[Yeller]

Saw these in Lowes I think.. Had an CG offset..it was ok sealed rather poorly always had to make mods. The egg style cooker looked solid around. Struggle to do pizza on my Weber 22

[Bob Smith]

Save your money on that Char Griller Akorn, get a BGE or a Primo. head out to Egg in the Desert on the 17th at BBQ Island and see 20 plus BGE going at one time. That's what we did last year. We were lucky enough to get a demo that was available, now I have 2 large and a small. This time we are getting an extra-large. If we are good and or lucky enough, maybe another large. 

[Queen Creek BBQ]

Save your money on that Char Griller Akorn, get a BGE or a Primo. head out to Egg in the Desert on the 17th at BBQ Island and see 20 plus BGE going at one time. That's what we did last year. We were lucky enough to get a demo that was available, now I have 2 large and a small. This time we are getting an extra-large. If we are good and or lucky enough, maybe another large. 

not sure why Bob says that. I've been hearing nothing but great stuff about the Chargriller Kamado.

Keep in mind its $299 and not $799 so it's not exactly a BGE but it's a lot lighter from what I hear and is practical to also take camping. They are carrying them at Frys Grocery stores now I hear. Thinkin about pulling the trigger on one myself.

[SmoknAZ]

Bought one this week and have no complaints about quality. Not a BGE or Kamado but to see if I like this style of cooker the money was right. Cooked a pizza last night at 500 and held the temp well. Before cooking the pizza I seasoned the grate at 400 and once it was set it stayed right there. Probably going to try baby backs tomorrow. I have heard that low is tough to achieve without tightening up the ash pan / lower vent due to some air leaks. Right now for the money love it. If you go to the egg head site some BGE owners are saying it looks like a great deal. Then you have the others that won't even look at it since it isn't a BGE  .

[Mark]

And for years I wouldn't look at a BGE because it wasn't a Kamado. Folks tend to get clannish about their brand of cookers.

[SmoknAZ]

And for years I wouldn't look at a BGE because it wasn't a Kamado. Folks tend to get clannish about their brand of cookers.

Correct Mark it is a Ford / Chevy thing. I just happened to buy the Yugo! I do think that I will enjoy this style cooker and then maybe I will step up to another brand. Just don't see a reason to drop a ton of money on something that I may not figure out or enjoy. I am pissed I didn't buy that red Kamado that was on Craigslis a year or two ago. One of the guys on here bought it if I remember correctly. That was a steal!

[Mark]

Yep. Dick Lee, aka Mr. Smoker scooped it up. It was a heckuva deal and a real beauty.

I must admit I'm a little gun-shy of a red Kamado. I cooked on one at a Kamado Kook-Off in Sacramento. The color attracted throngs of people who wanted to get a look at it inside and out. I thought I was never gonna get my food cooked in time! Luckily, it all worked out and I ended up winning the big Kamado you see in my picture.

[mustang]

Here's a series of narrated video reviews about the Chargriller Akorn ($299) including initial set-up, easy modifications, and several cooks (low temp cooks as well as grilling steaks).

http://www.kamadoguru.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=28

[SmoknAZ]

Cooked some baby backs this weekend and the Akorn held at 250 no problem all day long. I will probably do a couple of more low heat cooks before I try any of the mods to the lower vent. I do have a difuser in it. Used a 14 inch cast iron pizza pan set on top of the charcoal grate of a 22.5 weber. The weber grate fits right where chargriller has mounts for their difuser.

[Yeller]

Steve~ Keep up posted on the cooks..I like these for pizza more than anything, but nice to have extra smoke for comps..good link above as well TY

[AZHIGH]

Not big fan of the Chargriller, poor construction, they do not last as long as a Kamado style ceramic grill.  They even will blow over a strong wind.  Many people have them and like them, there is a huge price difference but in the long run not worth it.

[AZHIGH]

My non "spendy" wife would not let me get a Chargriller.  She took me to the Green Egg store.  We spent almost 4 times the money but, the BGE will be a lifelong grill/smoker.  She pointed out the faults of the Chargriller, not balanced well etc.  The store even said they had to pick it up off the floor several times as it blew over outside.  I really liked it, she did not.  I do see her points.  I think it is great for someone that wants to test the waters in this type of cooker.  I would have regretted spending $300 on something I would replace with an Egg.  No regrets.  I bought $50 Brinkmans for years, worked great, just had to replace them all the time and each cook I would use at least 20lbs of Charcoal.  The Egg uses 2 lbs for 27 hours.  I now have a thermometer that costs as much as 2 Brinkmans HA!  Just grill, experiment and have fun!  You can cook great stuff no matter what the brand of grill.

[Yeller]

These slippery BBQ sales people need to stop the exaggeration of the Char Grillers Komados blowing over in the breeze, it's a line of BS.. There is no comparison of a ceramic cooker to a steel cooker, not sure why they keep doing this but it must be embarrassing. 

[AZHIGH]

These slippery BBQ sales people need to stop the exaggeration of the Char Grillers Komados blowing over in the breeze, it's a line of BS.. There is no comparison of a ceramic cooker to a steel cooker, not sure why they keep doing this but it must be embarrassing. 

Actually Ace Hardware that sells the Chargrillers told me they blow over.  The wheels are a bit shaky.

[Fat Frankie]

I have had a Chargriller for over 2 years, great for pizza and high temp cooks, I did not have great success on low temp cooks but I have many other smokers that serve that purpose. Mine sits outside covered when not in use and has never and will never blow over, I modified a ceramic pizza pan for a difuser and it works great, for those that do not want the expense of a BGE this is a good choice.