KickAsh Basket - worth it?

BbqDave

Before I got my KAB, I would stir up the used charcoal before my next cook.  Invariably, small pieced would clog up the holes in the bottom cast iron plate and the holes in the side of the firebox.  Now, I just lift out the KAB, give it a few shakes and drop it back in.  YMMV, but I've found that I have to dismantle my egg for cleaning a lot less now.  I liked my KAB so much, I bought another for my medium.  And I'm a cheapskate, so that says a lot.

Texag06ish

RRP said:

Texag06ish said:

I have one in my XL and if I would return it in a heartbeat. 

I realize they are not for everyone and may be the ease of removal and "shake-a-bility" isn't as valuable of an aspect with a XL...with that said would you mind explaining what it is you don't like? I mean with my large and small I pull off the grate, give the KAB a sharp stirs, grab the handles and give the KAB a couple hard shakes and I'm ready to rock & roll! Every second or third time I may clean out the ash.

I don't think it was worth the money. Prior to having it I would scoop the lump out with gloves onto the lid of my lump container, shop vac out the egg and put it back together. 

With the KAB I give it a good shake and wind up having large-ish chunks of lump that get stuck in my shop vac. Plus the lump winds up far more ashy than when I did it with the process outlined above. It doesn't save me any time. Plus if if I fill the egg up past KAB lump falls behind it and never really burns. 

Guess its it's just not for me. 

RRP

Texag06ish said:

RRP said:

Texag06ish said:

I have one in my XL and if I would return it in a heartbeat. 

I realize they are not for everyone and may be the ease of removal and "shake-a-bility" isn't as valuable of an aspect with a XL...with that said would you mind explaining what it is you don't like? I mean with my large and small I pull off the grate, give the KAB a sharp stirs, grab the handles and give the KAB a couple hard shakes and I'm ready to rock & roll! Every second or third time I may clean out the ash.

I don't think it was worth the money. Prior to having it I would scoop the lump out with gloves onto the lid of my lump container, shop vac out the egg and put it back together. 

With the KAB I give it a good shake and wind up having large-ish chunks of lump that get stuck in my shop vac. 

WHOA!!! When I refer to cleaning out with the shop vac - I mean after removing the KAB from the egg and and set off to the side. I then clean or vacuum and that tiny fine stuff that remains down below the KAB. I NEVER have any any large clogging pieces!

Mikee

yljkt said:

Mikee said:

yljkt said:

Mikee said:

The KAB wastes a lot of lump. Small pieces will fall thru.  Nothing wrong with them; they will burn great when doing a long and slow. All bigger pieces will eventually become a size that fits thru the KAB. Some here may not care about the cost of lump and how much they go thru; but I do. Anything bigger than an pensile eraser is usable.

Do you have, or have you used a kab? 

Nope. I have fire grates that are similar to the KAB. Way too much lump falls thru them. Next question?

Just curious how you had a solid opinion without having tried it. A certain center cut lump thread comes to mind.   

Common sense is that when the fire grate has wide spacing's it allows for larger pieces of lump to fall thru. The KAB, like my aftermarket fire grate, are not good when it comes to lump falling thru. It get magnified when shaking the lump prior to firing it up again. Leftover lump is very fragile and brittle: however, its the best lump. It has a low moisture content and is highly carbonized. Shake it or stir it and it will break apart and fall thru a KAB.

The Char-Broil Center Cut Lump does not need to be shaken or stirred. While I do like a chimney starter, I found using a Weber fire starter is the way to go with this lump. Sure I hate to spend the $0.15 to lite up the egg versus the no-cost mail circulars. Cooked NY Strips tonight. I added no lump to the mini. I added just a hair over 5 oz last night ( yes I weighed it because of the non-believers). There was plenty of lump in the mini to cook. In under 10 minutes the temperature was well over 600*. This lump glows a reddish-orange. Not just on the outside but thru all of it. The mini is less than 6 months old so I still have the OEM fire grate. Although the Char-Broil lump is heads over heals better than any lump I used (Royal Oak, Big Green Egg, Rockwood, Kamando Joe, Frontier, Laredo, Cowboy, etc..), it is pricey at $22 a box. It's on sale and with a coupon I paid less than $8 a box. I got 5 more boxes tonight and will buy more.

