KamadoHunter

2 hours ago, Airtime0007 said:

My suspicion is that it’s due to the fact that the retailer is also an agent for Kamado Joe. If it wasn’t for the difference in warranty there would be very little to differentiate between the two to the casual observer. Who manufactures the ceramic for Kamado Joe? Anyone know that it isn’t Auplex?

Over on KamadoGuru someone suggested they were the same factory and two people claiming to have inside knowledge of the KJ fiery denied it. 

https://www.kamadoguru.com/topic/28546-material-comparison-of-auplex-and-bge-kamado-from-auplex/#comments

25 minutes ago, MarkG said:

Be curious to know also, and if it is worth that bit extra. I've read about fireboxes cracking, which they replace. I knwo this puts it 2.5x the price of the Aldi one, so it is a big jump, given that probably a lot of people (including myself) wanted it to get started in the Kamado world, before dropping a large amount of money on it.

Fireboxes do seem to be risk with Kamados but in theory this is a 'lifetime purchase'. On the flip side, these things shouldn't break if manufacturered well so why doesn't the goose come with a long warranty. 

The goose might also be made of slightly inferior ceramic, if the comments on US based forums are to be believed based on it being manufactured by either auplex or TOPQ. 

Is anyone able to say how these Auplex Kamados compare to a Classic Joe? 

An 18inch grill auplex costs about £500, including additional accessories, the classic is £899.