Char Broil Kamander

[misterme79]

Hi, all. I am new to this site and really BBQ in general. I have been using my standard Weber Kettle for long cooks with mostly awesome results. However, I have had to order pizzas for a party in the past because it took so long due to having to open it up to refuel so often...THough I like having an entire pork shoulder to myself, I was unable to serve it to my guests.

SO, I began looking into an actual smoker. I decided on a kamado style. I went to Meijer and it was on sale for $250 and researched the Char Griller Akorn and was impressed. I picked it up and realized that I bought the Char BROIL Kamander instead...I am not upset and will use it, but I see that there are not many reviews for it at this time. I would like to help change that. Knowledge should be shared!!

Assembly: Easy to follow, but the factory drilled holes did not line up correctly. The bottom air flow is adjusted on the side cart, which is nice I don't have to keep bending over (I have a physical disability), but it is made of cheap plastic. It works for now, but I see dry rot happening despite being covered. However, the kettle seems quite insulated and I was able to touch the sides when it was burning up to about 700 degrees. After that it was hot to the touch. I don't see heat being a problem for the plastic.

During the innitial burn off, I saw smoke coming from the sides of the lid. It is not completely sealed with the factory installed oven gasket. I will see how much smoke escapes tomorrow during my cook and determine if I will need to replace it. Not too happy about that...

At this point, I burned all of the factory chemicals off and it easily went up over 900 degrees. So yes, it can get HOT. I only cooked pork chops so far and it worked well. I will do a pork shoulder tomorrow and see how it holds temps and update as I go. However, I would like some advise.

1) How should I set up my briquettes in the kamado style to begin with? Big pile, pyramid, circle set up?

2) How do I bring up the temp slowly so I don't over shoot it? Do I only light one or two briquettes and close the lid and wait?

3) How many wood chunks should I include since I don't plan on opening the lid at all during the cook?

Any feedback on tips for a kamado is very welcome. Thanks in advance!

 

[lunchman]

Welcome and have fun with your new toy. I'd not heard of this Char-Broil Kamado and had to look it up. Interesting, with the bottom vent control moved higher and fed via ductwork. About the only complaint I read in the few reviews I've looked at was high use of plastics.

As for your questions:

(1) With a Kamado, I'd recommend NOT using briquets and instead using lump charcoal. A lot less ash, easier to control and you can shut down the cooker by closing the vents and save what's unburned for the next cook. Keep the ash down to a minimum by cleaning it out of the ash pan, stirring the left over lump around on the next cook and working to get as much airflow through the vent holes as possible, keeping them unclogged.

(2) Since you'll be using lump, snaking, Minion Method, etc. are out of the picture. I pile my lump, "try" to arrange it in a pyramid, but it's not easy to do. To light, I simply take two Firestarter squares, cut them in half and light the lump in 4 spots. Temps are controlled by the vents. You'll get the feel for where to set things as you get more cooks on this. The problem with a Kamado style grill is once you overshoot your target temp, it's difficult to get the temp down to where you want it. Experimentation is the key here.

Once the lump starts to take off, a long metal rod might be of use to poke the lump through the grate and arrange it a bit.

(3) Number of chunks is up to you. I don't normally use them since it's easier to find bags of wood chips at Lowes, Walmart, HD. I sprinkle a good handful on top of the lump.

Your smoke from the side of the lid may decrease as the gaskets get worked in with use. I can't tell from the pics, but does the cooker have a latch on the lid?

There's plenty of experience here in the forum and we're all happy to answer questions.

-lunchman

 

[SmokinBub]

I have the char broiler akorn kamado.

I use Kingsford charcoal and always have some left over in the grill from the last use. I get a chimney 1/2 full of new charcoal and light that. Then I dump onto the existing charcoal.

Depending on how long I'm smoking for, I'll either use the existing charcoal or build a small pyramid and intersperse wood chunks throughout.