Terrebandit

I think the guy who sells these things does pretty well for himself, so that speaks volumes about this product and its demand on the egg market.  

There are always going to be some penny pinchers out there that are willing to do the extra work to get to the same place, but I don't have to do that.  

Some are worried about small marble-size pieces of lump being lost or some want to arrange their lump by size to optimize a burn.

Some use rubber gloves for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.  

Alas, I like clever products that make life easier.  I can handle disorganization.  I have disposable income.  KAB, I shall have as many as I damn want. 

Focker

Terrebandit said:

I think the guy who sells these things does pretty well for himself, so that speaks volumes about this product and its demand on the egg market.  

There are always going to be some penny pinchers out there that are willing to do the extra work to get to the same place, but I don't have to do that.  

Some are worried about small marble-size pieces of lump being lost or some want to arrange their lump by size to optimize a burn.

Some use rubber gloves for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.  

Alas, I like clever products that make life easier.  I can handle disorganization.  I have disposable income.  KAB, I shall have as many as I damn want. 

Uhhhhh, it keeps your hand clean. 

Toxarch

Focker said:

Terrebandit said:

I think the guy who sells these things does pretty well for himself, so that speaks volumes about this product and its demand on the egg market.  

There are always going to be some penny pinchers out there that are willing to do the extra work to get to the same place, but I don't have to do that.  

Some are worried about small marble-size pieces of lump being lost or some want to arrange their lump by size to optimize a burn.

Some use rubber gloves for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.  

Alas, I like clever products that make life easier.  I can handle disorganization.  I have disposable income.  KAB, I shall have as many as I damn want. 

Uhhhhh, it keeps your hand clean. 

I'm not sold on it. You failed to convince me of its need. I'll just use the KAB instead and not need the rubber glove.

VANcouverEGG

I always thought cooking with fire meant hands dirty. Not a bad thing. It washes off. Tried some gloves recently but it didn't feel the same. 

Jupiter Jim

Mikee said:

yljkt said:

Mikee said:

yljkt said:

Mikee said:

The KAB wastes a lot of lump. Small pieces will fall thru.  Nothing wrong with them; they will burn great when doing a long and slow. All bigger pieces will eventually become a size that fits thru the KAB. Some here may not care about the cost of lump and how much they go thru; but I do. Anything bigger than an pensile eraser is usable.

Do you have, or have you used a kab? 

Nope. I have fire grates that are similar to the KAB. Way too much lump falls thru them. Next question?

Just curious how you had a solid opinion without having tried it. A certain center cut lump thread comes to mind.   

Common sense is that when the fire grate has wide spacing's it allows for larger pieces of lump to fall thru. The KAB, like my aftermarket fire grate, are not good when it comes to lump falling thru. It get magnified when shaking the lump prior to firing it up again. Leftover lump is very fragile and brittle: however, its the best lump. It has a low moisture content and is highly carbonized. Shake it or stir it and it will break apart and fall thru a KAB.

The Char-Broil Center Cut Lump does not need to be shaken or stirred. While I do like a chimney starter, I found using a Weber fire starter is the way to go with this lump. Sure I hate to spend the $0.15 to lite up the egg versus the no-cost mail circulars. Cooked NY Strips tonight. I added no lump to the mini. I added just a hair over 5 oz last night ( yes I weighed it because of the non-believers). There was plenty of lump in the mini to cook. In under 10 minutes the temperature was well over 600*. This lump glows a reddish-orange. Not just on the outside but thru all of it. The mini is less than 6 months old so I still have the OEM fire grate. Although the Char-Broil lump is heads over heals better than any lump I used (Royal Oak, Big Green Egg, Rockwood, Kamando Joe, Frontier, Laredo, Cowboy, etc..), it is pricey at $22 a box. It's on sale and with a coupon I paid less than $8 a box. I got 5 more boxes tonight and will buy more.

