Coal Basket

jbk2BGE

Have not purchased a coal basket yet. Is this a no brainer to use?
Thanks.

Wooderson

The basket makes getting rid of ash etc so much easier.   Definitely buy IMO

lousubcap

From my perspective, there is no need for a coal basket.  I have a L&S BGE.  That said, there are enough accessories and toys out there to wipe out any discretionary income you have  .
The only "must haves" for me are an instant read thermo, a way to go indirect for low and slow cooks and a rig for raised direct.  
I'm sure others will be along with more suggestions.
Before any hardware accessory buys, check out the Ceramic Grill Store, linked here:
https://ceramicgrillstore.com/ 
The site can be a bit awkward to navigate so feel free to give them a call.  They will fit your needs and won't try to upsell products.  FWIW-

johnmitchell

We are all standing by and looking forward to spend your hard earned cash. Plenty of must have accessories 😉😂

WeberWho

I really like the Kick Ash Basket and Kick Ash Can. 100% not needed but it makes clean up between cooks hassle free. That's worth something. 

+1 what Lousubcap mentioned about Ceramic Grill Store for accessories. The owner is a long time Egghead. The products/accessories he makes are made here in Texas. 

jbk2BGE

Thanks everyone for your comments. Of course BGE masters love to see how we part-timers spend our money. I get it. My storage is limited and efficient clean up is important because of my surrounding neighbors. No driveway to dump ash and wash away..no bucket to keep around to dump ash. No room for shop-vac either. So, coal basket it is to make ash management easier and do more often. Ash can to simplify clean out at bottom of BGE. Kick Ash basket it will be. Can tbd.

johnmitchell

This might work for your clean up. I think you get a lid for it so it could be stored and emptied when full of ash

StillH2OEgger

I have the KAB and would not want to be without it.

td66snrf

Are you looking for a container for you discard or a basket inside the kamado? If it's the inside basket Kick-ash is an excellent product. 

jbk2BGE

Thanks again all.
I purchased the BGE Large 'Package' including the basket w/divider and Ash Can. Excellent price as the combination versus separately. And ordered Grate Hook (hooks onto Acacia 21" table) and prep gloves.
Since new to Kick Ash...also got welcome discount. Will receive any day.
Thanks to all.

zaphod

I think that the basket (i went for the BGE one) was one of my best investments in the egg. Clean up is a lot easier - the morning after a cook, I knock off ash with the poker, lift the basket, shake it a few times, and then set it down beside the egg on the racks I have already removed for cleaning. Now I have great access to clean out all the ash from the bottom.

did you know that the BGE ash shovel has a small lip on the front that EXACTLY fits into the rail used by the vents? tuck it in and you don't get spilt ash. (hint: get an ash shovel!).

once, before I got the basket, I knocked the fire grate with my poker when stirring off the ash. all the old lump fell into the bottom into the ash. I had to get the dictionary for additional swear words as I ran out. annoying mess.

stlcharcoal

When I was a BGE dealer, I included a Kick Ash Basket and Can with every egg.  It was the single best improvement you can make to them, and they make our charcoal so much easier to work with.

Mr1egg

I 100% think it's a must have accessory, the basket and the can. The best part of the basket is that it keeps some of the coal away from laying directly on the ceramic, making it less likely to crack. 

Canugghead

To each his own, my XL is doing just fine without KAB.

stlcharcoal

Canugghead said:

To each his own, my XL is doing just fine without KAB.

How many people tell you their Weber does just fine and they don't need a BGE?

We all spent thousands on BGEs when we surely had other stuff that did "just fine".

I BGE'd for 20 years on five different sizes of BGE's without a basket.  I made my own stainless steel fire grates for many years when I got sick of BGE's ceramic and cast iron ones cracked--it helped get it started faster, less prone to flame outs on low and slows, and I could reach higher temps for pizzas.  Then I tried a Kick Ash Basket about 10 years ago and stopped making grates because it was better.  Not saying it's a "must have", but it sure is a nice accessory and worth every penny I spent.

Ike

I have a kick-ash in my old small because I had trouble getting high temps plus it was a PITA to clean.  On my large, I was lucky enough to be on this forum and happened to work in a factory that had some semi-heavy equipment that got some what hot.  When a poster on here posted his solution of not being able get up to heat, I saw it knew it was what I needed and had access to.  He posted a picture of what he had done.  He had a bolt at 10-2-4, as big as would fit through fire grate with a washer that fit the bolt and put a nut on the bolt.  When you go to set the fire grate back into bell shaped fire bowl, the washers stopped on the fire bowl before it bottomed out, leaving a small gap all around of the fire grate permitting more air to go up, when you stir the ash, the gap permits more ash to go to the bottom.  Works great for me.

Canugghead

stlcharcoal said:

Canugghead said:

To each his own, my XL is doing just fine without KAB.

How many people tell you their Weber does just fine and they don't need a BGE?

We all spent thousands on BGEs when we surely had other stuff that did "just fine".

I BGE'd for 20 years on five different sizes of BGE's without a basket.  I made my own stainless steel fire grates for many years when I got sick of BGE's ceramic and cast iron ones cracked--it helped get it started faster, less prone to flame outs on low and slows, and I could reach higher temps for pizzas.  Then I tried a Kick Ash Basket about 10 years ago and stopped making grates because it was better.  Not saying it's a "must have", but it sure is a nice accessory and worth every penny I spent.

Like I said, to each his own, I'm referring to my XL, not eggs of other sizes. Never had a flame out on low and slow with my XL, have a dedicated Pizza Party Ardore for pies. I once made the mistake of cranking up the XL for Tandoori chicken, holy smoke, the heat was as intense as a blast furnace...can't imagine what it would have been like with a KAB.

jbk2BGE

Again, thanks to all for your feedback. I just got my KAsh basket, can, and gripper. I think it is the best thing and agree, should be included in purchase of BGE.
My short experience so far.
Cooked and cleaned out ash. No issues. But...
It is so much easier and cleaner to have the ash go into the can that can be easily removed. No mess and no scraping or vacuuming ash. Not everyone has room for a wet vac.
The use of the basket is a no brainer. Not only do you better utilize your coal..it is simple to 'sift out ash' from the basket..into the can. Back to the coal. If no basket, you've got to 'mess around' with the ash tool digging down into your coal and making sure the grate is not covered with ash. Basket it is.
I did get the spring activated grid gripper when making my original purchase. But I realized that I wasn't able to move around some coal once cooking. The KA gripper lifts easily and allows you to hook it onto your table..not look for a place to put the hot grid.
So, moving forward and trying different things. More fun..
Again, thanks everyone.