Interesting Item................

[1buckie]

 I think it might help to up my whimpy hi-heat grilling game.....eventually....

But, I already have a heavy metal cylinder & other stuff to fix up  a deal like that pic up above from Awning Guy................

[OoPEZoO]

Buy a metal mixing bowl at Wallyworld (or goodwill for that matter) and cut the bottom out 

[Troy]

interesting, but I'm skeptical.

i know the heat funnel effect works in tandoor ovens and such, but with the heat funnel the heat is concentrated in the funnel and at the very top.
Plus tandoors are bigger, a wide area of burning and a narrower opening to really concentrate the heat.

With this device, the height of the funnel isn't really that big. The metal isn't really that great of an insulator (compared to ceramics of a tandoor).
I tend to think a completely vertical charcoal ring of the same height will provide the exact same grate temperature.

And I'd be willing to bet 30 bucks on it.

also - getting a grill insanely hot isn't that hard. no devices are really needed.
trust me here, i've ruined plenty of cooking grates, and even charcoal grates.

[GC8]

I could definitely see myself using this a lot!  Art, you've got some Weldon skills, right?  Start crankin' em out!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Troy]

you want rocket hot, here's two ways.

method #1
Step 1. light a chimney of lump or coshell or whatever you have that will burn hotter than kingsford
Step 2. as its lighting, pour a thin layer of unlit lump into your grill
step 3. when your chimney is ready, pour it over the unlit that is in the grill
step 4. fill the chimney up again with unlit, pour it over the bed of hot coals (a layer of lit between layers of unlit)
step 5. leave the grill lid off and wait 15 minutes
step 6. add another chimney of unlit
step 7. leave lid off for 15 minutes
step 8. add another chimney of unlit
step 9. put on your cooking grate, leave lid open for 10 minutes, then close the lid and wait another 5 minutes.
step 10. OIL YOUR FOOD and cook on your ~900 degree grill

method #2
step 1. light a chimney of lump or something that burns hot.
step 2. put a thick layer of unlit in the grill
step 3. when chimney is ready, pour over unlit
step 4. use some old tongs to gently mix the lit and unlit, try to distribute everything evening
step 5. use a hair dryer or an air pump to stoke the coals for about 5 or 10 minutes. mix again if you need.
step 6. if needed, add another layer of unlit and wait. if not, add cooking grate and sear that tuna.

I've used both methods. Be warned, it will cause porcelain to pop, it will melt OTG and performer lid rollers, it will melt and warp your charcoal grate and burn the seasoning and/or nickel coating off your cooking grate.

[1buckie]

interesting, but I'm skeptical.

i know the heat funnel effect works in tandoor ovens and such, but with the heat funnel the heat is concentrated in the funnel and at the very top.
Plus tandoors are bigger, a wide area of burning and a narrower opening to really concentrate the heat.

With this device, the height of the funnel isn't really that big. The metal isn't really that great of an insulator (compared to ceramics of a tandoor).
I tend to think a completely vertical charcoal ring of the same height will provide the exact same grate temperature.

And I'd be willing to bet 30 bucks on it.

also - getting a grill insanely hot isn't that hard. no devices are really needed.
trust me here, i've ruined plenty of cooking grates, and even charcoal grates.

 I think the directionalization (<<is that a word?) of the heat works good for short periods of time, also shows uses for L 'n' Slow....

you want rocket hot, here's two ways.

method #1
Step 1. light a chimney of lump or coshell or whatever you have that will burn hotter than kingsford
Step 2. as its lighting, pour a thin layer of unlit lump into your grill
step 3. when your chimney is ready, pour it over the unlit that is in the grill
step 4. fill the chimney up again with unlit, pour it over the bed of hot coals (a layer of lit between layers of unlit)
step 5. leave the grill lid off and wait 15 minutes
step 6. add another chimney of unlit
step 7. leave lid off for 15 minutes
step 8. add another chimney of unlit
step 9. put on your cooking grate, leave lid open for 10 minutes, then close the lid and wait another 5 minutes.
step 10. OIL YOUR FOOD and cook on your ~900 degree grill

method #2
step 1. light a chimney of lump or something that burns hot.
step 2. put a thick layer of unlit in the grill
step 3. when chimney is ready, pour over unlit
step 4. use some old tongs to gently mix the lit and unlit, try to distribute everything evening
step 5. use a hair dryer or an air pump to stoke the coals for about 5 or 10 minutes. mix again if you need.
step 6. if needed, add another layer of unlit and wait. if not, add cooking grate and sear that tuna.

I've used both methods. Be warned, it will cause porcelain to pop, it will melt OTG and performer lid rollers, it will melt and warp your charcoal grate and burn the seasoning and/or nickel coating off your cooking grate.

 ^^^^^ ALMOST kettle abuse, but this is coming from someone who hardly ever goes past 350~400..........

I went ahead & signed onto Smoke meat forums to be able to see the pix & there's people doing some real interesting stuff with these.....


 Also, "i know the heat funnel effect works in tandoor ovens and such,"

I wonder what it would be like to use with a grate cut open to the wide end of one of these......maybe could bake tandoor bread on the wall?

[MacEggs]

I still wanna make one and try it out.
I have a dedicated KettlePizza-only kettle ... perhaps it could perform double-duty with the vortex.

I know it's only $29, but, shipping costs to Canada can jack-up the price of anything from the US.
There are a couple of metal wholesalers close by with great prices.

