Hi all. Quick question please. I'm trying to decide between the PK 360 and the Broil King Keg. As I'm outside the US the cost would be virtually identical. 360 looks lovely but might be a little cramped for low and slow, on the other hand I really don't want the headache of maintaining the cast iron grill grate on the BKK. Any other issues I should be considering? Thanks very much.
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Administrator
- May 2014
- 18986
- Clare, Michigan area
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They will both cook and function differently. One is a kamado-style cooker (BKK) and the other functions more like a kettle, or a regular old charcoal grill if you will. Do you plan to do more 'grilling', like steaks, burgers, chicken, hot dogs... or more 'smoking', low & slow long cooks, like pork butts, ribs, briskets? You can do either on either really, but the PK may be more to your liking for quicker grilling, whereas the BKK excels more at low & slow. Neither are limited to that though, just sharing the short story.
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Thanks that's super helpful. I guess another way of looking at it is which one of them is the best at the thing it's not supposed to do...
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Huskee - sorry, I misread your comment. Having read it correctly, I still don't agree with it. :-) With a good lump I can get my Keg up around 1000 degrees. It is great at high temp grilling. The only downside is it is tough to do a 2 zone fire, but you can get inserts for kamados that let you do this.
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Club Member
- Jun 2019
- 1558
- Bobcaygeon, Ontario
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My gear:
22 Weber Kettle
Napoleon PRO Charcoal Kettle Grill
Broil King Keg
Traeger Pro 34
Napoleon Prestige Pro 500
Pit Barrel Cooker
Blackstone Range Combo Griddle
I love my BKK however, the one thing that is really hard to do on it is a 2 zone fire. Yes, there are various inserts that you can purchase to help with that, but still... One big advantage of the BKK IMO is the ability to shut a fire right down when you're done, therefore preserving any unburned charcoal.
I don't understand the concern about maintaining the cast iron grill though. Aside from a reseasoning with lard and a screaming hot fire each spring, I don't do anything special with mine other than keeping it clean.
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Agree with Huskee the PK would be more versatile of the two.
To open I have no experience with the PK.
I have the Keg, great for low and slow but there is a rather steep learning curve on using the dampers. Something that even after years of ownership still gives me fits. Needs a really good lump charcoal as nuggets just burn to fast.
Mine is an older model and has become kinda leaky which doesn't help also.
The cast iron grate has never been an issue after a cook I open the dampers, it'll hit 5-600 burn off the curd a quick brush and its ready for the next smoke. I've never seasoned it.
I have seared on it at the end of a cook when I open the dampers and let her rip, does an OK job on the sear.
Have THICK INSULATED gloves or really long tongs!!!!
Hope this helps can't go wrong either way.
....and even on a major league screw up, and there's been many, the flavours are still outstanding
Last edited by smokin fool; January 27, 2020, 07:56 AM.
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I use a BBQ Guru temp controller and fan on my BKK for low and slow and it holds temp exactly where I set it. Depending on how much more life your's has left, you may want to look into something similar. As far as searing goes, mine does an awesome job. With the right lump, I can get that thing up over 1000 degrees!
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I owed a BKK and I would probably pass on one now. It rusted out around the dampers after about 5 years. The parts and pieces they sell as accessories are not nearly as high quality as other kamado brands. I ended up buying a Big Green Egg plate setter to replace the one that BKK sold me. Maintaining the cast iron grate is not a huge issue. You can buy a wire grate for cheap at any hardware store you want. The BKK does have the advantage of being mobile. It is nice to be able to take it places and not have to worry about it breaking on you. I did that several times as I had the trailer hitch attachment that made that a breeze. I did make a lot of great food not he BKK. However, the BKK rusted out on me after about 5 years. I always had it covered too. The main problem was around the dampers and where the unit hooked on the the base. This rusting made is impossible to seal the BKK up during low and slow cooking and this made it almost impossible to keep the temp low.
The PK360 has more space on the main cooking grate than the BKK. I never really found the upper swing grate on the BKK to work that well. It does offer more space, but because of where the upper grate hooks into the lower grate, you loose maybe a 1/3 of the cooking space on the lower grate when the top one is installed. Personally, I would rather just have one grate.
