Vision Kamado - Indirect Setup

Wiski...nice job on the mod, it looks great!

Kathy's I fill the firebowl up to about an inch past the holes for the 15 to 20hr burn. The first long burn I used Lazarri lump and the pieces are quite large. This allowed the burn to go 15hrs without me touching it. The second 20hr burn I used Royal Oak which has smaller pieces and I had to wiggle the holes once during the burn to clear them of ash. But even after the 20hrs I still had some lump left.

I have found it key to put large chunks together on the grate then fill the area around them with medium chunks followed by the small stuff to finish off your pile. I'm not sure how well it would've worked out to just dump the charcoal in and fire it up. I also start the burn with only about a fist size ball of lit charcoal placed right in the center of the pile.
 
seeker said:
Wiski...nice job on the mod, it looks great!

Kathy's I fill the firebowl up to about an inch past the holes for the 15 to 20hr burn. The first long burn I used Lazarri lump and the pieces are quite large. This allowed the burn to go 15hrs without me touching it. The second 20hr burn I used Royal Oak which has smaller pieces and I had to wiggle the holes once during the burn to clear them of ash. But even after the 20hrs I still had some lump left.

I have found it key to put large chunks together on the grate then fill the area around them with medium chunks followed by the small stuff to finish off your pile. I'm not sure how well it would've worked out to just dump the charcoal in and fire it up. I also start the burn with only about a fist size ball of lit charcoal placed right in the center of the pile.
Click to expand...

Hey, Seeker, thanks for the charcoal tip.

I used the cooker for the second time on Friday for the "with bacon" throwdown. Because my entry took up less room than the included smoking plate I decided not to put the cookie sheet underneath. That was a mistake. It's true, the included plate lets too much heat past, I got quite a bit of uneven cooking between the edge of the plate and the middle of the plate. I'm thinking I will find a round, larger metal pan with short sides that can collect fat/juices and protect what's cooking on the edge. Not wide enough to choke off the heat and not too small so that it's useless.
 
Ordered mine...Thx.

Seeker......Thanks for posting your setup. I just picked up a Vision @ Costco last week. Ordered Kamado Joe heat diffuser plate along with some Wicked Good Lump from Ace. Thanks Again.

Art
 
Hey Seeker, what type of bit did you use to Dremel the notches? Big radius grinding stone?
Thanks
Jevv
 
Karjar,
I used a 1/8" carbide burr to rough the grooves out with then a standard garnet grinding wheel a little over 1/2" in diameter. You should be able to find the supplies at any Lowes or home depot.

The carbide works very well removing the ceramic and the garnet wheel will do fine getting you to a clean finished and uniform size.
 
Any input from other Vision owners on whether this is the right choice? I've seen a lot of workarounds posted, seems like we should try to come to a consensus. This does seem like an easy/elegant solution.

For my first indirect setup I wrapped one of those round pizza pans that are full of holes with foil a few times, then used 3 wire hooks to suspend it below the bottom grate in my Vision Classic. Seemed to work fine, but it was really difficult to add charcoal or tend to the coals once the meat was on. In fact my fire went out 5 degrees short of my goal and I just gave up since it was close enough.

I was thinking next time I'd just put it on the lower grate rather than hanging it below. Also I had much less space around the edges of the pizza pan and the fire bowl than I see in your pictures.

Is the spacing around the stone optimal in Seeker's photos, or too much?

Also is it perhaps too close to the meat, as it gives off radiant heat?

One guy I read cut off the handle of a 13" Lodge cast iron frying pan to use as a deflector. Also people have bought BGE plate setters for use in a Vision as well.
 
Socks said:
Any input from other Vision owners on whether this is the right choice? I've seen a lot of workarounds posted, seems like we should try to come to a consensus. This does seem like an easy/elegant solution.

For my first indirect setup I wrapped one of those round pizza pans that are full of holes with foil a few times, then used 3 wire hooks to suspend it below the bottom grate in my Vision Classic. Seemed to work fine, but it was really difficult to add charcoal or tend to the coals once the meat was on. In fact my fire went out 5 degrees short of my goal and I just gave up since it was close enough.

I was thinking next time I'd just put it on the lower grate rather than hanging it below. Also I had much less space around the edges of the pizza pan and the fire bowl than I see in your pictures.

Is the spacing around the stone optimal in Seeker's photos, or too much?

Also is it perhaps too close to the meat, as it gives off radiant heat?

One guy I read cut off the handle of a 13" Lodge cast iron frying pan to use as a deflector. Also people have bought BGE plate setters for use in a Vision as well.
Click to expand...

