I was doing a deep clean and the chimney came right off. Kamado didn’t give me any hassles about replacing it. But still considering downgrading to a pellet grill because I’m getting tired of the maintenance
by insomniac2846
16 Comments
PeregrinsFolly
>downgrading to a pellet grill because I’m getting tired of the maintenance
Pellet grills are far more maintenance than a kamado.
Nervous_Otter69
Ease of use? Sure. But the ones that don’t get cleaned regularly go up in flames – we see videos on the smoking sub weekly.
FatFailBurger
‘I’m tired of the maintenance so I’m going to get something that requires more maintenance’
Squizgarr
Yea im totally sure you never banged the shit out of the cap trying to get it off. Also, clean burns are a waste of time.
darklurker1986
Your Kamado looks super dirty which makes me believe your maintenance habits. Pretty sure it had to do something with chimney being broken.
DrDankenstien1984
I’m all about the convenience of a pellet smoker but I swear everything I’ve had off a pellet smoker in general has always just felt like it was cooked in the oven so I’ve not been able to convince myself to get one I’ve just stuck with my classic joe!
Step_Aside_Butch_77
That’s not typical, I’d just like to make that point.
Demi182
A pellet grill is significantly more maintenance.
screw-self-pity
I hate my pellet grill. Much because of maintenance, but that’s not all. The noise. The fucking nightmare when someone unplugs your grill, even for a second, while you’re cooking, and then you have to do the whole fucking starting sequence all over again. The horrible temperature variation. The fact that the pellets give no flavour to the meet, so it’s as uninteresting as if it were gas or electric.
Pellet grills in excellent conditions are for sale for about 25% of their initial value where I live. There are tons of them for resale that are probably one or two years old.
Man…. don’t exchange a kamado for a pellet grill. You’ll regret your decision.
I personally chose a metal kamado 10 years ago (broil king keg 5000). I love cooking on that thing. It now starts showing signs of aging (like paint going away and rust on the ash drawer or hinges, but nothing on the main body or top), but it still works perfectly. Also it’s very much lighter than a ceramic Kamado so I can move it easily from my garden to my balcony in winter, and still cook during Montreal’s winter.
I’m not saying it’s better than anything else. I know that ceramic Kamados have great qualities and are generally preferred by reviewers. But for the sake of convenience, the BK Keg 5000, being made of metal, is the easiest possible for maintenance and cleaning.
Good luck !
TopCoconut4338
Wait – are you one of those parents that makes excuses for their children?
I would bet a weeks pay that your son did that. Not on purpose – it was an accident, but he did it.
txbill101
Ruh roh
chewbacaflacaflame
I had a pellet grill before upgrading to a Weber kettle then a KJBJ. The kamado is by far the least maintenance. Pellet grill was greasy as shit and I had to spend multiple days a year cleaning it for a few hours. Also I was terrified of grease fires if I ran it hotter than smoking temps.
2pt5RS
just get a masterbuilt gravity series and call it a day
insomniac2846
EDIT: I’m going to invest in a fireboard and now know that pellet grills are actually more maintenance when it comes to cleaning.
Environmental_Law767
How does this happen? The structure of the casting is weakest here at the 90-degree turn. A small fracture at this joint will be difficult to detect; no one’s actually looking inside and out for tiny cracks. Still takes signficant side or rotational force to start this fracture. Consider the vertical ceramic chimney must support the mass of the tower or daisy wheel with each opening and closing of the dome. It won’t be long till a tiny crack has completely severed the chimney.
But what’s the root cause? Poor design? Every kamado has a similar chimney protuberance cast into the dome Do they all have the same failure rate? Does whacking the tower with tongs, with the ocassional missed blow, start the path to failure? Repeated freeze/thaw cycles? The ocassional dropped dome? A glued shut or stuck tower control that requires both hands to wrench it open?
I do not know. But there must be a few things we might try to NOT DO that would avoid this scenario.
