How do they decide to not show the lower vent system?

Think juanitos is right !
 
According to AmazingRibs.com ( http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/grill-tailgater/portable-kitchen-grill-aka-pk-grill) :
 
 
There are adjustable dampers in the lid and under the fire. The 306 square inch grate is hinged for adding coals, and the oven can be lifted off the cart for cleaning, camping, or tailgating. It has a bottom shelf and side shelf. The thick cast aluminum cook box has two sliding dampers on top and two on the bottom. Many people cook direct and indirect simultaneously with the PK. This versatility may be attributed to the rectangular shape, thick aluminum construction that retains and radiates heat, the tight fitting hinged lid and the twin dampers in both the top and bottom.
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Here's a review with several pics of it broken down so much better reference ( http://www.bbqsaucereviews.com/portable-kitchen-charcoal-grill-and-smoker/ )
 
PK-Grill-Parts.jpg
 
Personally I'd stick with a Webber kettle since you'll be using it the same way. Can't beat a lifetime of testing, proven many times over! Otherwise invest in a cheap smoker if you plan on trying real Q.
Some things are just better on equipment made for the job. Not saying you can't produce great Q on a regular grill just easier is all. :)
 
Smoking in the same chamber you will run into space issues, as well as flareup and/or hot spot issues for sure. I often smoke in the same chamber of my offset when I am lazy and have a small amount, but it's not ideal. In a side firebox you can smoke with a fire going of wood, in the same chamber, that would be way too hot, must use coals and wait for greying, then add wood chips. May have issues getting down to 225, and hot spots closest to fire. 

oldsalty said:
Some things are just better on equipment made for the job. Not saying you can't produce great Q on a regular grill just easier is all. :)
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You don't know Grant! I'm surprised he's not looking at a toaster or an iMac to turn into a grill actually. :lol:
 
Just to be clear - I'm not in them market for that grill, I just saw that it was well-regarded, and couldn't believe there was no real depiction of the vent system ...
 
My next grill will be a santa maria or an offset, truth be told ...
 
LOL... so huh?
 
Do you go around posting things you aren't interested in to point out things they didn't take pics of? :lol:
 
The Hot Pepper said:
LOL... so huh?
 
Do you go around posting things you aren't interested in to point out things they didn't take pics of? :lol:
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Apparently ...
 
Mostly I was hoping someone had one and could show us theirs, actually ...
 
The grill design is from the 50's, I think I saw, and they seem to hold up somewhat legendarily ...
 
Rust is a big issue here.
 
If you are maintaining constant temps that is more important, if smoke was escaping but heat was constant, no issue. There's enough smoke in the chamber to smoke. How were the temps?
 
The Hot Pepper said:
If you are maintaining constant temps that is more important, if smoke was escaping but heat was constant, no issue. There's enough smoke in the chamber to smoke. How were the temps?
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Yesterday I cooked like Aaron ... just for JHP.
 
From experience with that grill, I cooked at about 245-275F for the first 60-75 minutes, and between 205 and 240F for the last two hours ...
 
I didn't record temps yesterday, but only because I've analyzed my own photo data (only for that grill) and know what the temp range is for the vent combinations ...
 
If you set the bottom vent where the handle is lined up w/ the left half of the second circle from the left, and the top vent open ~1/3 open - my grill cooks 220-250F if there's fresh unburnt fuel, and 205-240F if everything is surface charred ... it doesn't matter much whether it's lump or briquet or fruit wood, I've figured out.
 
So, I don't know, but I have a pretty good idea ...
NOTE: I should just add some high-temp gasket ... no big deal, really ...

Actually, if you look at my last half dozen cooks on the Weber ... where it's been low and slow/smoking or whatever ... I've stopped probing until late.
 
I verify w/ a probe for the last 10% of the cook ...
 
I can think of no reason why to stick the meat from the beginning ... it's not good for the probe, it makes the probe harder to clean, it makes a spring for juice to run out of for longer, and in my case it just gives me something to think about during time when I really don't need to be giving that metric any though ...
 
I don't think my quality has moved up or down since I've started concentrating more on the fire (both in constructing the fuel, how I start it, and in managing it through the burn) ...
 
For one thing, I start all of my temp-controlled cooks w/ my Iwatani ... I never have run-away hot fires anymore, although I do have some fire's that require additional torch after 3-5 minutes - especially if it's lump that I'm trying to start ...
 
The rest of the game (prep, rub, grain management) has slowed down enough for me now, that I really just try to keep the fire on my mind as a priority, the food just happily goes along for the ride ...
 
If nothing else, it's made grilling less frustrating and more enjoyable - and that has a real-world value that far exceeds a unit of doneness - a shade of pink if you will - beyond my best-case ...
 
Danielle doesn't agree. She likes to eat the meat how she likes it every time ...
 
I like variability and even a little unpredictability if you will ... it's essential to maintaining my interest, really.
 
Anyways ...
 
Deep thoughts on Q, over this Grapefruit Saison ...
 
grantmichaels said:
I like variability and even a little unpredictability if you will ... it's essential to maintaining my interest, really.
 
Anyways ...
 
Deep thoughts on Q, over this Grapefruit Saison ...
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I've always said "set it and forget it" takes the fun and challenge out of it. It's like anything else. If you could go fishing and some gadget caught all the fish how fun would it be? Some days you catch nothing but drink lots of beer and have fun.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
 
I've always said "set it and forget it" takes the fun and challenge out of it. It's like anything else. If you could go fishing and some gadget caught all the fish how fun would it be? Some days you catch nothing but drink lots of beer and have fun.
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Yeah ... I used the Party Q 3x times on the Weber, and 1x on the Akorn ...
 
Whereas PID control is essential for fermenting etc because the time length is weeks/months, I can handle driving a process for a quarter to half of a day without relying on something else ...
 
I would sell it ... except for one little niggle ... the best resultant brisket wise was the 1st cook where I used it, and the Smokenator ... so that makes me keep it around.
 
I need to cook w/ the Smokenator again, to see if it simply makes a superior result once more ...

If it does, I'll just leave the Weber setup that way, use it for all long cooks and waste the fuel (who really cares, it's not that expensive) and enjoy the Akorn for regular grilling where I won't have to refill the fuel but once or twice a month ... which approaches the convenience of a gas grill, really ...
 
I happened to have time yesterday, as we're not that busy at work, and I was looking through my data and pictures and stuff and thinking about all of this ... coincidentally.
 
If you're not in the mood or don't have time it's always nice... but other times half the fun is fixing things going wrong lol. A sense of accomplishment when you get things under control. Lots of "phew, I need a beer" moments afterward. When it tastes good, so much better.
 
grantmichaels said:
I enjoyed my Weber yesterday, even with all the smoke bellowing out under fully half of the lid circumference ...
 
LOL.
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Add lava lock gasket to your Webber problem solved :)


Never insert temp probe into protein until exterior temp of meat has reached 145 deg you can push bad bacteria into meat otherwise even with a just cleaned temp probe.
Most BBQ people wait for about an hour for large cuts to start heating up. I don't probe my pork butt till 4 hrs into the cook. This is a important practice.
 
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