Project "HUMPTY" — Kamado/BGE Restoration, Vancouver, Canada

[Hondo]

Originally Posted by swamprb

Check out the Naked Whiz site and run a copy of the Pachinko Palace Kamado Manual, it'll get you going on the right track.

I was fortunate to get an original of the Kamado Smoker BBQ Cookbook, from Pachinko Palace Inc. with the Pot (The same one you have pictured).

I plan on leaving it black for the time being - I need to learn how to use it before I go any further. I've had Weber kettles forever..... this is something new. Recipes and tips for ribs would be appreciated.

Phil

[MayDay]

Originally Posted by Hondo

May - You were my inspiration. I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of a Kamado Pot in distress. The fire box required repair, as did the ring above it. Lots of grime and rust to clean up, new gasket, replaced a couple of casters, and paint..... but the results were worth the effort. I've always used Weber kettles (I have four!) Now I just need to learn how to use the Pot for slow cooking and smoking!

A before and after.......

Thanks again - Phil

Phil,

Lovely, lovely.... Beautiful job. I'm glad this thread helped your Resto'. Looking at your "before & aft" photos brings back fond memories when Humpty and I really bonded .... Well, me and the Copper Cooker spent a lot of time together. Have you played and cooked with yours yet?

As others have cautioned, don't let the temperatures go too high (400F max?) as that can crack the old claypots that we have. In hindsight, I think I may have done that inadvertently (>550F temp spike Firings #3&4 ), which probably caused hairline cracks to grow AFTER my phase 1 repairs and killed the JB welds in the firebox, therefore prompting Phase 2 repairs (initial pics below). Your pot may be a bit more robust if there were no cracks to begin with, but WATCH THE HEAT!!!



All the best.
__________________
MayDay
Project Humpty: SLIDESHOW, PHOTO ALBUM
Kamado Claypot, Cobb

[MayDay]

Originally Posted by bigabyte

Wow! Nice. Great idea. Wondering what happened with May Days cooker, was it ever working like he wanted it to?

Hello Chris, Brethren and all,

Thanks for the kind thoughts. I took a break from the BBQ'ing and the site as I was spending WAY too much time on the forum and not attending to priorities like finding a job. Plus, I found my waistline expanding. So what's a girl to do? Abstain, of course!

I did do a winter BBQ with the Cobb when we had 2 feet of snow in December but I'll probably get back into Q'ing when things settle down a bit more. Still have yet to replace the fiberglass gasket on Humpty before firing him up again.

Hope every one of you are well. I've forgotten what a great community this site is and what looking at pron can do to me..... Drool! Wishing you all a great 2009 and lots of Happy Q'ing.
__________________
MayDay
Project Humpty: SLIDESHOW, PHOTO ALBUM
Kamado Claypot, Cobb

[swamprb]

Good to hear from you MayDay! I've had piss poor luck with the Rutland and Hercules on my ceramic Big Green Egg, and I just said the hell with it and chipped it all off and went with more JB Weld, its the only stuff that adheres to the ceramic.

My Kamado projects are on hold until it warms up. I sold the Fuji Kamado and the Hibachi Pot will have had at least 6 months to cure. The fire boxes haves been baked in the oven off and on at 500*+ with no cracking or bubbling like yours or my BGE, I'm feeling good about that.

Keep in August 1-2 for the Canadian BBQ Championship at Whistler BC, I hope to cook there if my passport ever arrives!

[Hondo]

Originally Posted by MayDay

Have you played and cooked with yours yet?

Not yet, but I'm going to give it a try in a day or two. I've been out of town (B.C.S., Mexico) where I spent a week with some of your countrymen in the 80+ deg weather

[IMF]

This is a great thread, very informative. I know it has been dormant for a while (over a year), but hopefully it's not too late for a follow up...

MayDay, just wondering how Humpty has held up after all this... still going strong and cooking well after 1+ years? I recently acquired an old Chinese claypot kamado that is in need of some work and am just curious what to expect out of a repaired claypot...

Planning to start a new thread to document the repair process soon once I find time to start tackling it.

Thanks!

[lemore08]

i feel that I'm a few years late here but I also have been restoring a clay Kamado, I'm having trouble figuring out what to use as the fire pit door at the bottom of the clay pot. I'll show yall some pics of my work so far and see if yall have any concerns and suggestions. I'm on a low cut college budget.

This is the paint job after JB welding together the top. The circle is what the original color was.

I used the plasma cutter to make a new fire grate. About 1/3 inch thick steel from a tractor part.

Then I proceeded to cut out a cap with thinner steel and it actually lays pretty flush with the top... but this is experimental to say the least.
So if any one has any suggestions on the fire door air vent that would be awesome. Sweet thread btw.
Here are pics:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22570705/IMG_0604.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22570705/IMG_0611.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22570705/IMG_0612.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22570705/IMG_0613.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22570705/IMG_0614.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22570705/IMG_0615.jpg

[mpg242]

I found this old Kamado on Craislist, the first pic is what it looked like when I purchased it. I took a lot of what I found from this great site and fixed it up and now it's my pride and joy. Thank you everyone for the great advice and resource I've found on here.

[swamprb]

Keep up the good work!

I'm in the middle of a restoration on the Sakura Kamado I picked up a couple years ago.



The firebox has hairline cracks and the base is just kind of disintegrating, so I'm building it back up with furnace cement. Very easy but time consuming fix!

[mpg242]

Hey Swamprb, would you or anyone else be able to help identify what type of kamado I have? I've done quite a bit of searching online and think it might be a Hibatchi pot?

[swamprb]

Originally Posted by mpg242

Hey Swamprb, would you or anyone else be able to help identify what type of kamado I have? I've done quite a bit of searching online and think it might be a Hibatchi pot?

I'm going out on a limb here and going to have to say its a Hibachi Pot!

It looks like the Medium I have here except this one has a plug damper instead of a slider.



And this was a Large Hibachi Pot that I recently traded off.



Its hard to get a clear shot of the Kanji script or the outline of the mountain, but here is one with primer that shows some detail.







Nice job on yours! Do you have the Instruction Manual from the Naked Whiz site?

[mpg242]

Thanks Swamprb, I looked high and low and wasn't able to find any pics close to these. You seen to have come across quite a few of em what's your trick? Yes I did go download the manual and have learned a lot from the Naked Whiz site too.