Fire bowl cracked

[Charcoal Addict]

I would've preferred do see KJ use Refactory cement for the KJ Fireboxes vs CI. High quality Refractory cement can be purchase by companies for $1.25 - $1.50 USD per a pound. Consumers usually pay $3 a pound.

It would cost KJ $25 - $30 dollars per a Refractory cement firebox. I can't imagine the CI design being any cheaper. The Refactory cement version would weigh 5 -6lb more than the current FB and would handle thermal stress much better as long as there was a relief cut made in the Refractory cement FB. Dye could be added to the Refractory FB to make it match the rest of the Joe. The Refractory cement FB would be superior at insulating the base from the heat of really hot fires.

Fire rings rarely crack outside of user error when users perform high-heat cooks with the deflectors placed too low in the Kamado. There's really no significant need to redesign the fire rings in the Joe's.

I wonder why we opted for the more complex concept of using CI for the FB and fire ring when a simple Refractory cement FB would fix the issue without such a radical redesign. Using Refractory cement for the FB would greatly reduce the number of FB replacements offsetting any extra costs in using Refractory cement for the FB.

[m-fine]

I think you are confused. Kamado Joe has nothing to do with Pit Boss grills. The Pit Boss grill also does not use a seperate fire ring and firebox. It just as a single piece firebowl.

[Charcoal Addict]

I think you are confused. Kamado Joe has nothing to do with Pit Boss grills. The Pit Boss grill also does not use a seperate fire ring and firebox. It just as a single piece firebowl.

Okay. I throught this was about a KJ classic.

[Lumpy_Coal]

I think you are confused. Kamado Joe has nothing to do with Pit Boss grills. The Pit Boss grill also does not use a seperate fire ring and firebox. It just as a single piece firebowl.

Okay. I throught this was about a KJ classic.

I don't have a crack in the box or ring yet but both my KJC's both have the expansion cut. I did notice tonight at how wide that expansion cut gets when temps rise. I would think having the expansion cut should help. I do however like someone else's suggestion of using refractory cement like Komodo Kamado for box and ring only. I would think that would be a much easier and cost efficient solution over switching to cast iron.

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[BennyB]

G'day everyone,

 

I had my Pit Boss Kamado for only 3 or 4 months I'd guess before I saw a crack exactly how everyone else describes. I was pretty careful in the initial seasoning and at the point when it cracked I'd only really done low n slow with it and nothing over about 450f. When I finish cooking I tend to cool it slowly and not shut both vents off straight away to give it some time to come down.

 

Has anyone had any experience with Pit Boss replacing a fire bowl from overseas? I live in Australia and I'm not sure if they'll send parts this far.

 

Cheers,

Ben

[ckreef]

Welcome @BennyB Please stop by the introduction section and tell us a little about yourself. There are quite a few members from Australia. 

[wilpark]

Danson is the parent company of Louisiana Grills. I think they will be around for a while.


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[afingerhut]

This is just my 2 cents, but I would contact them and tell them you want the replacement immediately in case the company goes out of business. (Cite the name of a company that has recently gone out of business.) 
 
I'm pulling for these guys but they are so new that this still strikes me as "stick your toe in the water and see what happens" type of experiment and I would want my replacement parts in hand in case they decide to go another direction. I am pulling for them though. Great to have a cheaper option in the 24 size.  

I agree. I wouldn't settle for a rain check from a relatively new company. Especially when companies like KJ will provide one for the slightest crack. Besides why wait around until it fails and you can't use your cooker for a few days.

On a separate note, I am little put off by these companies calling their grills a '24' when that is the diameter of the body, not the cooking grate which is closer to 20". It seems deceptive and misleading to the consumer.

[EZ smoke]

42 minutes ago, afingerhut said:

... I am little put off by these companies calling their grills a '24' when that is the diameter of the body, not the cooking grate which is closer to 20"....

