LargeRedJoe

Some more on this from the American Meteor Society. https://www.amsmeteors.org/2021/02/bright-fireball-over-alberta-canada-on-february-22-2021/

Nice! It may have exploded so it could have dropped some pieces. Was there confirmation of an impact? oh, never mind. https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/edmonton-weather-waking-up-to-a-lot-of-wind-oh-and-a-meteor

Yeah, i’m blaming the cheap grocery store charcoal. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

And here we go again. No longer relevant comment.

How open was the top vent? In my case it was darned near closed and I only made it 8 hours or so.

In that case the Classic 2 is the better Value. You’ll get the air lift hinge, new fire box, new gasket and the divide and conquer rack system. Plus any accessories you bought will still fit. if you plan to put the new Joe in your current table you may need to raise the grill to allow for the larger hinge.

And yup....most of my charcoal was gone, about 80% and I started with a fairly full basket. It was also cheap coal so that may have played a role.

I would upgrade to the Big Joe 2 to gain more horizontal cooking surface. The slo roller is a nice addition but i would trade that for surface area. I know it would cost more than your other stated options but not much more than the Classic 3. Of course if you want to repurpose your table then this may not work.

Wow that's counterintuitive; you would think the lump would burn faster with the vent more open. I just got a FireBoard and I'm half way through my first cook and my top vent is barely open, so we'll see what happens.

It could be made under license from Akorn, or even a subsidiary with its own brand. In any event the two grills look very similar. https://brandmangrill.com/

My second shingles vaccination had me thinking that I was getting COVID. Felt like crud for two days. in Georgia the revised plan is to include everyone 65 and older in the first cohort along with health care workers and first responders. The new plan starts on Monday but still no specifics on how to get the darned thing.

Yeah, but it works. Good stuff.

Blue skies Chuck.

That is a really weird quality control issue. Prior to shipping the petals are firmly snugged into form-fitted Styrofoam packing material and then placed inside the grill. It means someone either a) didn't pack a petal or b) removed one petal before the crate left the factory (broken, chipped, whatever). IOW that gap in the styrofoam would / should have been visible. You can try to nudge KJ to send a complete firebox; those may be in stock vs. a single petal. But I'm just spitballing...

Short answer. No. I’ve assembled a bunch of both grills and the petals are different sizes. It won’t fit in the ring. I’m guessing the Big Joe was a floor model? Or was one petal missing out of the crate?