; your break in is going to be emotional and experiential. Get a good piece of meat, your favorite adult beverage, a nice cigar if that's your thing, and enjoy. There's a whole thread on how to start a fire, if you need that, I like a torch. MAPP or propane. Opinions will differ on this, but my first cook was a low and slow, pulled pork. Why? You have probably already grilled plenty in your life ,but your KK excels at L&S! How many 12 to 16 hour slow cooks have you done? If the answer is none, here's your chance! This is where your KK will shine, and make you look like a star to all who partake. Or just grill a chicken.