$299 Char-Griller Kamado First Looks

AZ Smoker said:

That looks excellent. I wish I had a upper rack like that on my Weber kettle

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it works well.

for that cook i put my maverick probes at each level to see how close the temps were. the upper rack was consistently 5* higher than the normal grate level.

The Lowe's near me sold its initial three CGKs (I was the first buyer). When I asked, they said three more were coming. Last time I was there (Thursday), they had a new display model set up.

Thanks to this thread I went today and picked one of these up when visiting my daughter and grandson with my wife today. The Lowe's near us did not have one, but the Lowe's where my daughter lives did, so it was quite serendipitous. It was something of a combined birthday and anniversary gift for me, and my wife even bought me the cover that goes with it. I will be putting it together tomorrow and then burning it in. I had an original BGE for many years, but it pretty much fell apart a few years ago. Am looking forward to getting back into Kamado style cooking and smoking.

Hankdad1 said:

In Minnesota check Lowes & Menards. Lowes is black with steel tables, Menards is red with wood tables. Keep in mind that my local Menards had last years model with the (not as desirable) thin steel top vent on display.

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I do have a Menards close by that has them, but I saw a post that said that the red ones tend to turn pink over time. Plus I have a Lowse coupon. Sounds like they are coming back in stock, and that it might be worthwhile to check with the store and not assume that the online stock status is correct.

Here's the Char-griller all put together. First observations, like others have written, the quality of this is pretty high given the price point. Putting it together was pretty much a breeze, though I did tighten the parts already put together - a few of the bolts were not all the way tight. I do have a bit of play in the bottom fire door and looking at it live confirmed my suspicion from the pics post here the "markings" on the slide were slots cut in the metal with the possibility of a little air leakage around them. I think the whole bottom vent assembly would benefit from some high temp sealant. I love the "hover grill" design, that is really brilliant and adds some extra space, especially for smoking. Wouldn't mind having the "smoking stone", but I think I can pick up dog dish at Walmart that will be the right size and serve as both a heat displacer and drip pan - and they are super cheap. Have it burning in now while I have a brisket flat smoking on my Weber/Smokenator.

I have mine doing the initial burn-in now. I'm using Pan cooking spray on the cast iron grate for seasoning. It is Canola oil and I used it as the spray is quick/easy and less chance of missing spots with the oil coverage.

I don't have any type of heat diffuser in so I placed a turkey fryer thermometer in the top air vent. When it got to 550F, the CG thermometer read 370F. I put a second turkey fryer thermometer in and it measured the same as the first turkey fryer thermometer (within 5F).

BTW, I sealed the inlet air vent with the blue, ATV gasket maker and let it cure for 36 hours before I started the burn-in this morning.

HogFan said:

BTW, I sealed the inlet air vent with the blue, ATV gasket maker and let it cure for 36 hours before I started the burn-in this morning.

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Did you take the vent off before applying the gasket maker or did you just apply it around the vent?

I took the vent off. I also removed the middle section of the air inlet vent and sprayed it with Pam cooking spray so the gasket material wouldn't stick to it. I then sprayed the side of the ash bowl with Pam around the area where the vent mounts so gasket material wouldn't stick to that either.

I reassembled the air inlet (slid the middle section back in place) and put the blue, ATV gasket making material around the perimeter of the back side of the air inlet. I also filled on each end of the rectangular opening to fill the gap between the middle, slider section and the rectangular opening.

After waiting 10 or 15 min for the gasket material to skim over, I put the air inlet back on the ash bowl and used the screws to pull the air inlet down but I didn't tighten the screws. I let this sit for a day and a half for the gasket to dry/cure. This morning I shigged the screws up and mounted the ash bowl back on the CG Kooker for the seasoning. It seems to have worked ok but I haven't yet cooked on it.

It doesn't take much air to maintain 400F - 500F. This surprised me. CG should make the rectanguler air opening only 3/8" tall so you would need to slide the air opening much further to get 450F. From what I read in this thread, barely open to closed is about 250F, 3/4" open is 450F-500F (my experience). So will 2" open run 700F? Not sure how I would measure temps that high since the gauge that came with the unit is up to 200F off at the higher temps (probably depending on how well the heat is directed toward it). I don't think I have a temp gauge that goes to 700F. My wife is at the grocery store today picking up steaks.........so I'll figure out something! <smile>

BTW, I bought the CG cover for my grill. It is specially made to fit the air adjustment on top of the Kooker........except they didn't allow for the adjustment lever sticking out the side of the air adjustment. So I was disappointed in the fit of the factory cover.

Cooked steaks Sat. night. Got it up over 700F and it put a perfect sear on the steaks with 3 min per side! My personal best!

Another one joins the club...

I have been telling my better half about this guy who did this wonderfull review of "that egg- like grill we saw at Lowe's last week". Took me a few days to feel like I may have won her over on the idea- well she calls me from a nearby Lowes on her lunch time today to tell me she just tried to buy the last one, but it wont fit in her trunk and if she leaves it they will put it back on the floor... Well, let's just say it is sitting in the back of my pick up as I type. :biggrin1:

Thanks JM- and fellow Bretheren- I doubt I'd have taken a chance without the work you have done thus far. :clap2:

JM, any tips on how you bent the expanded metal? I have some left over from building a charcoal basket for a UDS.......but it's heavier gauge (#9) than what you used. Nice idea.

I finally got mine today and put it together. Whil I was seasoning the grill. I decided to stick one maverick probe in there and moniter the accuracy of the lid thermo. It was whithin 5 degrees all the way up to 330. That's were it settled in and I left it. Pretty happy

Just a quick warning, got a package full of disappointment! The ceramic heat diffuser from chargriller only fits the new "akorn" model. I have the king griller from last year, it only has 2 tabs in the fire bowl. The diffuser is designed using three tabs which the akorn has.

Portable Kitchen (PK) or Akorn grill?

Hi, I'm new here and am in the market for a new grill and until I heard about the Akorn, I was dead set on a PK grill. Now i'm quite perplexed... Those that have used or have the PK grill, what are the advantages or disadvantages of one over the other? Also, those that have owned the Char-griller Akorn for a couple years now, are you noticing any rust or any other problems that have come up? I'm looking for something that will last 10+ years and not break the bank too much. Thanks in advance! Happy Grilling!

It would probably last 20 years if kept in the garage and never used. It is a tool, and a good tool, but like all tools they are meant to be used. If taken care of properly, you will get your moneys worth, if it only lasts 5 years. YMMV

HogFan said:

JM, any tips on how you bent the expanded metal? I have some left over from building a charcoal basket for a UDS.......but it's heavier gauge (#9) than what you used. Nice idea.

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sandwich it between 2 2x4 or 2x6s using a c-clamp on each end then hammer it to a 90 deg. bend

rain hat for the akorn

here's a little idea i came up with for the rainy day cooking on the akorn, i took a metal coffee can cut a notch out around the damper handle put a handle on it, fits well !! hope it keeps rain out...!!