I went to pick up a Performer from a guy last night. While I am there he
mentions he hates to sell it, but doesnt use it anymore. He has a pellet grill
and a new Masterbuilt. Sure enough, he did. I asked to see it, and spent a
minute looking it over. Just as I feared, it is primarily made of thin gauge,
lower quality metal like you would find on Char-Griller, or Char-Broil. But that's
what you are going to get in that price range. He said he had got it around
Xmas and has used it about 20 times already. He said it costs more to run
than the pellet grill, but didn't say by how much. But he raved about the flavor.
Great charcoal flavor. However, I noticed his selection of pellets, and they were
all fruit flavors. I mention Lumberjack Char-Hickory, of which he had never heard of.
He was not a fan of the thin gauge metal either, but pointed to his 5 year old
Camp Chef of the same quality that was still in perfect condition. He keeps all of
his grills inside year round, just as I do, and said he was not worried about either
of them rusting. I agreed. GRILLS OF THIS QUALITY MUST BE KEPT INDOORS.
I would like to take a closer inspection, particularly of the lower section, to see
the quality of materials and construction. My fear at this point is how they will
hold up overtime to the higher heat these grills produce vs a pellet grill.
I may very well end up owning one of these by years end. At $497 delivered
to your front door from Amazon, it just seems like to good of a deal to pass up.