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$299 Char-Griller Kamado First Looks

I noticed in the video that you placed the cooking grate in after you reached temp. Is this a personal preference or a reason behind doing it. I would just have it in the cooker while it went to temp. Still learning.....
 
Hankdad1 said:
Hey Garyt, I've been looking at that deal too. Did yours come with the stainless or powder coated top vent? And what are the tables made of? The one on display near me looks like it might be last years model with the stainless vent.

Thanks.
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The side shelves are made of wood and the top vent is powder coated.
 
Hozman said:
I noticed in the video that you placed the cooking grate in after you reached temp. Is this a personal preference or a reason behind doing it. I would just have it in the cooker while it went to temp. Still learning.....
Click to expand...

I don't think it matters much one way or the other.
 
Saw one at Lowes, very clever design. (yes I know its a metal egg) The versatility of it will clearly give Weber some competition. With Weber you have to have both a Kettle and a WSM to do the same things this appears to do. I am starting to think these guys might have built a better mousetrap.
 
Thanks for taking the time to post this series of videos. It's remarkable how shut the vents were during your butt cook. Do you think the open slats in the bottom vent (where the numbers are) are allowing the air to flow in? It certainly looks rock solid on holding the temp though, even if that is the case.
:thumb:
 
My local Kroger has several of these for $299; looked at them yesterday. Keeping my eye on the price as last year they put a lot of their grills on clearance. Not sure if this will qualify and will probably sell out.
 
Patrickkva said:
Thanks for taking the time to post this series of videos. It's remarkable how shut the vents were during your butt cook. Do you think the open slats in the bottom vent (where the numbers are) are allowing the air to flow in? It certainly looks rock solid on holding the temp though, even if that is the case.
:thumb:
Click to expand...

I'm not sure. At some point I will take the lower air vent off and have a look at it. That part comes pre-assembled and I didn't get to look at it closely during the assembly of the grill because of that. If I decide to seal it up, it should be a rather easy 'fix'.
 
CrackerJack from KC said:
Saw one at Lowes, very clever design. (yes I know its a metal egg) The versatility of it will clearly give Weber some competition. With Weber you have to have both a Kettle and a WSM to do the same things this appears to do. I am starting to think these guys might have built a better mousetrap.
Click to expand...

I'm actually surprised Weber didn't come up with something like this first. I know Inzone started the metal kamado cookers with the keg. I guess Weber don't see themselves in competition with ceramic kamado manufacturers. How I'm sure they see themselves as competitors to Char Griller.
 
Thanks for the time spent on the reviews. Definately something i will consider.
 
Checked one out at Lowes for lunch. Looks pretty nice.

One thing I will warn people about, is, don't necessarily judge quality based on the demo assembled at Lowes. The one I looked at had a loose hinge, which felt terrible, but further inspection revealed loose bolts as the culprit. In addition there were some parts installed backwards (the top vent for one). "Feel" may be more the result of the skill and pride (or lack thereof) of the person at the store who assembled it.
 
I checked one of these out at Lowe's today when I was looking for supplies for my build. It looked decent but the quality didn't quite seem to be there (compared to BGE and Primo). Maybe that is explained by the $299 price tag...which I must say was attractive. I just missed out on a new XL BGE for $400...we occasionally see some being auctioned off at low prices, which makes me forget about the warranty completely! I'll be interested to see how your cook turns out!
 
I wanted to add a couple of things to this review. When you unpack the unit, it smells pretty funky from the packing stuff.

Make sure you give it a good burn to get all the funk off. Also, on mine, the paint turned from a shiny black to a dull black after the burn. No big deal, but it wasn't even all over. May take a couple of more cooks to achieve the uniformivity.

I was going to buy one for my brother for his birthday, but they are all sold out in my area and also in his area, which is northern FL.

Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase.
 
JMSetzler said:
I'm not sure. At some point I will take the lower air vent off and have a look at it. That part comes pre-assembled and I didn't get to look at it closely during the assembly of the grill because of that. If I decide to seal it up, it should be a rather easy 'fix'.
Click to expand...

I'm wondering if a couple more cooks, and a little gunk build up will seal up some leaks. Even a WSM runs a little hot on the first few cooks.
 
Thanks for the reviews.
After reading how well it worked for you, I went and bought the last my lowe's store had.
 
For anyone in the NW Austin area, the Lowes @ 620/183 has one demo unit outside. Didn't go inside to check for more stock, cuz I was riding by on my Cannondale, getting a nice spring workout.
 
powerpig said:
Make sure you give it a good burn to get all the funk off. Also, on mine, the paint turned from a shiny black to a dull black after the burn. No big deal, but it wasn't even all over. May take a couple of more cooks to achieve the uniformivity.
Click to expand...

I haven't noticed that on mine but I haven't cranked up the heat really hot yet either.
 
Such a thorough review. I don't even need one and now you got me thinkin about it...:wacko:
 
LoneStarMojo said:
Such a thorough review. I don't even need one and now you got me thinkin about it...:wacko:
Click to expand...

I'm probably gonna do a couple more :) The low and slow cook was good for starters. I need to do a Chicken next at 350-375 degrees. Then maybe a loaf of Artisan Bread... then maybe a Pizza at 600+ degrees....
 
wmarkw said:
My local Kroger has several of these for $299; looked at them yesterday. Keeping my eye on the price as last year they put a lot of their grills on clearance. Not sure if this will qualify and will probably sell out.
Click to expand...

Was looking at these on Amazon and 1 reviewer claimed to have picked his up for $219, although I forget where he said he got it.
 
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