doof205

Love this little thing. I did some pork belly ribs this afternoon and with maybe 15 pieces of coal it lasted 5 hours before I closed it down. Checked what coal was left after it'd cooled and there's about 60% left!! Amazing. Really pleased with the first try with the heat deflector. As Skagg2000 recommended I picked up a steel disc from ebay for a tenner and it worked perfectly with enough room around the edge to happily run at 120 degrees for hours even in the rain! I used these for holding the deflector https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10x-Reversible-Over-Door-Hooks-Stainless-Steel-Hanger-Clothes-Coat-Hanging-Towel/223579292883?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=522323878244&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 See below, you can just make out the heat deflector. Yes I did just stick it on the wall in the bushes lol

It's not huge but galvanised metal releases some toxic gases I believe. Ideally you want something stainless steel I'd think.

Bought some perforated sheet from ebay and slid it behind the vent slider. I tried it inside but couldn't get it to sit snugly so wouldn't have made much difference. Keen to try it and see the improvement. Thanks for the idea.

Damn, the Lidl mini one doesn't. Maybe time to get some perforated sheet.

Oops, posted in wrong section. If anyone can move this feel free. Thanks

Tried mine with Weber briquettes today and they're so much better than the junk I had before. Nice and consistent with 6 briquettes burning steadily for 3 hours around 140 without need to adjust much. Would definitely recommend them over lumpwood for consistent cooking. Keen to try a pork shoulder this week now i've hopefully got more consistent temps.

Hi all, thought i'd post up a little hello. I found this forum after buying a cheap Lidl Kamado and I'm currently really enjoying learning to cook with it. I've also had a go at building a smoker out of an old whiskey cask which turned out OK but does have it's problems. As with all these things it's nice to have options and currently the efficiency and novelty of the new kamado is winning me over. A few photos of my recent activities: Second attempt with the Lidl Kamado. A spiced lamb shoulder. After cooking for maybe 6 hours it was still very pink inside and really didn't seem to be cooked very well. Disappointing results. I think I made the common mistake of not taking the lamb out of the fridge early enough. Tonight's sirloin steaks. Cooked to perfection if i do say so myself. Love the versatility! The whiskey case smoker - Really needs more insulation and some air controls. Maybe a lick of paint / varnish too but she works pretty well. Cheers all Lewis

May have answered my own question. It's been going for 4 hours, still has fuel and is cruising nicely at 130-140. You really don't need much coal!!!

I picked one of these up today and in really pleased with the apparent quality for the money. The one thing I struggled with was keeping the temperature low. It wanted to sit around 250⁰ and took ages even fully closed off to drop. Any tips. Fewer coals? I just can't see why the airflow controls didn't really do anything.