Maybe that's it-I never heat mine up to copper-smelting temps. I've tried the high-temp pizza that's the going thing, but I honestly greatly prefer mine with a thick crust that's crispy on the outside and soft inside instead of the thin crunchy pizza that everybody else seems to like. I like my pizza cooked at around 400-450*. That's about the hottest I ever get mine, if I want to sear a steak or something that requires really high heat, I can do it a lot quicker and easier in my barrel grill with an adjustable coal grate. To me, the Akorn shines at long, low-temp cooks, or for cooking stuff like chicken and such at medium temps, or for baking stuff. I have better options for high-temp.