If you are going to go the kamado route. I would go ceramic. Just my two cents.
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Funny about peoples assessment of the upper swing grill, in my case Its one of the BBK's best features.
Mine has not had any rust issues, the cover is old and leaking so there is moisture in the bottom ash pit when I clean it.
My problems are stemming from popped rivets at the bottom damper and the gasket between the base and lid has seen better days so I get a lot of air leakage both in and out of the unit.
I'd probably lean in a different direction next smoker.
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Yep, the rivets is where it all started. I don't doubt that the swing grate is one of the best features, but it still leaves something to be desired, if you ask me. smokin fool
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This is great. Thanks all. Good to know the cast iron grid is not a problem. I wd go PK probably. Concern is really just that PK have zero presence where I live so have one chance to import everything in one go and if it isn't engineered 100 percent perfect out of the box it's gonna be almost impossible to remedy without months of back and forth.
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Club Member
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Just like most everyone here, a lot of other stuff!
As already said, the BKK is a kamado. Buying a kamado today, I too would buy ceramic.
The PK360 is a robust little grill and can be set up two zone easily. However at 360 square inches grill space, the real estate is limited. They are very well made and should last a lifetime. All the grates in the PK360 are stainless steel and big plus from my experience.
Get the best of all worlds and buy both!
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I have a BKK for one reason. The portability, I love the trailer hitch that allows me to travel with out giving up trunk space. I also switched out the grate for a stainless steel one. Large BGE accessories are pretty much all compatible. If I were choosing a patio/stationary cooker I would personally choose a PK. Both good choices.
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Club Member
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Jim Morris
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I don't have either a PK360 or a BKK, but the PK360 to me is a little small for smoking, as smoking on it requires a 2 zone setup, meaning you only get to use half of the cooking grate. This means for something like ribs, you will need to cut the racks in half AND use a rib rack to stand them on edge. With the kamado style cooker, for smoking, you put in the plate setter or deflector, and can use pretty much the entire round grate for smoking. I use a Weber 22" kettle with the Slow 'N Sear (snsgrills.com) myself for a lot of my smoking, and you can use about 2/3 of its round grate when smoking.
Of the two, I think the PK360 will last a lifetime longer than the BKK simply due to its construction, so if you only do this once, the PK360 will last a LONG LONG time, and will be a great grill, as long as you can live with the space that is available. I think purchasing a rib rack, and maybe an elevated grate, and for sure the charcoal basket, would all be helpful.
So, my vote would be for the PK360, as long as you feel you can live with the constrained space when using it to smoke meat versus direct grilling.
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For smoking on the 360 you can use 2/3-3/4 of the space for the meat and you can use their littlemore grid to add another level. However the other level will run hotter so you have to rotate things, and yes you will have to divide ribs up to fit.
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Polarbear777 I've used an elevated grate on my kettle as well, and as you say, the higher grate is always hotter. I just rotate the ribs or wings halfway through the cook, from top to bottom.
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- Aug 2018
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- Heart of Dixie
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Kamado Joe Big Joe III, Recteq 1250, PKGO, Jumbo Joe and PBC. Weber kettle @ the hunting camp.
I owned a Big Steel Keg, the brand after Bubba Keg and before the current Broil King Keg. I loved that grill for the portability, it had a trailer hitch attachment. It took some finagling, but at that time in my life, when transporting it buddies were able to move it about. My only gripe about the BKK is that I could never get it to a true low/slow, the dang thing was too well insulated.
I am a current owner of a PK360. This thing does everything I want it to do, smoke, grill, bake etc. The best thing I bought for the PK was the KickAsh basket, for me, it was a game changer.
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I've owned a PK360 since they came out (#66) and it is the best grill I've ever owned. Marine grade aluminum that will outlast you, finger tip temp controls (dont have to reach under a hot grill to adjust vents), easy ash management (2" bristle brush and ash can), 2 zone cooking, good temperature gauge and great at smoking small cuts (chuck and small butts). I've smoked chuck at 250 for 6 hours without adding fuel. For smoking larger cuts, multiple cuts or ribs I use other smokers.
Bottom line: great for anything you want to grill and smoker for small cuts. But not very portable. It does come apart (shelves detach, unhook it from the base, reassemble, etc).
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