Bought the ZD floor model tonight. It had some cosmetic issues so I stole it from the manager. Burning it in as I type this. This will be an ongoing review but so far it seems promising. Please keep in mind that this was a floor model so I can't compare it to one out of the box. Also I haven't put my hands on any of the higher model
Camp Chef grills so don't take anything I say as a knock on
Camp Chef.
The lid would not shut properly on the right side. Took about a half an hour tweaking the hinges and bending the lid to get it right. Closes solid now. This is definitely a budget grill lid. The lids on the GMG DB and the Cabelas LG 24" model are much heavier.
The upper rack is included but mine was wobbly. I determined that the right side bracket was not level. I wacked it with a mallet to bend it up and the back side rivet broke. No big deal. They should have been installed with bolts to begin with so I'll source some nuts and bolts and level it then.
The legs on the grill feel pretty sturdy. No issues there. The wheels are the nice synthetic type.
I checked the parts fiches and the ZD has the same grates, auger, motors, fans, etc as the higher level 24" grills.
The ZD only has one temp port and sadly the temp probe is not included. I tried a LG temp probe and it works but is about 50 degrees low. I'm guessing different a resistance level from the CC probe.
During the break-in at 350 the temp probes on my ThermPro were running about 15 degrees hot. I'm sure this will change as this grill had more manufacturing oil than anything I have seen. It was flowing down the insides of the grill. They say new grills run hot anyway and it's not a PID controller. I can live with 15 degrees but I'm hopeful it will get even closer.
The grill does not have a chimney but instead has 12 machined slots on the back. Slots are raised so rain should not easily get in. Wind will probably be more problematic. Positioning it 180 degrees from the wind might actually be better than having a chimney. Who knows.
As you CC guys know the controller has a feed setting and also a startup bypass setting. I can see both being very convenient. I used the feed setting on the initial startup instead of manually priming the hopper.
Just finished the 350 degree burn in and cranked it up to high. I'll report back on how hot it gets at 17 degree outside temp and little to no wind.
