Photo Egg said:

HeavyG said:

Photo Egg said:

From a value stand point, like others have said, the MMax is worth more.
You should expect a better deal on the KJ Jr although their price is increasing.
With KJ it does not matter how good your dealer is or if he will be a KJ dealer in the future. All warranty is direct with KJ.
Both are great cookers. The MMax will be a little less weight and smaller foot print when traveling as the stand is more compact.

The KJ Jr. weighs less than the MiniMax.

I have both. Never took a weight on each but the Jr seemed heavier. My bad.
What is the weight difference on a home scale?

Don't know. Just going by posted specs on the respective manufacturers websites.

68 pounds vs. 90 pounds.

HeavyG said:

Photo Egg said:

HeavyG said:

Photo Egg said:

From a value stand point, like others have said, the MMax is worth more.
You should expect a better deal on the KJ Jr although their price is increasing.
With KJ it does not matter how good your dealer is or if he will be a KJ dealer in the future. All warranty is direct with KJ.
Both are great cookers. The MMax will be a little less weight and smaller foot print when traveling as the stand is more compact.

The KJ Jr. weighs less than the MiniMax.

I have both. Never took a weight on each but the Jr seemed heavier. My bad.
What is the weight difference on a home scale?

Don't know. Just going by posted specs on the respective manufacturers websites.

68 pounds vs. 90 pounds.

I will try and get a true unpacked weight this weekend unless another Egger does it first. 
Wonder how much weight is added to an Egg that has been used for many years. We know moisture will "seep" out and run down the Egg. Wonder if the stuff trapped in the ceramics adds any noticeable weight over time?

Our company has MM with accessories $414
Just opened one this morning and seen the Tag

Eggzellent said:

tarheelmatt said:

Eggzellent said:

^^^^^ +1 on the stand.
Challenges put out there in terms of material differences, firebox configurations, overall shapes and even heat retention in relation to how these things cook at this tiny size have went absolutely nowhere that I can tell. When everything is seemingly the same; I'll take overall weight 9 times out of 10 (advantage MiniMax). 

Assuming the you mean advantage MM for weighing the most? For a kamado marketing portability,  I think the advantage would be Joe. Jr.?

If portability was defined as 'stability while being transported' (using the OEM stand on both) I'd (still) say advantage MM for its comparative squattiness. One lighter than the other in terms of say a Pelican vs Walmart cooler and the marketing of portability?...I suppose so. 
As offered above and many times previously..nobody up here here (including me) seems to have the background or knowledge to flesh out the simple physics separating these two cookers. Absent that tutorial?...I simply picked the heavier (denser material?) cooker and called it a day.

No reason to become offensive pal.  I was asking a question to see if you indeed noted that correctly.  Hey, it's cool.  Go Green!  

Eggzellent said:

tarheelmatt said:

Eggzellent said:

^^^^^ +1 on the stand.
Challenges put out there in terms of material differences, firebox configurations, overall shapes and even heat retention in relation to how these things cook at this tiny size have went absolutely nowhere that I can tell. When everything is seemingly the same; I'll take overall weight 9 times out of 10 (advantage MiniMax). 

Assuming the you mean advantage MM for weighing the most? For a kamado marketing portability,  I think the advantage would be Joe. Jr.?

If portability was defined as 'stability while being transported' (using the OEM stand on both) I'd (still) say advantage MM for its comparative squattiness. One lighter than the other in terms of say a Pelican vs Walmart cooler and the marketing of portability?...I suppose so. 
As offered above and many times previously..nobody up here here (including me) seems to have the background or knowledge to flesh out the simple physics separating these two cookers. Absent that tutorial?...I simply picked the heavier (denser material?) cooker and called it a day.

If you want to do the test yourself then find the coefficient of thermal conductivity of each ceramic, use a smokeware cap on each for consistency (also you can assume the same heat lost therefore you can do less work), calculate the surface area of the ceramic, put them in a temperature controlled environment, add the exact same amount of heat to each, measure the temperature of the inside of the surface of the ceramic in several places and the outside temperature of the ceramic corresponding to the inside sample point. 

use the formula Q=lamda*surface area*delta temperature/thickness of the material for the ceramic.  Average your ceramic heat loss and voila you have a comparison of the two.  Still not without its problems but it should give you a general idea.  you could just use a representative segment of the surface area as well as long as it is the same on both and in the same general area, such as a 10*10 cm area and just compare those. 


for my money i would say they are near identical ceramic wise and the difference is weight is due to the fact that they have different dimensions throughout their whole profile

This whole conversation is hilarious IMHO. Very entertaining to say the least. This question, on the egghead forum, in general is a bit asinine to say the least. I realize members of this forum have different cookers but most have Big Green Eggs. Ask this same question on the KJ forum and you will get totally different responses. Choose the one you like most and go for it. After all you will be getting everything you need to smoke, grill, and bake with both. Secondly both are quality cookers and you will be able to produce tasty food from either one. 

