Ratings & Reviews for Char-Griller Gravity Fed 980 Charcoal Grill 38-in W Red Barrel Charcoal Grill

Do not buy

I have been trying to use this cooking contraption for almost two years now, and it has been nothing but disappointing. In my opinion this attempt to try and compete with the other smokers/grills with a fuel feed system is an utter failure. First it will not attain the advertised searing temp of 750 degrees ( If I remember correctly on the the temp) I could never get it above 350. It won't hold a smoking temp (225-275). I have been using side smokers for years I understand maintaining temp with ...

Great grill

It was a bit of a learning curve. My first set and forget smoker. I have a stick burner also. Food turned out great.

very large not very mobile

convenance of a pellet smoker with that charcoal tase Large cooking area

Gets hot fast

Easy to use, gets hot fast

Great smoker.

I would not recommend using only charcoal briquettes. A good lump style like B&B layered with prices of your favorite wood yields much better results. There’s a little bit of a learning curve, but it’s worth it.

Puts on a great smoky flavor!

I’ve only done two cooks so far and it has operated flawlessly. Recommend only put as much charcoal as you need for the particular cook. Take your time and read the instructions carefully during assembly.

Do not buy

12 cooks in. Temp all off. Now have a brisket on and the sensors complete broke

Bad assembly 2 times

This item failed to meet my expectation two times. 1st time it was bent in 3 places. 2end time the electronics would not engage the variable speed fan. It would not even start. obviously it was put together wrong, as far as the wires were not connected at all. I couldn't reach the safeties.

I Love it

I have always been old school stick burner. I ended up buying a Traeger for camping time to keep the babysitting aspect low and was not impressed. I found the charcoal gravity smokers and did plenty of research before pulling the trigger on this model. This is the best option for that old school smoke flavor without the babysitting. The pellet smokers just don't give the righty amount of flavor that this will. I would have given 5 stars but I had to add mods to make this perfect and the sti...

Shoddy Assembly

Picked up the new Gravity 980. Was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, whoever assembled this was not on their game. First thing I noticed was the frayed wire at the back of the firebox. Next I noticed damper cover was not properly attached, leaving a large gap. Finally there are scratches on the fire box and body. The scratches are not a huge deal (and fortunately not on the lid) but annoying for a brand new product. Looks like instead of cooking Saturday morning I will be repairing ...

This grill has quality control issues. Research

Lowes did the assembly. They assembled the firebox incorrectly but i was able to fix that. The PID controller showed an OPEN status even when the firebox and ashpan doors were closed.

Week late due to assembly, came in box not assembl

Ordered it to be delivered assembled, came in the box!

1 star for assembly/instructions

This grill was clearly designed by people who knew they'd never have to assemble it. From the instructions for the sidebox which were flat out wrong and cardboard trapped inside that can't be removed, to a handle bar being slightly too long, to the brackets for the front shelf that's unnecessarily difficult to get the bolts into, to the instructions for the side shelf that say to use a certain bolt then having another pic right next to it instructing to put different bolts in the same exact spot...

Sensor don’t work

Always shows “open” error -and can’t use

Don't buy

Yes you go a Yes you can go a long time without adding charcoal, it do not get enough smoke. lf you add your favorite wood to the chamber it get too hot and hard to control the temperature. I loved char- grilled smoker, but having to deal with their customers service suck. I had a problem on grill day and had to cook my food in the oven. No matter how hard I try they would only communicate through emails to troubleshoot then I had to send pictures and follow through their email instructions ...