Weather, covers and winter

Rain, covers and the cold

The manual and Kamado Joe's cold-weather blog, with our reading for the vent and owners for the last step.

1. Cover the grill once it is cool: Kamado Joe's Joe Jr. cover is KJ15080420.
2. Stand it out of direct drafts and where water cannot trickle onto it.
3. Swing the cap back over the throat when you are not cooking: the top vent has no rain cap, so an open throat lets rain in (our reading).
4. In a wet spell, take the cast-iron vent indoors or keep the grill covered: owners of cast-iron vents report rust and sticking.
5. Before winter, deep clean and run a clean burn (Kamado Joe's blog).
6. In the cold, allow longer to heat up (charcoal still at most 1.36 kg), and after a wet or freezing spell stay below about 200 °C at first. Owners and other kamado makers say fast heating can crack damp ceramic.