Added a PK 360 charcoal grill/smoker to the lineup

[Kyle in Woodstock]

About a month ago I came across a good deal locally on this PK 360.
I've seen Jon post about his PK grill before and noticed a few others post about how they enjoy their PK. So I figured why not try something new.

For those of you that don't know, the PK 360 has two upper vents and two lower vents, so they are a little more versatile in terms of vent control over the standard kettle. I've cooked so much on the kettle that I can almost control the vents/temps in my sleep now....so learning this new PK will be fun.

Here are some pictures of it. I kept it in my dining room for a few weeks when I was debating whether to re-sell or keep the grill. Ended up deciding to sell off one of my Performers and keep the 360. Just didn't make a lot of sense to have two Performers (even though selling the grass/spring green one will be tough).

Something I really like about the grill:

• It's made of cast aluminum, top and bottom, so this thing should last a LONG time with no worry about burn through or rusting
• Both the charcoal and top grate are stainless steel
• It has 360 square inches of cooking surface, for comparison the 22" kettle is 363 sq. in. This was surprising to me, because I thought it was actually much smaller, but it's basically the same size.
• The side tables remove easily, you can also easily remove it from the base and it becomes more portable. The way it's designed, you could just sit it down on a table and the bottom vents would still function properly.
• And one really cool thing about this grill in particular, it is one of the first ones made back in 2016 and has a serial # stamped on the back of the lid. They no longer issue serial #s on the grills.

In the pictures above, you might have noticed the thermometer wasn't one that came with the PK. Someone on the PK Facebook group pointed that out to me, so I grabbed a Tel-Tru thermometer off one of my Performers, and it seemed like a perfect fit.







Was thinking we could use this thread to post any tips or tricks to using the PK 360. I've grilled burgers and steaks on mine so far, but have not yet tried a low and slow on it. More posts/pictures to come...

 

[Jon Tofte]

I wish Weber would make a charcoal grill like this. The CharQ is a GREAT quick grill machine, but it is small and definitely not set up for low and slow. That's the cool thing about these PKs. They can do both very well and they last for a generation or more. I have a ~60 year old PK that I am working on finishing restoring.

Kyle,

Keep us posted about the pros and cons and how this PK compares to using your Weber Performer. Thanks for posting.

 

[John - au4stree]

The 360 is very responsive when it comes to vent adjustments. I’ve smoked/grilled it all on mine. I like to do a snake method when doing long cooks. The kick ash basket is handy too, allows for quick clean up.

Get the little more grid for more capacity. Works great for wings.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

Damnit! Now I have to look into one of those!!!
Enablers!

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

I basically always use either a charcoal basket, Slow n Sear or the Vortex when I cook on the kettle. So after searching around for something for the PK 360, I found that there are two popular options. One from The Burn Shop and the other from Kick Ash. Both of those baskets go the full length of the charcoal grate, which is just too big IMO. For most my cooks, I want a smaller basket that I can setup on one side of the grill, to get two zones going. I also like to be able to quickly grab my basket, shake it and dump it in the chimney to reuse the old coals. I feel like that would be a lot more work with the bigger baskets.

I took this idea from someone on the PK Facebook group, so can't take full credit. But

Rough final measurements are 11" x 6" x 3" tall.

I made it from a 12" x 24" piece of expanded metal I bought at Lowe's. Decent amount of leftovers.

I started by cutting off 7" with some snips to give me a 17" x 12" piece.
Then I cut out 3" squares from each corner to give me a "t" shape.
Then bent the sides up using some scrap wood as guides.
I used some stainless steel zip ties to hold the ends together.




I still might end up getting The Burn Shop basket or the Kick Ash basket....

 

[Rich Dahl]

Very nice Kyle, I would love to get one of those but with our annual no charcoal use in the summer just doesn't make sense.
Like Jon said keep use posted on your thoughts about it.
Great idea on the basket.

