Too expensive tool for building queality issues... Did Big Joe solve it since your video claim?

what was the deal!?

I was in HD yesterday and the entire seal on the base was hanging off . . . brand new never fired up. Those kettles are hand made in China BTW. No two are exactly alike. When they ship them those seals are crushed together extremely tight for shp'g. The sooner you loosen them up a little the better. After a period of time being crushed like that causes them to not spring back and create a seal.

my BIG 3 have exact same issues, from first FISH grill. Gasket went off, alignment and hinges, Local reseller took it for a month to fix it but after the second grilling its back to zero.

Excellent review mate. Definitely buying one in a couple of months once I’ve saved my pennies.

OCD Big time.

that lid hinge got bent some how take it apart and straiten hinge

Thanks for the video. Did customer service ever sort your issues out!

Hahaha! You said “Nitty Gritty”! Great review btw! Smoke on, brother!

This is now two years latter... Can you give an update to this problem.??? I have seen other videos where that sealing ring has come loose after a year or so. Did the Smoking Dad alignment video help? I am just about ready to pull the trigger on buying one of these bad boys. I have looked at a dozen or so other Kamado grills and the Joe seems to have more features and followers/buyers. My guess is that it is the best for the price. Thanks..

With this kind of issue with such an expensive grill I am out. One month to reply to the service request via mail is inacceptable. Support is important! Will go for some other brand then. You still have the issue, seems it has not been sold. Thanks for the heads up.

Didn't you say you got a "great deal" on this grill? Perhaps this is why? If you still have this grill and issue, the following may help. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p719adB30MzSnX0.html

CHEERS BIG EARS

God knows what you’ve done to it the way you moved it by rolling it on it’s side. You really need to do some research on this product your completely lost. Watch a guy on KZfaq called Smoking Dad BBQ then come back and Critique what you’ve done to cause most of this. I can’t believe you cleaned it with a hose. Your completely lost but with well intensions it sounds like. I own two Joes.

Idle Hands, thanks for the detailed breakdown and others for the comments. I need to replace an older Vision and was circling this model but I'm pumping the brakes now! This is A LOT of money to spend and not get a proper setup and then not get proper customer service on top of that. Back to the drawing board.

Hi, thanks for sharing is the cover rain proof have a Napoleon cover for my Napoleon grill and it's pretty much useless whenever it rains my Grill gets soaking wet it is totally not rain proof

Ceramic, I imagine Is inherently "imperfect." Maybe lid movement pulled the hing during shipping, depending on how it was packaged. For that, of course, we'd need an unboxing video.

If you don’t complain they think you are happy,because you are the first to complain,so everyone else is Happy.Strange but true

Is your hinge level? Put a level on it to see how far it's off. It does look to be off.

Max Holloway look-alike.

Any updates?

good video thank you!

I just got the BJ3 and it had a slight overbite, then after one hot pizza cook, I couldn’t unlatch it, overbite grew, and divide and conquer rack hits the lid with slow roller in place. Even when rotated 45 degrees. So I went down the rabbit hole and eventually fixed it. Here is what I did. 1. Loosen airlift hinge as lose as you can. 2. Use the lock assembly and lock the air lift hinge in place for safety. 3. Loosen all hex bolts connecting the hinge assembly to the bands (top and bottom) 12 bolts. Don’t undo them, just very lose so that there is movement. 4. I used a cranking tie down around the grill and bottom third of the air hinge to pull the bottom of the hinge closer to the grill and to make sure the bottom band’s hinge assembly was flush against the band. (This also pulled the lid back a little bit) 5. Once the hinge looked straight up and down, I started tightening the hinge attachments starting with the bottom INNER BOLTS working my way out. They seem to slip, so with my ratchet I tried to mimic an impact gun as I do not have one. This is what worked. It took a lot of sweat. But eventually I got that all tight in the right order. 5. I then wiggled the lid to try and push it back just a little and proceeded to tighten the top hinge attachment (inside bolts first working my way out) same as bottom. 6. Once it was tight I took off the tie down and unlocked the hinge. Adjusted my air lift hinge to my liking. 7. To be safe, I used a torque wrench set to 10 LBS/In and made sure that’s how tight top and bottom bands were. There is still the slightest bit of overbite (just like when it shipped) but now the slow roller does not hit the lid, everything is tight, and I know the ins and outs of this thing when things start to go wrong from time and high heat. I also added a washer to the bottom of the latch system so the overbite was compensated and the lid would smoothly lock itself and unlatch with plenty wiggle room. Hope this helps.

