Charcoal Addict

That’s going through a city from a local dealer. It’s doesn’t mean a problem won’t happen, the odds are lower than shipping a unit across the country. When you’re ordering units online it could be traveling 1500-2000 miles, the risk for damage is higher with transporting a single unit. The dealers and distributors are much more careful in handling shipments than some transport companies. KJ does need to do something to change the way the handle and gasket are being protected inside the packaging.

Hopefully KJ is working on a new packaging design for 2019. It seems like the current packing is not doing a great job protecting the grills in transport. A Kamado is on the small list of things I’ll never buy from an online store. There’s a greater risk for damages when Kamados are shipped on trucks with random mismatched mix of inventory from dozens of vendors.

Leaks after new gasket changes are normally the result of Dome alignment issues. Especially if you’re using the older felt gaskets. Use strong tie down straps to keep your hinge from popping up. (around the arms that lift the lid and base) losen the band holding your dome until the dome can move freely. Make sure the rivet in the center of the front is lined-up with the rivet for the pin on the bottom band. The dome should be flat and gasket should be making full contact (no gap) all away around the Dome and base. After you veridy the dome is sitting on the base with no gaps, tighten the band and check the seal with a piece of paper or a business card all the way around. A leak can be caused by the dome being out-of alignment by a 1/16 of an inch on one side. Try fixing your dome alignment first before you go gasket shopping.

The felt gasket and fiberglass gasket will work perfectly. You’ll get a better seal than you would with two felt gaskets. It’s a win-win to some degree. It works fine without the latch. The weight of the dome creates the seal. They made a mistake sending you a second base. Support would have been better off to send you a piece of Fiberglass gasket for the dome. There was zero reason to send a 2nd base. They wasted the company’s money doing that.

I’m outta of yard for a third Big Joe. Sadly the Black Joe Parts and Firebox will have to hit the auction block.

I added the new gasket to the replacement parts for my 2nd Big Joe. The new parts are Red and will replace the parts Big Black Joe. As pictured below, I decided to patch the slightly damaged gasket with the Fiberglass gasket tape included in the Big Joe Fiberglass gasket kit. I felt I should try to get some mileage out of the Fiberglass gasket installed on the replacement base. I have spare gasket and gasket tape if this doesn’t work or if start to get the shakes from the gasket not looking as perfect as the factory unit. Honesty, I’ll be the only one that ever sees the 2nd tape as a flaw. Most people won’t notice or care. I’m still waiting for the replacement 2nd gen Hinge for the older Big Joes to arrive. I can’t put this unit together. My old hinge is busted and cannot hold the lid up. I don’t want to risk damaging the new parts assembling them with the old broken hinge. I used an old iron to press down the gasket down with some heat to prevent the new gaskets from peeling off. It’s not as good as doing a 300 F cook to set the adhesive. The iron did a decent enough job gluing the gasket down for the interim. I should’ve looked at the new base for a reference. You can cut the gasket tape in half. You only need half a piece to cover the gap. The only big surprise I encounter during this install was the thickness of the felt gasket on the new Red dome. It was ridiculously thick compared with the ultra thin felt gaskets on older models. I though KJ had taped two gaskets over one another when I was pulling it off the dome. It looks like KJ decided to use a thicker felt on Big Joe’s at sometime during the production of newer models before 2017. Now I’ll have to figure out what to do with perfectly good Black Big Joe shell and firebox.

The value you get will largely depend on the type of recipiea you cook. Roasting Chicken breasts in a flat basket produces a superior result to roasting Chicken breasts at 400 F. The chicken breasts are more moist and form a much more even crust on the Joetisserie. You get a much nicer smoke profile on Roast beef using a Jostisserie. Rotisserie also gives a crispy skin on poultry cooks. You can get baskets to roast veg, smoke coffee beans, roast nuts. The sky is the limit.

That’s how we all learn. You have to practice without the technology. It’s like Master Yoda tells Luke “he needs to clear his mind” to learn how to control the powers of the force. Controlling the powers of the force in the Kamado world is all about learning to let go of the hold BBQ toys can have over you. It’s only once you given up all the toys, you’ll be able to clear mind and you’ll finally be able to master the power of the Kamado.

275 F is still good smoking temp. It won’t ruin anything. You also get temp swings with the temp controllers. 6 months ago I turned a perfectly pork butt into lump of black burnt Charcoal because of an air gap in the back of my Black Big Joe. The CyberQ Wifi was running when this happened. The hinge on my Black Big Joe was starting to fail. This was causing the gap in the back that let too much air into the Joe during the cook.

People need to realize the new gaskets are not invincible and maintenance free. You have to clean them gently with damp cloth with Dawn soap and water if you get grease on them. You never want to accidentally hit them with a edge wire brush while cleaning your grates. You need to close the lid gentely when you have Add-on’s like the Rotisserie wedge or Pizza wedge installed.

It’s all about making real minuscule adjustment at the right time. The ceramic in the walls gets heat soaked over time and radiates heat. The additional radiant heat from the ceramic can cause the temp to rise past your target point. How much time are you giving your KJ to hit 225 F? It should take about a little over 90 -100 minutes to hit 225 F. Usually once the KJ is lit, you want to start closing down the vent half way at 180 F to slow the temp rise. You close vent a 2nd time at it’s final setting with a 1/4 inch opening for both vents when your Kamado hits 200 F. Let it reach 225 F with the vents in their final position. You can make hairline adjustments if it’s stuck at 218-221.

When squished flat the new gasket is only about an 3/16 inch thicker than the felt gaskets. It’s only a slight difference when the gasket is compressed. It’s really going to depend on how the bands are set-up in the base. Some people will have to re-align their bands after the new gasket is installed to fit the Jostierrie wedge. Buying the new 2 gen hinge for the older Big Joe also solves the problem.

They updated their warranty policy. When I bought my Joes, metal parts are were covered by 1 year. Sorry for the error there. If you’re getting a base with a Fiberglass gasket, you’re actually getting a free upgrade. It’s not a bad thing.

You’re top vent is open way too much for your Joe to hold 225 F. The top vent should only be a 1/4 to 3/8 an inch open after the Joe passes 200 F to hit 225 F. You’re top vent looks like it’s 3/4 inch open allowing too much air causing the grill to go past 225 F. My best bet is your top vent setting is causing your problem.

My felt gasket failures have been all been weather related. Rain, snow, frost, ect... I always cleaned the gaskets if there are spills and I protect the gasket with a pan to prevent food grease from dripping on the felt. I’m also guilty of using the Jostisserie in rain, snow storms. The wedge directly exposes the gaskets to more bad weather. Using the Jostisserie in storms plays a huge role in shortening the lifespan of felt gaskets.