Char-Griller® Competition Pro® Barrel Grill and Offset Smoker, Includes Side Fire Box for Texas-Style Offset Smoking, Metal Cooking Grates, 1,010 Cooking Square Inches in Black, Model 2823 in Black

This is my second Char Griller, I first owned the Char Griller Pro, which is now my dedicated griller. I took this competition smoker and turned it into a high end smoker with ease. For the folks that are complaining about this and that, take a look at the price, what the heck do you want???? After some online research, I put this together with hightemp red RTV sealant, sealed every seam and bolt. I lined the firebox and main barrel openings with Nomex fire resistant self stick fabric tape. I took same diameter flexible metal conduit and attached it to the chimney and ran it down to grate level. Then I added two more temp gauges also at grate level. A side note, I tested the stock gauge and it's dead on accurate. My last mod was to make a charcoal box from expanded steel, very easy to do and way more efficient for smoking while using charcoal. Got mine on sale from the local hardware store for 299. invested less than a hundred dollars and now it behaves like a thousand dollar smoker, and since my old pro is my griller now, this competition pro is my dedicated smoker, and a great job it does. What I love about the side door on the fire box is, as I'm using charcoal for up to 12 hours (briskets), I can periodically open the side door and scoop out the ash into a large pot leaving plenty of circulation under my homemade charcoal box. I love this smoker and I believe I went the right way about setting it up. I will own and use this smoker for years to come as I've owned my first one for close to 12 years before getting this one. I did replace the charcoal grate once but now I use a charcoal canister to start my coals thus relieving the extra heat abuse from the grate. Remember the low cost on these products, what you're getting is a heck of a deal. When you want it to perform like one that costs hundreds and hundreds more, go ahead and spend a thou on something else, or, you can invest very little and get this to perform up to your standards! :)

Was so happy to receive this product, just to put together , season & fire her up just to watch the paint bubble & peel could not have used heat resistant paint was very disappointing for the very first time lit up had to seal alot of places that are not sealed properly .

The grille is solid for the price. The metal is not like one of the lighter gauge steel type and will last for a number of years. The only issue I’d throw out is that the bottom rack that is supposed to fit down between the four legs is a real pain to get in place. I don’t think the maker thought this part thru very well or they wouldn’t make it seem like such an easy step in the book. The true issue I had was the delivery. First of all, it ended up being two weeks late. Amazon didn’t deliver this package and the delivery company had issues regarding the delivery truck’s ability to get on post due to not having the necessary paperwork. So, after multiple days where the company called and said they were delivering that day, I ultimately had to go meet them outside of the installation, and unload it myself. Not easy. The opposite of easy, in fact. The grill itself, if delivered as described when I purchased, would have been easily 4 stars but what a pain to get it.

Works as it should.Nice.

First of all understand this is not a Grill like most would be use to. It is a Offset-Smoker. The expanded metal grates is in all professional smokers. I have owned another Char-Griller Smoker/Fire box and it had cast iron grates good for smoking and grilling with direct contact.My son and I have run two trailer smokers and we are from Texas and have made just about everything on them. Even though we have competed just for fun, we prefer just to smoke for ourselves and friends.After seasoning my smoker and firing it up to 200 degrees and bump up to 250 back and forth for 4 hours and finished off with hickory for 3 hours, I'm good to go. The pit held at 200 degrees for nearly 3 hours as I had the dampers all but closed. I wanted to permeate the pit with smoke only. This is what the photo represents even though the vent is not in full view.

I only heated the fire box 1 time and the paint came off and it rusted within 24 hours of assembly

Seasoned this bad boy with some good ol' Pam and Pecan wood chunks. Added some gaskets to seal off the cooking chamber and firebox. Made a baffle from sheet metal and extended the smoke stack inside with dryer vent tubing so that it's at grate height. Cooked 3 spareribs, 2 beef chucks, sausages, beans, and BRISKET!! Maintained temperature and easy to handle. This is one heavy duty offset smoker. Couldn't be happier for a smoker that's less than $600!

Had to return it for a replacement