Customer Reviews for Char-Griller Grand Champ Charcoal Grill and Offset Smoker in Black

Very well made and holds temperature well

YOU WILL HAVE THE BEST MEAT AND BE KING OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD ! Get use to your neighbors knocking on your door every time you fire this beast up. This is in a league of its own!!!! Very well built with all the extra mods included. I've owned this smoker/ grill for 9 months and love it. I've had okj longhorn, camp chef & pit boss pellets, drum smokers and Santa Maria style. This may require a bit more work that the pellet ovens but the flavor you get it's unbelievable! The expanded metal slide out grates are AMAZING! You cannot/willnot ever find another with this quality at this price. Only thing I wish is that they were more readily available so more people can experience it's greatness.

My unit is already falling apart The door latch has fallen off at the weld. It is only a month old

The lid was warped and never sealed right

Brought it home and spindle broke that held on wheel. Maybe a 1" lip into my garage. Replaced spindles with steel bolts and run flat tires. Cured the grill at 350° for 2 hrs. Firebox lid leaks alot. Tried adding felt gasket, but is too warped to sit evenly.

I am smoking and grilling every week at least 2-3 times a week even in the winter. I've had other propane smokers and Kamado style grills but this is my first offset smoker. The flavor and results I get from this smoker are incredible. I've smoked everything from Brisket to Pork Shoulder to wild pheasant and this smoker delivers every time. Once you get a system down that works for you it becomes easy. This smoker is not a set and forget type of smoker, so if you are in the market for convenience you may want to go a different route. However if you are in the market for real wood fired flavor that rates like it came from a Texas BBQ restaurant then this is for you. Cannot recommend it enough.

I have had this for just over a week. Been looking at Academy Sports wrangler and Pecos grills. Glad I bought this instead. The grill is substantial. Those other grills had quality control issues. This also had everything I wanted to get to improve it, like door seals a gauge a baffle plate to name a few. Very happy with my decision.

Could be better for $500+. Heavy Duty, weighs 250lbs Few shortcomings are. Paint on the firebox comes off immediately. Felt gaskets started ripping and sticking right out of the box and then burnt off when I started the smoker. Thermometer has is foggy.

The firebox door hinge weld cracked and came apart after about five months of use.

The Char Griller Grand Champ was everything I wanted in a grill! I bought it this summer. The slide in and out racks and the coal catching removable tray are my favorite features. I cooked 3 slabs of ribs, about 5 pounds of rib tips, and 10 pounds of chicken wings all at once. (Same meats over meat.) I thawed out more meat to receive the utmost experience. Hot dogs, franks, etc. I was done cooking in half the time it would have taken on my Weber. I let it cook slow, at about 150-250. If I had to make a request, it would be to place a grate for cooking on the firebox side. Keep the coal box for smoking too! Thank you for a great grill!

I was very excited to find more of a heavy duty offset smoker with a value price attached to it. I ordered online from HD and it came to me delivered the next day (all assembled and while nice I would have preferred it to me not assembled since I was relocating it to my lake cottage and I was not informed it would come that way). The gauge of steel is nice and heavy. The design is well thought out with the chimney placement lower than other units (which is the way it s/b), the grill racks are nice, firebox is a nice touch and the wheels are a good size for moving the unit. I have used 3 times and was happy with the results. Now I will share the shortcomings of my unit (note: if these things were not an issue I would have given it 5 stars but simple things like this are preventable) 1) Note the cooking area that is advertised is only if you use the offset side as a grill, which is fine, but they don't give you the grill rack that would result in the cooking area (firebox instead) so that is a bit misleading [I confirmed with customer service at CG]. 2) After the first use the paint on the offset box peeled plus once I used and then disassembled to put in the truck to relocate I noticed the offset box had slightly warped. The lid on the offset box is also askew (see pic) so it doesn't close as well as it is designed to. 3) Because I disassembled and read the instructions to reassemble I noticed that apparently when they assembled at HD the person decided not to use ONE single lock washer of the 32 that were listed in the parts section. (Maybe aisle 17 needed thick black washers so they took mine). In summary, I would have really liked it if it simply came as advertised but the defects were avoidable and if I can maybe just replace the offset box then the unit would be five stars. Hopefully this was just bad luck and the other units are fine.

The grill is great ! Very pleased with this grill. Well worth the investment.

Very sturdy and well built. The heat tape used could be better quality but overall very nice smoker. Owned a bbq restaurant for years and the only smoker I found in this price range to compare to my shop built smoker me and my welder friend made back in Texas.

Very well constructed, nice and heavy, and Easy to assemble and worth the money, I have the cover also this grill should last for a very long time.

I bought this grill for smokin mainly but will use it for grilling too. Assembled it myself without any problems. Thought the directions were easy to follow. The only thing I'm experiencing is some smoke leak at the fire box and grill lid. Easy fix. Still smoked some ribs and a pork roast though. Lump charcoal and apple chunks. Turned out excellent and tasty. Can't wait to dive farther into other meats.

Easy to put together, great to smoke and grill! Built to last a long time!

