Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsCheaply Made But a Great Grill Design
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2015
Before I get into the grill, let me say that Amazon really dropped the ball on shipping this. All they did was slap a shipping sticker on the product box. Needless to say, when this extremely heavy box arrived it was beat up, scuffed, This resulted in a few pieces of the grill being dented. That aside, I elected not to return this and just deal with it.
As far as the grill, this is not at all what I was expecting. Based on the description (cast iron construction) I thought this was the more heavy-duty version I've seen in stores where the body and hood are heavy-gauge metal and the grill grates are cast iron. Nope. Like most Char-Broils, this is made of flimsy steel with cheap coating and the grill grates are just your standard, thin-metal wire coated in black (coating probably isn't good for your health to cook on; why not just leave it stainless steel??)
As far as assembly, it was a little bit of a hassle (I'm dealing with dented parts due to Amazon's poor shipping so some of the bolt holes don't line up). Had it not been for the dents, this would have come together more easily. Although I had all the parts, I will say the instructions don't 100% match what you get as far as screws and bolts. It seems they updated the construction, but not the manual.
As far as cooking, I love the grill space. It easily fits a couple full racks of ribs and you can cook burgers and hot dogs for a party on this thing. I also like the huge fire box beneath (this was what drew me to this grill). I love that you can burn some wood in here and you can adjust the level, so it makes smoking and grilling possible. However, the cheap materials definately won't hold up to burning full logs and if you grill year round like me, expect to replace this thing due to rust and warping after your first 12 - 18 months. I like that it has the internal thermometer, and it seems pretty accurate.
