Lakeman

Well, I will say KJ has been responsive. I was correct, new bands are necessary for to complete the assembly. Unfortunately, they are on backorder but should be shipped by the end of June. More to come.

I purchased my Big Joe 1 in 2015 at Costco road show. Enjoyed for years until the hinge adjustment maxed out. Then I had a few incidents where the hinge would not keep the lid open and it closed HARD. I can only assume this eventually caused the top to crack and the crack eventually went from front to back. I went to Kamado Joe website and completed the warranty information and was very pleased with the rapid reply. I received a new top and bottom with the new style hinge and 12 longer bolts for the bands. After removing the bands from the original BJ I replaced the new bottom and had difficulty replacing the lower band. I had to use a c-clamp to get the adjustment bolt started then I was able to tighten. After placing the new dome top and adjusting the tension to the band, I tried to attach the new hinge. I noticed the new hinge had a different bolt pattern for three bolts for the top and bottom on each side instead of the two bolts from the original. I was able to get the two bottom bolts on each side line up for the hinge but the top bolts would not match the hole pattern. I tried to tighten the top band a little more thinking it might help but it didn't and I ended up over-tightening the top band to the point the band snapped at the adjustment area. I am reaching out to KJ customer service as I think there may be a different band needed with the six bolt pattern to match the newer hinge. Has anyone else had experience with this hinge? I'll let y'all know the outcome.

Hello group, glad I found you. I have enjoyed smoking 'n grilling for about 40+ years. In 2015 I purchased my Kamado Big Joe 1 from the road show at Costco. Loved it so much I gave away my old rusty off-set smoker, my Weber grill and a worn out gas grill. About a year ago the tension on my Big Joe hinge maxed out the adjustment with eventual failure in the ability to hold up the lid. I will create a separate post on this topic to see if anyone has a similar situation as mine. Kamado just sent a new hinge I have not seen anyone post before. More to come!