Char Griller Gravity Fed 980

Char Griller 980 – Have had no issues at all with the 980, it is such a great set and forget smoker with good versatility. All the issues people seem to have, I've avoided, it's been great

Nice when it works, but always has problems – When this smoker is working properly, I enjoy the quality of the meat products I've cooked. Early on though, I kept getting error codes telling me that I had doors open and it wouldn't allow me to continue my cook. So I ordered replacement sensors and installed them. Luckily I found the replacement sensors on Amazon because I've since found out that it's almost impossible to order from Char-Griller.

My latest problem with the 980 was when I couldn't control the temperature at my desired setpoint. I later found out that it is an all too common issue with this smoker that the silicone flap on the fan melts. So I contacted Char-Griller to get another one. After jumping through all the hoops of sending pics of the smoker, serial number, store I purchased it from and so on and so on, I finally said "screw it, I'll just order some replacements from their website". Well it's been six weeks and I still haven't received my order. I've contacted them several times with no response.

So I have a $600-700 smoker that I can't use because of a $3 part. Their customer service or( lack thereof) department won't respond, won't update and has a recording when you try to call them that basically directs you to their website for you to further jump through hoops. This the worst customer service department I've ever dealt with. This will definitely be the last Char-Griller product I ever buy.