Customer reviews from kamadojoe.com
KAMADO JOE - Konnected Joe Charcoal Grill - red
Average customer rating
4.7
(83 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 83 reviews
5 Stars
70
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
2
1 Star
1
92%of customers recommend this product.
(
69 out of
75)
Customer Reviews for KAMADO JOE - Konnected Joe Charcoal Grill - red
Customer Rating
5
Hands Free BBQ
on August 22, 2024
Posted by: matt23
from Durango, CO
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Wasn't sure how this would work, charcoal bbq with my phone? But it turns out it is pretty awesome. My scenario is the following I want cook a rack of ribs during the week, but I have to work, so in comes the Konnected Joe, I get the grill ready and prep the ribs, set my temp, put the ribs on, monitor in the app, go back to work, Wait till dinner time, impress family with amazing ribs! And it is as simple as that. Plus you can use it as a regular Kamado Joe Classic, if you want to be more hands on. Overall a good product, no issues so far.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting kamadojoe.com
Customer Rating
5
Extremely User Friendly
on August 22, 2024
Posted by: SATX_Joe
from San Antonio, TX
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I originally bought this about 6 months ago so that my family wouldn’t have to suffer through my learning curve. No complaints so far. They love it, I love it - it’s practically part of the family now
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting kamadojoe.com
Customer Rating
5
KJK Grilling Exact Science
on January 26, 2025
Posted by: John V
from Texas
[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I have preciously owned offset smoker, pellet grill and green eggs and the Kamando Joe Konnect (KJK) is far more superior for the following reasons: It is versatile by using all the various accessories offering the end user different styles of cooking with ease and convenience; It is precise cooking with all the digital features ensuring flawless cooking execution; The construction and durability of the grill is of high quality by well insulated and well sealed resulting in very fuel efficient grill; The built in controls are amazing that I can literally set it and forget it. 😊. I am having so much fun with the KJK and serving delicious BBQ.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting kamadojoe.com
Customer Rating
5
Thoughts after a year of heavy use
on July 4, 2024
Posted by: Nashville Grillin'
from Nashville
I've had this grill for over a year now and have hundreds of cooks on it. Everything from low and slow smoking to direct fire grilling, griddle cooks, Joetisserie cooks, pizza and pretty much every type of cook I could throw at it.
I wanted to do a year review because the early adopter reviews are outdated. So anyone reading these reviews should consider that this is a tech product. That means it has received updates over the past year that have improved performance, added new features, fixed bugs, fine tuned temp algorithms, improved wifi connection stability, etc.........previous reviews before the last firmware update in May 2024 are not reviews of how the current Konnected Joe performs. Although it still performed well back then........but it performs much better now.
KJ has added session graphs to the app, which is very useful for looking up past cooks. Actually, the grill didn't even have a graph feature when I first got mine, so that is one improvement.
As mentioned, they have also improved temp stability and wifi stability. It will hold a steady temp as low as 150°f and up.
The wifi range can be fairly short by todays standards but it's long enough for most patio and deck placement. If not, it's as easy as just adding an outdoor wifi extender or an indoor extender closest to the grill. Mine is probably 30' from my router through 3 basement interior walls and a cinder block exterior wall. It took 2 or 3 tries to do the initial connection but after that it has found and connected to my router on its own every time and has not dropped the signal that I could tell. That said, KJ also added a WiFi signal strength indicator on the grill display to aid in the placement of your grill for strongest possible signal or in determining if you need a wifi extender. This was a great improvement IMO.
They also made some subtle UI changes to the app which has made it more polished and refined. I like it. It's very simple to use and everything is clear and concise compared to 2 popular add on controller apps that I also own and use for my regular KJ2 and KJ3.
The build quality is great. I have not had any problems with my production model hardware components.
I have mine plugged into a weather resistant outdoor outlet in a weatherproof covered box and have not had any issues with tripping a breaker. GFCI outlets are very sensitive and can occasionally nuisance trip when the heating element is warming up, so I just avoid that altogether with my WR outlets.
