Buwani Posted December 26, 2017 Share Posted December 26, 2017 This all started in mid October. Northern California had some horrible fires and a family friend lost their home. Everyone got out with minutes to spare thank God. I helped for many weeks looking for anything that was left. The fire was crazy hot. Every bit of wood burned to nothing. All the walls colapsed making it a giant pile of roof tile, floor tile , cement , stucco , gooey gypsum , and appliance skeletons . After at least 6 trips to the site I noticed one small section of wall standing and wondered what was keeping this one wall up. I stuck my head inside and saw this. I was amazed what perfect shape it was in. I didn't have my sawzall for the wall so I had to wait until the next day. The site clearing crews were working next door and I knew it wouldn't be long before they level everything. Back the next day with help , we carefully removed the wall to uncover this beauty. The casters were shot , melted away except the cast iron and oilight bushings. The wall took out ONE tile on the lid. There was a propane regulator hose inside along with spiderwebs. It looked like this egg just came back from a sunny vacation. Side counter tops , lid lifter , thermostat , bottom door all worked perfect. Propane controller was shot. Now we had to move it. Swept the concrete and only had to go 20 feet to lift truck. Holy @#&< ! You can image. Straped in down and got it home to the driveway. Rested a few days and got it in the garage. During moving there was a couple of spots that lost tiles. Maybe 40 below and 12 on the lid. First up was repair the casters. Found a mean looking rear and a locking front set. Very easy after we got it on blocks. Casters Check Now the top vent. I have been reading anything i could find and I had a feeling I might need to replace it. I tried oven cleaner , heat , freeze off , thread chaser , double nut , even carefully tried pb blaster. Not budging. When torching , I did see a small amount of smoke come out the top so I knew it wasn't totally closed. Now its Christmas Eve and I am cooking a prime rib tomorrow. I also needed a cleaning run on my offset Landmann smoker and the webber. Quick trip to get combustibles and I fired up the egg and the smoker. Started great. Got up to maybe 300 and there was a little smoke coming out the vent. Because I was drinking beers all day , I decided to give it a twist. Bingo , it turns! All those hours of trying to get it loose , it just wanted some heat. Its been cold since the night of the fire. I played with the air flow for a few hours and knew it was ready to cook again. Prime rib with horseradish mustard , olive oil and Grunt Rub. I put a ceramic drip pan on the burner that is still in filled with carrots onions and beef broth. Note to self , use more broth to avoid carrot and onion charcoal. Grandson Mack was on temperature control OMG the thermostat works and its even close. Started at 400 and it slowly dropped to 350, pulled at 120 internal. Tossed in some twice cooked potatoes 3 different ways. Is that 6 cooked potatoes? Its a Christmas miracle! Turned out incredible. Next up will be burner removal and tile repair but it can wait a few cooks. I only wiped off some of the tiles and I know they will clean up. Gunna leave it dirty . Looks like a fireman after a 24 hour shift. First impressions is how well it holds the heat. It like heating oil. Takes time to heat or cool down . Gotta learn how to cool this monster down. Great excuse for cooking different meats.As much as I love my other cookers , this one is quickly become my favorite. Wind , cold , meteors, doesnt seem like it will phase it once its heated up and has fuel. I love the forum. I read many of the restoration threads and know I can keep this one going for years. Im sure you will hear from me when its time to do the tiles. Great day and the Warriors beat the cavs. Shawn KismetKamado, AZMDTed, Billy Grills and 7 others 8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKOBBQ Posted December 26, 2017 Share Posted December 26, 2017 Congrats on getting it going, nice looking PR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KismetKamado Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 Nice cook and story. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam319 Posted December 27, 2017 Share Posted December 27, 2017 I had been wondering how that kamado has been doing. Congrats. Buwani 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shuley Posted December 28, 2017 Share Posted December 28, 2017 That was awesome. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike echo Posted December 29, 2017 Share Posted December 29, 2017 Nice story. So much fun and enjoyment reviving something that seemed gone forever. Keep your updates coming. M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buwani Posted December 30, 2017 Author Share Posted December 30, 2017 Thanks everyone. I have a few questions. Is the part that goes on top of the burner , Stack charcoal on it just for starting? I assume the gas hookup was optional. Is this all that came with the original? Just the grill? It is a very nice grill by the way. I don't really see me hooking up propane for starting. If I take the burner out is making a cover plate the best option? Maybe over thinking this but are the holes in the table frames for an accessory like a beer holder? Thanks and I hope to stuff as much pork as I can buy for new years. Hopefully that will be another story. Shawn Dub Nation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K_sqrd Posted December 30, 2017 Share Posted December 30, 2017 The gas burner was an option. It was offered in both LP and natural gas. Later models were incorporated in the lower draft door and the burner was below the fire grate. It was used for starting or for cooking without charcoal. Not sure what that grate on the gas burner is for but I don't think it's for supporting anything - could be wrong though. Personally, I would get rid of the gas hardware, cover the hole for the gas option and use charcoal - but that's just me. Take a look at the Kick Ash basket offerings and see what they have that may fit in the K7. Richard Johnson, or RJ, offered charcoal baskets as an option and I would recommend using one. It will save the charcoal bowl. Web site... http://www.kickashbasket.com Other options for the grill were a lower bracket that holds the optional heat diffuser. Another option was an upper bracket and grate for expanding the amount of food you could cook. There were other grate options but were kind of specialized. I can't comment on the side tables as I am not familiar with them. Sorry. One other option was a grill scraper and ash removal tool all in one - works great. I can't speak for this outfit but you might get an idea for some of the accessories available... http://www.kamadorocketgrillslasvegas.com/kamado-rocket-barbecue-grill/ A comment or two... Don't over tighten the top vent after a cook to kill the fire. Give it a good "spin" till it stops by itself and leave it. Make sure that the bottom vent is tightly closed and you'll be fine. If the top vent gets stuck, as you mentioned above, build a fire and prop the lid open an inch or two. The heat will cause things to expand and you will be able to move the top vent with little effort - from experience. LOL! I have found that the top vent only needs a few turns and the bottom vent needs to be open about the thickness of a credit card or two to maintain a constant temperature. It also takes quite a bit of time for the Kamado to come down in temperature due to the mass / wall thickness of the unit. Congratulations on an outstanding first cook. That roast looks yummy and I'm sure you will get many years and lots of tasty meals from it. Enjoy your new acquisition and happy cooking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauders Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 On 12/29/2017 at 6:51 PM, Buwani said: Thanks everyone. I have a few questions. Is the part that goes on top of the burner , Stack charcoal on it just for starting? I assume the gas hookup was optional. Is this all that came with the original? Just the grill? It is a very nice grill by the way. I don't really see me hooking up propane for starting. If I take the burner out is making a cover plate the best option? Maybe over thinking this but are the holes in the table frames for an accessory like a beer holder? Thanks and I hope to stuff as much pork as I can buy for new years. Hopefully that will be another story. Shawn Dub Nation the cover plate is an option the burner is not needed .. great story I love my K-7.. incredible that it withstood the elements .! if can help to you in any way restoring this Kamado please message me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buwani Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 Not really an update on restoration but it has been amazing. I have all the tiles that fell off but I think it will be okay until I get to it. Did a few pork butts and they came out amazing. I will share my favorite recipe. Open-Start Fire-Add meat-Go do something-remove meat-Enjoy Shawn Dub Nation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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