$299 Char-Griller Kamado First Looks

discmen95 said:

Oh, and Meijer has limited store locations, so I didn't pay any tax. The savings over getting it at Lowes (also had the 6719 model) was around $50.00, which will pay for the mods that I have been lead to believe are necessary. Question, should I run the grill first to check for leaks, or do the mods before?

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CANCEL YOUR ORDER - you goofed, after all everyone knows RED cookers cook better :decision: just kidding of course :mod:

Also buy a charcoal grate for a Weber 22.5" kettle and a 14" pizza pan to use as a flame diverter. That is the only mod to do prior to your seasoning run.

Seems like the manufacturer has figured out how to build those puppies.

ENJOY

Wow, scared me there for a second. Question, pizza pan as opposed to pizza stone? Do they both act equally well as a deflector? Pros of one over the other? I actually saw a 14.5 inch stone with handles, which I thought might allow for slow followed by sear (easy to lift off). Thanks.

discmen95 said:

Wow, scared me there for a second. Question, pizza pan as opposed to pizza stone? Do they both act equally well as a deflector? Pros of one over the other? I actually saw a 14.5 inch stone with handles, which I thought might allow for slow followed by sear (easy to lift off). Thanks.

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I tried a stone in mine, it cracked.

Yea, returned my stone and got a cast iron griddle from Academy Sports for $20.00 dollars shipped.

discmen95 said:

Yea, returned my stone and got a cast iron griddle from Academy Sports for $20.00 dollars shipped.

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I'm interested in the $20 griddle tho I'm using a terracotta flower pot tray very happily.

Please remember its all about having fun - you bought a good cooker, you will do well especially if while cooking you marinate your innerds with an adult beverage or two

I've had my akorn for about 4 months now and have used it a whole lot. couldn't be happier. How is everyone's CGK holding up? I am noticing a little rust forming right around the top vent. I try to keep it covered, but there have been a couple times an unexpected rain arrived before I got the cover on.

Also, should I be concerned about the amount of build-up on the inside? do you guys clean yours out, or let it season? or am I the only one with this build up? been looking for some "Akorn: 1 year later" type threads to know what to expect and compare how mine is holding up

I've had mine for about a year now and wouldn't ever use another cooker. I love this thing! The only issue I've run into it the top vent gets sticky from, I'm assuming, grease. So after each use, it makes it harder to open the next time. I usually cant get it to budge unless i fire it with a butane torch for a couple second to "melt" the grease. Anybody else have this problem? If so, what has been your solution?

I've had mine 14 months now and it's my only grille that gets any use.

A few of us have had the top vent sticking problem, especially during the winter. Hit it with some cooking spray now and then, that loosens it up.

If anyone is thinking about purchasing an Akorn, I would suggest waiting until after the 4th of July. I purchased two @ $149.00 each on clearance at Kroger.

WE have one, we use it for steaks at comps because it doesn't hold low temps for the life of it. We can't find a leak, but the temp increases all the time. we've tried tape, we've tried RTV, it just runs hot all day, so we use it for steaks at about 500 degrees now.

Kave Dweller said:

WE have one, we use it for steaks at comps because it doesn't hold low temps for the life of it. We can't find a leak, but the temp increases all the time. we've tried tape, we've tried RTV, it just runs hot all day, so we use it for steaks at about 500 degrees now.

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This is very odd. I have done no mods to mine and I can hold as low as 200 easy.

BBQdisciple said:

This is very odd. I have done no mods to mine and I can hold as low as 200 easy.

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X2, never have made any mods to mine but can keep 225 temps with no problems.

Hi folks, this is my first post here in the forum. I was going to start out asking the ins-and-outs of the Char-Griller kookers before I purchased one, but there was a delay in approving my membership to the forum. Meanwhile I called around to local Lowes, Home Depot and Menards and found the LAST Char-Griller Akorn in stock anywhere (in my area) at Menards, so I had them hold it and I ran out and grabbed it. $299 with an 11% mail in rebate, pretty good on the price!
I got the red one, I assume its a newer model, has the cast top damper, I'm wondering what else I should look for to tell if its a newer or older model, and what might need to be tweaked a bit if this isn't the latest version?
I JUST got it assembled, took a break to post this and have a moment of "meditation" and now I am going out to light the first fire and season the cast iron grill with Crisco. (I did watch most of JMSetzlers most excellent videos on YouTube last night)
Any tips you guys have for an Akorn newb I would appreciate it...

