Whatcouldpossiblygowrong Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Looks like a nice Kamado. Look forward to seeing some of your cooks on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatcouldpossiblygowrong Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Got a couple of years experience with my Joe Junior. Will just be able to scale up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andya Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 well mine arrived this morning and i got round to unpacking mid afternoon, unfortunately there were a couple of issues, firstly the fire clay ring (riser-not sure what you call it ) was in 5 pieces rather than 1 ! so quick call to Aldi and a new one is on its way -so while something went wrong to cause this at least they are sorting it with no questions or arguments, and the other issue is the screws in the cross piece of the frame are only just long enough to catch the thread in fact 5 of them have not ! so i will get some a quarter inch bigger tomorrow from the hardware store. about 15 mile away we have an aga, woodfire /heating specialist centre so i took a drive and for 4 quid i got some fire clay and made a temp repair to the ceramic ring and was able to get it into the kamado and get a seasoning going on with a chunk of oak, seals are perfect between body and lid . i agree the deflector is more of a pizza stone , maybe i will order a smaller cast griddle later if it is an issue ? overall even with the issue i had, its being rectified, and for 350 quid i dont think you can beat it for an intro to kamado type grills, now that i know the internal diameter i can get my cast grate ordered up this evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatcouldpossiblygowrong Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Sounds like I was trouble free compared to you. No breakages and everything bolted together ok . Have just run for 3 hrs on 200 for a bit of a burn off , won’t do a cook probably till weekend, but all in all well pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 It sounds like good value and I am glad that Aldi are giving you good customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andya Posted May 3, 2018 Author Share Posted May 3, 2018 The fire clay repair yesyerday allowed me to get a first burn in done and i'm doing a second this evening taking it a little higher again than last night, im not sure this is required but i had some old charcoal left from last year anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatcouldpossiblygowrong Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Well it looks like a perfect weekend to try it out. Been running a little Joe Junior for a few years and have got to know how to get where I need to temp wise. Looks like I’ll have relearn on this one. Although not such a steep learning curve this time around. If you need a few pointers the Kamado Joe site has loads of videos by a guy called John Setzler. Found him really useful 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andya Posted May 4, 2018 Author Share Posted May 4, 2018 learned a valuable lesson today, i have previously cooked with a pro q elite and always used the water pan, today i cooked a pork shoulder in the new kamado without any water pan as i'd seen on youtube most think its not required and still stays moist, and the inevitable happened, as the fat started dripping the temp ran out of control (luckily i have a remote thermostat) so drip pan is a requirement from now on but i also learnt something ref the charcoal burn, i filled it up to what i assumed was a level to get me through a long cook, and i made the well amongst the charcoal at the front above the air intake (wasnt thinking) so as the air went in it assisted the charcoal in catching all the way from front to back in a very short time- in future i will put the hot coals at the rear where the burn has t work forward against the air flow Any thoughts on this ? Anyway thats the aldi kamado had its first 10 hour cook and due to my stupid mistake it got very very hot ! and survived it no problems - and the pork......amazing 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatcouldpossiblygowrong Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 I always stick a foil drip pan under every slow cook as most slow cooks involve something with a fair amount of fat inherent in the meat. Learned the hard way with some cremated short ribs ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 Always use a foil tray on Low & Slow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Hi, So I’ve also took the plunge on this Kamado which was delivered yesterday. I’m a complete newbie to this type of cooking so I’m sure it’s gonna be a big learning curve with a few disasters along the way. I’ve got a couple of questions: Do I need to buy a pizza stone to sit above the heat deflector? When cooking pizza/garlic bread do you get the temp up real high, say 600c then blast it for a minute or two or have the oven around 225c and steadily cook it? How do I regulate the heat, ie: when initially starting do I have the bottom vent wide open and the top vent half shut for a slow cook? When cooking burgers/sausages/kebabs would you use the heat deflector to cook them or just use the oven in the conventional way we’d bbq food with the lid up and over the hot coals. Thanks, Pedro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 If you are making pizza, then a pizza stone would be a good idea. I would remove the heat deflector so the stone absorbs the heat, this will give you the crispy base you are after. Run the Kamado as hot as possible. For Low & Slow, use the minion method for the Charcoal. Vents open, then as the Kamado starts to come up in temperature start closing them down. Top vent can be set to 1/4 open. Remember it is easier to raise the temperature, than to reduce it if you have over shot your desired temperature. I always say, if you have a new piece of kit, play with it a couple of times, without food, to seen how it controls. You will after time, find where the vents need to be set for a Low & Slow Cook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandshoesandGrandad Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Help please, mines turned up with the heat deflector in pieces, I'm advised the item is now out of stock so no replacements available. Many Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whatcouldpossiblygowrong Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 See if you can pick up a cheap 12” pizza stone in the interim. Might last long enough till you get a replacement. The one supplied looks like one anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 That’s a shame that the heat deflector turned up broke. Get a Terracotta Plant pot saucer, that will work as good or a heavy round baking tray. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandshoesandGrandad Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Don't think I got a pizza stone with mine, SM will it be ok even if the pot saucer has lip around the edge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Take a picture of your broken deflector and let us have a look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandshoesandGrandad Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Cheers SM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Yes a terracotta saucer with or without a lip will get you cooking until a replacement arrives. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandshoesandGrandad Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Called Aldi they can't confirm if a replacement is available, can these be bought else where, if not thinking of returning the unit ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 My personal preference would be a metal diffuser. The stone/ceramic ones are very delicate especially when hot. Ask for a partial refund and get one cut. 4mm - 6mm steel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 17 hours ago, SandshoesandGrandad said: ... mines turned up with the heat deflector in pieces, I'm advised the item is now out of stock so no replacements available. Unfortunately the lack of original spare parts is one of the drawbacks of buying a limited time home brand offer. It would be very unusual though for them not to have at least some spare parts for things that are broken in transit. Luckily for you there are easy to source alternative replacement parts that you can use instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andya Posted May 6, 2018 Author Share Posted May 6, 2018 i'm guessing there have been a few breakages and rather than have all the parts as spares they have probably dived into some sale stock and opened one or two cartons up to supply us. i got the replacement ring yesterday (in one piece) so i cant really complain too much, that said the heat deflector is easier to replace than the ring so i'd make it work for me somehow, it really is a good cooker having used it, and you wont get a 3 year warranty anywhere else or for any brand in the uk, if i get a couple of years out of mine and it breaks i now know i will be offered a refund having already used it for ??? long and that they cant replace any parts Hopefully i wont need to and i have no doubt it will last many years i would as someone else has stated ask for a partial refund, quote them a price for a top of the line pizza stone off ebay (about 40 to 50 quid) im sure thats less than the cost of uplifting the whole unit and returning it to their stores so im sure they would go for that option and then you can choose ceramic or metal . ( and id get one bigger than the original too) so just within this forum we have had a couple of broken items, but no matter the brand they are all made in china and i bet green egg and joe have the same level of broken items, it's the nature of the materials...........they have all been bumped about on the roads and oceans for a couple of weeks before making it here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andya Posted May 11, 2018 Author Share Posted May 11, 2018 you can get the spares for all types of kamados on dhgate.com alibaba or direct from any of the chinese factories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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