Clean up is simple with the included ash clean out system. I just use a 4" brush to sweep the ash down through the remaining charcoal and grate, into the pan below. Empty the pan and I'm good to fire it up.
I love the convenience of being able to prep the grill the night before, get home from work, push the AFS ignitor button and set my temperature before even walking into the house. After 10-20 minutes my grill is preheated and ready for food. Just long enough for me to gather my prepped food and grill tools.
I also love that I don't have to install and remove the controller like I do with my 2 addon controllers for my other KJs. I loathe having to unpack those, untangle the wires, plug everything in and install the adapter and fan each time....... remove it all again afterwards.
The different cook "modes" work great as well.
I use the griddle mode and normal cook mode the most but use Joetisserie mode when using that accessory.
I don't have a classic size DoJoe so I can't comment on that mode, other than to say that I use it when wok cooking and it works great.
I use the large KJ Karbon Wok with the X rack and a vortex accessory to focus the heat to the bottom of the wok. I then engage DoJoe mode so that it will stoke the fire at 100% fan speed with dome open. This gets a hot focused fire for true wok cooking. I then cycle the power off once I'm cooking and open the bottom draft door to keep the fire going but not as intense.
I wanted to do a year review because the early adopter reviews are outdated. So anyone reading these reviews should consider that this is a tech product. That means it has received updates over the past year that have improved performance, added new features, fixed bugs, fine tuned temp algorithms, improved wifi connection stability, etc.........previous reviews before the last firmware update in May 2024 are not reviews of how the current Konnected Joe performs. Although it still performed well back then........but it performs much better now.
KJ has added session graphs to the app, which is very useful for looking up past cooks. Actually, the grill didn't even have a graph feature when I first got mine, so that is one improvement.
As mentioned, they have also improved temp stability and wifi stability. It will hold a steady temp as low as 150°f and up.
The wifi range can be fairly short by todays standards but it's long enough for most patio and deck placement. If not, it's as easy as just adding an outdoor wifi extender or an indoor extender closest to the grill. Mine is probably 30' from my router through 3 basement interior walls and a cinder block exterior wall. It took 2 or 3 tries to do the initial connection but after that it has found and connected to my router on its own every time and has not dropped the signal that I could tell. That said, KJ also added a WiFi signal strength indicator on the grill display to aid in the placement of your grill for strongest possible signal or in determining if you need a wifi extender. This was a great improvement IMO.
They also made some subtle UI changes to the app which has made it more polished and refined. I like it. It's very simple to use and everything is clear and concise compared to 2 popular add on controller apps that I also own and use for my regular KJ2 and KJ3.
The build quality is great. I have not had any problems with my production model hardware components.
I have mine plugged into a weather resistant outdoor outlet in a weatherproof covered box and have not had any issues with tripping a breaker. GFCI outlets are very sensitive and can occasionally nuisance trip when the heating element is warming up, so I just avoid that altogether with my WR outlets.
Clean up is simple with the included ash clean out system. I just use a 4" brush to sweep the ash down through the remaining charcoal and grate, into the pan below. Empty the pan and I'm good to fire it up.
I love the convenience of being able to prep the grill the night before, get home from work, push the AFS ignitor button and set my temperature before even walking into the house. After 10-20 minutes my grill is preheated and ready for food. Just long enough for me to gather my prepped food and grill tools.
I also love that I don't have to install and remove the controller like I do with my 2 addon controllers for my other KJs. I loathe having to unpack those, untangle the wires, plug everything in and install the adapter and fan each time....... remove it all again afterwards.
The different cook "modes" work great as well.
I use the griddle mode and normal cook mode the most but use Joetisserie mode when using that accessory.
I don't have a classic size DoJoe so I can't comment on that mode, other than to say that I use it when wok cooking and it works great.
I use the large KJ Karbon Wok with the X rack and a vortex accessory to focus the heat to the bottom of the wok. I then engage DoJoe mode so that it will stoke the fire at 100% fan speed with dome open. This gets a hot focused fire for true wok cooking. I then cycle the power off once I'm cooking and open the bottom draft door to keep the fire going but not as intense.
