T Yelta

First of all, welcome to the Guru. I wouldn't worry too much about it being thin smoke but it does get thinner after the temperature rises. Used charcoal will smoke less than new lump by my experience so fill up the bowl and cook and the next cook will be mostly used stuff plus whatever was needed to top off. Wood chunks go a long way and less can be more if you know what I mean. There should be a video or two referenced around the forums in the sticky sections showing how to start up. Here is one, fifth video down. Same principles apply across all kamados.

That's probably the best answer even though it's not what you had hoped for. The probes might not be rated for higher temps. The closer to the top rating of the probe you go the more likely that an overshoot will burn the probe completely. The manufacturer probably doesn't want that headache. Keep reaching forward, keep cooking, keep having fun

If there is a fan only mode then use that and keep an eye on the pit temp yourself (dome thermometer). If there is not a fan only mode then don't put the pit temp probe inside the pit and monitor the temps yourself (again with the dome thermometer). Best of luck

Are you using a drip pan or heat deflector? Both are important for low and slow. If you let the drippings from the pork butts drip down and catch fire it will be next to impossible to hold temperature. If you don't use a heat deflector then the radiant heat will lead towards a faster cook.

Epic ribs. Congrats

I walked into a Lowes with specific intentions of buying an Akorn and the sales associate tried to talk me into buying an offset grill. This after I had done my research and I was a bit annoyed because the Akorn was what I wanted. It was a great purchase. The associate owned an offset so he was coming from a place of personal knowledge but he probably didn't know anything about the Akorn. I'm not sure what is meant by "pre-historic pellet grill." Kamados can burn pellets for smoke but wood chunks are prefered for most. If pre-historic refers to non-electric or no types of modern features then that's not accurate as there are plenty of accessories that can control, raise, lower, hold temperature and so on and so forth. I'm a bit of a grill junkie and I might get that offset smoker yet or maybe a pellet grill even but for now kamados is my thing. Happy grilling everyone.

The Heatermeter mentioned above is completely open source and does not require a company or cloud server of any type to work.

My walls don't stand up by themselves and I can't even see how that is possible. If you can't find an extra pair of hands then try this: ball up a paper towel and wedge it between the outer bowl and the plate so that it holds up the plate. Do the same for the next plate and work your way around until all the plates are in place. Put on your ring and then either pull out the paper towels or else push them down so that they just rest on the bottom of the outer bowl. They won't matter at that point. Best of luck

It looks pretty cool to me. I'd say go for it if you think you will get enough use out of it.

I always thought that the deflectors when placed on the D&C ring were a bit too aggressive in that they didn't allow enough heat to rise into the cooking chamber vs the amount of charcoal burned and the temperature of the fire bowl and outside bowl. I don't mind having them sit a little bit higher and burning less fuel and putting less stress on the lower structures.

The grass was as good as ever. It's less stress than rolling the cooker on it. LOL, you and me both buddy

During my break in period with my Big Joe (which is defined by the time that it spent in the back yard hiding from my wife) I used two or three sheets of plywood to move it over uneven grass and soil. The stock wheels will roll much better on that. Just wedge one under the one before it and replace as you go along. You can even do turns but 3 sheets is better for that. Also, they don't have to be full sheets but they should be wide enough for the entire cart to rest on just one sheet because the second sheet needs to be lifted and moved. You can even leave the kamado on the plywood for stability on soft ground. Happy grilling

WOW, finally mystery solved. I would have never figured that out in a million years. I had heard the part was for that purpose but I would have never guessed how or where to use it. Thanks for the video (and/or sharing it).

That's crazy. I'd drive there from VA for a next to free KK. The skeptic in me doesn't buy this.

I had an old bottle of MAPP laying around, real MAPP which is hotter than the new formulation and it didn't make a difference to me. Why waste that MAPP on charcoal? Because it was decades old and I didn't trust the bottle anymore. I burn the green camp stove propane and it works great to start charcoal. That being said, if it makes you happy to burn the new MAPP then give it a try. It probably won't bankrupt you. Happy Cooking