Wow you have certainly found a lump and starting method that sounds awesome! However it's not for me........ I'm happy that you found the best ever lump and starting method. I'm not going to try to tell you your wrong and what you at paying for that so special lump that in the end is ash that you have no use for, Your method works for you and you are happy with it and that's what is important.

I just wish that when someone ask for an opinion on a product that people having no experience with the product wouldn't give opinion's based on what they think might be or not be. Just because someone is not willing to spend the $$$$ that a product cost doesn't make it a bad product.  Just wondering if your reference to a Mini is in fact a Mini or a Mini Max? I have a Mini that is 9 years old and we love it, call it our lean mean green grilling machine.

Jupiter Jim

Terrebandit said:

I think the guy who sells these things does pretty well for himself, so that speaks volumes about this product and its demand on the egg market.  

There are always going to be some penny pinchers out there that are willing to do the extra work to get to the same place, but I don't have to do that.  

Some are worried about small marble-size pieces of lump being lost or some want to arrange their lump by size to optimize a burn.

Some use rubber gloves for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.  

Alas, I like clever products that make life easier.  I can handle disorganization.  I have disposable income.  KAB, I shall have as many as I damn want. 

I have a confession! I don't like getting my hands dirty so most of the time I use some cheap vinyl gloves!!!!! I'm an electrician and some days on construction sites are tough with no water to wash hands!!!!!

Focker

I don't need to waste my disposable coin on a Mini to come to the conclusion that a Weber Smokey Joe, Jumbo Joe, or 14.5 WSM smokes it in every way, for a small fraction of the price.  It's not penny pinching, I can afford a Mini.  It won't put better food on the table.  The same goes for the KAB.  

My grandpa had money.  You would never know it.  He didn't talk about it.  He wore the same beat up overalls, when he could've bought new.  Truck, rusty and trusty, when he could've easily paid cash for a brand spanking new one.  A smart man.  A little common cents goes a long way folks....it's a damn grill. Lol

Just don't BS me by telling me it has a vast improvememt in airflow, when there is hardly any air moving through it in the first place.  Sounds like a ShamWow infomercial.

GrateEggspectations

Does it not bring in too much air for low and slow?

JohnnyTarheel

@joeybrown105 asked a pretty simple question to get some opinions ..... not reinvent the wheel.... jeez

Jupiter Jim

GrateEggspectations said:

Does it not bring in too much air for low and slow?

No the air flow is controlled by either the top vent or bottom vent or both. Some only use the top vent, some use only the bottom and some both. The factory fire grate can get clogged with ash but the KAB doesn't get clogged.

I used the factory grate for a number of years before any of the after market products came to life and it works and can be easily unclogged with a wiggle rod.

All of the after market products are like buying a car without power windows you can open and close the windows with the crank on the door!

tonyled

put me in the meh category.  i have one and it is good at what it does but it wasnt worth the price.  i have also have a high-q grate for comparison and both work fine and neither is leaps and bounds over the other.  both do save me from having the holes clog up though and i do have much better air flow with either

Jellyworm

I have one for my large and would buy it again.  It does as advertised! Beats the stick method by a mile.

Focker

Jupiter Jim said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Does it not bring in too much air for low and slow?

No the air flow is controlled by either the top vent or bottom vent or both. Some only use the top vent, some use only the bottom and some both. The factory fire grate can get clogged with ash but the KAB doesn't get clogged.

I used the factory grate for a number of years before any of the after market products came to life and it works and can be easily unclogged with a wiggle rod.

All of the after market products are like buying a car without power windows you can open and close the windows with the crank on the door!

You and K buying a vehicle with heated seats in FL, would be a more accurate comparison. 

Jupiter Jim

Focker said:

Jupiter Jim said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Does it not bring in too much air for low and slow?

No the air flow is controlled by either the top vent or bottom vent or both. Some only use the top vent, some use only the bottom and some both. The factory fire grate can get clogged with ash but the KAB doesn't get clogged.

I used the factory grate for a number of years before any of the after market products came to life and it works and can be easily unclogged with a wiggle rod.

