golfpro2301 Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 Hey everyone. Been a really long time. I was the one that did the "Hammered KK" rebuild about two years ago. You can find the story here. Had a child in April of this year and the KK is at my parents so I havent been able to use it really. Finally decided I needed to cook on it more. Brother in laws and myself drug it thru the house to the back porch where it now sits on display. Did some chicken wings last weekend that turned out great. Cooking some pork butts today for a halloween party this week. Few things I want to ask for those who cook low and slow. 1. I use BBQ guru. Whats the trick to keeping temp low. Mine likes to run up to 275 range. 2. Although the lower damper door sits flush there is still air getting thru. Anyone else notice this? 3. The food probe for the guru has a bend in it and I cant get it thru the rubber cap on the side. Anyone have a solution to this? 4. When doing low and slow does anyone use a heat diffuser. I put a pizza stone on bottom rack but noticed some big hot spots towards back of the grills. Thought about resting the stone directly on the charcoal basket handles or is the diffuser not needed. 5. Had issues with the second gasket so I scraped everythng cleaned and used a felt gasket. Been working well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 (edited) Congratulations on the baby and glad to see you getting a chance to use the KK more. #3. The rubber bung comes out and you will notice if you look very carefully there is a split in the rubber so you can open it up and get the probe wires in before inserting it back into the hole in the KK. If the bend in the probe is too much to allow you to feed it in through the hole of the KK you can straighten the probe just enough to get it through. I put my probe between two decking boards and ever so gently straightened it just enough so I could feed it in thru the hole of the KK. Hope this helps some. #4. I have never used that big heavy duty heat diffuser but have used the stainless one. Edited October 28, 2018 by MacKenzie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tucker Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 Se my responses in - line 1. I use BBQ guru. Whats the trick to keeping temp low. Mine likes to run up to 275 range. I start the cooker with the fan in the port, but not plugged in. I have the pit probe connected. I then use the upper and lower vents to get to about 215, then I close the bottom vent and plug in the fan, let it take the cooker to 220. The lower vents stay closed throughout the cook. 2. Although the lower damper door sits flush there is still air getting thru. Anyone else notice this? Check not only the front lower door, but the one in the back. I have used peramtex high temp to seal it because I never use it. 3. The food probe for the guru has a bend in it and I cant get it thru the rubber cap on the side. Anyone have a solution to this? The food probe can be bent back toward straight, not fully, but enough to slide thru the port hole with the rubber plug removed. 4. When doing low and slow does anyone use a heat diffuser. I put a pizza stone on bottom rack but noticed some big hot spots towards back of the grills. Thought about resting the stone directly on the charcoal basket handles or is the diffuser not needed. I used to use the head deflector and drip pan, now I just use the drip pan. I also found that a dual layer of heavy duty foil on the drip pan makes cleanup a breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 1 hour ago, golfpro2301 said: Hey everyone. Been a really long time. I was the one that did the "Hammered KK" rebuild about two years ago. You can find the story here. Had a child in April of this year and the KK is at my parents so I havent been able to use it really. Finally decided I needed to cook on it more. Brother in laws and myself drug it thru the house to the back porch where it now sits on display. Did some chicken wings last weekend that turned out great. Cooking some pork butts today for a halloween party this week. Few things I want to ask for those who cook low and slow. 1. I use BBQ guru. Whats the trick to keeping temp low. Mine likes to run up to 275 range. 2. Although the lower damper door sits flush there is still air getting thru. Anyone else notice this? 3. The food probe for the guru has a bend in it and I cant get it thru the rubber cap on the side. Anyone have a solution to this? 4. When doing low and slow does anyone use a heat diffuser. I put a pizza stone on bottom rack but noticed some big hot spots towards back of the grills. Thought about resting the stone directly on the charcoal basket handles or is the diffuser not needed. 5. Had issues with the second gasket so I scraped everythng cleaned and used a felt gasket. Been working well. 1. I barely open the top at all for low temps. Probably 1/8th turn; maybe less. If the fan is running at 0%, it is open too much. 2. I think mine is getting a bit loose but hasn't caused issues. 3. I don't run the probe through the hole; I run the plug end through from the inside. 4. I only use foil on the lower grate at this point. I used to use the diffuser but don't anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted October 28, 2018 Report Share Posted October 28, 2018 Reiterating what others have said and add a thought or 2: 1) The fan has an adjustable damper, I usually run my fan for lo & slo at 50% open. That way when the fan isn't running, you don't suck in too much air. Keep the top vent almost closed, the fan will force the air out. If you see smoke, you're fine. 2) Push on the 4 corners of your lower vent plate with the door as snug as you can get it. If it moves at all, you need to tighten up the door a tad. Do NOT bend the rods on the door, but stick a long screwdriver into the tubes from the inside and bend the tube AWAY from the corner that's loose. Reinsert the door and check it again. You might have to do a couple of tweaks to get it solid. As others have said, check the rear door as well. Highly recommend sealing it up if you never use it. 3) Per MacKenzie, remove the bung to insert the probes and find the slit in the bung for the wires. I've had to straighten my angled probes to fit - easy, peasy, just bend slowly/gently. 4) Haven't used the heavy diffuser in years. Takes too long to heat up. Use either the drip pan or aluminum foil on the lower grate. 5) Never had this issue, so no advice on that one. Good luck and post pics of these cooks you're doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonj Posted October 29, 2018 Report Share Posted October 29, 2018 Glad to see you posting here again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie mac Posted October 31, 2018 Report Share Posted October 31, 2018 Congrats on your baby I am go to start one myself emailed you on a couple ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
