Lovejoy Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 (edited) Hello. This will be my first kamado. My father has a big green egg way out of my price league. If I end up accessorising the Aldi with steel deflectors and / or the Ynni divide and conquer which would be the better buy? Any advice much appreciated. Thanks Edited April 24, 2022 by Lovejoy Misspelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamG Posted April 24, 2022 Share Posted April 24, 2022 With the kamado joe you will get a longer warranty, a better quality product and a higher chance of not having a damaged/defected one on delivery. On the flip side you can get just as good results from the Aldi kamado since its down to the user rather than brand to get great cooking results. If you plan on kitting out the aldi one with the dual zone cooking grids etc would there be a big price difference? When I got mine, it worked out roughly £900 to kit out the Aldi Kamado with everything I wanted (this was 3 years ago, so im sure things have changed)...in the end I went with a Monolith Kamado pro 1.0 for £1200. A lot of money I know but this included everything I wanted, longer warranty, all stainless steel metal and better quality materials overall. I dont believe it cooks any better but I do plan to have it for many years and would like the warranty and support to last that long aswell if I ever need it. I think ultimately it comes down to wether you would be happier with having a better quality product or saving money and getting the same cooking results. The Aldi Kamado would be the clear winner IMO if you didnt want extra accessories. If I was to buy a second one I would consider all brands including the Aldi Kamado, my most important criteria would be as long as current accessories fit into it rather than brand. My kamado is 3 years old, zero problems and looks almost new once i give it a clean, Im happy with my investment and expect it to last for many years (so far its basically cost me £400 per year). Hopefully my opinion help get you closer to a decision👍🍻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 4 hours ago, AdamG said: With the kamado joe you will get a longer warranty, a better quality product and a higher chance of not having a damaged/defected one on delivery. On the flip side you can get just as good results from the Aldi kamado since its down to the user rather than brand to get great cooking results. If you plan on kitting out the aldi one with the dual zone cooking grids etc would there be a big price difference? When I got mine, it worked out roughly £900 to kit out the Aldi Kamado with everything I wanted (this was 3 years ago, so im sure things have changed)...in the end I went with a Monolith Kamado pro 1.0 for £1200. A lot of money I know but this included everything I wanted, longer warranty, all stainless steel metal and better quality materials overall. I dont believe it cooks any better but I do plan to have it for many years and would like the warranty and support to last that long aswell if I ever need it. I think ultimately it comes down to wether you would be happier with having a better quality product or saving money and getting the same cooking results. The Aldi Kamado would be the clear winner IMO if you didnt want extra accessories. If I was to buy a second one I would consider all brands including the Aldi Kamado, my most important criteria would be as long as current accessories fit into it rather than brand. My kamado is 3 years old, zero problems and looks almost new once i give it a clean, Im happy with my investment and expect it to last for many years (so far its basically cost me £400 per year). Hopefully my opinion help get you closer to a decision👍🍻 Thanks Adam. Your reply is appreciated. Price is an issue. And a full kit out will probably have to wait but yes this is a piece of kit I intend to be living with for a good while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamG Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 Something that dawned on me today that I think is important. When I purchased mine the Aldi Kamado was smaller than it is currently, so this would have made the decision harder for me (I wasnt sure if the original size was too small for my needs). If you do decide to go with the Aldi Kamado then let me know what you think of it. It would be interesting to see what you think since your father has a big green egg for you to compare to👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pittmab Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Aargh, this post has now got me looking at KJ's again - Classic 3 currently available for £1699! I don't think you would regret either purchase. But the KJ is bigger, comes with a lifetime warranty on the ceramics and has so many accessories readily available. It probably just comes down to price and personal choice at the end of the day - not wanting to throw a spanner in the works, the Masterbuilt kamado is £200 less than the KJ and virtually identical. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamG Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 30 minutes ago, pittmab said: Aargh, this post has now got me looking at KJ's again - Classic 3 currently available for £1699! I don't think you would regret either purchase. But the KJ is bigger, comes with a lifetime warranty on the ceramics and has so many accessories readily available. It probably just comes down to price and personal choice at the end of the day - not wanting to throw a spanner in the works, the Masterbuilt kamado is £200 less than the KJ and virtually identical. When i decided to get a Kamado Joe I was torn between the Kamado Joe classic 2, the Kamado Joe classic 3, Aldi Kamado and Monolith classic pro 1.0 bbq edition...ended up going with the Monolith in the end. I was set on a big green egg large for 2 years, then I was set on a Kamado Joe classic 2 for 3 years...then the classic 3 and Monolith was released! 