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

I wish Weber would make a charcoal grill like this. The CharQ is a GREAT quick grill machine, but it is small and definitely not set up for low and slow. That's the cool thing about these PKs. They can do both very well and they last for a generation or more. I have a ~60 year old PK that I am working on finishing restoring.

Kyle,

Keep us posted about the pros and cons and how this PK compares to using your Weber Performer. Thanks for posting.

Will do Jon! So far so good. One thing I don't think the PK can do is Vortex wings. Those are just perfect on the Kettle, but I'll probably still give some version of that a try on the PK just to see how it comes out.

The 360 is very responsive when it comes to vent adjustments. I’ve smoked/grilled it all on mine. I like to do a snake method when doing long cooks. The kick ash basket is handy too, allows for quick clean up.

Get the little more grid for more capacity. Works great for wings.

My birthday is about a week away, so I've asked for the "Little More" grid as well as a few other things.
Thanks for the deal on the GrillGrates by the way. Haven't use them yet, but will soon!

Damnit! Now I have to look into one of those!!!
Enablers!

Hahaha, my grill collection has certainly exploded in size since becoming active again on this forum.

 

[Joe Anshien]

About a month ago I came across a good deal locally on this PK 360.
I've seen Jon post about his PK grill before and noticed a few others post about how they enjoy their PK. So I figured why not try something new.

For those of you that don't know, the PK 360 has two upper vents and two lower vents, so they are a little more versatile in terms of vent control over the standard kettle. I've cooked so much on the kettle that I can almost control the vents/temps in my sleep now....so learning this new PK will be fun.

Here are some pictures of it. I kept it in my dining room for a few weeks when I was debating whether to re-sell or keep the grill. Ended up deciding to sell off one of my Performers and keep the 360. Just didn't make a lot of sense to have two Performers (even though selling the grass/spring green one will be tough).

Something I really like about the grill:

• It's made of cast aluminum, top and bottom, so this thing should last a LONG time with no worry about burn through or rusting
• Both the charcoal and top grate are stainless steel
• It has 360 square inches of cooking surface, for comparison the 22" kettle is 363 sq. in. This was surprising to me, because I thought it was actually much smaller, but it's basically the same size.
• The side tables remove easily, you can also easily remove it from the base and it becomes more portable. The way it's designed, you could just sit it down on a table and the bottom vents would still function properly.

View attachment 24296View attachment 24297View attachment 24298View attachment 24299View attachment 24300View attachment 24301
View attachment 24303




In the pictures above, you might have noticed the thermometer wasn't one that came with the PK. Someone on the PK Facebook group pointed that out to me, so I grabbed a Tel-Tru thermometer off one of my Performers, and it seemed like a perfect fit.



View attachment 24302



Was thinking we could use this thread to post any tips or tricks to using the PK 360. I've grilled burgers and steaks on mine so far, but have not yet tried a low and slow on it. More posts/pictures to come...

Was this new or used as it looks brand new! How much did you get it for if you feel comfortable answering. Nice find!

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Very nice Kyle, I would love to get one of those but with our annual no charcoal use in the summer just doesn't make sense.
Like Jon said keep use posted on your thoughts about it.

I totally get that. I'm charcoal pretty much 365, except when it's raining. Then I breakout the good old Weber Q.
I've talked to you about this before, but the wife and I have been talking about moving out west in a few years.....no charcoal grilling would be a "con" for me. Has there always been a no charcoal grilling rule in effect? Or is that something new?

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

More on the DIY charcoal basket...

I assumed that this basket would hold about 3/4 of a chimney, which is typically plenty of charcoal for one of my normal cooks.
The basket almost held that much....you can see from the pictures how full the chimney was, might have actually been a little more than 3/4.
I put the basket in the middle of the lower grate and it didn't take too long to get the grill up to 500 with the vents wide open. I imagine if I used a small wood chunk to crack the lid open a little, that the temps might climb even higher, but I have not tried that yet...just a guess.




And here is the PK in it's new home on the top deck.

