What kind of egg do I have?

eggnogg

I've searched the forums and have found similar eggs, but I'd love to know more about this one. I was told it was from Japan, bought around the 60's or 70's, it is black, has Japanese writing on the top, the band/hinge is blue, it's the same shape and size as the big green egg, the previous owner has several modern green egg parts, like the fire box, gasket, metal grate and chimney top. There was some damage, like the bottom of the egg is broken up and is in need of repair, there are some minor cracks, where I can see the previous owner some kind of adhesive to patch over them, but they're coming off. Any help would be great, I hope to get this one cooking again.

DoubleEgger

I can’t help you with the egg but I can offer an emphatic “Welcome to the Forum”.

pgprescott

Only thing I recognize is the grid is part of a three tier cooking grid system offered by BGE. 

eggnogg

Thanks for your welcome and input. So the grill is the lower part of the multi-tier rack, other than the egg and hinge, most everything is not original. Of course at about 50 years of age, who isn't made up of spare parts.

Jeremiah

Imperial Kamado

JohnInCarolina

That is not one I’ve seen here before.  Interesting.

cookingdude555

my brother and I have one of those.  i also dont know what it is, but we dont use it, and it sits at our moms house.  pretty sure its going to have dirt and a plant in it one of these days when we show up.

Jeremiah

From the inter webs. 

Jeremiah

My stalled project (which can be yours if you want it): https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1185967/i-must-be-nuts-the-vintage-kamado-resto

jlsm

My dad had several while I was growing up in the '60s and 70s. He always just called them kamados. They had a ceramic cap like the BGE but a ceramic plug at the bottom that you could angle. He basically used them like grills. He said he first saw them in Asia during WWII. They lasted about five years. I don’t know that he used real charcoal; I didn’t pay much attention then.

6baluts

I have an old Kikuya Hibatchi pot that I bought in the mid 70's outside the gate of Yokota AB. Still cooks like a champ.
If it is an Imperial Kamado contact Augie Longo at Kamado King. He bought out Makosan when he retired and changed the name from Imperial Kamado to Kamado King. He still has parts for the Imperials.  He has/had a couple youtube vids on parts and earthenware Kamados.

eggnogg

Thank you all, I appreciate your wisdom and knowledge these grills.

Carolina Q

@Richard Fl

TEXASBGE2018

A rare one

grilldad

eggnogg said:

I've searched the forums and have found similar eggs, but I'd love to know more about this one. I was told it was from Japan, bought around the 60's or 70's, it is black, has Japanese writing on the top, the band/hinge is blue, it's the same shape and size as the big green egg, the previous owner has several modern green egg parts, like the fire box, gasket, metal grate and chimney top. There was some damage, like the bottom of the egg is broken up and is in need of repair, there are some minor cracks, where I can see the previous owner some kind of adhesive to patch over them, but they're coming off. Any help would be great, I hope to get this one cooking again.

So my daughter is taking Japanese and she said the Japanese writing means daikoku mushikamado which is literally what they call the Big Green Egg in Japan. Daikoku means God of various things including food and mushikamado is a type of stove 

R2Egg2Q

Welcome aboard!

Here’s a link to info on old kamados and history (from an archive of the old Imperial Kamado site):

http://web.archive.org/web/20090802061836/http://www.imperialkamado.com:80/

And you can find copies of kamado manuals at the bottom of this page:

 http://www.nakedwhiz.com/infocentral.htm#olderkamadocookers

eggnogg

Thank you all for your help and knowledge. Once I dug into the repairs, which were pretty extensive, I was able to get it back in shape and have done two fires in it to cure the furnace cement. I may do one more just in case, but for now, this thing is solid. In all I have about 50 bucks into it. I got the nest for 30 bucks. The bottom was all broken and was missing about a 1/4 of it's pieces. I found out that a ceramic pampered chef platter was very close to the exact same diameter as the bottom, so that was glued in with all the loose parts using JB weld, which states the max temp to 550 when cured. I used Rutland furnace cement to further seal the epoxy and finish off the bottom surface. If you look close, you can see the edge of the platter at the bottom of the egg. The ring that is stacked above the fire box was broken into 3 parts, I used heavy wire and a thin drip of epoxy to make it whole again. Used a bit of Rutland to also seal in the epoxy. After that, I re-assembled things and it good to go. I did find out the previous owner used some kind of black paint on the top, it was bubbling up when I cooked the cement. I am hoping it was high temp BBQ paint.

I was told that Kamados are made of earthen ware and are limited in the amount of heat they can take. Without drilling a hole for a thermometer, what is the best way to accurately gage temps? can I use a meat thermometer in the top? or one poked between the grill and the top? I'd not to drill a hole and ruin it.

thanks

thetrim

You can get a dual digital meat and smoker thermometer. Thermoworks makes them, maverick makes one.  Heck there a tn of them out there.  It has a probe that clips to your grate and gives you the temps there.

Cool find!

Jstroke

If you can egg for 50 bucks and she will hold up you are way ahead of the rest of us. Heck, not one person on here will admit what they have tied up in this ridiculous hobby. So good for you. Something maybe not mentioned would be to keep the heat moderate on the old girl, which, AHEM, is a very good reason to go buy another modern egg or maybe two for different temps and sizes of grub. See we are very helpful—at overcome egging challenges through heavy depletion’s of your wallet? Ask anyone on here we are expert spenders of other people’s money. So welcome and get a good grip on your sanity and your wallet. You think I jest, wait till you find out about Wagyu Brisket. 

eggnogg

Jstroke said:

If you can egg for 50 bucks and she will hold up you are way ahead of the rest of us. Heck, not one person on here will admit what they have tied up in this ridiculous hobby. So good for you. Something maybe not mentioned would be to keep the heat moderate on the old girl, which, AHEM, is a very good reason to go buy another modern egg or maybe two for different temps and sizes of grub. See we are very helpful—at overcome egging challenges through heavy depletion’s of your wallet? Ask anyone on here we are expert spenders of other people’s money. So welcome and get a good grip on your sanity and your wallet. You think I jest, wait till you find out about Wagyu Brisket. 

I appreciate your egg-spert opinion and information.