My new Kamado Joe is going back...

Just going by what she said. She didn't have one. I'm sure I'll buy a bge when I do. I'm a loyalist.

I REALLY like BGE. I loved my medium and I love my large. I wanted a second portable egg. Mini is too small (for what I needed...don't break out the videos Mickey.  )  Small too large. Were the Mini-Max already on the market...I would have seriously debated going that route...however... 

Deckhand said:

BYS1981 said:

I personally use KJ lump and their lump occasionally sparks. LOL what a ridiculous answer they gave, their lump is good lump though. Comparable to WGWW.

Wicked Good makes KJ lump

No, they don't. It may have come from the same area previously, though. WGWW comes from Brazil. SA KJ lump comes from Argentina. This is the lie I was told by KJ when I called them. 

Just like any other product, none of them are perfect. Every manufactured product has it's weaknesses and idiosyncrasies. BGE too. Every manufacturer of similar products chooses to interpret their creation differently than their competitors do. I havent seen a KJ Jr in person, but since I own BGE AND Visions brand grills I can tell you what I think are strengths and weaknessses of both, but at the end of the day they both work...quite well and produce tasty food at my skilled hands. Neither is falling apart, and yes Ive had warranty interraction with both manufacturers to a speedy and satisfactory resolution. I know this is a "Big Green Egg" centric forum, but since we spend much time talking about other related and non-related topics from sous vide to outdoor kitchens, I cant help but chuckle at those who seriously consider one brand of kamado cooker heads and shoulders "better" than the others. Really? How so? They all break occasionally, they all require gaskets, and they all produce damn fine eats. Some people prefer to spend "X" for theirs, while some some prefer "X +" but that doesnt make "X+" better, just more expensive. No brand snobbery here, I love em all, and its all about the food at my place, not the brand name it came off of.

BuckeyeBob said:

I'm sure I missed another thread on this topic but why the rush to go KJ versus the Egg? Is it cost based or features or both? In my view. I made the decision to buy the Egg when I bought my Large and it has been the best decision I could have ever made. If and when I decide to buy another ceramic, I won't be shopping around. I will stick with the Egg where I know what I am getting and how to use it. With their performance, customer service, lifetime warranty and accessory choices, I personally would see no need to go anywhere else.

Just my .02

I think peeps just really like the design of the Joe Jr. It has the grid size of the small, but is shorter and more portable and comes with a stand you can carry it in. The BGE mini max that was announced looks very similar but it won't be out for a few months.

I'm liking mine. Should be a great compliment to the Big Joe for smaller cooks or sides.

@Lit - I stopped into a local KJ retailer last week and took a look at one. Seemed like a nice cooker. It's on my wish list for tailgating and other portable excursions. Let us know how it cooks. 

I bought a KJ Classic to complement my BGE Mini, and had some similar experiences - the "out of the box" unpacking was not good, as they shipped a different heat deflector than shown on the website (basically a pizza stone instead of 2 half moon deflectors) which arrived broken, and there were parts missing.  (They showed an X-Rack on the website that wasn't in the box..and when I called, they said it's a change being made that just isn't out yet - which is BS, since it was shown on the site and shouldn't have been if it wasn't ready to ship yet).

I did talk to one of the owners and Meghan both, and they really do seem to be trying - but it also struck me as odd that they would say "you get X" on the website when there's entire parts not yet ready to ship.

I've been happy overall with the KJ Classic (which does come with a "screen" - really a perforated front on their "ash removal drawer" that's a pretty nice feature the BGE doesn't have), but it burns a TON more lump than I would have expected.  Not sure if that's just a Large v. Mini difference, or if KJ is just more lump hungry than BGE for whatever reason.

Since the KJ is really too big for 90% of what we cook, I'm now regretting it a bit and considering buying a MBGE - but SWMBO would KILL. ME. and doesn't want 3 ceramic cookers on the deck. (Urgh).  So, I just bought an Ash Dragon firebox divider and am going to try that - plus an Adjustable Rig from CGS to try to cut down on the massive lump consumption..maybe then I can just have 2 ceramic cookers - Mini BGE and KJ Classic..