Oozing and steaming K

[Fetzervalve]

Here is a dandy thread.......


Porkbutter
Member
Post Number: 31
Registered: 4-2006
Posted on Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 6:51 pm:

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
I received my K7 on about 8/15/06, and have been using it typically about 3 times a week, 5 to 8 hours at a time, with a couple of overnighters as well. While most of my cooking has been of the low and slow style (below 300), I have had it up to grilling temps as well. In fact, I recently had it up reasonably high, maybe 550, until the charcoal was consumed overnight, to break in the pizza stone as some forum threads have suggested. Tonight I tried my first pizza. I raised the temp to about 575 for an hour or a bit longer to stabilize the pizza stone temp. When I went to put the pizza on, I noticed that the K was oozing spots of foam all over the place. I couldn’t believe how much. There was that wet concrete smell that the K had when it was first breaking in. I cut back the damper a bit; cooked only one instead of the 2 pizzas planned, and then shut it down. A little while later, I decided that it would be a good idea to let it continue cooking at a moderately high temperature to break it in some more. It was down to about 325 by then. When I opened the lid, a cloud of steam gushed out and partially burned my hand. (Not badly) I have never had steam before, not even during the first break in period. It was even leaking out from the lower draft door.
I can hardly believe that this K isn’t broken in yet; I have a lot of hours on it. Has anyone else had such an extended break-in period? Any thoughts on this?


Lcubed
Member
Post Number: 53
Registered: 6-2006
Posted on Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 7:13 pm:

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
if the kamado was shutdown (dampers closed) when you opened it, you might
get a burst of steam.

i got a pretty good one when i decided that the second pizza we made tonight
needed a few more minutes. the k was still reading 500 F w/ the dampers closed.
my wife claims that i actually got a good flamey flashback which i couldn't see
because the steam blocked my view.

this is the first time we've gone high temperature (650-esque) with the heat deflector
inserted without foil cover. doubled up pizza stones on the upper bracket.

the first pizza went directly from the peel to the stone, while the second
used a pizza screen pan on the stone. the first one turned out much better.
(the second one's crust never crisped up in the middle, i blame the screen
preventing direct contact w/ the stone).

i'm trying to figure out where the white residue covering my grates and the interior
of the dome came from.

Henry
Member
Post Number: 711
Registered: 7-2001
Posted on Saturday, September 30, 2006 - 9:49 pm:

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
when kooking at over 400 I always peek first, crack it open 3 " for 5-8 sec, just to make sure it doesn't flash on me. ( been there, done that) as far as steam and oozing, there might have been excess moisture in ceramics.
who knows....
just keep kooking.


Joef
Member
Post Number: 55
Registered: 6-2006
Posted on Sunday, October 01, 2006 - 6:47 am:

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Is the grout sealed? Has it been raining a lot before the 575 pizza cook? Was this with a new load of extruded koal which may not have been as dry as it could have been?

Fetzervalve
New member
Post Number: 10
Registered: 8-2006
Posted on Sunday, October 01, 2006 - 7:55 am:

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Porkbutter wrote: There was that wet concrete smell that the K had when it was first breaking in.

?? where does that smell come from? Shouldn't that moisture get burned off in the kiln? That's how ceramics are cured, right? Or is the only ceramic in the tiles?

Have you tried Portland steamed pork? It rocks!

[Brewhawk]

Festervalve

I just saw your post on the Mexi-K forum.

You made orange juice squirt out of my nose.

Wonder how long that post will survive? It's been about 20 minutes so far.

Well done

[foxhound]

I just saw the post also and started to laugh....luckily I was not drinking. Sounds like quality control got a little loose after their big sale and increasing production to meet demand. Didn't something like this happen before when they were in Sacramento and they were pouring molds in the rain? Didn't Ensenada have some rains that were part of one of the tropical systems about 6 weeks ago? History repeating itself?

[Brewhawk]

Zoink....

Post is OUTTA THERE

HOLY TOLEDO!

Yeah, I am a fan of the Oakland A's.

[Gerard]

Porkbutter,

You have our condolences. You may have a unit that is gonna break your heart. We wish you luck in any future dealings you have with the K company.

I believe the wet cement smell and the foam had nothing to do with the presence or absence of grout sealer or your recent local weather. Or at least that was my observation when I had a K. My K, even after it had lost 350 tiles and the "refractory material" could be soaked directly, never reeked of wet concrete, even when thundershowers surprised me during high temp cooking sessions.

I suspect your K never cured properly. The escaping steam may have wreaked havoc with the tile adhesive. In fact, any grout sealer could have made it more difficult for the steam to escape and visible damage could have occurred. Sam's comment about previous problems in Sacramento echoes the claims made by the departing first plant manager in early '99 when he proclaimed no one should purchase a K made during a several month period because humidity prevented the cement from curing properly. If memory serves, he also stated that the only things fired in a kiln were the tiles.

Best of luck to you.

[Fetzervalve]

[DoubleIPA]

[foxhound]

Perhaps Richard has gotten so busy with his new R&D project (new scams for potential investors) he can't get to the delete button.

[curly]