I got the same issue than u! My dome over hangs ! Is so off and my ash catcher hardly goes in cause the air flow vent in the bottom is not square !

Dammit, I can never stop calling my grill a strawberry.

Just got mine today, but I also have the added issues of having cracks in both the firebox parts and the body of the kamado itself...

Watching this completely turned me off from buying a kamado joe. It’s too expensive to not be perfect.

Took delivery of KJ3 Classic 3/19/2021. On third cook, lid would not close. Top latch just bangs on the bottom latch. Misaligned. Looked at the back of the lid and see, like yours, that it is too far forward. Contacted BBQ Guys. They had me open a ticket with KJ. KJ responded within a day, saying they would send a new hinge assembly. About a week later, the hinge arrived. No instructions. I contacted KJ again, asking how I'm supposed to install this thing. That brings me to today. BBQ Guys have been great. KJ, sort of. Very disappointed in quality control. And, I'm not sure a new hinge will correct the problem. I'll be pleasantly surprised if it does. I may McGiver it and end up putting some shims on the lower hinge bolts to move the dome back into the correct position. I posted this mess on kamadoguru.com website with updates and got not one response. Either this is a rarity or quality just recently went down the dumper. I see they are made in jina. If this weren't a gift, I'd send it back and get the Louisiana kamado from Costco for less than half the money.

That’s no good they need to replace that!

Thank you for your review. I recently purchased a Kamado 24 inch grill. It has not arrived as of yet. Your review has given me some of the things to look out for when it arrives. We need consumers to be fussy like you over small particulars after a large investment. Thanks again.

I have the same issue (overbite?) with a BJ3 I purchased about a month ago. I tried shifting the rings etc but nothing resolved the issue. I contacted Kamado Joe and they wanted to send me a new dome. I dont think the dome is faulty. I think the hinge/spring housing is too far forward on the dome portion with respect to the base portion. Ie. not something I can change. I placed washers between the lower ring and the hinge housing and it now lines up perfect. I have explained this to them and am awaiting an updated response. For now, the alignment issue is "fixed".

What other kamado would you think is better value for money

I found this video on 1/25/2021. I just ordered the Big Joe 3 before I saw this video. Did you get your gasket/lid issue resolved? Has the issue caused any issues with temperature control or cooking performance?

Lawn domination bro...nice!

Great Vidclip, really in-depth discussion .... Much appreciated .... Best to You and Yours .... Cheers from New Zealand ....

You have beautiful grass 😊

This video just put the brakes on me. I was leaning to an akorn kamado (though cheaper, it’s bullet proof) which is a better price point but doesn’t hold the temp the ceramics hold as easier. I was considering the classic joe 3 as I don’t need the extra real estate. Any idea is the same issue presents with the little brother of big joe?

I have the same problem with my big joe 3 i received a week before xmas,my lid is that far forward the latch doesn't hold properly no matter how much i adjust the latch using the small allen key to the point that the lid will constantly unlatch on its own during cooks. Has anyone had any luck yet from KJ.

The gasket is under warranty

Maybe you shouldn't have adjusted the lid ijs

Hello! did you manage to solve the problem?

I just got off the phone with Kamado Joe because i am having the same issue. I used your video to demonstrate the problem. They are going to send it to their engineers and come back with a solution! Will keep you posted.... unless you already fixed yours?

Hi , any update? I got the same issue

Bro..how do stay slim and eat alot of barbecue? I need to know ur secret.

I had lots of problems with my Big Joe II and customer service was very bad. I took my grill back to Costco got my money back.

Nice rig!

I believe your problem is with assembly. The first ring that you put in for the smoke roller needs to be rotated 45°. By doing this you will provide clearance when you put in the frame that the grills actually sit on. You can continuous assembly of the smoke roller! When you place the grills on they will no longer be in a north-south configuration they will be about 45° to the right or left from Center. I have the same grill and that’s how I’ve assembled mine I have no clearance problems at all!

I have the same problem with mine.

I'm really glad I found this video, the misaligned lid and gasket problem was all but unknown to me. I still cannot decide between the Kamado Classic III and Weber Summit Charcoal, but with the problems you pointed out in this video it might be better not to risk it with the Kamado, it's a lot of money. Great video, thank you.

Great video. Those issues would bug the hell out of me as well -- glad that I am not alone. Planning to buy my BJ3 next week. Well done.