$299 Char-Griller Kamado First Looks - Page 32

LostArrow · 04-20-2012, 12:42 PM

After two smokes, I thought I'd try a "set & forget" cook.
Cooking 7 lb pork butt.
Loaded with 8 lbs of Royal Oak briquittes & 3 big chunks apple.
Got loaded up temp went to 350F before put meat on( no I didn't plan, it gets hot quik)
got settled in at 250 F @ 8:00AM.
Temp ranging between 250 F &270F depending on whether the sun is shining on cooker.
Vents barely open!

LostArrow · 04-20-2012, 04:32 PM

Got off work @ 12:30 & watched the cook , with adult beverages & Stevie Nicks on pandora.
Temps did fairly good , mainly about 260F , one spike to about 290F when a chunk of wood ignited. when a chunk of wood ignited .
Pulled butt when hit 195F & in pan for a couple hours. Looks good.

Stinkfinger · 04-20-2012, 06:01 PM

looks awesome!

criffaaa1 · 04-20-2012, 08:42 PM

great looking poke but lostarrow.

okiereddirt · 04-20-2012, 09:51 PM

I'm a new member. First post out of the call. I had, and still am planning on building a UDS but was excited with this unit. Read the whole thread and decided to pick one up at Lowes. Brought it home and assembled it seeing the flaws that i have picked up on through reading thid thread. the ash catcher has a visible space between it and the lower body, the bottom air intake is very loose but that was all that i really saw. I plan to seal the intake back side with the high temp silicone and use a hightemp felt to help with the slider. The clamps that attach the ash catcher either need to be stronger or the seal thicker. I'll work on that. Seasoned it tonight and will see how low it will cook either tomorrow or Sunday. My thermometer was dead nuts on during the seasoning but I was not using the diffuser at that time. More to come

LostArrow · 04-20-2012, 10:00 PM

Other than mine was assembled with the legs 60 degrees off,mine is perfect!
Might want to look at the ones at Kroger

retired trucker · 04-20-2012, 10:20 PM

Keep it up you guys. You are going to make me spend some money I don't have.

I have a UDS that is great, but need something to replace my old cheapo grill that is on its last rusted leg. I do like to fire it up for steaks and hamburgers, etc. I could just get another El Cheapo, but with the Acorn, there are lots of possibilities there.

LostArrow · 04-21-2012, 09:29 AM

Well the butt was a hit! Chunked it out, served with Parker house rolls, beans, & slaw.
Cleaned up grill this AM. The 8-9 hour burn used up less than 1/2 of the charcoal I started with. The burn only went around & got 1 piece of wood, more wood chunks next time.
The ash pan is less than 1/4 full, didn't bother to empty.
Works really well with briquittes. I like that so I don't have to keep two types.

okiereddirt · 04-21-2012, 01:27 PM

So like I said before there was a gap between the ash catcher and the bottom. It was small but when i put the grill together at night and dropped a flash light into it you could see the gap. So.. a little high temp RTV around the edge and allow to cure made a good seal on the gasket. Second fix was the air vent flattened out the dimples for the screws some applied rtv to back of vent and screwed back together with some header gaskets under the 2 screws on the left side. I reassembled the unit and found that the flange that should contact the seal was not welded completely to the edge of the ash catcher so I laid a bead of silicone under this flange as well. I allowed this to setup over night and started a butt this morning. Placed it on at 180 and backed the vents off. Here are pic’s of the mods and 1 hour into the cook.

buffetw · 04-21-2012, 08:43 PM

I've smoked a 12 lb turkey, seared steaks, and grilled shrimp on my akorn. The Char-griller folks in Sea Island/St. Simons are good people.

okiereddirt · 04-22-2012, 06:54 AM

Well the 225 didn't hold but 235-245 held real nice. Here is a pick of the finished product after 8 hours.

smokeyw · 04-22-2012, 07:10 AM

^^^^ Looks great

HogFan · 04-23-2012, 11:24 AM

What color is the model available at Krogers? Does it have the wooden side tables?

retired trucker · 04-23-2012, 11:28 AM

The ones at my local Kroger are the black ones and do have the wood tables.

hcj3rd · 04-25-2012, 10:55 AM

Why do they recommend lump over briquettes. It seems you would be able to control temps better with briquettes. Is there a problem if you don't use lump in this smoker? I ask because I just loaded up on the Kingsford charcoal sale HD had a couple weeks ago. Thanks

04-20-2012, 12:42 PM	#466
LostArrow Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 03-13-12 Location: Jackson Ms.	Set & forget Cook After two smokes, I thought I'd try a "set & forget" cook. Cooking 7 lb pork butt. Loaded with 8 lbs of Royal Oak briquittes & 3 big chunks apple. Got loaded up temp went to 350F before put meat on( no I didn't plan, it gets hot quik) got settled in at 250 F @ 8:00AM. Temp ranging between 250 F &270F depending on whether the sun is shining on cooker. Vents barely open!

