Akorn With Built In Fan (Auto Kamado) $450

[STEbbq]

Wow. What a great price for a fan-controlled charcoal kamado.

https://www.chargriller.com/collecti...ts/auto-kamado

[bbqLuv]

I wonder if the control is a takeoff of the pellet grill. LOL
I guess if you can't beat them, join them. LOL
The next add-on will be an auto fuel feed, followed by WIFI.

[JGo37]

it comes with remote control via a phone app.... ;o)

[JGo37]

I'm torn between the standard Akorn and the Auto-kamado. It comes down to relying on an AC connection. This can be said for any wood burner / charcoal cooker.

What do you all think? Tied to the house for electricity is worth it, or go solo, man cook with fire?!

Anyway - the auto also comes with a heat deflector, and the lowest price on the Akorn is currenlty $ 319 - so after accessories it's almost a wash - you don't see that often for a fan controller, that's certain.

FYI I plan on buying by Amazon prime day, and right now Lowes has the lowest price.

[Thunder77]

As a former Akorn owner, I have to say that I will definitely not buy another one. I got mine on a discount at Walmart, and I saw it as a cheap way to get into kamado cooking. I don’t like them for lack of durability, and I had to add two gaskets to improve temp control. Also had to buy the heat deflector separately, and had to replace the OEM grate pretty quickly. Not a good buy for the long run in my not so humble opinion. I have two Primos now, and there is no looking back.

[Thunder77]

I put a gasket on my lid, and on the lower seal around the ash catcher. I got the stainless grate because I often did pizzas and bread at higher temps. I kept burning off the seasoning on the cast iron stock grate, and eventually it cracked.

[JGo37]

Thunder77 that's exactly what I read, and what to do - it doesn't scare me a bit.

[Thunder77]

The gaskets are easy, and I like the stainless grate that I bought, because it had a hinged flip up side to add charcoal. It also had an attached, adjustable height charcoal grate.

[STEbbq]

JGo37 The deflector is required if you want to smoke but it is pretty cheap ($35). The grates are a personal preference but I haven’t bothered to replace
mine. The gasket is really high quality and nearly everyone says it is far better than you’d expect at this point price. I’d be surprised if you have to do anything there.

Personally, the Akorn is so easy to control and so efficient, I really feel the fan is overkill. I was very worried about this when I bought mine and frankly, I feel rather smart controlling this Akorn with a minimum of effort. It is much easier than any Weber or non-kamado cooker you might have had in the past.

[STEbbq]

Oh, you can add a $15 Weber grate for searing if you want. Basically, it would fit where the deflector would sit right above the coals and works awesome. Let me know if you want me to link the product. You can sear with the OEM config but I think this makes it more fun.

[JGo37]

I've got every grate for weber 22 kettles - and I was thinking the gasket material needs to go behind the lower vent, not the lid. Anyway, for some reason I don't want to be tied to electricity, so thanks for the comment about ease of control.