Hi... QQ: my big joe 3 hinge is working fine and stays in position as I open and close it... BUT it makes a horror movie creaking sound whenever I open/ close it... How do I fix that? Many thanks!
Another informative video, and thanks for sharing your tips. One thing I do after a few cooks is use a leaf blower to blow ash out of the base without removing the firebox to help maintain proper air flow. Gets a little messy, but works great.
Hi James, thanks for this video. I do have a quick question about ash on the sides and behind the ash collector. Why is that a problem? From what I see, there is no airflow there anyway. Am I mistaken?
bonjour your informations are very good .... but ......... when I try to tighten the six screws at 6;34 minutes the middle one on each sides turn free... so those one are not tight. ?? what is the easy way to fix that...... thank's for every thing sorry my english not good 5 years owners KJ classic II and happy PQ
are they stripped? sometimes it’s the screw bolt that’s spinning… try using some tape to stop the bolt from spinning so that you can ge the nut to thread / catch
After many...many...many...many...many years of cooking on my JJ, I figure it might be a good idea to do a little cleaning and maintenance. While the grill was hot and doing its thing, I brought the thermometer inside to clean and calibrate it. I want to share a little trick I found to hold the thermometer in the water without dropping it. I have a drawer full of those plastic mixing spoons and spatulas that you find in any discount store. I noticed the handles have holes at the end to hang them up. I put the thermometer in the hole and held it in the water. It worked like a charm! I couldn't do my happy dance because it wouldn't calibrate so I ordered another one. My attempt to do a deep clean in the grill was not a success either. I attempted 3x to no avail. I don't to use up a bag of charcoal so I quit. As long as it works, I won't worry about how pretty it looks. You know, it would be insane? If there were new videos about using the JJ. Ijs. ; -)
On a more serious note, and James may want to do a video on this, let's talk a little more about (remote) thermometer adjustments. Note: this is for Maverick and other remote thermometers where the probes plug into the remote transmitter. If your probes are reading incorrectly, don't throw them out. 90% of the time you can fix them, quickly and easily. The problem is, they get moisture inside. Either someone submerged them in water or it's just a matter of moisture accumulating over time. To fix them, wrap a small bit of aluminum foil over the plastic at the plug, then put them in the oven at 215°-225°f for about an hour. This will dry them completely and the foil will keep the plastic plug from melting. It won't always save them but it will probably save 90% of them. I think I've had ONE in 15 years that I couldn't save this way. Now go cook stuff.
Hey there - love your channel. I just finished my first high temp cook, 700+, and I noticed the hinge is now loose, and my gaskets are coming away. Is this normal?
Thanks for the great video(s)!! Just bought my first Kamado and it’s a BigJoe III. Your videos were very helpful to get started! Regarding tightening the bolts. Aren’t you afraid that when you tighter them in the summer (when the metal parts are expanded the most) that they might damage the ceramics in the winter period when it’s much colder? Greets from The Netherlands! 👋🏻
Tip that will save u even more time. Before taping down the ring put just some toilet paper or something between the new rim and the ducktape. U can just pull away all the tape without having to worry that your ducktape will pull at your new just glued rim
For quick and easy cleaning of ash, I wait until the coals are entirely cold (day after cook) remove the charcoal basket and the ash tray and vacuum out with a mini shop vac. Vary quick and efficient. As of today (03/09/23) Harbor Freight has a Bauer 3-gallon capacity vacuum/blower for $43.00. Additionally, to preserve the efficiency of the dome gaskets, I leave the dome cracked about 1/2" when the grill is not in use with the grill cover installed. As a result, the gaskets will not be crushed at all times by the weight and lock down of the dome while the grill cover will keep out the surrounding elements (dust, wind, moisture).
THANK YOU ! Great info. Been BBQ-n for years but using a Webber 'bullet' . Your vid's have convinced me to go get a Kamato Joe and give it a try . Like a golfer; gotta try a new club to up my game.
