Akorn Charcoal Management


 
No, didnt get a bum akorn, I even got replacement parts right from the factory, those parts have the same issues. If it was just me with a bum akorn why would Steve be asking these questions? The way it is constructed is the root of these issues.
 
RalphTrimble said:
Kamado Joe and Akorn are like apples and oranges. Akorn's leak, everywhere...

The intake vent can leak, the ash pan gasket can leak, behind the handles on the ash pan there's a sharp bend that tends to crack and leak, the sharp bend on the body and particularly the ash pan around the outer edge can crack and leak, it can leak between the inner and outer shells, the lid gasket can leak. If you do high heat cooking (pizzas etc) the oven type gasket on the lid can get stiff and when you close the lid it will bow out away from the lid between the pins that hold it in place. I just happened to look across at grill level one day when light was just right and saw slits of light between my lid and gasket all the way around, that one got me by surprise. I put thick nomex gasket on the top and bottom an eliminated the original gasket.

Hopefully that laundry list gives you ideas of where to look.

The easiest thing to do is set the HM to blow at 100% and build a big smokey fire, then close down the lid and all the vents and see where the smoke is blowing out, there are your leaks.
Click to expand...

That is a great idea.....I will try that this weekend and look for leaks. I am mainly only using my akorn for Smoking....I am a gas grill to make steaks and burgers....although the pizza making is tempting....it is a lot of heat and work for a 10 minute pie cook. :)
 
WBegg said:
Ralph, I think you got a "bum" Akorn.

Mine had a few spots that leaked around the ash pan, and I lifted up the screws and re-tightened, and all is good.

I get 1-4 degree accuracy with 18+ hour cooks (at smoking temperatures) with these settings.

P: 2
I: .0035
D: 6

Fan on above 50%, min at 5%, max at 30%, Startup at 70%

Servo fully open at 100%

Fan/Damper is the Adapt-a-Damper

Of course, these are settings for smoking "200-300". I never saw any real reason to use a Kamado for cooking pizza, or doing any other high heat cooks. Pizzas cook fast enough, so I really never saw any reason to use the HM for it.

I've cooked chickens on my Akorn at 350, and held VERY steady with no more than 2 degrees deviation over a cook. Any temp over that, and I'll just pull out my kettle to do some "grillin'"

Fire is lit with 1 alcohol soaked cotton swab, or sometimes 1/2 of a weber cube.

Once the swab (or cube) goes out, I let the HM take over with the top damper fully open until the temp reaches 140 then choke the top damper down to a sliver past the "holes" (about an 1/8th inch on the straight section just above the holes).
Click to expand...

I don't have a heatermeter....I created my own controller using an ESP8266. But I am using the MicroDamper and the PID settings that they said to use. I believe your gain is half of mine....will try that too.

So the Fan on above 50%, min at 5%, max at 30%, Startup at 70% Servo fully open at 100%:

Means The fan doesn't come on until the output reaches 50%, and then it scales from 51% - 100% at 5% to 30%....correct..? And at Startup for some period of time it runs at 70% to stoke the coals. And the servo run from fully closed to fully open from 0 to 100% output. Is this correct...?

My fan won't move very well under 20%...so I bump it hard to get it started and then operate it from 20% to 50% fan speed at output starting at 50%....so we are pretty close....about 30% of active fan.

Where does your output hover when you are cooking low...like 225 to 230 degsF...?

Thanks for all the help...!!
 
SteveSmith said:
That is a great idea.....I will try that this weekend and look for leaks. I am mainly only using my akorn for Smoking....I am a gas grill to make steaks and burgers....although the pizza making is tempting....it is a lot of heat and work for a 10 minute pie cook. :)
Click to expand...

Ralph.....your comment above made me think......so I grabbed a really bright LED light and sure enough, I could see right through to the inside with the lid locked down.....in small areas all around the lid...!! So I guess I need to get some of that sealant.....I will search in the threads, because I believe I saw it on an Akorn website. So I am planning on buying some of the sealant trim and do the top and bottom sections.

hd5EAA8.png


Thanks for sharing...I will report back how my cooks go after I seal the unit up this weekend.

Regards,
Steve
 
Oh that's a good idea for anyone looking to find their leaks. I've previously tried to do this with a bunch of cold smoke but just lighting up the inside should definitely be enough to see the gaps. Thanks for the idea!
 
Took Ralph's advice and bought some gasket material.....just finished...thought I might share some pics......we are SEALED for sure now. Ready to Smoke 2 butts tomorrow.....hopefully it will maintain temp. Just FYI....the Top Vent was a TIGHT fit....had to press and twist, but it is really sealed now. We will see how it goes. Bought a Colander to maintain a flow of air from the bottom.....the ash and small pieces were restricting air flow. Not sure about this mod, but worth a shot for $9.

Bought this Gasket Material: Gasket at Amazon

LID:
cKKHn2j.png

ASH:
L6rGQio.png

TOP OF VENT:
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BOTTOM OF VENT:
ZqdmPjS.png

SLIDER:
JqMqYKX.png

AMOUNT LEFT:
mTI3XEi.png


Bought this Colander: Colander at Amazon
COLANDER:
oQtMuqW.png


INSIDE AKORN:
USZcCc9.png
 
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It's easy to get an uncontrolled burn with so much wood like that, particularly dry wood. Maybe too much wood in your fire is an issue here, try soaking your wood in water or apple juice to slow down its burn and use less.
 
Looks great, but Really pricey! Can get 8 colanders for 1 kick ash basket. $74 was the lowest price I could find. Will keep looking for better pricing, though. Thanks!
 
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