All of the after market products are like buying a car without power windows you can open and close the windows with the crank on the door!

You and K buying a vehicle with heated seats in FL, would be a more accurate comparison. 

Brandon Brandon Brandon, we do have heated seats in our cars in FL.

yljkt

Mikee said:

yljkt said:

Mikee said:

yljkt said:

Mikee said:

The KAB wastes a lot of lump. Small pieces will fall thru.  Nothing wrong with them; they will burn great when doing a long and slow. All bigger pieces will eventually become a size that fits thru the KAB. Some here may not care about the cost of lump and how much they go thru; but I do. Anything bigger than an pensile eraser is usable.

Do you have, or have you used a kab? 

Nope. I have fire grates that are similar to the KAB. Way too much lump falls thru them. Next question?

Just curious how you had a solid opinion without having tried it. A certain center cut lump thread comes to mind.   

Common sense is that when the fire grate has wide spacing's it allows for larger pieces of lump to fall thru. The KAB, like my aftermarket fire grate, are not good when it comes to lump falling thru. It get magnified when shaking the lump prior to firing it up again. Leftover lump is very fragile and brittle: however, its the best lump. It has a low moisture content and is highly carbonized. Shake it or stir it and it will break apart and fall thru a KAB.

The Char-Broil Center Cut Lump does not need to be shaken or stirred. While I do like a chimney starter, I found using a Weber fire starter is the way to go with this lump. Sure I hate to spend the $0.15 to lite up the egg versus the no-cost mail circulars. Cooked NY Strips tonight. I added no lump to the mini. I added just a hair over 5 oz last night ( yes I weighed it because of the non-believers). There was plenty of lump in the mini to cook. In under 10 minutes the temperature was well over 600*. This lump glows a reddish-orange. Not just on the outside but thru all of it. The mini is less than 6 months old so I still have the OEM fire grate. Although the Char-Broil lump is heads over heals better than any lump I used (Royal Oak, Big Green Egg, Rockwood, Kamando Joe, Frontier, Laredo, Cowboy, etc..), it is pricey at $22 a box. It's on sale and with a coupon I paid less than $8 a box. I got 5 more boxes tonight and will buy more.

Yeah but its a Mini. The thing probably only needed a hair over 5 oz of whatever lump was laying around. You lost me about weighing it for "Non-believers". Glad the coal is working out for you tho.  

Mikee

yljkt said:

Mikee said:

yljkt said:

Mikee said:

yljkt said:

Mikee said:

The KAB wastes a lot of lump. Small pieces will fall thru.  Nothing wrong with them; they will burn great when doing a long and slow. All bigger pieces will eventually become a size that fits thru the KAB. Some here may not care about the cost of lump and how much they go thru; but I do. Anything bigger than an pensile eraser is usable.

Do you have, or have you used a kab? 

Nope. I have fire grates that are similar to the KAB. Way too much lump falls thru them. Next question?

Just curious how you had a solid opinion without having tried it. A certain center cut lump thread comes to mind.   

Common sense is that when the fire grate has wide spacing's it allows for larger pieces of lump to fall thru. The KAB, like my aftermarket fire grate, are not good when it comes to lump falling thru. It get magnified when shaking the lump prior to firing it up again. Leftover lump is very fragile and brittle: however, its the best lump. It has a low moisture content and is highly carbonized. Shake it or stir it and it will break apart and fall thru a KAB.

The Char-Broil Center Cut Lump does not need to be shaken or stirred. While I do like a chimney starter, I found using a Weber fire starter is the way to go with this lump. Sure I hate to spend the $0.15 to lite up the egg versus the no-cost mail circulars. Cooked NY Strips tonight. I added no lump to the mini. I added just a hair over 5 oz last night ( yes I weighed it because of the non-believers). There was plenty of lump in the mini to cook. In under 10 minutes the temperature was well over 600*. This lump glows a reddish-orange. Not just on the outside but thru all of it. The mini is less than 6 months old so I still have the OEM fire grate. Although the Char-Broil lump is heads over heals better than any lump I used (Royal Oak, Big Green Egg, Rockwood, Kamando Joe, Frontier, Laredo, Cowboy, etc..), it is pricey at $22 a box. It's on sale and with a coupon I paid less than $8 a box. I got 5 more boxes tonight and will buy more.

