Body Construction
So, we have mentioned the two layer construction, the adhesive and grout and the tiles. Here's a photo that shows a cross-section of the body construction to help you see how it all fits together:

The layer at the bottom of the photo is the refractory material which forms the inner hot face of the cooker. Above that is the layer of insulation which of course helps to keep the heat in the cooker. The dark gray material above that is the elastomeric material which is used both as an adhesive and the grout between the tiles. This material is also insulating and helps to reflect heat back into the cooker. And of course, you can then see the tiles embedded in the grout/adhesive.

Delivery
Komodo Kamado cookers are manufactured in Surabaya, Indonesia, so how do they get to your doorstep? Well, you begin by placing an order which can be done via email or telephone with the owner of the company. Once your cooker is built, it will be transported from Indonesia to the west coast of the United States by ship. Once the cooker clears customs in the United States, it will be handed off to a trucking company for transport to your location. It may (and in our case, it was) transferred to a local trucking company for final delivery. All this takes about 5-6 weeks from the time your cooker leaves Indonesia. Also, if you choose a grill in ready stock from the warehouse in California, it will only be 2-6 days to your door.

When your grill is put on the truck you will be given (by Komodo Kamado) your grill's tracking number and the contact information for the truckers so you can pro-actively call them to arrange the delivery, making sure that they send a truck with a liftgate and pallet jack. The liftgate lowers the crated cooker from the truck to the street, and the pallet jack is then used to move the crate to a safe location. What the truck driver is willing to do in the way of locating the crate varies from driver to driver and company to company. They are obligated to get the crate off the street, but may be willing to do more. Our driver pulled it up onto the driveway and then put the crate inside our garage as it was all virtually level. If you have plans to offer some cash to the driver for additional services, it's best to schedule your delivery a bit before lunch as opposed to Friday at 4:30 when they might not have time.

If you are unfamiliar with how trucking deliveries are made, you should also be aware that you have the right to inspect the crate for damage, and should do so, before you sign to accept the delivery. If there is damage, you MUST refuse delivery and the shipper and the trucking firm's insurance will cover it. So, at a minimum, look for any damage to the exterior of the crate. As best you can, peer through the slats on the crate and look for any damage to the cooker or any tiles loose on the floor of the crate. If there is an accident severe enough to damage the grill, the crate will also be damaged. Once you sign, the shipper is relieved of any responsibility for damage that occurred in shippng.

Uncrating/Unpacking the Cooker
First let's look at the crate just to show you how well-protected your cooker will be on its journey from Indonesia. The crate is approximately 35 x 36.5 inches and 54 inches tall. It is constructed of solid wood vertical corner posts. The sides are 3-ply 5/16" plywood while the top is constructed of 7-ply 9/16" plywood. The top and bottom corners have metal straps and there are diagonal boards to ensure rigidity.

Uncrating the cooker is simple because you don't have to break down the crate to get at the cooker. There are 8 10-mm lag bolts, two in each corner of the base of the crate. Remove those lag bolts and the entire crate lifts up and off the cooker. (You will, of course, have to break down the crate later for disposal.)

Now that the crate is off the cooker, let's take a look at how your new cooker has been protected on its long journey by boat and truck from Indonesia to your door:

Probably the next thing you want to do is unwrap the cooker, empty it, free it from the crate platform and prepare it for moving. Depending on whether or not you will need to lift the cooker in order to get it in it's final location, you may or may not need to do all this. We had to take the cooker up two steps and then up two more steps. So nothing extremely difficult. But we removed everything from the inside, including the box that contains the wrench you need if you are going to take the dome top off for moving.

Moving the Cooker
As we have already mentioned, moving the cooker is no big deal if you can roll it to its final location. If you have steps to go up, however, you will need three or four people to safely get it up those steps. Depending on how many people you have to help, you may wish to remove the dome from the cooker to lighten it. Here's how we did it:

Once we had the cooker off the base of the crate, we were able to roll it to the base of the steps we had to negotiate. Again using the blue ropes, we lifted the cooker up the steps and onto the deck where we could roll it to its final destination. Once the cooker is in its final location, you can re-install the dome by placing it on back onto the cooker, re-inserting the hinge pin, attaching the clip, raising the lid so that someone can then re-attach the bolt to the spring and tighten it back up. We'd like to see the end of the hinge pin chamfered to make re-inserting it a bit easier. Adjust the tension so that the lid will open on its own, but not spring open too fast and damage the hinge when it hits the top.

So, here is our cooker in its final resting place ready for the final touches like removing the padding on the legs and lower vents, removing the blue ropes and placing the internal components in place!

You can make donations to The Naked Whiz Website using Bitcoin! Scan the QR code at left or copy and paste our wallet ID: 1Bt4vjU9PUQNVvEZZq6ik6jWYr6nr4rJRp