Can't go wrong with multiple cookers (of same or differing brands). Especially  handy when needing to cook at different temps. You are right about the pros and cons with cookers because the perfect cooker isn't a reality - it is more of what satisfies each one's needs and style of cooking the best. Love my kamados but also know there are other cookers that are capable of producing delicious food. 

Warranty comparisons are nice, but I think we need more engineering discussions to resolve this.  Have we discussed the paint yet?  Porosity?

i had to make this same decision about a month ago.  bought the joe jr at the costco road show and have no regrets.  bge has their heads up their asses on the price of the minimax in my opinion 

Little over a year ago I was looking at the Joe Jr before the the MM was out.   Ace hardware had them for $365, but SWMBO said know so I got a Kahuna for $200.  It's ok, but doesn't come close to ether the MM or the Joe Jr.  I would like a small or a medium myself, but that will be waiting for awhile.

If you want it to be mobile and not get knocked over that easily I would go with the MM. 

bigalsworth said:

Eggzellent said:

tarheelmatt said:

Eggzellent said:

^^^^^ +1 on the stand.
Challenges put out there in terms of material differences, firebox configurations, overall shapes and even heat retention in relation to how these things cook at this tiny size have went absolutely nowhere that I can tell. When everything is seemingly the same; I'll take overall weight 9 times out of 10 (advantage MiniMax). 

Assuming the you mean advantage MM for weighing the most? For a kamado marketing portability,  I think the advantage would be Joe. Jr.?

If portability was defined as 'stability while being transported' (using the OEM stand on both) I'd (still) say advantage MM for its comparative squattiness. One lighter than the other in terms of say a Pelican vs Walmart cooler and the marketing of portability?...I suppose so. 
As offered above and many times previously..nobody up here here (including me) seems to have the background or knowledge to flesh out the simple physics separating these two cookers. Absent that tutorial?...I simply picked the heavier (denser material?) cooker and called it a day.

If you want to do the test yourself then find the coefficient of thermal conductivity of each ceramic, use a smokeware cap on each for consistency (also you can assume the same heat lost therefore you can do less work), calculate the surface area of the ceramic, put them in a temperature controlled environment, add the exact same amount of heat to each, measure the temperature of the inside of the surface of the ceramic in several places and the outside temperature of the ceramic corresponding to the inside sample point. 

use the formula Q=lamda*surface area*delta temperature/thickness of the material for the ceramic.  Average your ceramic heat loss and voila you have a comparison of the two.  Still not without its problems but it should give you a general idea.  you could just use a representative segment of the surface area as well as long as it is the same on both and in the same general area, such as a 10*10 cm area and just compare those. 


for my money i would say they are near identical ceramic wise and the difference is weight is due to the fact that they have different dimensions throughout their whole profile

Mine was a $400 difference 

tarheelmatt said:

Eggzellent said:

tarheelmatt said:

Eggzellent said:

^^^^^ +1 on the stand.
Challenges put out there in terms of material differences, firebox configurations, overall shapes and even heat retention in relation to how these things cook at this tiny size have went absolutely nowhere that I can tell. When everything is seemingly the same; I'll take overall weight 9 times out of 10 (advantage MiniMax). 

Assuming the you mean advantage MM for weighing the most? For a kamado marketing portability,  I think the advantage would be Joe. Jr.?

If portability was defined as 'stability while being transported' (using the OEM stand on both) I'd (still) say advantage MM for its comparative squattiness. One lighter than the other in terms of say a Pelican vs Walmart cooler and the marketing of portability?...I suppose so. 
As offered above and many times previously..nobody up here here (including me) seems to have the background or knowledge to flesh out the simple physics separating these two cookers. Absent that tutorial?...I simply picked the heavier (denser material?) cooker and called it a day.

No reason to become offensive pal.  I was asking a question to see if you indeed noted that correctly.  Hey, it's cool.  Go Green!  

Sorry, not biting ..nothing offensive there ^ and we both know it.
You've got 5,600 posts..I've got a few..2nd accusation in as many days from a 'veteran' that I'm somehow out of line for simply speaking the truth?..forget it.

Have fun.

I got a KJ Jr, just because it was a deal I couldn't pass up ($331 or so)
http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1174378/ace-hardware-deal-online-today-only

It's a good little cooker, I highly recommend a Hi-Que for it, the factory fire grate is a bad design, clogs easily.

WTH!  This is a BGE forum?  Dang.  Sorry guys, thought it was a weber forum.  I'm out.