Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Love this grill. Having said that, I have by no means mastered it. This ain't your daddy's grill (throw-back to the Oldsmobile commercial if you're old enough to appreciate it). I'm thinking I may do a video to help people transition from a conventional grill to the Acorn. In a nutshell (pun intended) here is the primary difference between this and the grill you used before: 1) This grill is extremely well insulated. As a matter of DEMONSTRATION ONLY - when it's 425 degrees inside, I can put my hand on top of the grill without injury. Oh, it gets warm, but I can leave my old callous hands on it for some time before they feel like I'm going to get burned. (NOTE: the very top, the seam where the top half of the grill and the bottom meet and the bottom in general all get hot like a conventional grill and will burn you quickly.) 2) As a result of this great insulation there are two bi-products: a) you have to sneak up on the temperature that you want. After lighting the grill, if you blow through 225 degrees it will not be quick or easy to get the temperature back down to 225. Period. It can be done, but patience is required. b) This means the grill will carry its heat a long time. You can achieve very long cooks at 225 degree if that is what you want. In summary: you can use this grill like a conventional, get it hot and cook it fast, type grill or you can use it to slow cook your meal. For slow cooks patience is the first ingredient, followed by lump charcoal and a Rutland fire starter square. Be patient as you wait for the desired temp to be achieved. When you need to make adjustments, do so in small increments and then patiently wait (10 minutes) to note the affect on your temp. Did I mention that you need to exercise patience? Thank you for patiently reading this and hopefully it helps you in some small way appreciate your new grill. Edit 10/13/2016 - I continue to really enjoy the grill and thought I'd pass along a couple of other tips that have worked well for me. 1) When you want to cook "fast" like burgers perhaps, conventional, small charcoal seems to work well. Examples: For a quick burger or two, just use small charcoal chunks instead of large, LUMP charcoal. I just use the dregs from my lump charcoal bag, but I'm pretty sure conventional briquettes would work just as well. For lots of burgers, use a combination of small and lump charcoal to keep your heat going strong for a longer amount of time. 2) Don't forget to clean the bottom trap out. It's easy to overlook this chore and it really has an affect on how well the air can move through the unit.