Char-griller Kamado Kooker 16619

[grinch]

Yea I never really had a problem with it. My neighbor has the BGE as well. I love my kamado char griller made some tweaks the changed the top damper to a cast aluminum with a gasket and the I took off the bottom vent and sealed it with high temp silicone now mine it air tight

 

[ssk878ct]

I've had mine for about a month and a half and use is pretty much every day.  Great value.  I have no trouble controlling the temp whether 225 or 375 or 650. It just takes a little experimentation. This thing rocks.  I have three smokers now and this is my favorite.

 

[grinch]

Yea I got mine about a year now and I love cooking on it . Getting ready to make jalapeño poppers .this was a great investment. Made ribs the other day at 250 for about 51/2 hour they were excellent. Doing a roast beef tonight.alsoade many pizzas . the first kamado with the stainless damper leaked through the sides of the damper I controlled it pretty good but the one that came out this year is called the Akorn and the damper is black made of cast aluminum and don't leak I ordered the new damper from them this way I can use the partyq from the BBQ guru for with I cook low and slow like in the winter.

 

[flanntastic]

i have a mes40 that i no longer will use, this Kamado is the greatest,

i put it together Friday night, smoked chicken legs saturday, boneless turkey breast sat night, and a pork butt today(no pics of that though)

 

[flanntastic]

oh and so far i cooked for 18 hours on just a few lbs of charcoal

 

[rtbbq2]

I have the same unit only in Red. Very easy to control the heat and the lum coal lasts forever on a full load. I got 15 hours on this smoke and still had coals when the butts were done. Cheers Chargriller....

 

[grinch]

Yes I love this Kamado myself I cook a Porkbutt for 16 hours then took it off and opened the dampers to raise the temp and then cook chicken breats and I still have coal left. lump coal is the best. For the Porkbutt I used the partyq from BBqguru.com to control the temp put the butt on at 10Pm Sunday and and went to bef took it off at 2 Pm Monday I didn't have to mess with the dampers at all. That pork was the best pulled pork I ever made this kamado is the best.

 

[flanntastic]

did you buy the diffuser stone?

 

[grinch]

Yes it works very well and it's durable

 

[rtbbq2]

Yes, I finally bought a smoking stone when Chargriller started shipping them in April. I used an Oneida pizza stone bought at Bed Bath and Beyond to use during the interim. It worked pretty good too...

 

[sfbc]

Been using my Akorn for 2 months now. 

Load my Minion full, light it, and pour it on unlit briqs down in the pan depending on whatever I'm doing .....if a big brisket or big butt, the lit Minion goes over about twice that many unlit briqs.  If I'm doing ribs or chicken, I use about 1 chimney of lit briqs poured over about the same amount of unlit briqs.

Then I close it down for about a half hour while I go inside and get the meat ready.  I leave the bottom vent open about 3/4 inch.  The top vent is open about 1/4 inch. By the time I get the meat ready the smoking chamber will stabilize at about 250 degrees.  

,

The Akorn thermometer that measures the temp of the smoking chamber reads 50 degrees below registered temps on my Akorn. Be alert to this as it can really affect your smoke project.

I hang a digital thermometer through the top vent down into the smoking chamber to get the correct temps.  Have a remote digital for the meat on the rack. 

If you  want to keep your temps at 225 degrees, you should be prepared to stay fairly close to your smoker. I find myself tweaking it more than I'd wish.  However, after using it about a dozen times so far, my experience is helping me understand the peculiarities of my Akorn and helping me learn to stabilize the temperature.  As we all know, the lower the smoking temps, the more affected it is by ambient temperatures and wind.

This is one fine smoker.  Thank you Lowe's

 

[flanntastic]

mine inches up a degree every 10 minutes, when i got slow and low,  so i do have to tend to it some
 

 

[mccaf]

I am going to silicone seal mine to prevent oxygen leaks.

This guy figured it out also: 

 

[rtbbq2]

When I smoke at 225°, I use 1/2 chimney and put it in the center of the coals. Immediately close the bottom almost all the way and the top vent on 1 to 1-1/2. The temp slowly increases to target and will stay there for 16 plus hours on a 3/4 load of lump...

 

[mccaf]

When I smoke at 225°, I use 1/2 chimney and put it in the center of the coals. Immediately close the bottom almost all the way and the top vent on 1 to 1-1/2. The temp slowly increases to target and will stay there for 16 plus hours on a 3/4 load of lump...

When you say 3/4 of a load of lump, how much is that really? enough to cover the bottom? and what is the consistency of the lump?

Thanks

 

[rtbbq2]

I fill the bottom of the smoker pretty full. I would say about two three pound coffee cans full or 3/4 of a plastic pail full. I use a mixed consistency small med and lge pcs.

 

[cwild1]

I just bought The smoking stone for my chargriller kamado kooker. How do I use it? How do I add wood chips as it cooks?

 

[southernsausage]

How much do these cookers cost? Are they ceramic like BGE's.??

 

[flanntastic]

these are steel, they run $299 normally

 

[flanntastic]

the smoking stone is just a diffuser, add your charcoal and wood chunks, then set the smoking stone in place and put your meat over it.  the Smoking stone keeps direct heat off the bottom of your meat, allowing indirect cooking