Kick Ash Basket - yes/no?

SulcusGroove · February 2016

So my local Egg dealer here has the Kick Ash baskets on sale...

Buy or pass?

I keep my egg clean, and rearrange the lump and clean out the ash before every cook. I never throw away any lump, no matter how small, and never have any trouble getting or maintaining temps. My only concern is that the basket will waste some lump, granted it will just be the very small pieces. OTOH, it looks pretty easy and could save some time in getting the ash cleared out...

Any opinions on this?

minniemoh · February 2016

I'm a big fan of the KAB. It's one of my favorite accessories.

RRP · February 2016

I have my large and small outfitted with them and always will! Pricey but what egg related toy isn't?

Big_Green_Craig · February 2016

I have 4 green eggs and 2 other kamado style grills. They ALL have Kick Ash Baskets in them.

shtgunal3 · February 2016

Buy it

oldmandawg · February 2016

Can't go wrong. Buy it. You can thank me later.

garyflintstone · February 2016

yes

pasoegg · February 2016

may I ask how much these things run??

SoCalTim · February 2016

My brother got me interested in Egging, he is a notorious 'minimalist' .. keep it simple is what he preaches.

He's got an egg, plate setter and cheapo thermometer - that's it.

He lives in Colorado and was home for Christmas this year, I was loading up some lump when he walked over and said, 'what's that thing?' .. pointing to the KAB.

I pulled it up and showed him how it worked ... he looked at me and said 'That's AWESOME!' ..

He immediately went online and bought one.

So to answer your question, absolutely YES!

Tim

clifkincaid · February 2016

I'm in the yes category

DoubleEgger · February 2016

Depends on what size you have. I think they are ok for smaller eggs but a waste on the XL.

SulcusGroove · February 2016

Wow, pretty consistent praise here. Thanks so much for all the thoughts, looks like I'll be picking up a KAB for my LBGE on the way home...

HoustonEgger · February 2016

Yes - Have one for all three of my eggs.

SciAggie · February 2016

My KAB for my large and MM are the best surprises I have had in egging. They exceeded my expectations. They make cleanup and lump maintenance much easier for me. I can't tell any difference in the way my egg cooks. I think they should be standard equipment.

Foghorn · February 2016

I suspect you are getting a biased sample here. Those of us who don't have one generally don't feel strongly enough about it post anything negative since we have no experience with it.

With that said, I have charcoal baskets for two of my grills, but I don't see a need for one in my XL egg - like @DoubleEgger said. Might be great in smaller eggs.

kl8ton · February 2016

I just bought one recently. Can a KAB do this?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/hi/qercgru894aj.jpg

I end up switching from two quick cooks like chicken breasts and burgers and brats, then wanting to smoke a whole turkey. Well, I like the egg to have all air passages free of debris before doing a longer cook. Pull out the KAB that contains the remaining lump, make sure the air holes are clear, put the KAB back in after a shake or two, put more lump in and you are off and running. If no KAB, you need to hand unload all the lump to check the air holes.

YukonRon · February 2016

I have one for both my XL and MM. I wish I had purchased them sooner. Just the ease of cleaning alone is worth purchasing one. Buy it.

bo31210 · February 2016

Buy Now

Chubbs · February 2016

Not necessary in my opinion. Then again I have a High Que. If I were to take my mini tailgating then I would get one. To sit in my back yard I see no need. Just my opinion.

fishepa · February 2016

I like mine. I especially like how it prevents the holes in the firebox from clogging.

DoubleEgger · February 2016

fishepa said:

I like mine. I especially like how it prevents the holes in the firebox from clogging.

Really? My holes clog up all the time with my medium KAB...

SciAggie · February 2016

Foghorn said:

I suspect you are getting a biased sample here. Those of us who don't have one generally don't feel strongly enough about it post anything negative since we have no experience with it.

This is absolutely true.

jollygreenegg · February 2016

I'm in the minority and think it's overrated. I got it this last x-mas. Ash will still fall through the grating, you lose the smaller pieces that fall through the grate, and when cooking greasy food the drippings mixed with all the ash will cake up on the bottom of the egg...

SulcusGroove · February 2016

Foghorn said:

I suspect you are getting a biased sample here. Those of us who don't have one generally don't feel strongly enough about it post anything negative since we have no experience with it.

With that said, I have charcoal baskets for two of my grills, but I don't see a need for one in my XL egg - like @DoubleEgger said. Might be great in smaller eggs.

Very true, although so far there haven't been many posts from people who have bought one and didn't like it...

DoubleEgger · February 2016

FWIW, I wouldn't buy another one...

NibbleMeThis · February 2016

We have 4 of them but we primarily got them so we could get the coal out and quickly cool down our kamados at BBQ contests so we can get the grills packed up for travel.

But once we got them we pretty much use them all of the time when at home too. It helps with airflow just as a high airflow grate (Fishbones, HiQue) would. It does make cleaning slightly easier but that on its own wasn't a big selling point for me. The one downside is you do lose a little bit of available space in the fire box, so you can't put as much coal/wood in, but that's pretty negligible.

From your description, it sounds like you don't want one due to cleaning or airflow issues and you don't mention needing a quick cool down like we needed. Those are the three advantages IMO so if you don't need those, then you don't need the KAB. For me, I'm glad that I have them but it's a personal choice thing.

pgprescott · February 2016

Yes

StillH2OEgger · February 2016

I have a large and like mine. I have only had for a few months and don't egg nearly as much in the winter, but I would purchase again. I have a small garbage can for the ash, but am trying to find a screen of some sort because you will lose some usable small bits and pieces that fall through the KAB when shaking out the ash. I still have the standard charcoal grate and unlike many I haven't removed it yet, but I also noticed improved air flow with the KAB.

NPHuskerFL · February 2016

Absolutely. I like mine on the MM. Need to pick one up for the LG.

Earshots · February 2016

There's a guy that makes them out of stainless steel and sells them on eBay. I got one for my small bge very heavy gage and well made. I think I paid around $65. His name is Michael and goes by speedracer777_479 he'll also customize it, the first one he sent was a little too small and he sent a new one built to my specs no extra charge and told me to keep the first one along with the new one.

poster · February 2016

yes, especially if you are a clean freak. I use zero more lump than without it, the smaller pcs get caught up in the larger ones and don't fall out. you can leave the grate in if that's your only concern

Kick Ash Basket - yes/no?

Comments

Categories