To clean the ash from my BigJoe, I use my cordless Makita blower. Saves pulling out all the ceramic firebox components. Just remove the rack & slo-roller, open the air slide lower door and use the blower to blow the hard to reach ash, straight out the door. I do this each time before I reload with new charcoal.
Another great video, James! Tightening the dome rings is important as you don't want any mishaps with the ceramics. Question on gasket protection: have you added felt gasket to DoJoe or Joetissery to protect the Joe's main gasket from getting in contact with accessories metal parts during hot cooks?
@@SmokingDadBBQ James, can you expand on this? I thought in your original DoJoe video you recommended putting hi-heat tape on the bottom of the DoJoe ring. Are you now recommending placing a felt liner there instead?
Hey there good day to you, well finished my brisket after setting it was about 2:30 AM this morning. Per my last comment to you first time using my Kamada Joe series 3 big Joe and click a brisket. Many thanks to you. I followed the directions you prescribed here and use the double indirect Method of cooking the brisket. After letting it sit for 10 to 12 hours got up and cut into it. The cook was perfect. The smoking the tenderness and the juiciness was absolutely perfect as I explained in my last comment to you. I’ve been barbecuing for sometime now however I had never smoked a brisket. It was great thanks for all that you do and the wonderful information that you assist us with as we BBQ on. The double indirect worked fantastic.
Awesome video man. Never had a problem bringing the temperature up on my kamado. Its bringing the temperature down thats impossible. If the temp gets up to 300f, & i want to bring it down to 250-270, it will take an hour at least .
On the temp not getting above 400-450... I was using a chimney to light the coals and was letting it stay in the chimney too long (10-15min). Once I went closer to 5-7min, and put them in the basket in the kamado, my temps shot way up
James, what could be causing my dome to not hit that sweet spot of a 2-3” drop and not springing back up from the close? I’ve loosened and tightened the hinge screw many times and no luck. It’s either too tight or too loose. Have you seen this caused by band/lid alignment issues? 1 of the 6 cap screws broke off from the bottom band. Maybe this is causing the elusive sweet spot with the dome?
Do you think this would work? Lay the removed top gasket onto the bottom one, apply silicone to the gasket then shut the dome onto it. Making sure it’s aligned as you close.
Great video. I have to do some of these maintenance jobs on my KJ. Hopefully KJ reads your comments. It's annoying to me that it requires at least 3 different sized wrenches to do this stuff. I get that they don't have full control over the thermometer, but everything else should use the same size bolt.
James, you’ve created a monster according to my wife. It started with a KJ classic III and I now have 3 additional styles of grills/bbqs on my back patio. If you demo something new then I’ll be up to 5. I either have to stop watching your channel or build a bigger patio. 😂
Hey James, After 4 years, my top cap was starting to look like $rap so decided to get a new one. On receiving the replacement, it fits a lot loser on the neck than the original. I'm guessing I need to do something with the gaskett wrap to fix this? Is this something readily available, or should I hunt for something at the hardware store?
Nice video, as it makes me realize I am really overdue to check my bands after a year of frequent use. Different maintenance question. After a heavy rain storm with my cover off, my temperature gauge has had persistent condensation inside. Any thoughts on how best to remedy? Bag of rice; bag of desiccant; oven at 200 F? Ever try to seal a temperature gauge with silicone? I'll admit to being a bit disappointed that one rain storm did this to the gauge (saw the rain coming but grill was just still too hot for the cover ...)
To prevent ash buildup under the ash tray or on the outside of the firebox I use an ash vacume clean the day after cooking on my big joe. The metal pipe nozzle can be put in from the bottom vent and fed around the outside of the firebox by pushing the hose in and out. Also sucks the firebox holes clean. Also I can clean the under the ash tray but gentle pulling up on the side tabs so that the nozzle can reach under it. Takes 2 min max and vacume cleaner costs maybe 40 USD. Doubt I will need to disassemble the fire box often.
Great video will do maintenance next week. I had a milk spill (from mac and cheese) at the very bottom bellow fire pit. Should I run high temperature to try to clean it ? Will this do since heat goes up ? Maybe close top vent with bottom vent open ?