I use a smoking stone for indirect heat and place a pan of water on top of that. So the meat is directly above the water pan.

Id suggest going slow to get to temp. I leave it wide open until I get near my desired temp and then have to nearly shut all vents as this thing hold heat very well.

It's best to go slow as it if terrible difficult to get these things down from a high temp.

Hope that helped some.

 

[McSpazatron]

I have the char broiler akorn kamado.


Id suggest going slow to get to temp. I leave it wide open until I get near my desired temp and then have to nearly shut all vents as this thing hold heat very well.

It's best to go slow as it if terrible difficult to get these things down from a high temp.

Hope that helped some.

A buddy of mine just bought a kamander. I like the idea of the "remote" intake. When you are getting it up to temp, how much lead in temp do you give it before closing down the intake, so that you dont end up overshooting?

 

[SmokinBub]

A buddy of mine just bought a kamander. I like the idea of the "remote" intake. When you are getting it up to temp, how much lead in temp do you give it before closing down the intake, so that you dont end up overshooting?

Probably 20 degress out I start to choke off the intake. Once I'm nearly there I darn near close it off completely.

Of buddy of mines dad bought one of those automated temp controllers for his eggs. Not sure of the brand but he says his dad loves it.

 

[misterme79]

I just figured out how to get back to this post. Newbie navigation..

I appreciate the feedback. Here is how it is going so far. Up at 6 and ideal conditions (meaning a beautiful quiet morning). I used hardwood charcoal and a fire starter. It lit up immediately. I let it catch maybe a bit too long at first, because when I closed the lid to warm up everything, it was already at 350ish. I followed the advice to choke the air and it dropped fast. This is because it didn't have time to heat up the insulation yet. I was able to control it going up and added my 15 in stone (not included in the box). It has kept at about 250 for 30 minutes now and a beautiful blue smoke rising from the top. So far, so good!

Things I noticed so far.

I did not have a cover yet because Amazon did not honor their Prime guarantee and I am still waiting for it. We had some storms yesterday and it got wet. The top vent is already rusty and the water pan had water in it. It was rusty color, which tells me that the top vent is not air tight. Let's see how some smokey cooks help fill in the cracks...

The ash pan sits under the charcoal rack on the bottom and can only be emptied by pulling everything out. The good thing is that it is a big pan and the intake holes are at the top of the ash pan, meaning it has good air flow and can go a few cooks before having to empty. Still a pain to have to pull everything out every time.

Lunchman, yes, there is a latch. It seems to be a very solid unit. I am still not convinced that the intake is great yet. I really like that it is up high, but it is cheap plastic and doesn't seem to be air tight. So far, so good though...

 

[lunchman]

The vents are not going to be airtight and you may get some water in the cooker during a heavy rain, at least that's the way it is with my Bubba Keg. You could always place an inverted cup or something of the sort over it when it rains and your cover isn't on. The guys in the Keg forum came up with contraptions that magnetically attached, etc.

As for the rust, apply some Crisco or Pam spray to the vent and do some cooks. The smoke and heat should help season the vent and prevent further rusting. Perhaps take some steel wool to any rust spots first.

I covered my Bubba Keg for many years, now I no longer bother. Water, snow, ice sits on the top vent, some does get in, but I've never had rust due to the number of years of use the Keg has seen. Once you start getting gunk buildup, the vent should be protected from rust.

-Dom

 

[misterme79]

 

[misterme79]

The cook went well. It held temps at about 250 for hours as promised. I did find an issue with the intake. The cheap plastic moves out of place with the light touch. I wiped up juices off of the side table and bumped the intake open all the way. Enough to raise the temp close to 300. Plus, even closed all of the way, it took in air. I tried to choke out the coals when I was finished and it just kept burning. I will have to burn it all in order to put it away for the night.

I also noticed that my pork had only a light smoke ring and very little smoke flavor. I will have to add more wood chunks for the future and/or move them closer to center flame.

