My control tower was sticking. There was a lot of residue from the prior smokes. I figured I can just heat blast it just like anything else in Kamado. I’ve done it before but this time I decided to put it into the bed of hot coals. 900F later I definitely cleaned the residue but I melted the whole control tower in the process.
by machine489
9 Comments
Wow! I was wondering how that vent would fair in a high heat burn off, crazy!
I haven’t tested it, replaced after only a few months of use. It’s hard to keep clean and it would keep sticking. At one point it was stuck so much that when I finally forced it free it sliced a flap of skin off my thumb. Required stitches. I use a smokeware vent now, much happier and safer, ha!
Now that’s something you don’t see every day. Let us know how you get back up and running as you have several choices.
I assume the 900f was the thermometer readout? That was probably 1200f on the coal which is when aluminium melts
ouch right into the coals.. yea its not cast iron anymore.. oh well they won’t warranty it but you can buy a new one online or replace with smoke ware maybe.
What are you doing, flash cooking your steak?
next time , just soak it overnight in a dish wash solution in a bucket or even automotive degreaser solution. works for me every time. thanks for sharing this anyway..good eye opener for most of us. The Ceramic is ceramic so it will withstand unto 1000+ Fahrenheit temps but not the other components like the gaskets etc. so the max I would try to sustain is 800 – 900 F .
How does everyone clean theirs? These suck to clean!
Good to know.
Time to get the smokeware cap. It’s dishwasher safe!