Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Charcoal cookers (such as Weber Kettles)
Fents
Posts: 79
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:34 am

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Fents »

You can have leaks on any Akorn/Dragon as far as i'm concernd, if it shuts down the FIRE AT THE END OF THE COOK in a timely matter (2-3 hours) aka ALL COALS ARE OUT (not what reading you get on the dome thermometer, cause they are rubbish), then there is no need to mod/seal anything.

Ive never seen or heard of anyone on here modding a dragon.

The only mods that akorns needed are on the early models or if you get a really back packaged one and its bent out of shape aka take it back!

Remember Akorns (and pressumably dragon's) have one of the best factory seals in the kamado game. You can not destroy them, no burning as they are not felt. If the gasket gets hard just pinch it softly all the way round with your fingers and it will come back to shape.
Gumb

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Gumb »

Fents wrote:You can have leaks on any Akorn/Dragon as far as i'm concernd, if it shuts down the FIRE AT THE END OF THE COOK in a timely matter (2-3 hours) aka ALL COALS ARE OUT (not what reading you get on the dome thermometer, cause they are rubbish), then there is no need to mod/seal anything.
Yep, I agree with that. As I said earlier, mine (Ceramic) leaks around one side of the lid seal and if there's enough smoke inside and I've got the vents closed right down (NOT shut), then I get puffs of smoke out of the bottom vent and the chip feeder when Mr Wang does his thing. But when I shut everything, the fire goes out so i don't worry too much about the leaks. Although a thicker seal like those sold by BBQs Galore will fix the gap under the lid. I currently have nomex which is quite a bit thinner but lasts longer too.

However, a leak in the bottom vent which won't shut down the fire when closed is definitely in need of a fix.
BBQsmoke
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2015 10:46 am

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by BBQsmoke »

The dragon has excellent seals for the lid and catch tray. However the design of the compound curve for the bottom vent makes it a difficult seal. There is an air gap you can see light through at the top and bottom of the ally vent, I will seal the inner section around the hole in the catch tray this will eliminate the air coming from the number cut outs. Even with the vent shut the other end of the slide has a gap of 2mm not sure if I will be able to seal this up. Might be being a bit pedantic but at least I know it will be sealed and the best starting point.
Happy smokin
Be Smoked
urbangriller
Posts: 9453
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 8:46 pm
Location: Perth WA

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by urbangriller »

BBQsmoke wrote:The dragon has excellent seals for the lid and catch tray. However the design of the compound curve for the bottom vent makes it a difficult seal. There is an air gap you can see light through at the top and bottom of the ally vent, I will seal the inner section around the hole in the catch tray this will eliminate the air coming from the number cut outs. Even with the vent shut the other end of the slide has a gap of 2mm not sure if I will be able to seal this up. Might be being a bit pedantic but at least I know it will be sealed and the best starting point.
Happy smokin
That's exactly what you need to do!

Your Kamado will run a lot better!

Chris
Common Sense is so rare these days it should be a Super Power!
FirePlay
Posts: 297
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 1:40 pm
Location: Perth, WA

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by FirePlay »

I'm sure my bottom vent doesn't seal perfectly but it's not really a problem - the fire dies fine and I am always amazed at how little charcoal it uses. But I removed the washer that the instructions said to put between the two halves of the daisy wheel top vent. That means you get a perfectly sealed top vent so a slightly leaky bottom vent isn't an issue. However, if you've got a slight leak in both top and bottom vents (or either one and the lid) then you will have a problem!

So I suggest that before you go doing major surgery on the bottom vent, make sure you remove the washer between the two halves of the top vent.

Also, don't be surprised if it takes a long time to cool down. It's insulated and I've usually got a thick Kamado Joe deflector (adding thermal mass) in there so mine takes hours - you could bake two rounds of bread in there after shutting it down from a pizza cook. It doesn't meant that the fire is still burning - just that it's really well insulated!
Avrok
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:12 pm
Location: Perth

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Avrok »

where do you guys buy your Dragon or Akorn accesorries like bbq cover and heat deflector?