Overall, not bad. The cheap plastic is clearly affecting the cook, but it is manageable. I just think it will always be a challenge to get to 250 and under unless I figure out a modification. I'll post one if I come up with something.

 

[JS-TX]

Is there a nut or something you can tighten to help secure the plastic vent?

 

[misterme79]

Yes, there is screw and nut that I tightened during assembly. It loosened and to get to the nut, I'd have to disassemble the air tube running down. Even then, I don't think the screw had more thread to tighten the nut with.

 

[misterme79]

I've used the Kamander for 6 months now and have found many faults. I cannot keep the temps for more than about an hour. The plastic intake leaks. It's either too hot or no air flow and it kills the fire. Today, I am finishing in the oven because the flame went out twice with lump charcoal. I may switch back to Kingsford charcoal because it seems to burn more evenly and longer. Overall, I like the idea, but would have gone with the Webber if I had known.

 

[DRMSMKER]

Is there some way to remove the plastic piece and replace it with some type of valve or something similar?

 

[JS-TX]

I would call customer service and explain the plastic vent problems, perhaps it's defective and a new one would help.. never know.

Kamado cookers require babysitting to get them up to temp w/out getting too hot. I've shared your problems in the first few months of my bubba keg. In that cooker I need to get a baseball sized portion of lump going, as in clearly lit. Insert the deflector or pan and grates. Set both vents fairly low or narrowly opened. See where the temp is at within 10 minutes, if it's slowly rising let it be, if not open the vents a little. The bubba keg is hefty and it can take about 30 minutes to approach 250. However I learned to close up the vents about 25-50* before it reached my target temp. After that a big piece of meat will suck up some heat but let it go. Keep the lid closed as much as possible because just a little air will raise the temps. It's possible that air flow isn't very good with that type of intake, there's not enough draw on top to overcome that elbow type of vent. But I don't have one.. so I'm not sure of course.

 

[tom b]

1/2 half started cube in the pyramid start shutting down vents 50* below target temp, good luck

 

[Fishwater2002]

I've used the Kamander for 6 months now and have found many faults. I cannot keep the temps for more than about an hour. The plastic intake leaks. It's either too hot or no air flow and it kills the fire. Today, I am finishing in the oven because the flame went out twice with lump charcoal. I may switch back to Kingsford charcoal because it seems to burn more evenly and longer. Overall, I like the idea, but would have gone with the Webber if I had known.

Not sure if other websites are allowed so I’ll be vague......As a new Kamado user myself I have found another forum that has helped me tremendously. While I love this site if you do a little google search I’m sure you can find the other place that is exclusively Kamado cooking, there’s a lot of “gurus” over there.......

Back to your issue it sounds like you are taking in air, Kamado’s are very air tight typically & need less lump for a fire since they are so efficient vs a kettle with briquettes. Start with sealing your unit up, it will help your temps stay steady. Use some smoking wood & shut your Kamado down, see where the smoke is leaking & tighten that area. Do a web search for the dollar bill test & go from there. Once your cooker is fairly tight just let the cooker settle into the general temp area it wants to settle into when you’re smoking. Don’t chase temps, don’t drive yourself crazy trying to adjust vents to maintain some perfect number like 225. Get your cooker into the range, 250 is fine, 275 is fine, probably anything under 300 is fine. If your cooker settles into 263 with the vent set in a certain position just go with that, let it settle in & then add your meat . Do not adjust the vents again, let it go, the temp will drop with the cold meat on the grill but eventually rise up. Patience is key, don’t make constant adjustments, let it settle in after adjustments & do its thing. It will come to you the more you use it.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Is there some way to remove the plastic piece and replace it with some type of valve or something similar?

Pull the plastic vent off and just put a round piece of sheetmetal with a screw on one side over the round hole and open and adjust as needed. Set a weight on top to seal it completely.

 

[PnkPanther]

Sounds like char broil acknowledged plastic intake are problem and will replace with metal intake for free