New Chargriller Gravity Fed Grill

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IDK how these things produce smoke that's different from other charcoal/chunk smokers , but they do.

Similar to the KBQ C-60 they should burn pretty hot and thus quite clean. Between the forced air and the firebox liner trapping heat a lot of volatile organic compounds are going to be completely burned.
 
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Another vid from Horsman, but this one has me confused. He's getting a lot of smoke. But he does not say if he put wood in the hopper. He swears by B&B Oak charcoal, but does not say that's what he's using. I don't like seeing that much smoke from just charcoal.

EDIT -- just read in the comments he says he added wood to the hopper

 
I agree. My small issue with it...Its only available in BLUE from Lowe's but MENARD'S carries the Sweet looking RED ones!!!! Not Fair.😆...JJ
 
Side by Side it's hard dispute it. And i so loved my MB560. Now I feel like i'm going to have to have an affair with Char-Griller. Now when I cook on the MB I'll find any reason to start a fight with it. I just have to convince my wife that I need the C-G.
 
I have been talking to Tom since he got the CG. I left a comment as well...JJ
 
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Interesting that CharGriller put the fan on the outside of the hopper, so the air would blow across the firebox and into the cook chamber.

MB has been the fan on inside of hopper, pointed in more upward angle. Air flow goes up and then back into the cook chamber.

The Chargriller , being a longer cook chamber, may need that extra push to get the air through the manifold. And then they put a heat defector/grease drain on top of the manifold. That's a lot of air restriction.

But this guy did an impressive biscuit test with the Chargriller. The biscuit test I ran on the MB 560 was not this even.

 
But this guy did an impressive biscuit test with the Chargriller. The biscuit test I ran on the MB 560 was not this even.
Curious if you have purchased the mod pack from LSS for your 560? I am noticing temp differences of 15-20 degrees within my 1050, with the higher temps being observed closer to the firebox. The temps are consistent so I can deal with it if I need to, but I'd like to even it out. Wondering if the mod pack (specifically the water bowl) help with this at all.
 
Curious if you have purchased the mod pack from LSS for your 560? I am noticing temp differences of 15-20 degrees within my 1050, with the higher temps being observed closer to the firebox. The temps are consistent so I can deal with it if I need to, but I'd like to even it out. Wondering if the mod pack (specifically the water bowl) help with this at all.

No, the only mod I've bought is a new middle grate by Joes Grill Grates.

Temps don't tell the whole story. Do a biscuit test.

On my 560, the hottest part of the lower grate was just to the left of center. I posted pics of my biscuit tests in the MB thread, I did them back in January.
 
I never knew about the biscuit test so I'll give that a shot next. I have only done the burn off and two seasonings so far on the 980 but temps seem to hold really well. I am also using a power pack from Amazon that is getting mixed reviews. So far so good for me.
 
I never knew about the biscuit test so I'll give that a shot next. I have only done the burn off and two seasonings so far on the 980 but temps seem to hold really well. I am also using a power pack from Amazon that is getting mixed reviews. So far so good for me.

That last vid I posted, about four posts up, has a biscuit test on a 980 .

Biscuit test is better than temps. It tells how food cooks, which would include convection. Temps alone don't take convection into account.
 
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Wow.. I just bought a CharGriller 980 on Monday. After doing much reading and research and comparing it to the Masterbuilt 800 and 1050, I pulled the trigger and bought the CG 980. I already have a very much modified PB Austin XL, but I wanted to add a new weapon to my bbqing arsenal. After doing 2 quick mods.. One was adding Stainless Steel plates to the fire bricks in the charcoal hopper for more durability and also installing a more heavy duty Smoker gasket to the charcoal hopper lid and the ash bin door. I did my initial burn-in this evening. In some ways they are similar to pellet grills, in their Set it and Forget ease and the requirement of keeping the Smoker clean.. but in a lot of ways, they are 100% better IMHO…. Set the temp to 250* and in seconds, it’s there… 350* degrees, moments later, it’s there… and guess what else is there?? Smoke. Not billowing TWS, but a nice Flow of Thin blue/white charcoal and hardwood smoke. I did notice that the grill will temp much hotter on the right side, next to the charcoal hopper… but placing a water pan on that side will solve that problem and help evening out the temps from left to right. Temp swings…. Go from 250* degrees to 350*, and it’ll over shoot to 370* degrees and then settle on down to 350* and stay there within 5* degrees plus or minus. I timed mines for about an hour at 350* and the temp didn’t budge. I see a few things that they cut corners on.. The power/electrical cord could have and should have been more durable and rugged. Also, the cart wheels could have been more rugged and durable as well. Just my observation. Overall, I like it a lot. If the CG 980 was available 3-4 years ago, I would have bought it in a heartbeat over any pellet grill. That just me… The ease of Set it and Forget it bbqing , with the added benefit of charcoal and hardwood smoke. These new GF grills are going to be the next big thing in bbqing. I paid $500.00 for mine, brand new. That’s for another thread… I plan on doing my first cook on it either Sunday or Monday. I’ll be taking notes as I go along. I’ll post back how it turns out and also how it compares to my modified Pellet Pro Austin XL…
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Char-Griller 980 GF… Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... In SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
 
