Kamado K7 Restoration

[Addertooth 2,612]

Looks great, you have added years to that old girls life. 

[jotuck 8]

Looks great, you have added years to that old girls life. 

Thanks again for your help. The restores posted in this forum is a treasure trove of knowledge. After I get the tiles reset this spring. I will look for another to restore In the summer. 10 degrees is not a good time to start one of these. Even with the space heater chugging along.

[Jkomodo 10]

Hey, great job man!

[Gnomatic 14]

What a great thread!  I have one of these old RJ Kamados, a #5. ~12yrs old.  For an RJ cooker it's in pretty darn good shape.  If anyone's looking for a restoration project, PM me.  I don't want anything for this, other than someone to come get it.   Location is Columbus, OH.

 

About 95% of the original tiles are intact.  It needs a new gasket, and the bands are badly in need of adjustment.  The firebox is cracked in two, but still sits in the cooker as it should.  If the firebox was repaired the fire grate will hold in place, but as it stands now, it tends to fall through the bottom.  Still have the drip pan, lumpsaver charcoal basket, and meat hanger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Addertooth 2,612]

Wow Gnomatic, I wish it were closer.  Best of luck finding someone who will put the time and effort into it.

[ckreef 19,246]

Yea if I was closer I would take on that project. Looks to be in really good shape.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[Gnomatic 14]

I found that kamado a new home.  It survived that journey to its new home and now has an owner willing to put a little time and effort into getting it back into shape.

[dbmet 0]

Has anyone found another source for replacement tiles.

[mepatrickv 0]

Hello all. I've had my RJ K7 for 13 years and it's been non-functional for the last 6 years or so. I bought it new from the factory when they were in West Sacramento, CA (where I grew up and lived until 2005). I decided it was time to either fix it up or dump it. So I'm starting my restoration. The top collar completely fell apart and the firebox is no more, but it's not in too bad shape for having been moved to Arkansas and twice more since. Wish me luck!

 

Photo's here:

https://goo.gl/photos/zUP4rF9gAMKuza419

[Jack. 7,787]

pvarney.

[Addertooth 2,612]

Best of luck Patrick.  I would suggest a new upper collar (spider) from GalaxyOutdoors in Las Vegas.  If you still have your lower damper, that will be helpful.  The color of tile you have is also available from Galaxy as well.

 

[Jeffsf 7]

If you trust anything that RJ and his family have said, when I talked with them around 2003 and visited the Sacramento plant, I was told they used "pool tile" at that time. If you only need a few tiles for a repair, that may be a helpful clue in finding a local supplier.

I know nothing of this vendor, but the "Oyster Blue" that they show on their website appears to be a very similar tile as to what is on my K7, and the name is consistent with the name provided by RJ. They also have a "Terra Blue" shown, and I recall having an up-charge on my order to get the Oyster Blue over the standard tile colors.

 

[Sharon 3]

Hello all, I have had 2 Richard Johnson K's since 1999.  A K7and a K3, they were manufactured in Indonesia before the quality went to crap.  They are tiled with colbalt blue tiles.  We've never had any issues with either except baby k did seize up last winter when I closed her top hat (damper) down solidly.  Had to work on her for a couple weeks with lubricant to free her.  We  moved the baby K (k3) to our new home, but K7 is still at the old one.  She's moved twice, and I'm not sure given many people's experiences, she will enjoy a 3rd longer distance move.  In speaking with Dennis, at Komodo Kamado, he tells me I must have gotten a couple of the "dry ones", meaning that they were properly cured.  That being said, we elected to seriously upgrade our kamado experience and pulled the trigger on a KK 22" supreme Hi-top a couple of weeks ago.  I'll probably keep K3 for old times sake for small cooks, but will look to part ways with K7 and her accessories as she is similar in size.  Not all Richard Johnson K's are equal.  If you can find a decent one, it will give you some incredible cooks.  Just my 2 cents.

[Addertooth 2,612]

Sharon,

I couldn't agree more.  If it is still mostly intact at this point, it is one of the good ones.  Most of the bad ones are currently sitting in landfills.  I got super lucky with mine; even the firebox was fully intact. 

[coferj 14]

I've read y'alls resto threads front and back, and appreciate the information!

 

I'm going to go pick up a k7 from my dad this weekend.  It's clad in the green tiles, which doesn't seem to be as prevalent as the blue? I believe it's a RJ era, but can't say for certain.  He has rebuilt the firebox, and it needs a few tiles put back on.  It's been a few years since I have seen it, so we'll see what kind of shape it's in. It's been outside, but covered..for whatever that may be worth.  I know I did help him free the damper a few years ago, so hopefully it's still spinning.  I don't think he's cooked on it in years.

 

I'm going to be transporting it about 3.5 hours back home.  I'm thinking that taking the dome off, and removing all internal components, may make the base more manageable.  I'm thinking of stuffing the interior with pillows and towels wrapped in trash bags, and lying it on it's side on a mattress, with support on either side to keep it from rolling.  

I'm open to any suggestions, especially any tips on the transport of it.