Any of Yall run a Char Griller Acorn ?

Okay, bought a new fridge and it had a dent in it, got a 330 credit from Lowes and got an Acorn. Been wanting to go Komodo for awhile and get rid of my pellet grill / bbg grill / Smoker, and go all in on one system and have a griddle on the side. Wanted to start cheap and if I like it work my way up to a BGE or a Komodo Joe.

Got it assembled and it is a fine little grill. What about break in ? Not much of an instruction reader but I know a lot of em recommend getting it around 250 or so for the paint to cure. Gonna season the grates, etc. But am I missing anything ?

Also, is there any advice on how much coal to use, what brand, chips, etc. Going to smoke my first boston butt and ribs on it this weekend and any advice is welcome.

any brand lump coal is good. what I have found is you get what you pay for. The BGE lump coal and the kamado big block are two of the better, longer lasting ones I have used. Just don't get the grill to extreme temps quickly on your first cook and you should be able to avoid any cracking.

is this ceramic or steel?

I have used one for 4 years now. For seasoning I would spray with Pam on all inner surfaces and cook at 350 for a few hours. Any lump will work. I would HIGHLY recommend “smoking” without meat as a test run to get used to temp control. It’ll get out of hand quick. For a long smoke, I normally get a handful of charcoal going in the chimney, then dump it out and add about a chimney and a half or two on top and let it get to temp. Remember, you’ll have leftover charcoal when to close the dampers to shut it off. You don’t have to get it exact, and too much is better than not enough.

Steel exterior. But thick and probably insulated inside. Thick walls.

It’s a great grill, especially for the money. If you use liquid marinades with high salt content, wipe the inside down fairly often or it will rust the bottom out. (<—— ask me how I know 🥸)

First cook

Nuked the ribs beyond eating. Too much coal, vents need to be just nearly shut to avoid high temps.

I'm gettin there

Lol see my recommendation above on doing a test cook to get the temps right.

I did run it empty the day before and thought I had the flow right but wow did I miss it on the second go around. But when I threw in the ribs my game plan went south bigly. Walked in for 30 minutes and boom it was at 350 in no time.

We had an Acorn at our camp and I run a primo at home. I always found that the Acorn temps can ramp up really really fast and it was harder to cool off than any ceramic I have used.
I learned to make sure and start slow with the temps.