Just saw this, guess I found my new future toy. Was thinking about BGE but alway thought the price was kin of crazy. Besides this will go well with my Char Griller duo

My favorite mod to my Akorn. Bought a 7.5 quart stainless spaghetti strainer. 29$ at BedBathBeyond. I used that as my "charcoal basket" in my Akorn. It gives me about 50% area hot and searing, and an area off to the side for veggies etc

MidNightBBQ said:

Hi folks, this is my first post here in the forum. I was going to start out asking the ins-and-outs of the Char-Griller kookers before I purchased one, but there was a delay in approving my membership to the forum. Meanwhile I called around to local Lowes, Home Depot and Menards and found the LAST Char-Griller Akorn in stock anywhere (in my area) at Menards, so I had them hold it and I ran out and grabbed it. $299 with an 11% mail in rebate, pretty good on the price!
I got the red one, I assume its a newer model, has the cast top damper, I'm wondering what else I should look for to tell if its a newer or older model, and what might need to be tweaked a bit if this isn't the latest version?
I JUST got it assembled, took a break to post this and have a moment of "meditation" and now I am going out to light the first fire and season the cast iron grill with Crisco. (I did watch most of JMSetzlers most excellent videos on YouTube last night)
Any tips you guys have for an Akorn newb I would appreciate it...

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Fill it up to just below where the smokin' stone holders are with charcoal. I use weber cubes you can use whatever you like but cubes work great for me. Break or cute a cube in half. Make sure your charcoal is in a pyramid shape. Take the top off and add the half-cube light it and replace a couple bits of lump on it.

Wait for about 10 mins or so for the few pecies to light well. Close the lid and adjust vents to get desired tempature. It will take a while to get hotter than 200-250 with this method. (1/2 hour - 3/4 hour to get to 225-250). This is the point where I toss on smoking chunks.

If you are shooting for a quick 400-600 degree cook then light a cube at the bottom and be careful about your vents. It will heat up like a chimney starter. With a quicker cook I tend to not have as much coal in the cooker. More air will be more efficent getting to the coals to keep the heat up.

If I am smoking chicken/turkey at 350-375 I use a full cube and bury it a bit deeper in the cooker than normal 225-275 smoking. I also add the chicken at about 325. There will be a rush of air and that will cause the heat to spike to 350-375 and then I shut the vents down a bit it will be right abour 330 then I goose the vents to 350-375...

When you add a heavy diffusor it changes how it comes up to temp. My Acadamy 14" griddle really makes getting to the right temp a bit more of a chore. You fight because the temps are slower than the norm, you open the vents to heat it up a little that chunk of cast iron will slow the temp changes when making small adjustments. And if you open the lid the iron will convert that extra heat into a longer temp spike that vents can't immeditely control. Because cast iron can hold a lot of heat.

Once you get it down the Akorn will be the best cooker you could spend 300$ on.

After following this tread for a while i have joined the club. I bought a redhead and set her up.

I agree this is the most versitale cooker I have tried. Today I fooled around for fathers day and came up with a bacon wrapped filet mignon stuffed with mushrooms, gorganzola and chiple. There are no leftovers so I guess it didn't suck.

I picked up a black one this evening. I haven't assembled it yet. Hope to learn some tricks on it before my Big Joe comes in later this summer.

Did you have to do any mods to get it up and running? I brought home a tube of red RTV, just in case some gaps needed to be sealed up.

Wondering if this would be a good upgrade from my CharGriller Smoking Pro?

Would like something to use during the winter months.

I like mine even if I don't use it as often as I should. No mods yet but still a great deal.