ckreef Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 With Kamados a given temp is achieved with the bottom vent set in relation to how open the top vent is. A given temp (especially mid to high temps) can be achieved with different vent combinations. For chicken cooks I like to run the temp 375*-400*. Normally I would bring the KK to temp and set the top vent to 1-1 1/4 turns with a fairly small bottom vent opening and the KK would just cruise along at 375*-400*. For this rotisserie cook I set the top vent at a full 2 turns. This meant I had to open the bottom vent a little more open than normal to make up for the extra heat escaping out the top. This also runs a slightly hotter bed of coals. This worked well and I still ended up with a super juicy rotisserie chicken. I also cooked some snap beans on the 16.5" at the same time. I marinated the beans in a Sweet Balsamic salad dressing made by Kraft. Probably the best tasting beans to date and is now my favorite flavor for beans. Note: can't do this on one kamado if you want everything to finish at the same time. Next time I do rotisserie chicken I'm going to try top vent at 3 full turns. It will use a good bit more lump but should be a good follow up experiment. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 CK, another great chicken:) Yum yum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rak Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 That looks great Charles! Whats the advantage of opening up the top more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted February 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 That looks great Charles! Whats the advantage of opening up the top more?Hotter more direct fire even though the overall temp stays the same. I can't wait to try 3 full turns. That will be the true test. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rak Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 Thanks! I really enjoy your experiments and always learn something from them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 I see you were using your infrared grate. Nice looking bird! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted February 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 I see you were using your infrared grate. Nice looking bird!I love the grate. No grease down in an unlit area of the lump. I'm sort of picky about not getting grease down in there which is hard to control with rotisserie chicken. I don't need my next cook tasting like chicken. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 Opening the chimney more and letting the hot air escape more freely will create More Vacuum and the same size hole down below will have more air come thru it.. As you restrict (close the damper top) the hot air exiting you will have less vacuum. People tend to overthink the importance of the lower settings.. It's all about the vacuum/pressure created.. There can be many different combinations of top and bottom settings for the same temp.. Always remember that temperature is airflow... This is a copy of a post I made recently.. Charcoal always burns at the maximum volume for the allowed airflow.. Combustion requires three things, fuel.. ignition and oxygen/air.. The first two are covered so always remember that temperature is simply airflow. Airflow in a Komodo Kamado is very different than other charcoal grills because there is no gap between the firebox and body or holes in the firebox that permit air to bypass the charcoal. This means that when exhaust exits your chimney the vacuum that is created pulls/sucks air in through the front draft door and forces it all through your charcoal. In all other charcoal grills most of the air goes around the charcoal because air always take the path of least resistance. My favorite analogy to help understand the lower draft door settings is a garden hose.. the diameter (to some extent) determines how the volume which can go through the hose but the pressure not the diameter of the hose is the most important factor. The pressure in your grill is the vacuum. The more freely the hot air exits the grill, the more vacuum is created, the more baffled and restricted the exhaust, the less vacuum. Because all air is forced through your charcoal, anytime you have a stable temperature, simply take a mental or physical note of your top and bottom settings.. they will always create the same temperature. The large volume of dense refractory hot face has high thermal mass.. this creates uniform convective heat and stability. The large volume of insulation prevents heat loss, this also means you can’t reduce temps quickly once heat soaked. Better to preheat the grill slowly than to overshoot your target temp. For 235ºf you want to light about a tennis ball volume of charcoal, open the damper top until it spins free, turn back until the top touches the gasket then move the damper top’s ear about 2†only. The lower draft door should be open about a pencil volume at most. Once you have a stable temp you can adjust the lower draft to fine tune. in other grills the settings change if the density of your charcoal in the basket changes.. more smalls etc because more air will bypass the charcoal.. in your KK anytime you have a stable temp, make a physical or mental note of the top and bottom settings as they will always be the same.. after a handful of cooks on your KK you will find cooking on it very intuitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted February 5, 2016 Report Share Posted February 5, 2016 Gospel from the Prophet, himself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
