Vision Kamado Owners Thread - Available @ Costco

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mr x
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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by mr x » Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:40 pm

How are you lighting the lump?
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by gyorke » Tue Jun 26, 2012 2:07 pm

Small propane torch.

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by mr x » Tue Jun 26, 2012 2:18 pm

I've heard some guys say not to start the fire from the bottom for low and slow, if that makes any difference to you.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by NASH » Tue Jun 26, 2012 4:24 pm

It's fairly common to be on a bit of a learning curve with these. You've got 200 lbs of ceramic there that will slowly react over time and because of the high efficiency of the cooker, very small adjustments can have a huge effect on temps. If your cooker is running at say 225 F and you want 250 F, adjust the vents ever so slightly then watch it slowly react for say 30 mins. Cranking the vent another 1/4" or so at a time will have your temps bouncing all over the map, by the time it reacts your way too hot, then way too cool etc. A vicious cycle that you'll learn to control with ease.

When I do a low n slo, first I generally let the temps stabilize for a good hour before adding the meat. When you add the meat you usually have a 5, 10 or 15 lb chunk of something straight out of the fridge. When you place this inside it's now sitting a few short inches away from your thermometer probe. That mass of cold meat can throw your temp reading for a serious loop. Stabilize your temp at 250 f for one hour, add meat. Now maybe your thermometer reads 215 f. Do nothing. Nothing. Leave the vents alone, you already stabilized a temp via controlled airflow and that hasn't changed. Your temp reading will bounce back to the 250 mark over the next 1/2 - 1 hour as the surface of the meat warms to ambient.

Also, if you are familiar with the way wood stoves or furnaces work that should help. These operate under the same principle. When you want to keep the heat inside and radiating from a stove instead of going out the chimney you close down the exhaust damper, eventually as the fire builds coals and stabilizes you need to close down the lower draft some as well. With the top damper opened up you're asking your heat to exit into the atmosphere, you'll always burn way more wood for the same amount of heat without the exhaust damper control. I've seen some people with this type of cooker pretty much opening the top vent right up and choking the bottom way back as a means of temp control. This is ass backwards, it burns more fuel, you'll have a tougher time with temp control and likely have a whole lot less natural convection and even heating inside. I throttle my cooker with the exhaust vent only, the bottom vent stays wide open until I need to also throttle it down for low temperature cooking.

Also, first things first, you should pull your thermometer off and calibrate it in boiling water. :cheers2:

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by Tony L » Tue Jun 26, 2012 4:27 pm

NASH wrote: You'll blow those fucking pictures up into man-sized portions or be banned from cooking :rocky: :lol:

ROFLMAO :lol:

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by canuck » Tue Jun 26, 2012 4:56 pm

LeafMan66_67 wrote:
canuck wrote: My Maverick ET-732 just arrived today for my new smoker. For $70, I certainly hope that it lasts for awhile. :?
Been using my Maverick ET-732 in my WSM for over a year now - no issues, works great with good range on the receiver. Great for getting some sleep on those overnight cooks.
Excellent, glad to hear it's a decent unit. I'll be using it tomorrow for the first time when I smoke a brisket.

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by canuck » Fri Jun 29, 2012 10:00 pm

Whole Chicken smoked on Cherry wood for 6 hours. Holy sh!t it was moist! :drool:

I honestly have no idea how I lived without a smoker all this time.


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mr x
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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by mr x » Fri Jun 29, 2012 10:07 pm

canuck wrote:I honestly have no idea how I lived without a smoker all this time.
This. :headbang:
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by dexter » Sun Jul 08, 2012 9:03 am

I have the bge but a buddy has one of these and loves it, he is amazed at what can be done on it, last week I showed him how to do pizza, since then he has been harassing me with pictures of pizza for a week!

The hardest part about using this type of grill is getting the hang of temp control and thats all practice.

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by Tony L » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:22 am

Shane, it looks like you are going to get your monies worth out of that smoker.. :lol:

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by gyorke » Sun Jul 08, 2012 10:39 am

Temp control is definitely getting better. Managed to pull off a consistent overnight smoke without any trouble. Patience and small adjustments were the key. Thanks for the advice guys.