 

Not defending the practice because I also don't like the marketing but the PB K24 has a lower grate of 21.5" IIRC.

[afingerhut]

 
Not defending the practice because I also don't like the marketing but the PB K24 has a lower grate of 21.5" IIRC.

You may be right, but that further emphasizes my point. Not only do they provide one misleading measurement, but they don't provide the real number anywhere. Closest I have found to an answer is on amazon that says it is 20.5"

[m-fine]

It isn't that difficult to measure with a ruler or tape measure. The inside diameter of the shell is about 21.5". The grates are approximately 20.5" for the bottom and 20" for the top. 

 

The outside diameter is about 24" but other than the model number of K24, my box and the Pitt Boss website did not market it as a 24" grill. The box listed the cooking area as 660 sqin which is fairly accurate to the grate area of the two grates.  Some retailers are marketing it as 24" which you could argue is deceptive on their part. 

[afingerhut]

It isn't that difficult to measure with a ruler or tape measure. The inside diameter of the shell is about 21.5". The grates are approximately 20.5" for the bottom and 20" for the top. 
 
The outside diameter is about 24" but other than the model number of K24, my box and the Pitt Boss website did not market it as a 24" grill. The box listed the cooking area as 660 sqin which is fairly accurate to the grate area of the two grates.  Some retailers are marketing it as 24" which you could argue is deceptive on their part. 

You are absolutely right that you can figure out the actual size. However, it seems that a lot of folks are not doing that, because I see far more people comparing this and the same size grilla Kong with XLBGE and KJBJ even though they are closer in size to a Vision Classic B/Pro or a LBGE or KJC.

I've seen plenty of posts about $599 is a great deal for a 24" kamado. However, that's about the same price as a Vision and only $180 off a Kamado Joe at the roadshow. If it was $599 vs. $1200+ for a similar grill of higher repute, I'd go $599 all day... but that's not really the case. I'd drop the extra $180 for the KJ just to have the D&C and a higher quality product.

Not saying these are bad grills, as I have no experience with them. Just don't like to see people spending money with half truths in mind.

[m-fine]

I think there is a very big difference in usable area over the 18" grills so a KJC or LBGE is no more comparable than the BJ or XL.  Also, check your prices on the 2017 KJC and BGE's, especially for those with no road shows within hundreds of miles.  The difference is $280 for a significantly smaller KJC at a roadshow and $600 without the roadshow (BBQ guys).  The BGE starts lower but comes with nothing. 

 

If I could have a Big Joe, or even a 20" KJ for $180 more, I would take that deal. Unfortunately that isn't a real option. 

[afingerhut]

Not saying either is a perfect comparison. If it were my money I'd be getting the Vision Classic for $50 less and has a greater supply of compatible accessories like the CGS AR

[Marty]

On 5/16/2016 at 1:59 AM, magicmanfan said:

You could always carry out a repair...

There's other repair videos on YouTube.

 

I have been cooking on my Big Joe going on three years with a cracked fire box and cracked bottom shell (on pavers away from the house). I do have replacement parts but why use them yet?  It is kind of fun to see how long they will go.

 

Doing a wire stitch repair makes sense to me. It will allow movement but hold things together. It seems to me that doing what Kamado Joe has done just makes sense. Use smaller pieces with separations to reduce the stress by letting it move between pieces. Ross has mentioned knowing people who would take the pieces out to clean from time to time to do a complete clean. then just stack them back together and Keep On Cooking.

 

By the way-- doing repair this way with copper wire is a classic repair for old terracotta plant pots. Some people even prize the look especially, if it is covered in a living layer of green moss

 

I had to laugh. The caption said electric wire???? I said that is steel wire not copper electric wire. How much one can forget. As kids all of us got shocked by fencing wire and put grass on the wire and pushed it closer to the wire until someone chickened out. LOL The most brave would have the grass stalk resting on the wire and their hand jumping involuntarily with each pulse of the current.