Top vent: clean, free, refit

Clean, free and refit the top vent

Kamado Joe gives no method for the cast-iron top vent (KJ-DFT13). This is our method from how it is built; the rust step is what owners of other makers' cast-iron vents do.

1. Wait until the grill is cold.
2. Lift the vent straight up off the chimney: it is a sleeve fit with no screws (from photos and its 10 cm bore). Look first, and do not lever it.
3. Brush loose soot and rust off with a wire brush.
4. Work the cap (it swings on its screw at the back right) and the disc (it turns on its centre screw) to and fro until they move freely.
5. If the cap swings shut on its own or the disc will not turn, the two cross-head screws (cap pivot and disc centre) set how stiffly they move: a quarter turn at a time (our reading).
6. Wipe it with a little cooking oil, refit it on the chimney and check it sits square and turns without lifting.