Went to bbq galore but there was no bbq cover for dragon, amazon has for akorn roughly US$70 plus shipping.

Im searching Masters website at the moment..no luck...

for deflectors, what pizza stone size would fit the dragon? 330cm?
WarmBeer
Posts: 133
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 3:43 pm
Location: Melbourne

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by WarmBeer »

Avrok wrote:where do you guys buy your Dragon or Akorn accesorries like bbq cover and heat deflector?

Went to bbq galore but there was no bbq cover for dragon, amazon has for akorn roughly US$70 plus shipping.

Im searching Masters website at the moment..no luck...

for deflectors, what pizza stone size would fit the dragon? 330cm?
Can't help you with a cover, as mine is on the back deck, under cover.

For the deflector, I've got a cast iron skillet from Ray's Outdoors. Was around $14 if memory serves. Much more robust than using a pizza stone. You just need to season it the once, and give it the occasional spray of canola oil to keep it rust free.
Dragon Kamado | Weber OTS | Hark (Aldi) Smoker | Rusty Gasser
FirePlay
Posts: 297
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 1:40 pm
Location: Perth, WA

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by FirePlay »

I just got the Kamado Joe D&C split heat deflector - it gives you two zone cooking and a nice amount of thermal mass. It was discounted in BBQG at about $30.

My Dragon lives under the verandah and I cook on it too often to bother with a cover! A quick brush to get any dust off and away we go...
WarmBeer
Posts: 133
Joined: Fri Jun 13, 2014 3:43 pm
Location: Melbourne

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by WarmBeer »

FirePlay wrote:I just got the Kamado Joe D&C split heat deflector - it gives you two zone cooking and a nice amount of thermal mass. It was discounted in BBQG at about $30.
That's a good price for a D&C stone. When was it on special?
Dragon Kamado | Weber OTS | Hark (Aldi) Smoker | Rusty Gasser
FirePlay
Posts: 297
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 1:40 pm
Location: Perth, WA

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by FirePlay »

WarmBeer wrote:
FirePlay wrote:I just got the Kamado Joe D&C split heat deflector - it gives you two zone cooking and a nice amount of thermal mass. It was discounted in BBQG at about $30.
That's a good price for a D&C stone. When was it on special?
End of financial year...
Avrok
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2014 11:12 pm
Location: Perth

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Avrok »

nice score with D&C split deflector..I will keep an eye on that..

I will try Ray's outdoor, thanks for the tips.
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 »

I made one out of a cast bbq grill plate
Image
CrankyChicken
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 7:03 am
Location: Ipswich Qld

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by CrankyChicken »

I picked up a cover from BBQ galore when I got the dragon - from memory it was a two burner hooded gasser cover but worked a treat and has two velcro tabs at each end to pull it in tight around the bottom. I got them to try it on the Dragon in store. The pizza stone I got from masters as a deflector fits perfect in the bottom and was quite a bit thicker then the ones from Bunnings & BBQG.

Now shopping for a grill to go down where the deflector goes for cooking down closer to the coals if anyone has any suggestions - I don't trust my angle grinding skills otherwise what you've done looks brilliant food&fish!
Michael_Dunn
Posts: 156
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2010 1:11 pm

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Michael_Dunn »

> Now shopping for a grill to go down where the deflector goes for cooking down closer to the coals if anyone has any suggestions

this might be what you're after

http://www.aussiebbq.info/forum/viewtop ... 41#p145763

send him a PM, just to ensure it's exactly what you want.
Sjcampbell
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri May 01, 2015 10:40 am
Location: Armidale, NSW, Australia

Re: Akorn and Dragon General Discussion

Post by Sjcampbell »

Michael_Dunn wrote:> Now shopping for a grill to go down where the deflector goes for cooking down closer to the coals if anyone has any suggestions

this might be what you're after

http://www.aussiebbq.info/forum/viewtop ... 41#p145763

send him a PM, just to ensure it's exactly what you want.
Works perfectly and weber will have it to you in no time flat :D
Cheers
Steve

Jackaroo 6 burner gasser, Dragon Kamado,
QMaster Junior and Maverick 735
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