Hey there,

Just joined this awesome forum. I own a Vision Pro and after reading and reviewing all the options for a heat deflector honestly I think the KJ heat deflector is the best option out there for our grills for the time being. I ordered the KJ deflector yesterday and waiting for it to be shipped. I'll keep you all posted with my experience with it but Seeker has pretty much covered it all and I just don't think you can go wrong. FYI, Ace has it now for $50 plus there is a $10 off promo so I picked it up for $40 if anyone wants one (at least here in the states).
 
Hey guys - I'm new here and this is my first post! First off thanks to seeker and wiski for the pics and info! I've got the Vision Kamado as well and was looking for a way to do low and slow. Question for both of you guys... are the notches you made in the firebowl absolutely necessary? I'm assuming no, but how stable is the rig then without it?

Also, the Ace Hardware link in this thread for the deflector doesn't seem to be showing anything anymore. Can anyone confirm if this is the one I want (found on Amazon)?
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Kamado-Joe-KJIHP23-Heat-Deflector/dp/B003EV6MHW"]Amazon.com: Kamado Joe KJIHP23 Heat Deflector: Patio, Lawn & Garden[/ame]
 
I'm still using mine without the notches because I just haven't got around to it. It works just fine. I did do a beer can chicken and found the rack sat too high. I thought I would try using the KJ deflector with the cross braces that came with the lava stone on my vision pro. Worked great. Still enough room for heat to get around and the vision pro grill sat on top of the firebox as it should..

I do like using the KJ rack for pizza and slow cooking though.

Jeff
 
Like Karjar said and I did in my original post, the notches are not ncessary to use the KJ setup. The only real benefit of the notches is it locks in the legs of the rack and makes in quite a bit more sturdy.

If you look at the Kamado Joe's fire ring, they have the same 3 notches so I just copied their layout.
 
For those who have a vision, you can also do low temps with just a cheap pizza pan wrapped in foil on the bottom rack in a pinch.
 
Great Topic! I just got my Vision from Costco on Sunday. Getting ready to fire it up tomorrow (probably beer can chicken). With the temperature in Phoenix about 115, I probably don't need any fuel to get it going!

Has anyone tried the adjustable rig set up from the ceramic grill store? http://ceramicgrillstore.com/vision-big-green-egg.html

Kinda pricey but it does seem to have a bunch of options.
 
Tallen234 said:
Great Topic! I just got my Vision from Costco on Sunday. Getting ready to fire it up tomorrow (probably beer can chicken). With the temperature in Phoenix about 115, I probably don't need any fuel to get it going!

Has anyone tried the adjustable rig set up from the ceramic grill store? http://ceramicgrillstore.com/vision-big-green-egg.html

Kinda pricey but it does seem to have a bunch of options.
Click to expand...

What might be the advantages to that more expensive rig? I'm too tired to think for myself... Anyone interested in thinking on my behalf may do so at the beep.

beep.
 
Socks, I do similar to you, use a cheapo cookie sheet above the stone. I think a 16" or 16.5" suits this kamado better than a 15", the one that came with it is 15" and as far as I can tell, is too small, lets too much heat past and chars the edges of what I'm cooking too much. My pizza pan is a rectangle and sits on the fire bowl but under the bi-level grill. Heat comes up directly from the two long sides of the cookie sheet. It's good enough for now and catches juices/fat keeping my kamado cleaner inside -- I like smoking large pork shoulders. At some point I'd like to improve my set-up but for now it works okay.

Thanks for the link to the ceramic grill store, Tallen234, I've bookmarked it to study later. I've cooked the most amazing grub on my Vision kamado, it's a huge pleasure to use after struggling so long on the old COS, you're in for a treat.

(Hey Socks, just noticed you're in TO, I lived there the first 42 years of my life!)
 
At the very least, this store has a spider and stone that is "custom" made for the Vision. For someone like me who has very little mechanical know-how, I would lean toward buying someone ready to go, as opposed to modifying. (I would love to be able to "modify"). With the fancy rig, you get a better constructed grill, the spider, the stone and the drip pan. I may just buy the spider and stone from them. That is about $70.



Socks said:
What might be the advantages to that more expensive rig? I'm too tired to think for myself... Anyone interested in thinking on my behalf may do so at the beep.

beep.
Click to expand...
 
I just noticed that the KJ Deflector is not available on ACE Hardware or Amazon websites. Must be all of the Vision owners scrambling for them. Maybe I will stop by a local Ace to see if they still have one.

EDIT: I just went down to my local Ace Hardware and bought the KJ Deflector. It was 49.99.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the great info and Pix, I just picked up a Vision Classic at Costco last weekend and after seeing this thread earlier today I stopped by my local Ace Hardware and picked up a KJ deflector. I was surprised they had one!

Tomorrow: pork shoulder!
 
Wish I can find one

Why can't I find the heat deflector anywhere?????? Annoying as hell
 
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