paul1927 Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 It arrived with some broken pieces and Dennis shipped out new pieces at his expense. Later the seals went and I emailed him just to find where to buy new ones and instead he mailed me new ones at his expense. I really didn't expect that type of guarantee. The quality Kamado is really exceptional compare to what I've seen. The only other Komodo I've seen in person was a Green Egg and it was a lightweight by comparison. I would definitely buy again especially from Dennis. One thing, however, is that breakin period of time before you can cook at high heats is rather long. Perhaps because it so wet here in Miami. The only improvements that I can think of would be better seals (seals made out of a different material) and maybe a CAST IRON grill option. I keep hearing cast iron is something special and I would like to tryit. BTW, the flip door on the stainless steel grill is really a touch. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Break-in period... No longer needed. Thank you Paul, I really love to hear it... To clarify, the seals were not covered in the guarentee but I'm glad that our exceptional customer service department (me,myself and I) handled it appropriately As per the break in period, I came to the conclusion that those small fissures caused by the steam leaving the body through the grout compromises the seal and permits water to get back under the tiles. This can really be problematic in area where temps drop below freezing. Solution found... I have completely eliminated the need to break in your grill slowly by removing the water in the factory using a Vacuum chamber designed to dry wood. I pull on average 4 liters of water (1 gal) out of each half! My newest grills can be cranked up to 750ºf on the first cook. Please be sure and confirm you have one of these new models before you try this And in answer to his seal comment... I now have a new double inner top and outer bottom gasket design that gives you twice the sealing territory.. I'll research the cast iron grill... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 cast iron not an expert, but i've used cast iron grates on a couple steelies of mine back in the "old days". they were ok, but can rust terribly. i would imagine that they wouldn't fare well in a naturally humid environment like FL. additionally, with the moisture-retaining qualities of the KK's cooking chamber, i'd think that would only make rust worse. finally, and, remember, NOT AN EXPERT, from my understanding, cast iron can develop air bubbles in the casting process. if you had air bubbles and decided to do a high temp cook, i see the possibility of an explosion. then again, i know of many eggers that do high-temp steak cooks on cast iron griddles, etc. so maybe i'm wrong on this. for my money, after dealing with all the rust, i'd just go out, get a good lodge cast iron skillet at wally world, season it good, and see what happens. you may have to hacksaw the handle off, or just get those fajita plates. good luck. my advice, stay away from the cast iron grates. a good enameled steel or stainless steel is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1927 Posted March 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Re: Break-in period... No longer needed. TEST REPLY Thank you Paul, I really love to hear it... As per the break in period, I came to the conclusion that those small fissures caused by the steam leaving the body through the grout compromises the seal and permits water to get back under the tiles. This can really be problematic in area where temps drop below freezing. Solution found... I have completely eliminated the need to break in your grill slowly by removing the water in the factory using a Vacuum chamber designed to dry wood. I pull on average 4 liters of water (1 gal) out of each half! My newest grills can be cranked up to 750ºf on the first cook. Please be sure and confirm you have one of these new models before you try this >That is excellent news. It is difficult for me to imagine 2 gallons of water remaining in the Q after manufacture, but it makes sense after seeing steam escape thru the small fissures. And, this happened after I thought it was completely cured due to all of the low temp cooking that I had been doing. I guess I needed a little more medium tempature cooking before going for the really high heat. And in answer to his seal comment... I now have a new double inner top and outer bottom gasket design that gives you twice the sealing territory.. >I looked at the pictures and I didn't see the double gasket design, but sounds good. I'm now using 1 1/4" rope seal (R114PWK), it is huge, for the top seal and it is working perfect. For the bottom seal I'm using 1" tape seal (T181PWK) for the bottom seal and it is working so so. Perhaps it is a little big and or there is a problem with cementing it in place--I'm using Furnace Cement. Here is a link for anyone that is interested: http://www.woodmanspartsplus.com/produc ... t_id=16704. Perhaps there are better prices elsewhere? I'll research the cast iron grill... >Some of my reply is contained in the quoted text above^. >Thank you for researching the cast iron. I would be very interested in hearing what you find out. You really seem like you are on top the cutting edge, which makes me interested in upgrading even though I'm a very happy and satisfied customer. >Best regards, >Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
