Uniflame CBC730W Rectangular charcoal grill Review

I had looked at these grills for a long time, trying to decide if the "bells and whistles" were worth the added expense.  At our local Wal-Mart, they were around $70.  I am a fan of charcoal, and that seemed a little high for a charcoal grill.  But one day I noticed they had a demonstration grill marked way down ($20) because they had let the trimmings on  it get rusty.  So I brought it home.

This grill is designed differently from my old one.  First, there is a rack for the charcoal, just like the rack that the meat lays on.  On the front of the grill is a crank that raises the rack holding charcoal up or down.  On all my others, I had to raise and lower the food if I wanted to adjust the distance.  I love the concept, but that was the first thing to tear up on the grill.  Could it have been because of the exposure to the elements?  I don't know.  I didn't feel too disgruntled yet, because the grill was only $20. 

Under the bottom of the grill is a large ash container with a handle, that just slips in and out of a slot.  The container that the bottom draft adjustment on it.  I do hate scooping ash out of a grill, so I LOVE this feature.  Just scrape the ash into the container (there is at least an 8-inch opening)

 I had read one review that suggested a problem with the bottom vents being on the ash bucket making that 8-inch circle of charcoal hotter than the rest since it got more air.  I have not found that to be true.  The rack holds all of the charcoal up off of the bottom of the grill, and honestly, it all burns hotter than any grill I've ever had.  I have to really watch how much air I allow in at all.  For this reason, I have never yet needed to raise the charcoal up.  I've been able to compensate for that by the air control.  I played McGyver and  was able to rig up a way to make it work if I ever need it. 

This grill has a large cooking surface.  I took out the warming rack and grilled a whole turkey a few weeks back.  I did the job wonderfully, but again, I had to watch the heat.  I'm still getting used to the awesome air access for the charcoal.

 All in all, I would recommend this grill, simply based on the ash pan and charcoal rack.