I bought mine ten years ago . Store it in my carport and it is fine.

Thank you for this. Will be going to lowes tomorrow

my 5 year old akorn has become more difficult to hold a stable temp and i suspect this is why, will probably end up replacing the top and bottom gaskets i think

Did this to the ash pan and cover and it's been working great!

Just ordered my Akorn. Thanks for the tip. What diameter gasket tape do you use with the full size Akorn?

That’s awesome bud 👍

That is an awesome cooker, I think you’ll be very happy applying these principles to that cooker

Jack, I have a hard time holding the low temps required for smoking without the fire going out. Several times I've set it up and had it going good, only to go to bed or something for a couple hours and come out to find it at like 185° and my food has dropped in temp by a degree or two. Super aggravating. I use lump charcoal and wood chunks. The other issue I have is sometimes a wood chunk will catch fire and the temp goes over 300 and of course being well insulated, it hangs there. I have even opened it up and used water to extinguish some coals and wash some heat out of the liner. While that does work, I know this is not the correct way. I am almost to the point of buying one of those bottom vent controllers with the fan and temp sensor in it. In what I've read online, it says bottom vent on 1 and top vent on 1. Also have found a thing on the Chargriller site say to put bottom vent on 2 and completely close the top vent. I don't know who to listen to

@@gman4dx266 You don't need a temp controller or other high-tech gadgetry. I have a couple suggestions that might help. A fire that goes out is typically a lack of oxygen. Common sense, right? Well, it might not be your vent settings. It's the fuel itself - "Less is more." If you have a a firebox full of gravel size charcoal, there's just not enough airflow around them to sustain combustion. What you can do it put large chunks (fist size or bigger) of charcoal in the bottom of the firebox, then the smaller stuff on top. The large chunks provide the fuel for long sustained burns and the little stuff helps fire migration during the cook. You have a fairly large temp window to work with, 225*F to 275*F, with 250*F being the target. If the cooker settles in at 265*F instead of 250*F, so be it. It's totally fine. Typically an increase in temp is your charcoal finding a new source of fuel and has started to catch. Your protein will be ok with a temporary spike in temp. Adjust vents if the temp stays elevated for a sustained period (say 10-15 mins). I've run a 12 hour cook with the bottom vent about a pencil width and the top vent at the half-moon as Steve suggests here. Wood chunks: You've heard the difference of white smoke vs blue smoke? White smoke is inefficient combustion of the fuel and considered "dirty". Blue, almost transparent smoke is what you want. Put your wood chunks among that large charcoal pieces in the bottom of the firebox, not on top of the charcoal stack. This does two things; prevents the temp flare-up and provides more complete combustion of the wood smoke as it passes through the burning charcoal. This is the closest you'll get to pure wood flavor that is typical of an offset which is the gold-standard for BBQ.

@@hawkeyeted thank you for taking the time to put all that info! Theres a few tips in there I can certainly use like separating the coal sizes and putting the wood out around the outside. That was one issue I had when cooking is the wood igniting would make the temps take off. I purchased a tiptoptemp a month or two ago and it has taken a lot of the guesswork out but I still have issues here and there. I used to be so frustrated when doing overnight cooks because I'd have the temp locked in pretty good and then I'd wake up to check on it and it's out there freight training smoke and temps are like 350°. Then I'd close the vents a tiny bit, spritz the coals and the inside liner with a spray bottle and get the temps back down (like an hour job) and then it would level out for a few hrs and then go out. I was wondering about putting a 2" diameter x 3" high or so piece of steel pipe on the grate and putting the coals around it so that it would have a central suction. Kind of how you do a snake so the middle is open. I have the pipe just have not done it. I will consider your suggestions on my next cook and see how she does. Thanks again!

I add about three good size chunks usually to the akorn, right on the edge of where the hot coals are at and that usually works very well for me

@@Cookoutcoach Thank you, i will give that a try. I keep getting nothing but bad smoke it seems like

@@stephenchandler9962 , what kind of wood are u using may I ask? Woods like mesquite and hickory are strong flavored woods. Should be used with some moderation.

I have both a PBC (similar to UDS) and an Akorn. If you purchase the full size Akorn and keep your UDS, you'll be in a great position. You will be able to smoke, grill, and/or sear any protein. I kept the PBC specifically for the ability to hang proteins. If it wasn't for that, an Akorn would be the ONLY device I'd own. The Akorn will do everything you've asked above.

Akorn

I'm just getting started what is wrong with royal oak

@@miketibke7428 it’s a lot harder to control the temperature. The cheaper brands of lump that I’ve used don’t burn as well when doing a lower temperature smoke. My issue with the royal oak was the chemical smell it puts off almost like burning wire.

Thanks for the advice

Ive personally have always used lump, never really had any issues with consistent temps.. IMHO lump has a much better flavor and burns longer without making "alot" of ash..

They’re both gonna be real close in this cooker, hyper technically briquettes will always be more consistent, just by nature of what they are. That being said it matters so little in this cooker that I really recommend you just use whatever your favorite type and brand is

I start a wee fire at the back and then let it come up to temp and set it at one and one. If all the coals are lit you struggle to keep it down. Mine sits at 250 perfectly

I just saw your question. I am on my 3rd kamado, they eventually rust out in the Northeast. You are correct. Throttle the air back at 180 or so and watch it. You want to creep up on 225. I always cut back about 40 degrees below target because heat is still building. He is spot on about keeping the bottom almost shut down and the top barely cracked. Bottom just a slit for 225. I picked up an auto kamado last night to try. I use a Humphreys reverse flow battlebox for my big cooks but still love the Chargriller for q also... and for searing steaks, pizza etc.. The battlebox is a more dedicated low and slow.

That’s a great question, burning clean in a charcoal smoker is a little different than burning clean in an offset where we’re throwing sticks of wood, basically in a charcoal smoker we get a clean burn when we have the proper amount of charcoal on fire and that amount is maintaining, think of it like a light switch, it’s either burning or it’s not. Once it gets going with the restricted airflow only so much coal can be on fire at once and as one piece burns all the way up there is extra oxygen to ignite another piece. This is much different than wood splits in an offset where it takes a lot more energy to get that wood through several different states and into full combustion. That feels like a long winded answer but the short one is you can absolutely get these burning clean easily and the food is 100% as good as it looks

@@Cookoutcoach well this is exactly the answer I was looking for… man youre amazing… thanks

Kamados and pellet burners put out fairly light smoke. I'm not a fan of the tip top temp vent because I don't like trapping the smoke in the cooker. Asking for creosote and stale smoke, or a flame out. Have you looked at the new gravity feed charcoal units? They have built in controllers and put some good smoke flavor on meat. Not fuel efficient like a kamado though.

@@jwamerica84 I bought an Auto Kamado a couple of weeks ago. It’s fantastic!

I never had but I’m a big fan of running a grate level digital thermometer so the dome one doesn’t really bother me. Congrats on the new pit 👍

Thanks, I use a portions in the grill, that's how I found how far off it is, the probe seems to "be in the way" when using it, I'll keep using it tho, keep the content coming!

@@terrygabrielson5598 thank you for watching 👍

Not plastic anything bro. I hope u meant foil. No plastic. Lol I use butcher paper (Amazon) with my offset smoker (waiting for my Akorn to be delivered tomorrow :) I don't like my meat steamed which i find happens with foil. Imo, Butcher's paper gives me the texture and finish i want without steaming the meat to death.