Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Charcoal cookers (such as Weber Kettles)
Post Reply
WarmBeer
Posts: 133
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 3:43 pm
Location: Melbourne

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by WarmBeer »

mrtonya wrote:I got my Dragon home this morning, I hope to have it assembled tonight.
Oh, and align the holes for the axle on the legs prior to screwing the stand base together.

Would have saved myself an hour if I'd known this part. D'oh!
Dragon Kamado | Weber OTS | Hark (Aldi) Smoker | Rusty Gasser
Dam
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue May 05, 2015 6:00 pm

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Dam »

WarmBeer wrote:
mrtonya wrote:I got my Dragon home this morning, I hope to have it assembled tonight.
Oh, and align the holes for the axle on the legs prior to screwing the stand base together.

Would have saved myself an hour if I'd known this part. D'oh!

Same i had to unscrew some very carefully tightened bolts to be able to inset this axis and still I got it wrong (wrong side) as the handle to roll it end up on the wrong side, but at least it roll ;-)
Last edited by Dam on Mon May 25, 2015 7:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Dam
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue May 05, 2015 6:00 pm

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Dam »

I did my fist low slow on it last night, a pulled pork

got it relatively stable at around 110*C for 17hours, stop when the pork was at 96*C.it did use almost no charcoal, impressive insulation.

I have not idea what a pulled pork should taste like but mine was nice pink, easy to shred, but perfectly Tasteless :cry: ( and I did use a dry rub and some cherry chips for smoke).

PS: I have done my first mod, I have added 7 bricks around the pit as I think it does not need to be so too deep/wide ( look wider/deeper than ceramic ones, as its steel is much thinner than ceramic walls), to add insulation/heat mass
StoneX
Posts: 240
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Mornington Peninsula

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by StoneX »

I gave my Dragon a go today. No food, just practicing for a cook tomorrow night.

It was amazingly simple to get going. Just stacked some charcoal, left a hollow in the middle, lit one Redhead firelighter (wood/wax) and put it in the hole, then covered with a few bits of charcoal. I left the vents open full and let it get to about 300C before shutting vents down varying amounts. It takes a long time to cool once all the charcoal is ignited! :o

Now I know why they say to slowly get up to temp rather than overshooting.

I didn't get a deflector yet, am I able to just use an old pizza tray for a low temp indirect cook tomorrow? It'll only be 100-120C to slowly get a lamb rack up to temp before searing the fat cap.
WarmBeer
Posts: 133
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 3:43 pm
Location: Melbourne

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by WarmBeer »

StoneX wrote: I didn't get a deflector yet, am I able to just use an old pizza tray for a low temp indirect cook tomorrow? It'll only be 100-120C to slowly get a lamb rack up to temp before searing the fat cap.
Old pizza stone or even tray will be fine. Thats all I'm using, although I probably should wrap it in foil to make cleanup from drips easier.
Dragon Kamado | Weber OTS | Hark (Aldi) Smoker | Rusty Gasser
StoneX
Posts: 240
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Mornington Peninsula

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by StoneX »

WarmBeer wrote: Old pizza stone or even tray will be fine. Thats all I'm using, although I probably should wrap it in foil to make cleanup from drips easier.
Thanks. I have a pizza stone but don't want to risk cracking it. I'll organise a stainless steel plate from a friend who works in the metal industry for a deflector that I won 't have to worry about :)
stm
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 3:12 pm

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by stm »

Dragon - Looks like a great piece of kit at an unbelievable price. Assembly was a breeze - I found the instructions well laid out and obviously not written ex-factory in China! The only thing not obvious was getting the legs that hold the wheels the right way round so as to align the axle holes - thank you to the posters here!

Other mods which I can endorse are the extra two washers on the hinge pin so it wobbles less, and taking the flat washer and spring washer out from "in-between" the top vent assembly and putting them on top (with an extra washer) to give a better fit.

Heat deflector can be a cheap pizza stone - $8 from Queen Victoria's Basement.

One concern I had was, when fitting the ash tray (the bottom section), the s/s bracket really pushes up against another s/s bracket in the bottom of the fire box. Seems like something could snap here, or is this normal to provide tension against the clips holding it up?

