mackerel

I'd half-recommend a Meater+. I have one (and a Lidl mini kamado) and the probe is very small. Reason for not recommending wholeheartedly is just the price and I'm not 100% convinced the reading is all that accurate, but it certainly fits easily inside the Lidl

Agree (or the smaller plasticised red bags). If anyone can recommend a cheaper alternative we're all ears but you can get decent deals on big bags of Big K if you shop around.

The delivery service is very poor. If you call Aldi they're always helpful - but they decided to use a bargain basement logistics company (XDP). Add to this the fragile nature of ceramics of any kind - kamados being just one example, imagine shipping a pile of china plates from China to Europe - and you have a very risky recipe for good customer service. On a positive note it's good to see Aldi using AO as delivery partner. They really are streets ahead of XDP.

Looks like a perfect fit. Loving the theme of kitting out the AK with great value accessories!

I absolutely love the sheer excitement on posts here from people unwrapping their AKs!

You guys are probably both the subject of XDP's seemingly slow interaction with Aldi. From what I've heard and seen AO is much slicker in picking up stock from Aldi and passing it through their system. I've had one delivery by XDP (took about 15 working days from ordering) and one from AO (took around 8 working days from ordering though others have had theirs more quickly).

My experience with AO was of a 4 hour time slot and no GPS link - but they did call me when they were 5 minutes away. Had a chat with the delivery guys and they did say that a lot of the units seem to come to them packed badly and potentially broken already. In my opinion the packaging for such a heavy unit isn't really adequate. My little Lidl Kamado was much more sturdily secured in its box with thicker cardboard bracing around it.

I've seen some pretty ropey feedback about XDP whereas I've had AO deliveries before (technically it's not AO it's Expert Logistics but AO own them) and they've always been very good. XDP still have something I paid £125 for back in March which they seem to have lost but can't/won't inform Aldi of this. Probably the worst experience I've ever had with a courier company.

There is a clear label on the side of the crate saying to keep it upright and not tip it over. I caught my two couriers sliding it out of the van at a 45 degree angle, then tipping it to about 60 degrees to get it onto their sack truck. To be fair on them, their company hadn't provided them with a pump truck or anything that could actually be used to keep it upright.

They'll probably put you in touch with La Hacienda who make the units who can send you an ash scraper. Their number is in the user manual. Nice people who will help if they can. On a related note, pretty impressed with how quickly your AK arrived since you only bought it at the weekend. Typical experience is a good 2 weeks before they start to get delivered.

Hey James - so personally I would say this is fine. You're within your rights to send it back, or ask for a partial credit of Aldi, about that small crack in the internal ceramic. But you'll probably get another crack or two once you fire it up to temperature and they won't cause any problems. Any replacement (if Aldi get more in stock in June) would require you to fight it out in the online queue early on a Sunday morning, and might well get delivered with a minor imperfection somewhere else. Or even, like mine and others, completely smashed. On the crazed glazing I've seen this on most kamados and wouldn't worry about that either. These things are going to get dirty and the differential of thermal expansion will likely result in crazing also. Again, not something I'd worry about. My Lidl kamado is crazed also. Your options are open, but as the ancient Chinese proverb goes, "an Aldi Kamado in the hand is worth two in the bush"

Yes I have had one for 6 months or so now and it's a very snazzy little unit. Definitely overpriced, but pretty. A few comments so you know what you're getting yourself into: 1) the "base unit" needs to be near the thermometer itself. your phone can then be a bit further away but as with all Bluetooth devices the range in real life is nothing like what is quoted in the specs 2) the thermometer has two sensors, one in the pointy end (for the meat) and the other in the other end (for the air temperature). If the "meat tip" gets over 100 degrees sirens start going off and a dire warning of severe damage. So you need to make sure it's in the centre of your meat and doesn't fall out. I can only really see you can measure thicker cuts therefore 3) the temperate responsiveness is pretty slow, maybe 2-3 minutes to get from ambient up a stable reading Overall, yes I'd recommend one. The lack of any wires is great. But see if you can get it with a voucher code (I got 20%) to offset the fact it's more of a 4 star product than 5 stars, in my opinion

How have people got on with the Lidl mini kamado coming up to higher temperatures? I'm using lumpwood charcoal but maybe I'm being stingy with it (a couple of handfuls) and even with both bottom and top vents fully open (but lid closed) it never gets higher than 150 degrees C. The coals are nicely glowing red/grey. Am I just being mean with the charcoal and I need to load it up more?

I notice they are back in stock online this morning if anyone is interested and missed out before

Definitely wishing you all the best, and myself also. I got another one this morning to replace the one from March which arrived in about 30 pieces in a pile at the bottom of the cardboard crate and had to go back for a refund. I did notice someone on ebay selling one boxed and unopened. I was tempted to contact them and suggest they might wish to check inside!