Help my husband figure this out!

[Elaine]

Hi all,  My husband is now starting to get interested in the amazing KK that has been sitting in our yard for the last year. Yahoo!  We have been using it and enjoying the process of grilling as well as the delicious finished product. Just wondering what the best position the top and bottom vents should be in to reach high temps as fast as possible? Should the top be all the way open?  Any hints much appreciated? 

[MacKenzie]

Elaine, it's great he's getting interested.  Light a spot of lump and get the hair dryer out, that will make it take right off. No, don't leave the top open just open the vents and get the draft moving.

[CeramicChef]

@Elaine - Wow!  Where to even begin!  I guess the first thing I'd need to know is what kind of KK you have.  Is it a 32", 23", 19"?  Can you post a pic of your KK here complete with a picture of the lower vent?  That would really help a lot.

In general, to get to a high temp in a big hurry, I'd completely open the bottom vent and leave the lid open about 1/3 of the way.  Light about 3 spots in the lump pile.  Get one of your old hairdryers, turn it on high, and blow air in the bottom vent for about 5 minutes. Notice, your hairdryer will smell like smoke from that point forward so plan for that.  Now, after 5 minutes, shut the lid, open the vents a couple of turns, and, if you like, continue with the hairdryer.  I guarantee you that within 7-10 minutes you'll have one ripping and roaring fire in the belly of your KK.

[Elaine]

Tnx to both of you for the prompt reply! We have a 23 and have been using it but still some questions. Anyone ever available to have a chat by phone? 

[CeramicChef]

4 hours ago, Elaine said:

Tnx to both of you for the prompt reply! We have a 23 and have been using it but still some questions. Anyone ever available to have a chat by phone? 

Sure!  Shoot me a PM and I will get you my phone number and best times to call.  I live in Okalhoma City, CST.

[DennisLinkletter]

You can blow air up thru the vent but to get charcoal going best to open the lid and point directly at the coals.
Point the airflow directly at the coals to make them glow madly..
I'm always available..

Read the small print. Comes with Dennis 8.6.8

[Elaine]

As always, I appreciate all the support on this forum!  How bout a 3 day KK rendezvous..... Instruction.... Cooking ........ Eating..... Meeting other KK users..... ?   

[tinyfish]

What temp are you aiming for and for what type of food. 

After you you speak to CeramicChef/Ken or Dennis I don't think I can add much more but I will try. You can PM me too for my contact info if needed.

[wilburpan]

One of the things I love about having a KK grill is that it’s like having a charcoal grill that’s as efficient as a gas grill. Here’s what I do to get a hot fire lit quickly in Smaug.

1. Workflow. This is by far the most important. For hot fast cooks, I’ll light my grill first, and then do food prep. However long it takes the fire to heat up, prepping the food will take more time. By the time food prep is done, Smaug will be at 500-600ºF, easy.

2. Full basket of charcoal, and skip the huge pieces. Heat is all about how much charcoal is burning at one time. Having a less than full basket of charcoal works against this, and having smaller pieces increases the surface area of charcoal that can be burning. Huge pieces of charcoal are great for low and slow cooks, but not so good for high heat cooks.

3. Vents. Bottom and top vents wide open.

As far as the actual fire making process, here’s what I tend to do, if I’m doing nothing but lighting the grill.

I start with a full basket of charcoal, lit it over a fairly wide area, close the lid with the top vent fully open, with the bottom vents fully open, with the grate off. After five minutes, I’ll open the lid, flip over the 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, and close the lid. I’ll hit 500-600ºF in 10-15 minutes consistently.
 
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 hits 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. 

But as I said above, I go through all this only if I don’t have anything else to do. What I do much more often these days is light the grill over a wide area, put the grates in, close the lid, and open the top and bottom vents all the way. Then I do food prep. By the time I’m done, Smaug is at steak-searing temperatures.

[CeramicChef]

To really increase airflow into the KK you can actually pull the bottom vents partially out as is shown below.

This can really turbo a fire.  More oxygen means more charcoal can join the fun!

[cschaaf]

^ +1

That's how i usually get my KK going.

[Elaine]

Again, I can't thank everyone for all the  info! Looking forward to really getting into some great cooks and of course, posting photos in return for all the help I've gotten from the forum. 

[Gnomatic]

Leaf blower!  This is completely unnecessary, but will get the coals going! (I do not recommend this)

[CeramicChef]

@churchi - over the course of several cooks, I just sweep all the ash to the back of my KKs, especially TheBeast.  I can just see me covered in ash if I hit TheBeast with a leaf blower!

He'd sit there laughing his top vent off looking at me covered in ash!  I'm never in so big a hurry that I've to to supercharge the process.  

[EGGARY]

10 hours ago, CeramicChef said:

To really increase airflow into the KK you can actually pull the bottom vents partially out as is shown below.

This can really turbo a fire.  More oxygen means more charcoal can join the fun!

To get the temp up quickly, I open the lower vent in the back.

[DennisLinkletter]

A leaf blower will make a big mess.. get a hair drier with good airflow.  Always cover the bottom of the charcoal basket to create uniform airflow. if you leave holes the air will always take the path of least resistance and race thru there and bypass the charcoal.  Remember that you have no airflow until you close and latch the lid.. The hot air exiting the latched in the second-position grill creates vacuum which forces air thru the charcoal.

[tony b]

Sounds like an old Tool Time episode to me!