Kick ash bucket....worth it?

bcsnave · January 2016

@Jeepster47 ..lol..I guess being that we are both on this site together ..and even though we have never met....and ..you live in a neighboring state...a gal that I knew went to high school in Illinois....and I knew a guy named Foster...hell we are almost like bothers..

Jeepster47 · January 2016

@bcsnave ... yep!

bcsnave · January 2016

@Jeepster47 with your screen name, my automatic assumption is you have a Jeep.

Jeepster47 · January 2016

@bcsnave ... yep!

bcsnave · January 2016

@Jeepster47 I have a '13 Wrangler...you ever make it up to Crandon WI

Ladeback69 · January 2016

YukonRon said:

I got one for my XL. It has performed like a champion. Holds enough for very long low and slows, so much easier to clean, and the temp control is better. I would recommend it. I have been using mine without the grate, keeps it cleaner, and zero clogs with smaller pieces in the air holes in the internal ceramics.

I'm glad you like it. Most everyone else here says its not worth it on an XL, and don't understand why. I've ordered on for mine, because I would think the air flow is better and the XL would come up to temp better. Also it would make cleaning out easier. I also have the SW SS Cap and with the KAB air should follow a lot better.

Holland · January 2016

I don't no about a KAB, but I bought a High cue with two zone. And so far I love it. It's easier for me to do a reverse sear with to two zone. I put the half moon CI above the fire and the grate high in my egg. As soon it hits the internal temp I taketh steak of and put all vents open. When it's ready fore the sear I just trow the steak on the half moon.

Hungry Joe · January 2016

bcsnave said:

I have no skin in the game and am not affiliated with either vendor...had a KAB and this Stainless Steel one is much thicker & better IMHO
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Big-green-egg-large-firebox-charcoal-basket-kickash-/161937373760?hash=item25b4383a40:g:UKQAAOSw9mFWJs~m

I'm trying to get a picture of this basket sitting in a large, there are things I like better about this then the KAB in my large. If it sits well I may give it a try.

oldmandawg · January 2016

Yes. Worth every penny, not that they are expensive.

stompbox · January 2016

Jeepster47 said:

The cons are:

1) Cost ...

The early models were constructed with thinner wire/rod and cost ~$50 for the large. Early last year Chad started building them out of heavier wire/rod and upped the price by ~$10. My guess is that he increased the wire/rod diameter 'cuz he found a number of us using the basket without the OEM grate installed and wanted to ensure long term success doing that.

Well, the title of the thread is asking if it is worth it. So, I am sure that is why that is the main one listed..... I have nothing against them, but for me, it does not solve a problem.

Maybe the XL has more airflow than the smaller ones or the newer ones have a different design than the older ones. I just don't see an existing problem with the XL airflow. I have never had a clog and never had an issue going nuclear.

In fact, I did a 14# brisket last week and kind of laughed to myself as I was dumping the charcoal in (dust and all) remembering how I used to methodically stack the charcoal for low and slows to maximize airflow, until I realized that it just was not the problem that I read it to be in the internet.

I am sure it is a nice upgrade, but to me, it reminds me when I bought a K&N filter for my car when I was younger....Was it a nice upgrade? Sure, I guess.... Did it increase airflow? Maybe, that is what I was informed it would do anyway... Did it increase MPG? If it did, it was just about imperceivable. Did I regret buying it? No. Did I buy it for any of my other cars? No.

Just my 2 pennies.

n8er · January 2016

Absolutely worth it. My Large heats up much faster with it, too.

jtcBoynton · January 2016

WAHOO_EGGER_CVILLE said:

I received one as a gift for Christmas and have only used it once due to holiday travel. It seemed to increase the air flow and made cleaning a breeze. I may have missed this in an earlier post, but do most eggers remove the fire grate? I have removed the fire grate and plan on keeping it out, but will immediately put back in if this could damage the egg.

Some remove the grate and some leave it in. I am not sure it makes a big difference. I have not had any airflow issues with the grate left in. I leave mine in for several reasons:

Without the grate, small unburnt pieces of lump fall into the ash pit and never get burnt - a waste of potential BTUs and $.
The fire grate does radiate heat back up towards the food, making it more efficient.
The fire grate does radiate heat back up away from the bottom of the egg, resulting in less stress on the bottom shell of the egg.