For durability, my gaskets are still good after well over a year. Controller is still great and the grill is mostly uncovered but under a sun shade. So it gets wet but not like being hosed down.
Other than a few app wish list items that aren't deal breakers, I do wish the KJ charcoal basket worked with the AFS heating element.......but again, thats not a deal breaker.
Overall, this grill has spoiled me. I have a Big Joe 2, Classic 3, Jr. and Pellet Joe. This one gets used 90% of the time. It just works that good and is that convenient.
Other than a few app wish list items that aren't deal breakers, I do wish the KJ charcoal basket worked with the AFS heating element.......but again, thats not a deal breaker.
Overall, this grill has spoiled me. I have a Big Joe 2, Classic 3, Jr. and Pellet Joe. This one gets used 90% of the time. It just works that good and is that convenient.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting kamadojoe.com
Customer Rating
3
Graet Product, HORRIBLE SUPPORT!
on August 10, 2023
Posted by: bob27_23
I am VERY impressed with the Konnected Joe as it performs amazingly. It holds temperature well, and the AFS is handy, and the various accessories are quite well thought out. Nothing extraneous!
The App - although it could use some improvement - does work, and I like the unit overall.
The App - although it could use some improvement - does work, and I like the unit overall.
A minor complaint is that the Charcol basket does not work withe the connected Joe. While it *will* fit, it holds the charcol off the AFS coil, as well as the metal absorbs the heat, resulting in the charcol will never really lite. (Without the basket, the AFS works great!) The Charcoal basket is useful, so its 'loss' is a minor point off.
The reason for 3 starts, and not 5, is the COMPANY, not the product. Ther is NO Support phone number. BAD!! NOT COOL! For what these things cost, I don't want to spend hours looking for answers. The folks that sell these things (The Box stores), are about as useful as wet TP... not at all. God help me if I ever have a warranty issue. (Of course I travel a lot, so dropping by their office is an option!!
Anyway, fantastic grill, HORRIBLE support. GET A SUPPORT PHONE NUMBER!!!
Response from kamadojoe.comBy Customer Support, Customer Support, August 11, 2023
We are very sorry to hear you are experiencing issues with your grill. Please send us a message on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We would be happy to help. Also, we can be reached by filling out our Contact Us form featured on our website for assistance. https://www.kamadojoe.com/pages/contact-us
Written by a customer while visiting kamadojoe.com
Posted by: Runte
from Raleigh, NC
Verified Purchase:Yes
This grill was far easier to use than I thought it would be. Everything I have cooked on it taste great, even plain old hotdogs. I have zero regrets investing in this grill. Also, I really like the auto igniter. It makes using a charcoal grill so much easier. Additionally, the automatic temperature Control works seamlessly. I wish I had more than five stars to give this grill.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting kamadojoe.com
Customer Rating
4
Great smoker, fair at holding steady temp <200.
on November 10, 2023
Posted by: SDB.
from Boca Raton, FL
Verified Purchase:Yes
Very good smoker, but not great at lower temp smoking. I actually don't eat meat. I know, why is someone who doesn't eat meat buy a smoker? I do eat fish. Usually when smoking fish I try to set the pit at a bit lower temp than you would for meat. Usually at 175. It has trouble keeping a steady temp at 175. I have done some grilling of fish and smoking nuts at higher temps and it holds those temps perfectly. I have found by trial and error that if I open the top vent a little less than it suggests, it is a bit better, but still requires fairly constant fiddling.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting kamadojoe.com
Customer Rating
5
Fire it up!
on April 13, 2023
Posted by: tshelburn
from Springfield, MO
Gender:Male
This grill is fantastic! It is super simple to get your cook started. Simply choose your accessory from the menu, set the temp and press the ignitor. I love the little lightning bolt on the button. The screen even tells you where to position the vents! I am using the Kamado Joe Big Block charcoal and it lights in about 10 minutes. That's perfect for most of my cooks during the week when I'm short on time and want to spend time with my family instead of tending to a fire. I highly recommend this new Kamado for all skill levels.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting kamadojoe.com