The Stainless Half Moon Charcoal Tray 18″ (SKU BBQ-AK-HMT) is a stainless steel half-moon charcoal basket sized for the Char-Griller Akorn 20″, Blaze Kamado, and Pit Boss Kamado 24″. It banks your charcoal against one side of the fire bowl, giving you true two-zone cooking — searing-hot direct heat over the coals and a calmer indirect zone on the empty half — while improving airflow and turning ash cleanup into a simple lift-and-dump.

Quick answer: if you cook on a full-size Akorn 20, a Blaze Kamado, or a Pit Boss 24″ kamado and want easier two-zone fires, hotter searing, and faster cleanup, the Stainless Half Moon Charcoal Tray 18″ is a drop-in upgrade — no tools or permanent modification required.

What is the Stainless Half Moon Charcoal Tray 18″?

It's a semicircle-shaped charcoal basket that sits in your kamado's fire bowl and holds a compact bank of lump charcoal or briquettes off to one side. The open basket design lets air from the bottom draft vent flow up through the coal bed, and ash drops through instead of smothering your fire mid-cook.

Which grills does the 18″ half moon charcoal tray fit?

The 18″ diameter is cut to match the fire bowls on three popular kamados:

If your grill isn't on that list, measure across your fire bowl before ordering — the tray is purpose-built for these models rather than being a universal part.

Why use a half moon charcoal basket in a kamado?

Does it make two-zone cooking easier?

Yes — that's the main reason to own one. Instead of spreading coals across the whole fire grate, the tray keeps them consolidated on one half of the grill. You get a direct zone over the coals for searing steaks, burgers, and wings, plus an indirect zone on the empty side for gentle roasting — all at the same time, on the same fire. For a deeper dive on two-zone fire theory, AmazingRibs.com covers it extensively.

Does it help with searing?

Banked charcoal burns hotter than a thin, spread-out layer because the coals insulate each other. Loading the tray full of lump and setting it directly under your cooking grate gives you a concentrated 600°F+ sear zone — exactly what you want for a reverse-seared ribeye.

Does it improve airflow and lighting?

The open basket design keeps the coal bed elevated and exposed to draft air, so charcoal lights faster and burns cleaner. It also means less fuel for small cooks: fill the tray instead of the whole fire bowl and you're not heating charcoal you won't use.

Does it make cleanup easier?

Once everything is completely cool, lift the tray out and dump the ash. That's most of the job done — no more scooping around a fire bowl full of half-burned lump.

How do you set up two-zone cooking with the half moon tray?

  1. Fill the tray with lump charcoal (or briquettes) and position it on one side of the fire bowl.
  2. Light a small section. For low-and-slow at 225–250°F, light just one corner — a half chimney of hot coals poured on one end works well — so the fire creeps slowly across the bank. For searing at 450°F and up, light the whole tray with the bottom vent wide open.
  3. Set up your zones. For indirect cooking, place a heat deflector over the empty half of the fire bowl and cook above it. For direct grilling and searing, cook directly over the tray.
  4. Dial in the vents. Start with the bottom vent open roughly ½–1 inch and the top daisy wheel cracked for 225–250°F; open both progressively for higher temps.
  5. Be patient. Kamados respond slowly. Give the grill 15–20 minutes to settle before you trust the thermometer, and make small vent adjustments only.

Half moon tray vs. full round charcoal basket — which is better?

It depends on how you cook. A full round basket maximizes fuel capacity, which matters on 14-hour packer briskets. A half moon tray is the more versatile everyday choice: two-zone fires for weeknight dinners, a dedicated sear zone, and easy cleanup. Many kamado owners find the half moon covers 90% of what they actually cook, and it's the better single purchase if you have to pick one.

How do you hold steady temperatures on a kamado with this tray?

The manual craft is the same as any charcoal cook: light a small fire, choke the bottom vent down early, and let the cooker come up to temp slowly so you don't overshoot. A consolidated coal bed in the tray actually helps here — the fire burns in one predictable direction instead of wandering across a spread-out fuel pile.

If you'd rather skip the vent babysitting entirely, an automatic temperature controller does the dialing for you. The BBQube TempMaster Pro is a fan-driven controller that fits Akorn Kamado and other close-lid charcoal grills via grill-specific adapters — set your target pit temp, and the fan feeds the fire exactly the air it needs, for hours, with phone-app monitoring. It's what turns an overnight pork butt into a good night's sleep instead of a 3 a.m. vent check. You can read more at bbqube.us.

How do you clean a stainless steel charcoal tray?

Is the 18″ half moon tray worth it?

If you own one of the three supported kamados, it's one of the highest-value accessories you can add: two-zone cooking without juggling coals by hand, a legitimate steakhouse sear zone, better airflow, and a two-minute cleanup. The Stainless Half Moon Charcoal Tray 18″ is in stock at BBQube and ships ready to drop straight into your fire bowl.

FAQ

Will the 18″ half