We had to go through THREE of these cookers before we were able to piece together a fully working product! That is a pretty sad statement regarding Eastman Outdoor's manufacturing standards and quality control!
The first unit was a very bad repack that had obviously been opened and returned although the product box was taped before we opened it. The regulator and hose was not in the plastic bag and instead was loose in the box with the bag it is supposed to be housed in wadded up in a tight little ball in the bottom corner of the box. The owners manual was creased, wrikled and oil stained. In addition to all this, the bottom of the burner base had a big dent in it, so we returned it for a replacement. Not sure if this repack sold as new was Eastman's fault or Amazon's but I would be more likely to blame Eastman since I have never gotten such an obvious repack from Amazon before this incident.
The second unit arrived in a more factory fresh state, but one of the spot welded leg brackets on the burner base was badly misaligned to the burner body instead of being straight like the other two. The unit still stood up straight with the legs attached even with this shoddy workmanship so we decided to finish setting it up and try cooking on it.
We used this with a 16" Hand Hammered Carbon Steel Wok along with a 12" Wok of the same type and were BLOWN AWAY by how impressive this thing can cook! More than enough heat and then some! We only needed to turn the burner about half way up to get the Wok "screaming hot" and were able to produce a restuarant caliber stir fry with that distinctive "Wok Hei" flavor that only a burner like this thing has can produce! After a few days of use, while trying to collapse the legs, the brass button you push in to release the telescoping leg depressed through the hole and got stuck inside the leg preventing it from collapsing down for storage. We messed with the leg for over an hour trying to get the brass push button back out into the hole it is supposed to live in, but to no avail.
We processed another defective return and received a third unit which arrived today. This one, although all the spot welded leg brackets were straight was found to have a wobbly burner element even with all the mouting screws tight to the burner base. The sheet metal burner base that the cast iron burner element attaches to appeared to be much thinner than our first and second unit and could not support the burner element properly. It made a loud "CLINK-Clunk" when you put pressure on the neck of the element and can wobble it up and down. Also, two of the three legs refused to extend no matter how hard we tugged on them. One of the legs worked normally so we decided to just take this one functioning leg and use it to replace the defective one from unit #2, which at this point appeared to be the most solid of the three minus the defective leg.
So... In the end, we decided to keep Unit #2 and sent its one defective leg back with the more significantly defective Unit #3.
We now have a functioning product that for the most part all works, but MAN! Who the heck is doing the QC work over at Eastman Outdoors????
While this thing is truly AWESOME when it comes to cooking on its impressive 65,000 BTU burner (More like cooking on a rocket engine), we can only give this product three stars due to the shoddy workmanship and non-existent quality control we found in all three units we received.
I wouldn't buy one of these if Amazon has less than 5 in stock, since you are most likely going to have to go through several of them before you get one that doesn't have a major defect with at least one component in the product package.
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I bought the Portable Kahuna for use with a 16" wok. The burner is powerful -perhaps too powerful if you do not have all your ingredients ready to go. You don't need much gas to get a very hot wok. The legs fit a bit loosely, even fully tightened, but the wide stance provides good stability. Be aware that the brackets that keep your wok from falling off are not adjustable, so the wok can rock under vigorous stir-frying. You probably want to hold onto a wok handle with one (protected) hand while tossing your food with the other. Overall, the extra cost compared with short burners is worthwhile for the handy stand design.Best Deals for Eastman Outdoors Portable Kahuna Burner with XL Pot and Wok
I received this product today. Craftmanship looks as expected. Some parts such as the wind deflector (which actually supports all the weight of whatever cookware you use) do not look rock solid but seem good enough for the purpose. Legs, burner, etc all look sturdy. I did not notice wobbling (legs actually lock with a dual mechanism, both through a "clicking" press-button as well as a tightening screw). They also spread pretty wide, so you get good stability overall. I just wish the "casserole shaped" part at the top (where the burner and "horn-like" holsters screw into) were built out of a thicker metal sheet. I anticipate it should hold up the 22lb disc I purchased just fine (I saw pictures online of such configuration as well, with a 22lb, 22" disc). Easy to set up and looks like a good, high BTU burner. I am just disappointed that the product shipped without 6 screwsets which attach the thre "horn-like" pieces over which cookware is to be placed. I had some spares in my workshop (it just took 6 bolts and nuts, 12 regular washers and 6 grower wahsers). The packaging looked like it had been opened previously, and was all taped together. The product inside still had white foam wrapping and looked ok, though one of the aluminum lables that come riveted to the legs was also chipped creating a little sharp edge (it still had the transparent plastic film stuck on it, as often seen on "new" metal strips to protect from scratching). The regulator was also scratched/dented lightly. All these are minor issues(minor enough that I was able to solve, and minor enough that I will not be returning the product), but they all reflect *very* poorly on the manufacturer's(and/or retailers's) QA/QC, as the product, out of the box, shows dents and aspects that resemble a "returned" item. I am still happy with the product. The above reasons make me rate it with a 3. Otherwise I would probably rate it a 5.Honest reviews on Eastman Outdoors Portable Kahuna Burner with XL Pot and Wok
This burner produces major, heavy-duty flame. Seriously, it is serious heat. This is not a burner that you would want to lend to your teenager to take to his/her next beach party. You have to be very careful and follow directions to the letter until you become more familiar with it. The powerful flame can take you by surprise the first time you turn it on--and that is only with a half-turn of the valve. There is a short story about this burner's big brother in Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories; if you have that book you should read that story: This burner is a little bit tamer, but not much.That being said, this is an awesome burner for your wok if you are an experienced cook, familiar with high heat and are willing to take this new way of cooking nice and slow. The burner also works with pots up to 36 quarts, but the instructions very specifically state that the unit should not be used for frying turkeys. In the instructions it says that Eastman Outdoors sells a Fish-Fry/Hot Pot and says that when using this pot, you can fry up to 2 pounds of fish or chicken wings. I guess the fact that it says chicken "wings" means that it cannot accommodate two pounds of other chicken pieces? Who knows, but I think the main point is that big pots of oil sitting on these legs is a safety issue.