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by TimG » Tue Dec 04, 2012 12:31 pm

So don't think Costco carries these anymore..

Anybody know the current options for sub-$1000 ceramic grills these days??

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by mr x » Tue Dec 04, 2012 12:33 pm

ct had their version of that unit, but it was $100 more
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by jeffsmith » Tue Dec 04, 2012 12:36 pm

TimG wrote:So don't think Costco carries these anymore..

Anybody know the current options for sub-$1000 ceramic grills these days??
Pretty sure I spotted one of these in the centre aisle at Moncton Costco last week. Had to walk in the opposite direction though so I wasn't tempted to buy it.

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by Jimmy » Tue Dec 04, 2012 12:38 pm

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/kamado- ... ill/991829" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These seem to get good reviews...though I don't know anyone personally that has one. It's the same as the Bubba Keg Kamado - they were bought out by Broil King

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by LeafMan66_67 » Tue Dec 04, 2012 12:53 pm

Jimmy wrote:http://www.homedepot.ca/product/kamado- ... ill/991829

These seem to get good reviews...though I don't know anyone personally that has one. It's the same as the Bubba Keg Kamado - they were bought out by Broil King
Doesn't have the same thermal mass as ceramic though ... and could be prone to rust.
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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by LeafMan66_67 » Tue Dec 04, 2012 12:54 pm

mr x wrote:ct had their version of that unit, but it was $100 more
Someone had told me that the CT version was a step up from the Costco one. Whether that's true or not, I don't know.
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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by mr x » Tue Dec 04, 2012 12:56 pm

More gadgety, not sure if it was better in the long run.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by Jayme » Tue Dec 04, 2012 1:03 pm

I would bet that Costco will carry them again (or something similar to it) in the spring... This isn't exactly prime BBQ season.
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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by TimG » Tue Dec 04, 2012 1:03 pm

How much was the Costco one?

Maybe if the C-tire one goes on sale for $700 it'd be a good buy?

Not for me, a buddy is looking. He is somewhat considering the Walmart $350 'steel' insulated one (which I think I'd get before the $700 HD steel one..)

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by Jimmy » Tue Dec 04, 2012 1:06 pm

mr x wrote:More gadgety, not sure if it was better in the long run.
That's what I've read as well. Seems like it's more show than go...not that it's bad, but most would recommend the Costco one.

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by mr x » Tue Dec 04, 2012 1:07 pm

It just looks like more junk to rust off.
At Alexander Keith's we follow the recipes first developed by the great brewmaster to the absolute letter. :wtf:

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by Tony L » Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:49 am

NASH wrote:
Also, if you are familiar with the way wood stoves or furnaces work that should help. These operate under the same principle. When you want to keep the heat inside and radiating from a stove instead of going out the chimney you close down the exhaust damper, eventually as the fire builds coals and stabilizes you need to close down the lower draft some as well. With the top damper opened up you're asking your heat to exit into the atmosphere, you'll always burn way more wood for the same amount of heat without the exhaust damper control. I've seen some people with this type of cooker pretty much opening the top vent right up and choking the bottom way back as a means of temp control. This is ass backwards, it burns more fuel, you'll have a tougher time with temp control and likely have a whole lot less natural convection and even heating inside. I throttle my cooker with the exhaust vent only, the bottom vent stays wide open until I need to also throttle it down for low temperature cooking.
:
I just re read this and it seems like I have been doing it backasswards.

Thanks Nash. :grilling:

I was looking at a medium BGE yesterday. Man they are awesome. Wish I could afford one.

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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by RubberToe » Tue Mar 19, 2013 3:34 pm

I'm keeping my eyes open for something like this now. CT has these in now, $499 and $599.

I don't want to chuck that kind of money on something and have the hardware rust out in 2 years, which is what happened to my $550 "stainless"' propane grill. How durable are these?
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Re: New Kamado from Costco

Post by LeafMan66_67 » Tue Mar 19, 2013 6:08 pm

Costco in Dartmouth has them in now for $589.00. Lump charcoal once again at $11.99.
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