Update on my Char Griller 980 gravity fed grill
Now that I’ve had my Char Griller 980 for a little while and I’ve done multiple cooks I thought I would do a thread giving my thoughts on the pros and cons. Kind of felt like I hijacked the other thread, my apologies for that.
Things I like:
*The convenience of set it and forget it, I have found this to be very convenient and works well.
*I really like charcoal or lump flavor versus gas or pellets.
*I like being able to put wood in the ashtray or in the hopper with the fuel, makes it convenient and also better control of how much smoke at a precise time.
*I like Having a choice of having smoke or not having smoke.
* I like how versatile it is being able to make many different things from low and slow cooks,(ribs, Pork butts, brisket) to medium heat (hamburgers and such), to high heat for searing.
* Even heat, this is the best grill I ever had for her even heat. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best I’ve had, and I’ve had quite a few.
*Main cooking grate is very large. Even though the master built has a 1050 versus this 980, it is divided among three grates, people I know that have one say the bottom grate gets too hot. The grate on the 980 is well spaced from the heat deflector and does not get too hot, it is all very usable. I really think it’s a better design.
* The supplied grill cover is very good quality
Things that could be improved:
*The read out on the digital temperature is meant to give a average from the center of the cooking chamber. I don’t know why they did this, and it consistently reads higher than the actual temp. The grill comes with two ports for probes, so I simply use one probe to monitor internal grill temperature and the other to monitor internal temperature of the food. It’s not really a big deal because it maintains temperature well, it’s just a matter of getting to learn your grill. You can monitor both programs from your app on your phone.
* The Wi-Fi, it’s only good on your local home network, you cannot control it away from your network. I have no idea why they would do this, that is old-school technology. Maybe they will correct it. Again it’s not a big deal to me, but it’s such basic technology it’s kind of ridiculous they did not utilize it.
* The grates are porcelain coated, I prefer cast-iron grates. Cast-iron grates retain heat better and produce better grill marks.
*There are two ports for probes, but they only give you one probe, why I don’t know. But I had to spend 10 bucks for a second probe- again no big deal but no idea why they don’t send 2 probes when they have two ports.
For the gravity fed grills, I’ve done a lot of YouTube and reading reviews and I’m pretty well convinced this is the best gravity fed grill on the market to date. It’s also $200 cheaper than its main competitor, the master built 1050, although I think they both do a fine job.
I have no regrets, very happy with my grill, seems to be built very and so far all the food I cooked turned out very good. I probably forgot something but hope this is good info to somebody considering one.