 

[Rich Dahl]

I totally get that. I'm charcoal pretty much 365, except when it's raining. Then I breakout the good old Weber Q.
I've talked to you about this before, but the wife and I have been talking about moving out west in a few years.....no charcoal grilling would be a "con" for me. Has there always been a no charcoal grilling rule in effect? Or is that something new?

Kyle, the Southwest has been in a drought condition since we moved here 20 years ago, it's spread to the West and Northwest.
The charcoal ban started about 4-5 years ago due to the lack of adequate rainfall in the spring and our Summer monsoon seasons for the last three years have been a joke, I think last year we got less than an inch of rain here where we normally get 4-5 inches. The grass lands around us are totally dry. With the constant winds we have once a fire starts it spreads fast. The large cattle ranch next to our subdivision two years ago had a fire start from a truck dragging a trailer safety chain, within one hour it burned 900 acres and numerous homes and out buildings. Before they got it under control it burned over 2600 acres, but luckily no one was injured.
I hate the ban but I completely understand it.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

Hey Kyle, what’s the scoop on the things that look like pipe caps sitting on top?

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Hey Kyle, what’s the scoop on the things that look like pipe caps sitting on top?

I didn't want to bother getting a cover for the grill, and I've read that sometimes water can get in the top vents, even when closed. So went with an idea someone suggested. Got two 3.5" brass cleanout plugs and wrapped the outsides with some Lavalock seal. They fit perfectly over the top vents. Lavalock is just to prevent scratching up the area they rest on. I suppose you could use them while cooking to totally cut off the top vent(s), but that's not why I got them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HE9XYS/?tag=tvwb-20

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082QWVKZN/?tag=tvwb-20


One thing that this grill doesn't have is the charcoal bin/storage that the Performer has. I used that bin to keep my bbq gloves, cooking spray, wood chunks/chips, and other bbq related stuff. I plan on moving my Q up to the top deck and use it as storage for stuff like that (just keep it under the lid on the cooking grate). Or I might get one of those tables that others here have posted.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

I had a feeling there would be a very simple reason! That’s perfect!

 

[J Grotz]

I love those grills and will have one of them some day. Really nice mods, too with the basket and pipe caps. I would take one of those over a Performer any day.

 

[Joe Anshien]

The only thing (correct me if wrong) that the PK doesn't have that the performer does is a rotisserie option.

 

[John - au4stree]

The only thing (correct me if wrong) that the PK doesn't have that the performer does is a rotisserie option.

I’m sure some industrious person has retro fitted a rotisserie somehow but I haven’t seen it.

The 360 is darn near perfect for me, but wouldn’t kick a performer to the curb. I will say, Weber definitely has ash management cornered. The PK360 isn’t hard by any means, but that kettle is super easy.

 

[Kevin L (NKY)]

I totally get that. I'm charcoal pretty much 365, except when it's raining. Then I breakout the good old Weber Q.
I've talked to you about this before, but the wife and I have been talking about moving out west in a few years.....no charcoal grilling would be a "con" for me. Has there always been a no charcoal grilling rule in effect? Or is that something new?

It all depends on what part of AZ you settle in as I am only 12 miles from Rich and we have large 1 acre sites or more here and no restrictions, except for wind stops every body.

 

[Bradley Mack]

How does this PK grill look both futuristic AND vintage at the same time?

 

[Joe Anshien]

Kyle, the Southwest has been in a drought condition since we moved here 20 years ago, it's spread to the West and Northwest.
The charcoal ban started about 4-5 years ago due to the lack of adequate rainfall in the spring and our Summer monsoon seasons for the last three years have been a joke, I think last year we got less than an inch of rain here where we normally get 4-5 inches. The grass lands around us are totally dry. With the constant winds we have once a fire starts it spreads fast. The large cattle ranch next to our subdivision two years ago had a fire start from a truck dragging a trailer safety chain, within one hour it burned 900 acres and numerous homes and out buildings. Before they got it under control it burned over 2600 acres, but luckily no one was injured.
I hate the ban but I completely understand it.

Rich,
Can you use a pellet grill or something like a Masterbuilt gravity feed 1050 out of curiosity?