Hello Everyone

[bosco]

Project smoke is a TV series featuring Steven Raichlen.  He asked Dennis to use the KK as the exclusive Kamado for the series.  This is going to blow up sales for KK. 

Terra blue is very nice looking grill.  There are so many options its hard to pick the one.  I was told to pick the one that first jumped out at me.  That's what I did. 

 

 

[Newg4]

Terra blue was my choice

[tony b]

Lighting your coals in multiple spots is the ticket. I've never used the blowdryer though, just leave the lid open until the coals are going well, then shut the lid with the top vent wide open. You can actually watch the thermometer needle climb, often dramatically! 

[cschaaf]

@churchi, I think @wilburpanUses a weed torch  to crank up the KK

[tinyfish]

Just now, churchi said:

cheers thanks @cschaaf. i light my grill with a blow torch BernzOMatic TS8000TK and it does the job nicely. But i am thinking once the coals are lit, i need to use like a hair dryer or some sort of fan to light up the coals more. Ill test out a few different ways and post back.

Thanks mate

The hair dryer really speeds things up for high heat cooks.

[tony b]

There's also the Looftlighter.

 

http://www.looftlighter.com/

[egmiii]

I've been using a Wagner heat gun on my 21". It's like having a weed burner with a hair dryer attached. 2-3 minutes and the basket is cherry red. The caveat is you need an outlet relatively close to the grill.

Addressing the original question: You will likely never encounter a KK owner who has regretted buying a grill from Dennis. The craftsmanship, performance, and customer service are second to none. The price is a pain you endure once, but after owning a KK for the last 6 months, I honestly believe they are an incredible value. Dennis is a world class entrepreneur. He has optimized every aspect of the manufacturing and distribution process to provide the highest quality customer experience at the lowest cost.

When it comes to sizing (and if you plan to buy only 1), I always ask, are you primarily a griller or a smoker? Grillers are typically best served by a 32", since it's similar in size to a traditional gas grill. Smokers are probably best served by a 23", unless you plan to cook for very large crowds. If you strictly cook for 2-4 people only, then a 19" is plenty. If you have the funds and the ability to move a 32" to it's final resting place, then by all means, just get it. But that's not always an option for those of us on a budget, or who have logistical constraints.

[Stile88]

Now a heat gun i never thought of using that but great idea ..

I like that looflighter but reviews say its made cheap 

[egmiii]

The Wagner heat gun was $20 at Home Depot. I could buy several for the price of a Looflighter, and they are far more reliable. Just ask a painter how many hours their heat guns run before replacement. 

[DennisLinkletter]

On 4/7/2016 at 5:58 AM, tony b said:

Lighting your coals in multiple spots is the ticket. I've never used the blowdryer though, just leave the lid open until the coals are going well, then shut the lid with the top vent wide open. You can actually watch the thermometer needle climb, often dramatically! 

Please remember that there is no "created" airflow until you close the lid.. hot air leaving the chimney creates vacuum which forces air thru your charcoal/charcoal basket.

Fuel consumption 23 VS 32           Construction of the two grill's body wall's insulation is almost identical. While the 32 requires a bit more fuel to preheat/ heat soak.   Once it's walls are heat soaked for a low and slow cook I believe the fuel consumption difference would be negligible if even measurable.

 

[wilburpan]

On April 7, 2016 at 9:23 AM, churchi said:

@wilburpan, when you try and get your grill up to searing temp of 500-600 (no heat soak) are you just lighting coals in a few places then using a blower or hair dryer to light all the coals quicker? I think thats what im not doing to get the 32 up to hot temp quickly.

Im thinking i need to light 3 or 4 places with the blow torch, then get the air blower out to light up more coals quickly and that should get the searing temp up i think. Am i on the right track there?

Hi @churchi, 

Here’s my method of getting Smaug up to steak searing temps fast.

I start with a full basket of charcoal, and light it over a fairly wide area. I do use a weed torch, but the main purpose is to get a lot of charcoal lit, not to blast the charcoal with the weed torch. I have the lid open with the bottom vents fully open, with the grate off. After five minutes, I’ll flip over the lit chunks in the top layer of the charcoal a bit in order to get the top surface to give off heat, put the grate in, close the lid and open the top vent as high as it would go. I can usually hit 500-600ºF within 15 minutes.

I think that the moving the charcoal around after five minutes helps a lot, because it gets lit coals right at the top of the basket and distributes the fire more quickly than letting it burn on its own. (That’s also why I leave the grate off at first so I don’t have to maneuver a hot grate later to stir up the charcoal.) I’ve noticed in the past that if I’m going for a high temperature, and there’s large pieces of charcoal on the top that are burning only on the bottom side, the unlit portion of the charcoal is preventing heat from coming through. Flipping over those pieces did a lot to speed up the process.
 
I’ve noticed that when my thermometer approaches 500ºF, the top surface of the charcoal will mainly be on fire, but the larger chunks will have a dark spot in the middle that isn’t actually burning. Here’s a picture from the Serious Eats website that shows what I mean.
 

 
This looks like a good charcoal fire, but it’s really not at full blast yet. You see those large pieces of charcoal in the middle that still look black? That’s charcoal that’s not burning. I think this acts as an insulator, blocking the fire underneath it, and preventing the temperature from rising higher. Turning those pieces over helps the temperature come up faster.

Hope that helps! Try this method with your KK 32”. I’d be curious to see how well it works for you.

 

Edited April 10, 2016 by wilburpan

[kjs]

If you can swing it the 32 is versatile and an exceptional value.

[Stile88]

56 minutes ago, kjs said:

If you can swing it the 32 is versatile and an exceptional value.

Its a hell of a grill i am for sure sold on the 32 i do love that you can split the grates 

I just need to save up just dont have 7k laying around right now lol but i am for sure going to pull the trigger just dont know when yet 

[wilburpan]

5 hours ago, churchi said:

Excellent post @wilburpan. Appreciate the time in replying.

I am due for a hi heat cook this weekend, so i am going to try what you have suggested and post back.

Thanks heaps mate.

One other thought: since you have a KK 32”, if you don’t have a lot of food to cook over direct high heat, try using your basket splitter, being sure to put in the horizontal plates so that air only goes through the part of the basket that has the charcoal. Then see how hot the fire gets using the “hold your hand over the fire” method. High heat cooks are at a temp where you can only hold your hand over the charcoal for a second or so. It may be that the KK 32” dome thermometer may not be truly reflective of direct cooking conditions down by the searing grate, especially if you’re using the basket splitter, so waiting for your thermometer to get up to 600ºF may not be necessary.

[tinyfish]

14 hours ago, wilburpan said:

One other thought: since you have a KK 32”, if you don’t have a lot of food to cook over direct high heat, try using your basket splitter, being sure to put in the horizontal plates so that air only goes through the part of the basket that has the charcoal. Then see how hot the fire gets using the “hold your hand over the fire” method. High heat cooks are at a temp where you can only hold your hand over the charcoal for a second or so. It may be that the KK 32” dome thermometer may not be truly reflective of direct cooking conditions down by the searing grate, especially if you’re using the basket splitter, so waiting for your thermometer to get up to 600ºF may not be necessary.

Well said.