Decoy205
Babbling Farker
Ok so FINALLY I got a chance to light this thing up. I needed to get the cast iron grate seasoned up and burn off the factory stuff before putting food on. Tomorrow there will be a fatty for sure.
This is my first time using this type of grill. I thought it would be good to share my experience for anyone who might be interested in these cookers.
I bought a bag of Mexican cowboy lump. The pieces were pretty big for the most part.
I had cleaned the greasy stuff off the grate and dried it off good. Made a pile of lump.
I used the cotton ball soaked in alcohol to start it up and as others have said this stuff crackles quite a bit when lighting. I only needed a small portion lit to get it going. With the vents fully open It took about 10 mins to get to 150 then I dropped the vent and exhaust down quite a bit. The vent was at about 1 and the exhaust was about 1/4 open. Another 5-10 mins it was around 250-260. I had sprayed the grate with Pam and let it sit at 250 for about an hour. It did not move. It says to season it at around 400 for a while to get the grate nice and hot. So I opened up the vents a bit.
I don't have a smokin stone yet since its backordered so I got a weber grate and a pizza pan. After I opened the vents up I put the chef alarm at the grate to see what it was doing. I didn't put the pan in yet.
After about 15 mins the the temps were showing about 25* apart the grate being hotter.
I then put the pizza pan in to see if that made a difference. After another 15 mins the grate was only about 15* hotter than the dome. I think the dome therm is actually ok Just in the wrong place.
Here's what I learned:
1- I can most likely get this thing to hold between 275-300 with no issues at all. If i don't overshoot then it will be rock solid.
2. The cowboy lump gave off blue smoke really really fast. I hope it adds good flavor to the food.
3. It takes a long time to cool this thing down. To shut it down I had the vents completely closed for a long time. I had to open it to let the heat out a few times to get it to start to drop.
My question to other Akorn or kamado users. If the cooker isn't under a covered porch or something to protect it from the rain and it's still hot for a long time so you can't cover it.. What do you guys do? I know after it gunks up a bit it will cool down faster but for now it stays hot for a long time which is good for long cooks but bad if you want to grill something fast and then put it away.
I'm afraid how long it will take to cool down if I put this thing up to 600! Any advice on this is appreciated.
Sorry for the long post thanks for lookin!
-John
This is my first time using this type of grill. I thought it would be good to share my experience for anyone who might be interested in these cookers.
I bought a bag of Mexican cowboy lump. The pieces were pretty big for the most part.
I had cleaned the greasy stuff off the grate and dried it off good. Made a pile of lump.
I used the cotton ball soaked in alcohol to start it up and as others have said this stuff crackles quite a bit when lighting. I only needed a small portion lit to get it going. With the vents fully open It took about 10 mins to get to 150 then I dropped the vent and exhaust down quite a bit. The vent was at about 1 and the exhaust was about 1/4 open. Another 5-10 mins it was around 250-260. I had sprayed the grate with Pam and let it sit at 250 for about an hour. It did not move. It says to season it at around 400 for a while to get the grate nice and hot. So I opened up the vents a bit.
I don't have a smokin stone yet since its backordered so I got a weber grate and a pizza pan. After I opened the vents up I put the chef alarm at the grate to see what it was doing. I didn't put the pan in yet.
After about 15 mins the the temps were showing about 25* apart the grate being hotter.
I then put the pizza pan in to see if that made a difference. After another 15 mins the grate was only about 15* hotter than the dome. I think the dome therm is actually ok Just in the wrong place.
Here's what I learned:
1- I can most likely get this thing to hold between 275-300 with no issues at all. If i don't overshoot then it will be rock solid.
2. The cowboy lump gave off blue smoke really really fast. I hope it adds good flavor to the food.
3. It takes a long time to cool this thing down. To shut it down I had the vents completely closed for a long time. I had to open it to let the heat out a few times to get it to start to drop.
My question to other Akorn or kamado users. If the cooker isn't under a covered porch or something to protect it from the rain and it's still hot for a long time so you can't cover it.. What do you guys do? I know after it gunks up a bit it will cool down faster but for now it stays hot for a long time which is good for long cooks but bad if you want to grill something fast and then put it away.
I'm afraid how long it will take to cool down if I put this thing up to 600! Any advice on this is appreciated.
Sorry for the long post thanks for lookin!
-John