Dasgerman1984
The pellet grill is perfect for when you don’t have time for the setup. Dialing in the temp on the Joe takes a lot of time and patience/some skill. But it’s totally worth it imo. I have both and both have their place. But food always tastes better off the Joe.
16 Comments
>downgrading to a pellet grill because I’m getting tired of the maintenance
Pellet grills are far more maintenance than a kamado.
Ease of use? Sure. But the ones that don’t get cleaned regularly go up in flames – we see videos on the smoking sub weekly.
‘I’m tired of the maintenance so I’m going to get something that requires more maintenance’
Yea im totally sure you never banged the shit out of the cap trying to get it off. Also, clean burns are a waste of time.
Your Kamado looks super dirty which makes me believe your maintenance habits. Pretty sure it had to do something with chimney being broken.
I’m all about the convenience of a pellet smoker but I swear everything I’ve had off a pellet smoker in general has always just felt like it was cooked in the oven so I’ve not been able to convince myself to get one I’ve just stuck with my classic joe!
That’s not typical, I’d just like to make that point.
A pellet grill is significantly more maintenance.
I hate my pellet grill. Much because of maintenance, but that’s not all. The noise. The fucking nightmare when someone unplugs your grill, even for a second, while you’re cooking, and then you have to do the whole fucking starting sequence all over again. The horrible temperature variation. The fact that the pellets give no flavour to the meet, so it’s as uninteresting as if it were gas or electric.
Pellet grills in excellent conditions are for sale for about 25% of their initial value where I live. There are tons of them for resale that are probably one or two years old.
Man…. don’t exchange a kamado for a pellet grill. You’ll regret your decision.
I personally chose a metal kamado 10 years ago (broil king keg 5000). I love cooking on that thing. It now starts showing signs of aging (like paint going away and rust on the ash drawer or hinges, but nothing on the main body or top), but it still works perfectly. Also it’s very much lighter than a ceramic Kamado so I can move it easily from my garden to my balcony in winter, and still cook during Montreal’s winter.
I’m not saying it’s better than anything else. I know that ceramic Kamados have great qualities and are generally preferred by reviewers. But for the sake of convenience, the BK Keg 5000, being made of metal, is the easiest possible for maintenance and cleaning.
Good luck !
Wait – are you one of those parents that makes excuses for their children?
I would bet a weeks pay that your son did that. Not on purpose – it was an accident, but he did it.
Ruh roh
I had a pellet grill before upgrading to a Weber kettle then a KJBJ. The kamado is by far the least maintenance. Pellet grill was greasy as shit and I had to spend multiple days a year cleaning it for a few hours. Also I was terrified of grease fires if I ran it hotter than smoking temps.
just get a masterbuilt gravity series and call it a day
EDIT: I’m going to invest in a fireboard and now know that pellet grills are actually more maintenance when it comes to cleaning.
How does this happen? The structure of the casting is weakest here at the 90-degree turn. A small fracture at this joint will be difficult to detect; no one’s actually looking inside and out for tiny cracks. Still takes signficant side or rotational force to start this fracture. Consider the vertical ceramic chimney must support the mass of the tower or daisy wheel with each opening and closing of the dome. It won’t be long till a tiny crack has completely severed the chimney.
But what’s the root cause? Poor design? Every kamado has a similar chimney protuberance cast into the dome Do they all have the same failure rate? Does whacking the tower with tongs, with the ocassional missed blow, start the path to failure? Repeated freeze/thaw cycles? The ocassional dropped dome? A glued shut or stuck tower control that requires both hands to wrench it open?
I do not know. But there must be a few things we might try to NOT DO that would avoid this scenario.
The pellet grill is perfect for when you don’t have time for the setup. Dialing in the temp on the Joe takes a lot of time and patience/some skill. But it’s totally worth it imo. I have both and both have their place. But food always tastes better off the Joe.