Regarding the size of the wok: The instructions say that you can use a wok "up to" 18". We already had a 14" wok that we use in the house and it is suitable for our use. But the 14" on this burner is a little small. The flame--even turned low--comes up a little too high on the side of the wok. Another larger model of this Kahuna burner by Eastman Outdoors comes with a 22" wok, but that seemed way too big for us. And as other reviewers noted, the 22" wok was hard to season and hard to clean because it was so big. So we went out and bought a 18" wok. It is perfect for the burner and I feel safer using it. I think you could use a 16" wok, but I really think the 14" is too small. I don't think they should have used the words "up to" 18"; I think they actually meant to say the burner is meant to be used with an 18" wok.
UPDATE 5/6/13: The 18" was too big for us, so we bought a 16" and are much happier with it. You can learn from out experience: The tank valve should be turned on all the way. The valve for the burner should be turned on one-half-turn only to light, then after lighting, turn the valve down to one-quarter-turn to heat your carbon steel wok. It will heat very, very fast. You will most likely never need to turn the valve above one-half turn. Your cooking will take place somewhere between one-half and one-quarter-turn. Set up the burner out of the wind. If there is wind, and you can't get away for it, give it up and cook another way. You won't be able to see the flame if there is a lot of wind. (I'm talking about wind above 7-10mph.) END OF UPDATE.
I love this product! But I knocked it down one star because there is only one height for the leg extensions. Either the extensions are left tucked into the first section of legs (and you put it on a very stable table to use) or you use the legs fully extended--there are no extra holes along the length of the legs for the spring-loaded button to clip into. It may be a safety-related issue, I don't know. Even with the legs extended, unless you are a very short person, you will still be working with the wok below waist-level. So you surely don't want to wear loose fitting clothing while cooking, as the flame is pretty close to where your shirttails would be.
The burner itself is magnificent: Well-constructed, heavy-duty, with precision-cut holes. The rest of the unit is rather average in construction, and if it is like ours, it will have a few dings and scratches right out of the box. The legs are not wobbly and appear to be very safe--especially thinking about a filled-36 quart pot...
To make this unit more compact for storing, you can totally remove the three legs and there is a bracket under the burner where you can slide in the legs and tighten them down for storage.
The unit is very simple to assemble. It comes with a little wrench, but it would be much easier if you have a ratcheting tool at your disposal.
Other facts: Unit is either 18" or 26" tall. The "Revolution Burner" claims to burn hotter; to burn cleaner (75% cleaner than industry standards*), and to use less propane (than industry standards*). Eastman Outdoors calls the "Revolution Burner" professional grade. It works with a standard 20 lb propane tank.
*Canadian Standards Authority (CSA), which is a testing organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada and the United States.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Eastman Outdoors Portable Kahuna Burner with XL Pot and Wok
Although probably not considered "commercial" grade, this unit is well designed and constructed for the average woker/homeowner. In my opinion, it is a far better unit than the comparable King Kooker unit which I bought last year, started to assemble and then disassembled and returned the next day because of its disgusting quality.The Portable Kahuna XL assembles in no time at all, and can be broken down for travel very easily (retractable legs collapse and stored/secured under the unit). The legs are adjustable but I found that with them fully extended, my 14" wok's upper lip is 30" off of the floor a good height for me at 5' 11" for cooking. The "feet" of the legs also have brackets attached that can be secured to a floor is desired but the unit is very stable as is. The brackets that hold the wok also double to support a large pot.
Unlike the King Kooker, which has a flimsy mounting bracket, the burner unit is securely attached to the base. Fire it up and awok you go! Others have commented on the high setting and I would agree the burner's output is more than sufficient.
One can pay over $125 for a commercial quality burner alone, and then need to make up some sort of mounting scheme for it. This one fit my bill.
No comments:
Post a Comment