Costco Kamado

[madhen]

FYI. If you're thinking about buying the vision grill from costco....notice the * on the price sign. Generally, when you see that * on an item at costco it means they're going to discontinue it...not always...but usually (http://lenrapoport.hubpages.com/hub/Secret-Codes-Will-Save-You-Money-At-Costco)

I bought one on Friday 8/17...unpackaged it and had the following issues;

cracked ceramic heat resistant plate
needed to widen one of the holes in the stand
rivet on locking wheel wasn't bucktailed
top lid was so off center that there was almost 3/4 inch gap to the side
major crack that was repaired on bottom lip

Took it back to costco and got another one...yeah, I know...fool me once. This second one seems to be in better shape although I did have the chipping on the outer finish and a crack in the fire bowl that customer service said not to worry about.

I don't think I'm going to the 3 times a charm thing....

 

[Burnt]

I bought one of these in May from Costco after reviewing feedback on this site. I have used it 9 times.
Out-of-the-box: One of the wooden tables was cracked. Assembling the base was easy - one of the screw holes was slightly off but it all went together. The fire box was good, no cracks, the lid sealed nicely and matched the base.
There was an air gap at the bottom - I dis-assembled the vent and used a tube of high temp silicon to seal around it and re-assembled (as mentioned in this thread).
Purchased a ceramic disc and holder (diffuser) at a web site recommended on this thread.
Use: Have done ribs, tri-tips, smoked salmon, steaks, burgers, chicken all where great. Some I can improve upon with practice. I have learned how to control temp at 225-250 for 4-5 hours and have seared at 600+.
Vision customer service:
I emailed Vision about the cracked wooded table. They responded within a couple days and sent a new one. I then had a problem with my top vent. It had been tight from the very beginning but it got worse as smoke residue built up. I emailed Vision, they sent me a new one that works great.
They have great customer service, I can return this to Costco if I want. I can control temp very easily once I learned how, and it makes great food provided I do not screw it up.
last, recommend the heat diffuser and also the rack system if your going to make ribs for a large group - see the vendor referred to this thread that has custom parts for this grill.

 

[kevinxd]

My Costco still has it for $549. They had three left so I guess I'll wait a week or two to see if the price drops. Hopefully they still have them available then.

 

[Ross]

Has anyone put a Stoker (or Cyber WiFi) on one of these yet?

A Stoker/Cyber WiFi/PartyQue will all fit the Vision. You would order the adapter/model that matches the Large BGE.

 

[osx-addict]

I've got a local retailer that is selling a slightly cracked Phase2 for $250.. I'm tempted to offer $200 in light of the new Costco price and see if they'll take it.. I've repaired these before and can do it one more time.. I'm thinking size-wise this is similar to a K5 traditional Kamado.. I've currently got a regular K7 (ala the now defunct & reborn Kamado company in Vegas) and trying to determine how much smaller this one is..

 

[Pistonpuller]

Just got mine last week at costco. It was a floor model all set up and ready to cook. $350. They were selling them in the box for $399. But since this one a a few nicks in it they took off $50. Works for me. I have done ribs, trip tip and cedar salmon so far.

 

[osx-addict]

Ok.. Just to drop a note.. I just picked up two of these from a liquidation place in the San Diego area for $220 ea -- both have their issues and both were returns to the local Costco (who apparently sold them to this place).. Anyway, one was missing a cover and has a bit of moisture in the thermometer (which is a bit fogged up) and both are missing the manual. The ceramic on both is about the same state near the bottom 2" or so -- cracked.. Mine has about a 10" crack running from near the lower vent quasi diagonal and gets closer to the intersection to the bottom ceramic. The other unit just a few cracks running along the seam of the side wall to the bottom.. Both are showing cracks on the exterior as well but in some cases those cracks are not visible from the inside for whatever reason.. I'm planning on slathering some Rutlands furnace cement I've got over the cracked area on the inside (planning on leaving the outside alone) and anything adjacent to it for several inches to give it some extra holding power -- I'm thinking that the thickness of the Rutlands over the cracked areas should be a bit thicker (perhaps 1/4"?) and reduce the thickness down slowly as it moves away from the cracks. Once the Rutlands is applied and I'm happy with it, leave it to air-dry for multiple days (perhaps a week?) before applying heat. I suppose after a few days I could put a heat lamp inside aimed across from the cracked/patched area to drive out some of the moisture slowly..

The place I bought these from has had returned units from Costco that were used and people were happily snatching them up from them.. Luckily these units were never used -- one of them even had all of the original packaging in tact.. Go figure..

P.S. I did pop a note to Vision Grills asking about getting replacement parts (and buying them obviously) such as the missing cover, replacement thermo,etc).. They've been very responsive with my initial transport questions..

 

[osx-addict]

Just a quick reply.. I was able to find the user manuals on the Vision site -- not sure why I didn't see them before.. They also gave me pricing on a new cover ($49.95) and thermometer ($27.95) in the off chance someone needs one. Not sure I'd fork over that amount of money for a cover -- would be tempted to get one from Walmart or similar that would likely fit just as well for less -- perhaps..

 

[aspitfire]

bringing this back from the dead. How have these held up over the last couple of years for you all?

 

[Moose]

bringing this back from the dead. How have these held up over the last couple of years for you all?

I've had mine for over a year and love it. No problems at all, for the price, you just can't beat it. The firebox design is quite a bit different than the BGE, so you don't have to clean out your ashes after every cook.

 

[Crazy Harry]

Still going strong

 

[uncblue]

Best $ that I've ever spent on a grill/smoker/pizza oven

If I had to do it again, I'd drop the cheddar in a heartbeat. Their customer service has been stellar to date.