Low and Slow cooks on Komado Kamado

[Guest]

I am wondering how long the Komodo Kamado can cook on a full load of lump.

[DennisLinkletter]

Airflow & Insulation dictates fuel consumption.

I must say that I've never filled one up and tried to see how long it would burn. But I can tell you that how long the fuel burns is determined by the following factors:

Insulation, Komodo Kamado is the ONLY ceramic to have both a refractory material as well as insulating material. In fact, it's the only ceramic to have any actual insulation. One might argue that the dense materials the others are made of insulate those cookers but only when compared with metal... The fact is that dense materials do not make good insulators.

Airflow control. The combination of the double top and center gaskets along with a CNC precision laser cut lower draft assemblies with the low airflow dial which is found on ALL models of KK prevent low airflow leaks.

So I'd have to say that feature for feature Komodo's have the ability to burn your charcoal more slowly and that less of the heat generated will be lost.

Conclusion, a Komodo will cook longer by design.

[TheNakedWhiz]

What Dennis said. Here is a data point for you to get a rough idea. I have cooked for 20 hours at 230 degrees in a large BGE and I still had at least 1/3 of the charcoal left. (The cooker was loaded up as full as it would go when I started.) So, I think a KK would last longer based on Dennis' comments.

Another consideration is the density of the charcoal you use. Cowboy charcoal is not very dense and thus takes up a whole lot more volume than an equal weight of your "average" lump charcoal. I did a burntime and ash comparison of 5 major types of charcoal in which I burned 6 pounds of charcoal in a small BGE. I was cruising along until I got to Cowboy charcoal and 6 pounds wouldn't fit. I'd say I got about 4 pounds in and had to add the last 2 pounds after some of the original charcoal had burned down.

So, a lot of factors, but for low and slow cooking, any ceramic cooker that comes in a large size like the KK or a large BGE will cook longer on a full load of charcoal than you will ever need.

[TheNakedWhiz]

And there are charcoals which burn even longer than the extruded coconut if you really need a long cook, so like I say, I think it is safe to say that one of these puppies can cook longer on a full load of charcoal than any human might like to go for!

[Farmer John]

I have used the Extruded Lump and gone 30 hours easy. I used the Guru to maintain a Low and Slow. By the way a new "Guru Type" item is coming out. http://www.rocksbarbque.com/