BTW ... Troy .. I like your 2 methods you present. Playing with fire! It never gets tired! 

[THUNDERDOME]

Hi Guys,

First off, I'm new to the forum so I don't want any of the regulars to think I'm hear to pitch something. With that being said, I make the Vortex and thought I'd pop into this thread and say hello.

This thing started as a way to get fried-like chicken wings on the kettle without having to offset the coals and move the wings around to achieve equal heat. I wanted the heat high enough to crisp the skin and get 'bbq' flavor without burning the skin.

Then I was dabbling with the 'snake' minion method in the kettle and realized that this also would serve as a heat deflector as well as grease catcher for any indirect cooks. Or long smokes

I hope it's ok to post links here (some forums frown on it), but pictures are best way to describe this set-up.

Vortex Direct
http://thunderdomebbq.com/post/67070763691

Vortex Indirect/Direct
Part 1 http://thunderdomebbq.com/post/67616073962
Part 2 http://thunderdomebbq.com/post/64833399906

Vortex Indirect
http://thunderdomebbq.com/post/64833473981

I too had a Stok, but felt limited with it's design and size (and bottom line, it's no Weber). The Stok is intended to be a charcoal chimney, that sets your coals, then is removed prior to cooking eliminating the Weber Charcoal Chimney

The Vortex is made to fit in between the grates on a 22.5" or 18.5" Weber Kettle.  As far as cost. I'm just one guy making these and did my very best to make this as fair a price as possible. They're made of 304 Grade Stainless Steel. 16 Gauge and weigh a tad under 2 pounds. The previous versions were only $20, but I had to get these made in Stainless and it just cost me more to do so.

Rule of thumb:
High-heat: Narrow End Up -Voals In Vortex
Indirect/Smoking: Narrow End Down - Coals around Vortex.

Hope that helps. I can email the 'manual' as well which does better explaining than I can here.

-Bill

[pbe gummi bear]

Hi Thunder. Welcome! Thanks for your input. I can get down with a guy that makes and stands behind their products. Anyways, it seems like there are other effects going on with your Vortex. For example, your chicken post shows extremely even cooking on both sides of a wing. Similar setups like that tend to cook hotter on one end. I am inclined to say that the your product produces more radiant heat inside the kettle and into the actual steel of the bbq itself rather than relying more on convection to cook. As an engineer, I am very intrigued by this.

What's the approx. cost of shipping on one of these in the US?

[THUNDERDOME]

Hi Thunder. Welcome! Thanks for your input. I can get down with a guy that makes and stands behind their products. Anyways, it seems like there are other effects going on with your Vortexer. For example, your chicken post shows extremely even cooking on both sides of a wing. Similar setups like that tend to cook hotter on one end. I am inclined to say that the your product produces more radiant heat inside the kettle and into the actual steel of the bbq itself rather than relying more on convection to cook. As an engineer, I am very intrigued by this.

What's the approx. cost of shipping on one of these in the US?

Thanks PBE Gummi Bear

I am shipping for $10 a piece. I am struggling with quoting freight due to time restrictions (and having a job, kids, etc). All I've shipped so far have been north or south of $10 by a couple bucks so I'm 'hoping' it's a wash and just going w/ $10 shipping

[Troy]

Hi Bill, thanks for joining and being completely transparent

[1buckie]

 Howdy, glad you stopped by & clarified some of the finer points.....the chix wings do look real even & I waaaaay suck @ chicken wings.....one of these may be in my future !!!!

 PS: Did you see that fixup from my buddy @ Smoke Ring on page one?
The link has more pix of his custom jobbie............

 I also like how the fellow on Smoked Meat did the piece of tri-tip by sous-vide & then flashed it with the cone.....cool.....

[THUNDERDOME]

Strange timing. I was just talking to Rich from Mad Hunky about these this morning. You thinking about getting one Ken?

Ken

Well, I told Allen, the guy that sent me the links, that I probably wouldn't use it that much 'cause I just don't do that much extra hi-heat & he replied " There's a low 'n' slow setup!!!"

My reply to that was " it didn't even mentally register because I just visualize a pan of beans there automatically !!!"


 The sear setup is like a built in Alton Brown "steak-on-a-chimney"

 Another thing that comes to mind is this:

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/this-one's-for-cookingmama-~~~~gt/msg9666/#msg9666

AWESOME. The Alton Brown Chimney steak (porterhouse was it?) was a big part of this!

[1buckie]

 Actually, being a Smoke Ring guy.....he was after a less exciting cookup....



 hit the WKC link right above the photo for more pix...........

[DoppelBock]

Hi Thunder. Welcome! Thanks for your input. I can get down with a guy that makes and stands behind their products. Anyways, it seems like there are other effects going on with your Vortexer. For example, your chicken post shows extremely even cooking on both sides of a wing. Similar setups like that tend to cook hotter on one end. I am inclined to say that the your product produces more radiant heat inside the kettle and into the actual steel of the bbq itself rather than relying more on convection to cook. As an engineer, I am very intrigued by this.

What's the approx. cost of shipping on one of these in the US?

Thanks PBE Gummi Bear

I am shipping for $10 a piece. I am struggling with quoting freight due to time restrictions (and having a job, kids, etc). All I've shipped so far have been north or south of $10 by a couple bucks so I'm 'hoping' it's a wash and just going w/ $10 shipping

I ordered one . But I ordered through Madhunkymeat (Rich). Does it matter who we order through? Same product, right?