04-20-2012, 08:42 PM	#469
criffaaa1 is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 08-14-11 Location: Cleveland OH.	great looking poke but lostarrow. __________________ 22.5 ots, 22.5 wsm, kingsford deluxe

04-20-2012, 09:51 PM	#470
okiereddirt Knows what a fatty is. Join Date: 04-15-12 Location: Poteau, OK	I'm a new member. First post out of the call. I had, and still am planning on building a UDS but was excited with this unit. Read the whole thread and decided to pick one up at Lowes. Brought it home and assembled it seeing the flaws that i have picked up on through reading thid thread. the ash catcher has a visible space between it and the lower body, the bottom air intake is very loose but that was all that i really saw. I plan to seal the intake back side with the high temp silicone and use a hightemp felt to help with the slider. The clamps that attach the ash catcher either need to be stronger or the seal thicker. I'll work on that. Seasoned it tonight and will see how low it will cook either tomorrow or Sunday. My thermometer was dead nuts on during the seasoning but I was not using the diffuser at that time. More to come __________________ Okie Red Dirt, UDS, Char-Griller Akorn kamado, Holland Companion

04-21-2012, 01:27 PM	#474
okiereddirt Knows what a fatty is. Join Date: 04-15-12 Location: Poteau, OK	my mods So like I said before there was a gap between the ash catcher and the bottom. It was small but when i put the grill together at night and dropped a flash light into it you could see the gap. So.. a little high temp RTV around the edge and allow to cure made a good seal on the gasket. Second fix was the air vent flattened out the dimples for the screws some applied rtv to back of vent and screwed back together with some header gaskets under the 2 screws on the left side. I reassembled the unit and found that the flange that should contact the seal was not welded completely to the edge of the ash catcher so I laid a bead of silicone under this flange as well. I allowed this to setup over night and started a butt this morning. Placed it on at 180 and backed the vents off. Here are pic’s of the mods and 1 hour into the cook. __________________ Okie Red Dirt, UDS, Char-Griller Akorn kamado, Holland Companion

04-22-2012, 06:54 AM	#476
okiereddirt Knows what a fatty is. Join Date: 04-15-12 Location: Poteau, OK	Well the 225 didn't hold but 235-245 held real nice. Here is a pick of the finished product after 8 hours. __________________ Okie Red Dirt, UDS, Char-Griller Akorn kamado, Holland Companion

04-20-2012, 04:32 PM	#467
LostArrow Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 03-13-12 Location: Jackson Ms.	Got off work @ 12:30 & watched the cook , with adult beverages & Stevie Nicks on pandora. Temps did fairly good , mainly about 260F , one spike to about 290F when a chunk of wood ignited. when a chunk of wood ignited . Pulled butt when hit 195F & in pan for a couple hours. Looks good.

04-20-2012, 06:01 PM	#468
Stinkfinger Found some matches. Join Date: 04-19-12 Location: Akron, Ohio	looks awesome!

04-20-2012, 10:00 PM	#471
LostArrow Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 03-13-12 Location: Jackson Ms.	Other than mine was assembled with the legs 60 degrees off,mine is perfect! Might want to look at the ones at Kroger

04-20-2012, 10:20 PM	#472
retired trucker is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 09-28-11 Location: Dallas, Georgia	Keep it up you guys. You are going to make me spend some money I don't have. I have a UDS that is great, but need something to replace my old cheapo grill that is on its last rusted leg. I do like to fire it up for steaks and hamburgers, etc. I could just get another El Cheapo, but with the Acorn, there are lots of possibilities there.

04-21-2012, 09:29 AM	#473
LostArrow Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 03-13-12 Location: Jackson Ms.	Well the butt was a hit! Chunked it out, served with Parker house rolls, beans, & slaw. Cleaned up grill this AM. The 8-9 hour burn used up less than 1/2 of the charcoal I started with. The burn only went around & got 1 piece of wood, more wood chunks next time. The ash pan is less than 1/4 full, didn't bother to empty. Works really well with briquittes. I like that so I don't have to keep two types.

04-21-2012, 08:43 PM	#475
buffetw Wandering around with a bag of matchlight, looking for a match. Join Date: 04-09-11 Location: Vidalia GA	I've smoked a 12 lb turkey, seared steaks, and grilled shrimp on my akorn. The Char-griller folks in Sea Island/St. Simons are good people.

04-22-2012, 07:10 AM	#477
smokeyw is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 01-03-11 Location: Smithfield, North Carolina	^^^^ Looks great __________________ Fired Up Smokers KCBS Team, Smokey W's Pit Que NCPC Team / 2011 NCPC Whole Hog State Champion

04-23-2012, 11:24 AM	#478
HogFan is one Smokin' Farker Join Date: 03-21-12 Location: Arkansas	What color is the model available at Krogers? Does it have the wooden side tables?

04-23-2012, 11:28 AM	#479
retired trucker is One Chatty Farker Join Date: 09-28-11 Location: Dallas, Georgia	The ones at my local Kroger are the black ones and do have the wood tables.

04-25-2012, 10:55 AM	#480
hcj3rd On the road to being a farker Join Date: 10-13-09 Location: Alvin, Texas	Why do they recommend lump over briquettes. It seems you would be able to control temps better with briquettes. Is there a problem if you don't use lump in this smoker? I ask because I just loaded up on the Kingsford charcoal sale HD had a couple weeks ago. Thanks