The Chairmaker

Big Joe ll arrived today. First cook completed and eaten <burp>

Take the old one off and lob it in the bin. Drop the new one on. They are only a friction fit, so it will take all of 10 seconds.

My Big Joe got delivered today so I am enjoying the Airhinge delights!

Thanks for that, but the info in that appears to now out of date. The Classic 1 is now sold with the newer firebox, thus removing a key difference between the old 1 and 2. For the £500 difference all you now get is the top vent (£70) to buy, the new seal (£70 ish) and the hinge. To me that makes the version 2 way overpriced.

I'm having a conversation with some people regarding the the current differences between the two older Classic Joe models? When the ver 2 was launched there were a lot of substantial differences (Kontrol tower, Airhinge, new gasket, new AMP firebox, D&C system). The gap seems to have closed since then. Over here in the UK, the Classic 1 is now supplied with the AMP firebox and the D&C system, making the only differences seemingly the Airhinge, the new gasket and the Kontrol tower. A Kontrol tower costs £69, sop it'd be easy to retrofit. The felt gasket can be replaced with the later mesh gasket. From a price difference, the Classic 1 is available at £899 with the Classic 2 costing £1399. So, for a £500 difference all you are getting is the Kontrol tower, hinge and gasket. The tower and gasket would cost about £120, making the hinge VERY expensive. Are there any other differences? Are the ceramic bodies the same between the models? Thanks in advance.

Conas a ta tu? I'm a Westmeathman over in Lancashire. I'm also awaiting on a delivery from KJ so I feel your pain!

Hey ho! I've been a Weber Kettle user for 20 years and a kamado user for about 4. My Pit Boss recently developed a crack in the base and Costco's superb customer services are organising a collection and full refund. Not bad after hundreds of cooks over 4 years! BBQing is mainly a summer activity here in not-so-sunny Lancashire in the UK. However, I have the BBQ out whenever I can, including getting up at 4AM to smoke a brisket. I'm pleased to see that the BBQ scene is improving over here in recent years. A traditional British BBQ tends to be burnt on the outside, raw on the inside sausages, burgers and chicken bits. Me personally I love cooking any meat, fowl or fish on the BBQ. Hell, I've been known to use a BBQ to cook paella or spaghetti bolognaise! I'm currently waiting delivery on a Big Joe 2 and Joetisserie...I can't wait for that to arrive. For me, Kamado's really represent a one-size-fits-all cooking solution. I'm looking forward to many years of happy smoking.

You'll need to remove them as the bolt heads prevent the sliders from coming out. It's worth doing though as there tends to be a lack of sealing along the bottom edge. I removed mine recently, put some black felt around the frame as well as on the sliders. Plenty of black RTV high temp sealer when you re-attach the slider assembly. The kamado is much more precise now and the charcoal extinguishes much faster on shut-down.

Wow...looks overengineered if anything. How will those spring clips withstand multiple heating cycles (will the springs loose their elasticity)?. What are the black components made of? Stainless or aluminium?