Costco Kamado

[sog35]

Saw this one at Academy today. $499.00 It's a dark brown.

I liked the "oversized" tires.



The top exhaust



The "latch" or springs for the lid.



I don't know much about these but I did see another one at Gander Mountain for like $299 and I can say that this one was much heavier and seemed sturdier in design.

I've seen this Kamado at Academy Sports. The cart is really nice but I think the quality of the cermaic does not seem as good as the costco one. And I'm not sure if it can fit 2 levels of cooking (only came with a single level rack). It does have a sweet cart though. What is Academy's warranty or the manufacturer on this?

 

[Ross]

The stand looks a bit flimsy, but outside of that it looks like it would do the job just fine. I'm pretty sure this grill is marketed under the name Cypress, or Bayou Classic, depending upon where you buy it. I like the top chimney vent better than the one on the Vision Kamado, but I would be curious about the demensions, if it's an 18" cooking surface, it would be a good deal. If I were to purchase, I would definitely make myself a table for it and do away with the cart. I had planned to make a custom cart for my Vision Kamado, but the cart that if came with is so well put together, and convenient, that I really can't see why I'd want to get rid of it.

 

[Ross]

Spam? Before I bought the grill I did a search and found pretty much just two people who actually bought this grill. Bottom line is it would have been nice if I had more info about the grill before I bought it.

The main reason I'm posting here is to help others who are having doubts about the quality of this unit. It is solid. Plus if ANYTHING happens you have the peace of mind with the LIFETIME warranty with Costco.

-
I think someone just has a hard time realizing there's grills out there of comparable quality to Greed Egg at half the price! :heh:

 

[Ross]

I got one of these grills about a month ago. For $500 its a steal. To get a large egg (side tables, dual grates, cover, nest) would be well over $1000. Plus this item is covered under the Costco standard warranty, so basically LIFETIME warranty for any reason.

So how does it cook? Excellent. Pizza cooks at a solid 650-700 degrees with a pizza stone. The steaks were the best I've ever made, chicken was awesome. I did have a problem keeping the temperature stable below 250 at first. But then I used some high heat silicone to get a better seal on the bottom vent. Yesterday I ran the Black Egg for 15 hours at 230 using a Auber. This morning I check, and it only used about 60% of the lump. Incredible.

These ceramic grills are so awesome. Cleanup is basically zero. Never have to worry about running out of fuel. Never have to worry about weather. With a $130 Auber this thing is basically as easy to use as an electric smoker but you get real smoke taste.

You know, I finally got around to fixing my bottom vent correctly yesterday, and I must tell you, what a difference it makes. I initially just had a bit of joint compound that I had in my garage around it. However, yesterday I took the vent completely off, and too my surprise, it was extremely loose, in fact, the bolts only seemed hand tightened. I placed a bead of furnace cement around the gasket to form a seal against the ceramic wall. I refastened the vent and tightened it with a wrench, tried not to put too mush torque on it as when the metal expands and contracts with the heat you don't want it to crack the ceramic. I then placed another bead around the outside of the vent, the crack between the vent and the ceramic. Wow, what a difference. I have about six large strips of spare rib meat, they've been going about two hours now at about 260.

One more thing, I got a Maverick instant read thermometer, and the pit temp on the maverick thermometer it reads about 20 degrees less than the Vision thermometer, which tells me I've been cooking on the hot side, which makes sense, as so far my only complaint has been regulating the heat as sometimes things get overdone. I think I have solved that problem now.

Buy the grill, by all means. It is a steel at $499.

 

[AZ Smoker]

These are now at Lowes for $699

 

[Corky]

This is the one I saw at CostCo on Saturday. The price is escaping me at present but I think it was around $599. Color me tempted. Of course it will nee a Marty handle as the front one is so boring! :mrgreen:

http://www.visiongrills.com/kamado-classic/

Specs:
Dual Grate: Yes (included) Two tiered flip grates for easy add charcoal 596 square inches
Assembled Depth (in.): 28.8 in
Assembled Height (in.): 47.0 in
Assembled Width (in.): 32.5 in (52.0 in. with side shelves extended)
Weight: 196 lbs (89 kgs)
Bottom Draft Vent: Stainless steel sliding door
Top Draft Vent: Calibrated windmill draft vent (available in stainless steel and black powder coat)
Assembly Required: 15-20 minutes
Color: Matte Charcoal Grey
Cooking space (sq. in.): 596
Cooking Grate Material: Stainless Steel
Grill/Smoker Fuel Type: Charcoal
Heat Thermometer: Vision Grills Logo Thermometer (included)
Ignition Type: No Ignition System
Manufacturer Warranty: 20-year Limited Warranty
Cover: Heavy vinyl cape style with Velcro closure cover (included)
Smoker Chip Tray: No
Warming Rack: 2-tiered grate (included)
Wheels: Yes 4 with 2 locking casters

 

[AZ Smoker]

The folks at my Costco say they have nothing like that in the system at all.

Anyone have a item# by chance?

 

[33Posse]

The folks at my Costco say they have nothing like that in the system at all.

Anyone have a item# by chance?

I don't remember the item # but I believe it was on page 87 of the Costco Connection.

 

[Nite Troller]

Vision Warranty Statement Changes

Looks like Vision has changed the warranty statement on the grill. Lifetime on ceramic parts.