The last point is the most important to me because I got my egg used - no warranty. Leaving the grate in place will help lessen the chance of a cracked egg.

luckyboy · January 2016

I got one for my xl and it's been a great asset in clean up and getting prepped to cook. I load new lump outside and I don't have all that coal dust mess plus sir flow is much better when burning the lump, no worrying about small lump blocking air-flow. In my opinion the unit should be standard equipment.

Tim (Watkinsville) · January 2016

I consider the KAB to be the best accessory that I have purchased hands down. I have one for my XL and one for my Medium. With a shopvac and my KABs I can completely clean out both eggs in under 5 minutes. That alone makes it worth while, not to mention improved airflow etc etc.
One of my son's cooks on an Akorn which takes Large BGE accessories so I bought him a KAB for that. I say go for it, you won't regret it.

thetrim · January 2016

I'm glad I have one for my large. XL and Mini don't have one.

JohnnyTarheel · January 2016

Thanks for feedback on the KAB.... I got mine today for my large egg....

PSC · January 2016

$80 for the XL, no thanks, my $12 ash tool does the trick fine

pgprescott · January 2016

PSC said:

$80 for the XL, no thanks, my $12 ash tool does the trick fine

Absolutely your prerogative. I would suggest you are overlooking several of the KAB's best benefits such as increased air flow, unobstructed air flow, protection of the side holes in the firebox. These are the things that make it a winner, in combination with the ash shaking thing.

Terrebandit · January 2016

Jeepster47 said:

The positives mentioned so far are:

1) Improves airflow ... more so if you remove the OEM grate. Improved airflow is certainly a worthy improvement on the smaller eggs

2) Protects against plugging of the side holes ... better breathing again

3) Greatly aids in clean up of the egg ... don't poo poo egg clean up ... if you create an ash free equivalent environment every time, you will have one less variable to mess with your cooking

4) Not mentioned, but shortens cool down when using the egg for tail gating

5) Again not mentioned, but you can use the KAB to separate the fines from the good lump at the bottom of the bag ... the fines fall through like ash and what's left in the basket will burn much better with less clogging.

The cons are:

1) Cost ...

The early models were constructed with thinner wire/rod and cost ~$50 for the large. Early last year Chad started building them out of heavier wire/rod and upped the price by ~$10. My guess is that he increased the wire/rod diameter 'cuz he found a number of us using the basket without the OEM grate installed and wanted to ensure long term success doing that.

Good summary Jeep, even though you and Chad are practically brothers. LOL. Number 4 is exactly why I got one for my JOE JR. Good catch.

deadlyfrog · January 2016

One of the best accessories I have for my XL. Improves the air flow by preventing lump to plug existing grate holes and is excellent for shaking out ash and refilling. I would highly recommend it.

Ladeback69 · January 2016

@stompbox, I have never had a cjog either, but it takes upwards to 30 or more to get it over 400. I bought the BBQ Dragon and that helps a little, but since it sits lower and less chance of really any restrictions the XL should get going faster.

@pgprescott, yes $80 is a lot, but I think I will still be using my ash tool, it just makes it easier to clean out with out having to hand dig or scope out the lump. I haven't gotten mine yet, but look forward to getting it. I am using Christmas money from my mom so I am not really spending my money.

acegg77 · March 2016

I'm late to this thread. I'm going to get one today as I had a cooling failure the other night because all I had were small pieces of lump and not enough air was getting through as there was a lot of ash in the fire bowl.

Seems to me that if you shake this thing to get all the ash out you could still get a lot of heat out of small pieces of lump... maybe put put on some gloves and shove some large pieces (perhaps wood chunks) in the bottom of the grate.

Looks like this will work better than the ash tool.

TheBrewerMoose · March 2016

I got one for Christmas last year and it's been great. Maybe some of the small pieces drop through the spacing when you shake it out but that'd be my only issue with it. I dumped the remains of a Cowboy bag (if you use Cowboy then you'd know there's so many slivers and busted chunks in every bag), and had zero problems getting a solid coal bed built out of it. Pre-KAB, a pile of charcoal crumbs like that would require me to use Dragon blower to get it going, but the basket worked like a charm.

Kick ash bucket....worth it?

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