Now just to get cooking!
WarmBeer
Posts: 133
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 3:43 pm
Location: Melbourne

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by WarmBeer »

stm wrote: One concern I had was, when fitting the ash tray (the bottom section), the s/s bracket really pushes up against another s/s bracket in the bottom of the fire box. Seems like something could snap here, or is this normal to provide tension against the clips holding it up?

Now just to get cooking!
I think you'll actually find that's a guide for the bottom ash collector to sit in. Unclip your ash collector, drop it about a cm, bring it forward towards the front of the cooker, and then it will easily lift up, and you can slide it back into place.

The assembly kind of works to stop the entire ask collector from dropping onto the ground if you unclip both sides without holding it from underneath.

If you need more info, I'll try to help out, but that's about as best I can do without drawing something. You don't want to see my artistry skills, believe me...
Dragon Kamado | Weber OTS | Hark (Aldi) Smoker | Rusty Gasser
stm
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Mar 02, 2015 3:12 pm

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by stm »

That makes perfect sense, thanks. (Subject to actually checking it out - perhaps I'll still get you to draw it, just for the entertainment value!)
Maverick
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 2:51 pm

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Maverick »

Just posted in the roll call - I've got a Dragon coming my way this evening!

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if the Kamado Joe Divide & Conquer stone/deflector (the split one) will fit/work in the Dragon Kamado? Is it worth spending the money on a split stone or just go for a regular full circle stone?

Also, just so I can get started easily, what is required to season/burn off these bbq's? Will just a can of spray oil be enough or is something else recommended/required?

Thanks
WarmBeer
Posts: 133
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 3:43 pm
Location: Melbourne

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by WarmBeer »

Maverick wrote:Just posted in the roll call - I've got a Dragon coming my way this evening!

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if the Kamado Joe Divide & Conquer stone/deflector (the split one) will fit/work in the Dragon Kamado? Is it worth spending the money on a split stone or just go for a regular full circle stone?

Also, just so I can get started easily, what is required to season/burn off these bbq's? Will just a can of spray oil be enough or is something else recommended/required?

Thanks
The D&C stone will probably fit, but I don't know if the split trivet would. Saying that, a generic $8 pizza stone does a great job as a deflector, and would save you around 80 bucks in the deal. Just put the stone in while the charcoal is coming up to temperature, not once the oven is already hot.

For initial burn in, I just ran mine reasonably hot for a couple of hours. Maybe around the 250-300 degree mark, until any off smells stopped coming out the top.
Dragon Kamado | Weber OTS | Hark (Aldi) Smoker | Rusty Gasser
Gumb

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Gumb »

Maverick wrote:Just posted in the roll call - I've got a Dragon coming my way this evening!
Welcome Maverick, nice pick up. You'll love that cooker :)
food&fish
Posts: 798
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2011 5:43 pm
Location: Sunbury victoria aust

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by food&fish »

My akorn didn't come with a deflector plate and I just cut down a cast iron plate out of and old gasser
Image
StoneX
Posts: 240
Joined: Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:33 am
Location: Mornington Peninsula

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by StoneX »

I'm struggling to keep temps down on my Dragon... I'm trying to cook at 100-110C but it won't stop climbing. I had the bottom vent open 1/2 way between closed and the number 1 marker, about 5mm, and the top on 1, barely open. It's at 145C :(

Now I've pretty much closed the bottom vent and it's still climbing.

Also, dome said 95C and Maverick on the grill said 135C with a deflector in place.

[edit] Closed bottom vent completely now as it's at 154C (110C dome). I don't understand.

[edit 2] Took food out. Going to wreck my dinner if this thing doesn't stop going up. It's at 170C with the bottom vent slid all the way closed and the top vent on 1 (barely open).

[edit 3] This is how the vents are:
http://i.imgur.com/sbQBPkY.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/e8g8W7P.jpg
And it's now at 180C.
Last edited by StoneX on Thu May 28, 2015 7:16 pm, edited 4 times in total.
FirePlay
Posts: 297
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 1:40 pm
Location: Perth, WA

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by FirePlay »

I got a D&C split stone and a pizza stone thrown in for $30. Both fit fine.

On temps, are you building a pyramid of charcoal and then only lighting the top few bits?

If you light the whole lot you can forget about low and slow!
Post Reply