Subject to the following terms and conditions, Phase 2, LLC, d/b/a Vision Grills (“Vision Grills”) warrants to the original purchaser that the ceramic cooker manufactured or supplied by Vision Grills will be free from defects in material and workmanship under normal use for the following periods from the original date of purchase: lifetime for all ceramic parts, five (5) years for all metal parts, 90-days for side shelves, 90-days for temperature gauge and 1-year for cover. This Limited Warranty is contingent upon purchaser registering the product at www.visiongrills.com/register within 30 days from the date of purchase along with a copy of the original dated sales receipt which can be attached in an electronic format (i.e. scan, photograph, etc.) to your registration at www.visiongrills.com/register. Failure to do so will invalidate the warranty. Any chips or cracks in the finish of the ceramic cooker present at the time of purchase must be noted on the original dated sales receipt. This Warranty is not transferable to subsequent owners

 

[SmokerKing]

Just saw one at Costco, I thikn it was $569.00.
Top vent was a not cast, it was thin stainless, whirlybird type.
Hinge looked strong.
Nest was square tube, chrome? but solid.
Gasket was glued on crooked.
Overall, it looked like decent quality.

 

[Still Smokin]

I've seen this Kamado at Academy Sports. The cart is really nice but I think the quality of the cermaic does not seem as good as the costco one. And I'm not sure if it can fit 2 levels of cooking (only came with a single level rack). It does have a sweet cart though. What is Academy's warranty or the manufacturer on this?

I have the Academy Outdoor Gourmet Kamado, I bought it because I got a grate deal, but thge cart was a huge factor also. It allows me to move this on my patio effortlessly and it rolls on grass pretty good as well.

Performance wise, I think it funtions as well as a BGE. The only thing I do not like is the intake vent is a round daisy wheel type.

BTW, I am going to buy the Char Griller Akorn Kamado within a few weeks.

 

[Ross]

These are now at Lowes for $699

I am curious if the one @ Lowes is the Pro series with the ash pan and slot for electric fire starter. They have that at HD for 699 as well.

 

[Cheesefood]

Joined this forum based on this thread. I've been wanting a BGE for a long time but the price has me scared off. I can afford it, but I didn't want to invest THAT much into a grill.

At $569, the deal at Costco seemed right in the sweet spot. Comments on this site and others suggest that Vision has excellent customer service, an honorable warranty and that's all capped by the Costco warranty.

It's sitting in my garage at home right now, waiting until Friday when it can be assembled and test-driven. Any advice on how to season this grill?

BTW, since this is my first, here's my "About Me":

Grilling since I was 10 (37 now). Own a Weber Silver that I converted to a smoker using 4 paver bricks, own a Member's Mark gas grill (Sam's club special and I love it) and now the Vision. I briefly have owned Brinkman smokers twice and each time threw them away within a year.

Homebrewer, pork enthusiast, son-in-law of a black angus farmer. Repeat customer of a locally owned butcher shop that saws steaks fresh off the slab to order. Hardwood enthusiast and charcoal snob. I can grill on anything, and finally upgraded to a kamodo.

 

[Johnny_Crunch]

Welcome Cheese, hope you like the cooker.

 

[Cheesefood]

Put the grill together tonight and broke it in. Unfortunately all I had were some tiny chicken breasts and kingsford coal. I'm planning on a grander christening of the grill very soon.

Couple of things to note about the Vision:

1. The thermometer now goes to 700 and is a lot cooler looking than pictures I've seen of 2011 models.

2. The sticker on the side was really easy to remove.

3. It comes with the correct size wrench, and it's not some 2 dimensional POS IKEA wrench.

4. I did the whole thing myself - mounting included - in about 30 minutes. OK, my 3 year old turned the wrench A FEW times...

The reason I bring this up? Most of the reviews I've read give Vision GLOWING remarks for customer service, something rarely seen today. Some of the other reviews I've read mentioned these specific problems (thermometer, sticker) and Vision seems to have responded. From a business perspective, I get what they're doing and I like it.

It doesn't have that spiffy $500 green paint job, but I like it none the less.

 

[AustinKnight]

So this Costco kamado is only 18" of cooking surface? It looks bigger when I saw it the other day:ear:

 

[Cheesefood]

So this Costco kamado is only 18" of cooking surface? It looks bigger when I saw it the other day:ear:

19" I believe. It's plenty big enough. My Weber is 23" but I rarely put meat closer than 2" to the edge, so I probably never need more than 19". The grill in the Kamado is 19" over heat with another couple inches of space.

tl;dr. It's about the same cooking area.

 

[hesdeadjim]

I was thinking of picking up a 22.5" WSM at some point this year, but I saw this at a local Costco. Very tempting, I've just been smoking in a Weber Kettle with the Smokenator, but it would be nice to be have something that needs less tending to for long smokes. My other option I'm considering is waiting til the end of summer and getting a discounted BGE at the local Eggfest.

 

[sandiegobbq]

I returned a gasser to Costco after 4 plus years of heavy use.

Why did you return it?

 

[Ross]

The folks at my Costco say they have nothing like that in the system at all.

Anyone have a item# by chance?

Hey, AZ: if you check with your local Costco ask if they have a Phase 2 kamado. Phase 2, LLC is the parent company that makes Vision Grills and I understand that Costco has it listed in their data base as Phase 2, not Vision. Hope that helps.