Just a quick update.. I’m going to do my first cook on the CG 980 tomorrow. To much stuff going on today…. Here’s a couple of pics of the Mods I’ve done so far..
1. Stainless steel plates on the Fire Bricks in the Charcoal Hopper.
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  1. The Smoker Gasket on the Hopper lid.
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  1. And a lid thermometer
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I had one laying around, so I threw it on… Also, from what I’ve been reading, the hopper lid switch and the ash bin switch can sometimes overtime get full of ash, grease and smoke… and they won’t register with the controller. A good maintenance is to keep them clean and spray them from time to time with some Electrical Cleaner.
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I’m in no way a Pro with this grill yet.. lol. Just wanted to pass on some helpful tips.

Char-Griller 980 GF… Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... In SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
 
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Sorry, this is going to be long one..
My observation after my first cook on the CG 980. I didn’t have a lot of time, so I did a quicker cook then usual. I did 1 Rack of Spare Ribs, 1 Baby back rack and a Tri tip. The Baby back and the Spare ribs put a Big Happy Smile on my face and so did the Tri tip!! The Smoke in this grill was everywhere in a good way. I put wood chunks in the Charcoal Hopper and the ash bin. Just trying to figure this grill out. This grill gives you the option to add wood to the ash bin, but if you add to much wood to the ash bin and once the wood in the ash bin ignites, it’s going to burn and give off a good dose of TWS which is really what you don’t want. On my next cook, I’ll use less wood in the ash bin and focus it more in the charcoal hopper. I started my grill against what Char-Griller recommends. I used a chimney starter and added charcoal briquettes and 4 hickory hardwood chunks. I wanted the Charcoal and the wood chunks to have complete ignition and be producing TBS and not TWS to season the proteins being bbq’d at the start. I think I’ll continue to start the CG 980 that way in the future as well. FYI. On a side note and I took a lot of them. lol As for using water pans…. Unless your grills temp is all over the place, a water pan is not necessary. A water pan can actually impede your grill from coming up to its actually set temp. One of the nice things about this grill compared to my pellet grill, is that I can raise the temp up, to speed things along and never have to worry about the lack of smoke. My Pellet Pro Austin XL produced good smoke when I used the smoke basket and SD Smoke Generator as well , it just requires a lot more work compared to the CG 980. Also, even though my pellet grill has a PID Controller, it doesn’t have WiFi or Bluetooth, which required it to be watched and monitored a lot more. ie… More work. The CG 980’s is not perfect, but the App does work and it’s range with both the WiFi and Bluetooth connected is about the radius of my house. So, even though I can’t go to work and turn my grill on and monitor it miles away from my home , at least it’s convenient enough to work around the house or while chatting with the neighbors next door. Now comparing the CG 980 GF to my Pellet Pro Austin XL as for smoke production… When using both a Smoke Basket and the SD Smoke Generator, the Austin XL can put out some good quality hardwood smoke, but ideally at super low grill temps because of the auger fan and by its general design. This CG 980 GF can put out some serious charcoal and hardwood smoke from 200* degrees on up to over 350* degrees. With a few more cooks under my belt, hopefully I’ll have the wood chunk ratio figured out to my liking. Overall though, I really like this grill. It’s great for low and slow smoking, it’s temp control compared to my pellet grill is much better and being able to make adjustments via the app, makes bbqing that much more simpler. The one thing I like more from my pellet grill is its Open flame for grilling and searing more so then just being able to set my CG 980 to 700* degrees. I’ll be using both smokers, but my first line of defense is now my CG 980 GF. This thing is worth more then the asking price and I’m happy that I purchased it. Any Pellet Grill buyers on the fence, should definitely give the CG 980 a good long look… Especially if true Hardwood and Charcoal smoke is important to you. Just my honest opinion.

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Char-Griller 980 GF… Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... In SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
 
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Glad you are liking the GF! I have taken to putting a hickory split in the charcoal hopper of my Masterbuilt 1050 vertically. Great consistent smoke any time I'm running. Great on burgers too.

Thanks for the tip about using a wood spilt in the charcoal hopper. I may give that a shot on one of my future cooks.. I just had an idea… For those CG 980 owners that are concerned with the rubber flap burning when adding wood to the ash bin, you can always use a smoke tube in the ash bin and load it up with a mixture of wood chips and pellets. You’ll get at least 3 plus hours of smoke and not have to worry about the flame going out since the smoke tube is being placed in the ash bin. That’s in addition to adding a few hardwood chunks to the charcoal hopper to start a cook.. ie. Equals less time working and more time relaxing while bbqing. .02

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Char-Griller 980 GF… Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... In SoCal and Always... Semper Fi
 
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