What are your thoughts on calibrating the temp gauge to the surface of the cooking grate which is typically 30-50 degrees different than the gauge depending on the cooking temperature range?
if i can locate them i will add to future videos.... you obviously never want to apply all your strength. i am using a short grip and snugging.... not installing tires on a transport truck about to do a cross country drive
I’m just getting into the egg game. So today was my 3rd cook using my egg. I made the mistake of leaving the airflow vents fully opened for 30 minutes or longer. Pretty much had a super hot fire going. I closed off the vents to snuff the fire out and drop the temp. It worked. Problem is the entire egg is covered in soot inside now. What do you use to clean the soot off or does it matter? Meaning should I clean it off at this point? Thanks for sharing all of the helpful tips!
i use mine too much to get mold but thats the clean burn i referenced in why the gasket came lose and linked to that dedicated video on it which is to erase the mold
Just a great video, things I have to do also is that top gasket... I did a high heat clean with great result, but need to fasten that top gasket again.
For thightening those bands: once they’re good, measure the distance between the 2 ends and jot them down. This will help you to quickly check up on them throughout their life.
Hi James, FYI, the photo you use at 9:50 is mine. There were no tools used in the removal of the kontrol tower. That was me lifting straight up with my fingers under the kt, and with (what I would say) was not a lot of force. This was also noted in the first/top comment on the reddit post where that picture comes from. Your advice about not hitting things with a hammer is still valid, but that is definitely not what happened to the big joe in the pictures. KJ warranty replaced the dome, and the kontrol tower, without issue.
Hey Arthur, glad they sorted you out. Before it closed there were a thread on the Kamado Guru sight and some people mentioned hitting sideways which is what prompted this vs. meaning to throw any shade at you/ your photo. That thread didn't have photos just a comment about lateral force which is why i mentioned the hammer
Hi, have you ever used Barkeeper’s Friend to clean the dome of your Kamado? I would really appreciate your feedback on this product before using it on mine. Thank you and keep up the good work!
I’ve used that on a ceramic sink for twenty plus years. Hasn’t hurt the finish yet. With that said if you decide to use it, I would test a spot on the back side first.
Thanks very much, James. Just a quick question - what size Allen key do you use to tighten the bands? Looks like I'm going to have to buy just one Allen key. Don't want to buy the wrong size. Keep up the good work!
@@SmokingDadBBQ tried this but no luck. Just got my KJ last Sunday. They say the hinge is faulty and going to sent out a replacement hinge. Thanks for the help!
My Joe is black from cooking. Do you feel the black on the Joe is bad for favor or it doesn't matter? I never cleaned mine because I don't want to burn the gasket.
the feet clean destroyed my gasket glue which is why I had to fix it. I would only do a clean if you have a mould problem or something smells terrible. black is the way they should be
James nice job again. I appreciate your videos. These quick adjustments are needed and I'm glad you put this together. Quick question, do you ever do live cooks with Q&As with subscribers? Thanks and keep up the good work!
@@SmokingDadBBQ Cool that will be nice. A lot of your videos show how to setup the slow roller as part of the recipe, but my Egg is slow roller deficient.
When my Facebook memories remind me that two years ago today I did my semi annual deep clean, and you post this it's a sign to deep clean. Mission accomplished. I used to over tighten my hinge until I got my Joetisserie, you're 💯 on that.
ill know w hat to do before. I get the grill. just not are where to purchase it from. there is a Kamodo grill store on amazon and I can finance it through them. do you do this every year? How did you learn how to do this? I would have no idea how to do all of this
thanks John, I have had Kamados before KJ was a company so most of it just learned over time, manuals, forms, owner groups etc. and now that i have nearly 15 years on it i can share what i have found to be the most helpful with people just getting started
Just ordered a Kamado Joe - mainly off the back of watching your videos. Really ace channel and I'll keep watching while I learn how to use mine. Thanks a lot.