I made my grandchamp the best without even using tuner plates You do not need tuner plates I get exact heat on both ends of the cooking grate My grand champ is twice the smoker is the Brazos and Pecos

I will probably use this grill 50/50 for smoking and grilling. I love to smoke, so that is what I've been doing lately. Ribs, salmon, chix wings, turkey, it's all good. I didn't start using lump charcoal until I got the Grand Champ XD. Now I'm using lump, hardwood sticks, and occasionally briquettes. I've gotten into using more flavored wood also like apple, cherry, and pecan.

I have owned a Char Griller Smokin Pro for 16 years & was ready for an upgrade. I was initially discouraged by the available choices in the $500 - $1000 dollar range until I found the Grand Champ XD. Char Griller knocked it outta the park with this grill! Very solid construction and well thought out design. Nice thick steel, large cooking space, huge smoke stack, heat deflecting damper between smoker box & main cooking chamber. The unit is well sealed & holds temp very well. Small adjustments on the dampers give very precise control over fire, temp & smoke. This is a beast of a grill that will give me many years of amazing outdoor cooking. Assembly had a few tricky spots - many YouTube videos available that are helpful. If you are shopping for your next smoker under $1000, the Grand Champ XD is the clear choice.

Product delivered on pallet and as described, was packed well and included everything listed. Smoker performed great and I am overall very happy with it. Only thing I did was add some additional gasket material to the lid where there was a slight gap.

I've had this smoker for about 1 month now and I can't stop using it. Char-griller did an amazing job with this smoker. They cover everything anyone would want in an offset smoker. It holds temp very well; no leaks. The grill capacity is huge for a smoker in this price range. Assembly was simple; I did it by myself in about an hour to an hour and a half.

I've been looking into replacing my old offset smoker. I was speaking with a custom builder and seeing a $1500 price tag. This Grand Champ has all the features I have been looking for but at a price tag $1000 less. Thanks for building this at a price point most advanced pitmasters and beginners would gladly pay.

I am extremely impressed with the construction and design of the Grand Champ XD! Held heat extremely well, and the slide out shelves make things much easier! Would definitely buy again!

After reading various reviews and watching as many YouTube videos as possible, I decided to go with the Grand Champ XD...and am I glad I did! It heats up and holds temps remarkably well, it resists wild temperature swings when adding sticks—makes holding steady temps almost easy! The big exhaust stack creates good draft, all of the components are much more robust than in any other Char Griller unit (I got my start on a lesser Char Griller); I can’t speak highly enough of this smoker. And to think, I was looking at a smoker that was twice the price of this fantastic cooker. If you enjoy the art of offset smoking, GET THIS SMOKER!!

Very great quality, perfect for ppl who really enjoys barbecuing like my self.

did my first smoke yesterday pork butt / pulled pork 8 hours potatoes and vegetable sides cast iron peach cobbler used hardwood coal and apple wood logs lots of room in the fire box easy to control central temperature, needed to learn the hot areas, not hard great buy!!!

Bought the floor model because I couldn't find one from Maine to Florida. I spent to much money on bags of firewood I made an emergency call to a local firewood business for a cord of maple oak or hickory. I got a mix of all three. It took a week but $200 later and we're back in business. I bought 2 more temp gauges, some lump charcoal, a new charcoal chimney and a heat resistant glove.

After spending several months reviewing the various offset smokers in this price range, I pulled the trigger on the Char Griller Grand Champ XD. This smoker has exceeded my expectations across the board. The build quality when compared to other comparable offsets is superior. Thicker firebox makes a big difference in fuel efficiency. Same with the smoke chamber. I love the pull out racks and the side door on the firebox adds some versatility to controlling temp and convection flow. Not to mention makes it super easy to clean the ash My only complaint would be the shelf on the front is manufactured with holes across the entire surface. While I sort of appreciate the aesthetic, it makes it a pain to keep cleaned of grease etc from sliding out the racks. A solid shelf there would be a welcome improvement. It's not enough to reduce any stars from this extremely happy Pitmaster. This smoker is hands down the Grand Champ!

The Grand Champ is an incredible offset that won't break the bank!! 12 gauge steel makes it very sturdy and durable. The gaskets hold smoke well right out of the box!!

The new XD is a absolute beast and has some awesome features. It’s made solid with xtra duty steel, cool expandable cooking grates, has a smoke shield to deflect the the smoke coming from the side firebox, has a nice draining valve for easy cleaning, perfectly fit charcoal basket in the side firebox and love the easy dump ash pans. Smokes efficient, effective and has a large amount of cooking space. Holds temp nicely without burning to much fuel and no has leaks. The large smoke stack and large door on the side firebox are also nice and also like the gasket seals that were put inside the smoke stack, lids and doors. It’s also easy to move even though it’s a big solid Pit. I’ve been moving it around my yard through the snow with no issues. The XD also looks absolutely amazing. Really enjoying this grill/smoker and looking forward to many cooks and highly recommend it. It’s awesome! Great work Char-Griller!!!!!