Yeah but its a Mini. The thing probably only needed a hair over 5 oz of whatever lump was laying around. You lost me about weighing it for "Non-believers". Glad the coal is working out for you tho.  

Sure the Mini is efficient. I now added 2.0 ounces (for the non-believers). So that is 3 cooks on 7 ounces. No other lump could do that based on weight of the lump. Do the math, that is 2.33 ounces per cook. That's almost the weight of a half a stick of butter.

Botch

Jupiter Jim said:

Focker said:

Jupiter Jim said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Does it not bring in too much air for low and slow?

No the air flow is controlled by either the top vent or bottom vent or both. Some only use the top vent, some use only the bottom and some both. The factory fire grate can get clogged with ash but the KAB doesn't get clogged.

I used the factory grate for a number of years before any of the after market products came to life and it works and can be easily unclogged with a wiggle rod.

All of the after market products are like buying a car without power windows you can open and close the windows with the crank on the door!

You and K buying a vehicle with heated seats in FL, would be a more accurate comparison. 

Brandon Brandon Brandon, we do have heated seats in our cars in FL.

Yeah, it hit 58F once!  

yljkt

 Center Cut Lump does not need to be shaken or stirred. While I do like a chimney starter, I found using a Weber fire starter is the way to go with this lump. Sure I hate to spend the $0.15 to lite up the egg versus the no-cost mail circulars. Cooked NY Strips tonight. I added no lump to the mini. I added just a hair over 5 oz last night ( yes I weighed it because of the non-believers). There was plenty of lump in the mini to cook. In under 10 minutes the temperature was well over 600*. This lump glows a reddish-orange. Not just on the outside but thru all of it. The mini is less than 6 months old so I still have the OEM fire grate. Although the Char-Broil lump is heads over heals better than any lump I used (Royal Oak, Big Green Egg, Rockwood, Kamando Joe, Frontier, Laredo, Cowboy, etc..), it is pricey at $22 a box. It's on sale and with a coupon I paid less than $8 a box. I got 5 more boxes tonight and will buy more.

Yeah but its a Mini. The thing probably only needed a hair over 5 oz of whatever lump was laying around. You lost me about weighing it for "Non-believers". Glad the coal is working out for you tho.  

Sure the Mini is efficient. I now added 2.0 ounces (for the non-believers). So that is 3 cooks on 7 ounces. No other lump could do that based on weight of the lump. Do the math, that is 2.33 ounces per cook. That's almost the weight of a half a stick of butter.

Still not sure about the non believer thing...was the weigh-in witnessed? Who's really giving enuff of a sh!t to question how much lump your using? Also, where does this empirical statement come from that no other lump could do it based on weight? Have you [or anyone for that matter] tested your brand against the countless brands available? 

Jupiter Jim

Botch said:

Jupiter Jim said:

Focker said:

Jupiter Jim said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Does it not bring in too much air for low and slow?

No the air flow is controlled by either the top vent or bottom vent or both. Some only use the top vent, some use only the bottom and some both. The factory fire grate can get clogged with ash but the KAB doesn't get clogged.

I used the factory grate for a number of years before any of the after market products came to life and it works and can be easily unclogged with a wiggle rod.

All of the after market products are like buying a car without power windows you can open and close the windows with the crank on the door!

You and K buying a vehicle with heated seats in FL, would be a more accurate comparison. 

Brandon Brandon Brandon, we do have heated seats in our cars in FL.

Yeah, it hit 58F once!  

Hey all you tough northern guys that think Florida never gets cold I promise if you spend just one summer there come the first good cold front you will be wearing a jacket and saying I can't believe how cold it is!!!! Oh and these days when buying a new car with the options we like ya get heated seats like it or not.

DoubleEgger

Jupiter Jim said:

Botch said:

Jupiter Jim said:

Focker said:

Jupiter Jim said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Does it not bring in too much air for low and slow?