😕🤔😖🤯 If i ordered on a different day I could have ended up with a different kamado, it was a very close decision. I dont think there is a wrong choice and that just makes it harder lol. Just like pittmab said, price and personal choice is what it boils down to, Im sure you will be happy with which ever you go with👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 18 hours ago, pittmab said: Aargh, this post has now got me looking at KJ's again - Classic 3 currently available for £1699! I don't think you would regret either purchase. But the KJ is bigger, comes with a lifetime warranty on the ceramics and has so many accessories readily available. It probably just comes down to price and personal choice at the end of the day - not wanting to throw a spanner in the works, the Masterbuilt kamado is £200 less than the KJ and virtually identical. I hadn’t looked at the masterbuilt so have an Aaargh back! more research required before biting the bullet 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovejoy Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 (edited) 18 hours ago, AdamG said: When i decided to get a Kamado Joe I was torn between the Kamado Joe classic 2, the Kamado Joe classic 3, Aldi Kamado and Monolith classic pro 1.0 bbq edition...ended up going with the Monolith in the end. I was set on a big green egg large for 2 years, then I was set on a Kamado Joe classic 2 for 3 years...then the classic 3 and Monolith was released! 😕🤔😖🤯 If i ordered on a different day I could have ended up with a different kamado, it was a very close decision. I dont think there is a wrong choice and that just makes it harder lol. Just like pittmab said, price and personal choice is what it boils down to, Im sure you will be happy with which ever you go with👍 Thanks again Adam. coming down on the side of the KJ but will have to wait and see what’s in the pot in a couple of weeks time and what the prices are then. Edited April 27, 2022 by Lovejoy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermad Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 On 4/24/2022 at 10:24 AM, Lovejoy said: Hello. This will be my first kamado. My father has a big green egg way out of my price league. If I end up accessorising the Aldi with steel deflectors and / or the Ynni divide and conquer which would be the better buy? Any advice much appreciated. Thanks Hi, what did you decide on in the end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamG Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 21 minutes ago, Tigermad said: Hi, what did you decide on in the end? Is it your turn for your brain to explode due to the choices available? Haha 😲🤯 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermad Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 1 hour ago, AdamG said: Is it your turn for your brain to explode due to the choices available? Haha 😲🤯 😁 😊I’ve gone for the AK but half wishing I went for the Jo at £739 with accessories. Doesn’t arrive until tomorrow. Right choice I hope. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamG Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 3 minutes ago, Tigermad said: 😊I’ve gone for the AK but half wishing I went for the Jo at £739 with accessories. Doesn’t arrive until tomorrow. Right choice I hope. I dont think there is a wrong choice....just a hard choice lol👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sotv Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 Saw this Classic II in Costco for £950 today as it's a lot cheaper than anywhere else, was checking it out for a friend who'd asked me too, first time I'd seen one close up (seen the Kamado Big Joe previously) really impressed with the hinge lid and gasket and how well built it was as you'd expect with a Kamado Joe. Just couldn't get my head round how small the grilling area is, after seeing the 45cm grill area close up, what a small area you've actually got to work with. Certainly for his family of six, nowhere near big enough, think I'm going to have to recommend him to consider the Masterbuilt 800 or a Pellet Grill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamG Posted May 11, 2022 Share Posted May 11, 2022 42 minutes ago, sotv said: Saw this Classic II in Costco for £950 today as it's a lot cheaper than anywhere else, was checking it out for a friend who'd asked me too, first time I'd seen one close up (seen the Kamado Big Joe previously) really impressed with the hinge lid and gasket and how well built it was as you'd expect with a Kamado Joe. Just couldn't get my head round how small the grilling area is, after seeing the 45cm grill area close up, what a small area you've actually got to work with. Certainly for his family of six, nowhere near big enough, think I'm going to have to recommend him to consider the Masterbuilt 800 or a Pellet Grill Its surprising what you can fit in them but there is no denying the biggest drawback to all kamado's is the price to cooking area is terrible. I know you can get multi tiers/ extenders but they cost extra....and in some cases its hard to reach under another tier without removing the upper levels. It was the biggest concern I had when I got mine...but thats universal across brands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.