Finally got a smoker...

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MarshallCountyMS

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So after warping the lid on my UDS build, I put our smoker plans on the back burner so we could finish pouring these counters in our kitchen. Well while the wife was picking us beer up from the grocery (to better our construction skills) she spots the char griller kamado for $249. She immediately called me and we pulled the trigger. Looking forward to breaking it in. Already got high temp rtv for the lower air intake. Any other suggestions as far as seasoning, heat diffuser ideas, etc?

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I just got, my Kamado grill up and going too. I went BBQ galore and bought the plate setter fit perfectly (not being a green egg, it was bought and brought over in the 50's from Japan, still in it's crate and packing brand new! Mine is alittle smaller by 1/2" or so...) i was also thinking to get a heat meter to put on the grill itself so you can manage the temp. they do sell wireless ones to boot! Other than that i might get a pizza stone, and a grill extender, it sits on top of the grill same size- a little smaller. doubles your smoking area. Good luck...
 
Gr8blsfr said:
I just got, my Kamado grill up and going too. I went BBQ galore and bought the plate setter fit perfectly (not being a green egg, it was bought and brought over in the 50's from Japan, still in it's crate and packing brand new! Mine is alittle smaller by 1/2" or so...) i was also thinking to get a heat meter to put on the grill itself so you can manage the temp. they do sell wireless ones to boot! Other than that i might get a pizza stone, and a grill extender, it sits on top of the grill same size- a little smaller. doubles your smoking area. Good luck...
Click to expand...


I just went to amazon and got the remington thermometer. Its the same as the maverick just re-badged...

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Remington-Wireless-BBQ-Thermometer-17339/dp/B008PU3OJ6"]Amazon.com : Remington Wireless BBQ Thermometer Set 17339 : Meat Thermometers & Timers : Patio, Lawn & Garden[/ame]
 
Nice! I am currently building my 3rd UDS (one had to be put to rest :sad:) but have always been and still am intrigued with the chargriller akorn and still want to buy one. I like the versatility of it and its relative fuel efficiency and high temperature capability. I know JM got one right when it came out and has done a lot of documentation and experimentation on it. He should know the ins and outs of it and could steer you on the right track.
 
Congrats on the new Akorn. You might want to try it out first before you start applying that rtv sealant. Mine didn't need any doesn't leak at all and snuffs right out when I close both vents. I heard they made some changes after the first ones came out.
 
MarshallCountyMS said:
I just went to amazon and got the remington thermometer. Its the same as the maverick just re-badged...

Amazon.com : Remington Wireless BBQ Thermometer Set 17339 : Meat Thermometers & Timers : Patio, Lawn & Garden
Click to expand...

Got mine used it 2 times and my food probe went out... Maverick was cool and is sending me a new one , they told me to wrap the cable where it goes intothe probe with foil to assure no moisture gets in for what its worth. I really like it so far.

Nice truck by the way ... is it a 6 uh oooooo:heh: ? That's my other mistress , 4WD's thatll run in the low 10's with the AC on and the kids bat bags in the back :becky: took me about 6K to get mine right but shes right as rain now....
 
Thanks for the heads up for the thermometer. After taking the lower air intake off it seems it was sealed just fine, but oh well its really sealed fine now. And the truck is a 7.3. Those are all I've ever had.
 
Gr8blsfr said:
I just bought the the temp therm. Question: what does the high rtv for the lower air intakeerm do?
Click to expand...


They started putting factory sealant on them but on mine I didnt like how much play the slide had in it.I used some BGE felt behind it and it tightened everything up nicely and Ive had better temp control.


Already got high temp rtv for the lower air intake. Any other suggestions as far as seasoning, heat diffuser ideas, etc?
Click to expand...

Theres instructions with it for seasoning it, cant remember but it seemed like it was 400 degrees for a couple hours, spray the cast iron grate with oil first.For a heat diffuser I just found a grate off one of my old grills that fits in the tabs, I laid a metal pizza pan on it and an old broken pizza stone on top of it.I tried the pizza stone by itself first but thats how it became broken, apparently even at lower temps cheap stones dont hold up well in these.:tsk:
 
Congrats.. Good snag on the Maverick the stock thermo is seemingly worthless for low and slow..

The Akorn has a learning curve, knowing how to assemble your charcoal and lighting only a tiny bit with a alcohol soaked cottonball or similar is key to maintaining low temps..

I agree with above comments of going for a few test runs before modding.. As efficient as the cooker is you will not feel guilty about doing so without wood.. I found mine needed additional gasket and I chose Nomex and could not be happier.. As for diffuser mine worked great with a weber grate and pizza stone, eventually the stone turned into a jig saw puzzle and replaced with the smokin stone..

Some days your Akorn will want to run 225 the next might be 250.. Dont fight it, the more you fight the grill the more baffled you will be.. When she pegs a temp let her rock and limit your lid lifting..

Watch JMs videos and post up questions seem to have a pretty good contingent of Akorn owners on this board.
 
I have an Akorn and have really enjoyed it. Great little cooker for the $. I bought a additional Weber replacement grate to sit below the cast iron grate and use a clay pot wrapped in foil for the diffuser and it works great. The clay pot is the kind you can pick up at Home Depot that goes under potted plants to catch the water.

As stated above the thermometer that comes with it is not accurate. I found mine is about 30 degrees off. I also use the Maverick.
 
Let me know how you enjoy the Akorn! I'm in your same boat. The UDS is getting a little out of whack and was looking to possibly upgrade to this CostCo cooker.
 
Mods and should buys:

Should buy a cover. (It rains and your ash pan is now filled with water.) This is one thing I haven't bought yet I really really really want.

The replacement charcoal grate for a weber 18" kettle. - Heat diffuser/water pan holder.

A cast iron Griddle (Acadamy sprots 14" camp griddle 13$) - heat diffiuser.

ET732 Amazin smokers sells for 59.99 and you can find free shipping and 10$ off coupons.
Lots of Spray Pam (Veg oil to season everything.) Run it up to 400-450 let it run an hour and shut it down.

I like Oak and hickory and cherry wood, weber grill spice chunks are decent, I found a local supplier of wood (I can get a grill spice bag worth of wood for 2$ and break it down with my hatchet.)

Never RTV'd my ash pan mine had a factory seal (2013 feature)

Weber grill cubes is how I like to light my stuff.

Tinfoil for the ash pan for easy clean.
 
Thanks to everyone for the comments. I look forward to seasoning it this weekend. I will let everyone know how the first cook goes, i'm pretty excited about my first butt
 
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