No the air flow is controlled by either the top vent or bottom vent or both. Some only use the top vent, some use only the bottom and some both. The factory fire grate can get clogged with ash but the KAB doesn't get clogged.

I used the factory grate for a number of years before any of the after market products came to life and it works and can be easily unclogged with a wiggle rod.

All of the after market products are like buying a car without power windows you can open and close the windows with the crank on the door!

You and K buying a vehicle with heated seats in FL, would be a more accurate comparison. 

Brandon Brandon Brandon, we do have heated seats in our cars in FL.

Yeah, it hit 58F once!  

Hey all you tough northern guys that think Florida never gets cold I promise if you spend just one summer there come the first good cold front you will be wearing a jacket and saying I can't believe how cold it is!!!! Oh and these days when buying a new car with the options we like ya get heated seats like it or not.

Good Lord! Trying to tell snowblower owners on this forum that Florida is cold. Too funny. 

Photo Egg

Jupiter Jim said:

Focker said:

Jupiter Jim said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Does it not bring in too much air for low and slow?

No the air flow is controlled by either the top vent or bottom vent or both. Some only use the top vent, some use only the bottom and some both. The factory fire grate can get clogged with ash but the KAB doesn't get clogged.

I used the factory grate for a number of years before any of the after market products came to life and it works and can be easily unclogged with a wiggle rod.

All of the after market products are like buying a car without power windows you can open and close the windows with the crank on the door!

You and K buying a vehicle with heated seats in FL, would be a more accurate comparison. 

Brandon Brandon Brandon, we do have heated seats in our cars in FL.

For us old people, heated seats are great. Pulled my back a few months ago and used the seat warmers on my 1 hour drive to work. Loosened my back right up.lol

YukonRon

@Jupiter Jim
Jim, my heart hurts for you having to deal with the occasional cold front that dips beneath 60F, at night, in February. 
We will keep you and Kay in our thoughts while I am shoveling snow out of my way so I can get to my BGE, thaw it out, just to cook.
Keep the seats warm, I hate to see Ellie Jay get cold paws.
  
Seriously, hope all is well. You all are missed.

Griffin

Photo Egg said:

Jupiter Jim said:

Focker said:

Jupiter Jim said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Does it not bring in too much air for low and slow?

No the air flow is controlled by either the top vent or bottom vent or both. Some only use the top vent, some use only the bottom and some both. The factory fire grate can get clogged with ash but the KAB doesn't get clogged.

I used the factory grate for a number of years before any of the after market products came to life and it works and can be easily unclogged with a wiggle rod.

All of the after market products are like buying a car without power windows you can open and close the windows with the crank on the door!

You and K buying a vehicle with heated seats in FL, would be a more accurate comparison. 

Brandon Brandon Brandon, we do have heated seats in our cars in FL.

For us old people, heated seats are great. Pulled my back a few months ago and used the seat warmers on my 1 hour drive to work. Loosened my back right up.lol

Been there, done that.

Botch

Jupiter Jim said:

Botch said:
Yeah, it hit 58F once!  

Hey all you tough northern guys that think Florida never gets cold I promise if you spend just one summer there come the first good cold front you will be wearing a jacket and saying I can't believe how cold it is!!!! Oh and these days when buying a new car with the options we like ya get heated seats like it or not.

I'm teasing, of course.  I think the coldest place I've lived was actually Dayton OH; all winter long it hovered right around 32 F and was always foggy/rainy/damp; that crap goes right through you.  Much preferred even Grand Forks ND in the winter!  

RyanHrva

Definitely 

Jupiter Jim

YukonRon said:

@Jupiter Jim
Jim, my heart hurts for you having to deal with the occasional cold front that dips beneath 60F, at night, in February. 
We will keep you and Kay in our thoughts while I am shoveling snow out of my way so I can get to my BGE, thaw it out, just to cook.
Keep the seats warm, I hate to see Ellie Jay get cold paws.
  
Seriously, hope all is well. You all are missed.

Ron winter two years back I had to cover the Tomato plants like 5 times due to frost! We are good and miss youins too.