Napoleon PRO605CSS Professional Charcoal Grill, Stainless Steel

Our old reliable Landmann Bravo smoker finally gave way so we wanted another charcoal outfit but in stainless steel. Every search led us back to this pro series. It came in the box with the entire head unit already assembled which made it easy to put together. Make no mistake, it's HEAVY. This is the most solid construction on any grill I have purchased. The coal trays and ash tray are heavy steel, not that flimsy metal you know will need replaced in a year. The cooking grates are top notch quality. It gets hot! I put the same amount of coals as my old unit but get remarkable temp output. Did some 16oz ribeyes that were perfectly charred on the outside but melt in your mouth in the middle. I reached 700 degrees at one point! The overall appearance of this unit is impressive as well. We set it up as a stand alone unit for now. Eventually this will be integrated into our outdoor kitchen. This grill is not for beginners. Our best purchase yet!

Napoleon tries to compete with Weber but it turns out it's a tier B company.Grill design is weak. Charcoal fell off from main trays onto the grill's main compartment creating a big fire.I burnt myself and the grill is now unusable. Napoleon wants nothing to do with it. This is unacceptable!Buy a real brand!

This is an awesome grill very well built in spite of the hefty price tag after buying one using it, I felt it’s worth the money due to the longer warranty It came with. it compared to other charcoal grill that burn out in a couple years. My grandkids will probably inherit this due to the heavy metal construction that it’s made from, very impressed and highly recommended it

I purchased this Napoleon Grill a few months ago, but thought I would work with it for a while before reviewing it. About me: I don't hold myself out to be an expert or a “grillmaster,” but I am experienced. I grill and smoke meat and fish a lot – like four or five times a week almost year round (we live in Southern California). This barbecue replaced a similar sized BarBChef grill that I purchased ten or so years ago from the old Barbecues Galore for around $600. I loved my old grill, but they don't make them anymore and the fire pan was finally burning through. It was clear a replacement was in order.Quality of Construction and the Joy of Putting the Napoleon Grill Together: Putting the stand together and seating the grill on top was more of a headache than I expected, and I did have some problems with putting some of the screws into the pre-threaded sheet metal (I had to drill out one pre-threaded hole and replace the sheet metal screw with a small nut and bolt)., However after an afternoon of struggle I finally got it together and the completed unit is very solid. The main reason I opted for this particular grill were the reviews indicating that internal mechanics for raising and lowering the charcoal were strong and solid. They are, and in that regard are unlike the “premium” charcoal grills you find at Home Depot and Lowes, which have internal workings that feel flimsy and destined to fail in a year or two.Customer Service: The hood thermometer was dead on arrival – didn't work at all – so I called Napoleon customer service. They were very courteous and responsive and had a new one shipped to me within a week, no questions asked -- except, they wanted the serial number and where I bought it. So hang onto the label on the big shipping box. That's the only place the serial number is.Stainless Steel Versus Matte Black: I purchased this grill despite the fact it was stainless steel, not because it's stainless steel. The disadvantage of stainless steel that I perceived going in – the need to keep it very clean if you don't want it to look unappetizingly awful – is real. You have to clean it frequently to keep it from looking filthy. Matte black, on the other hand, hides a multitude of sins. However stainless steel has another disadvantage that caught me completely by surprise. It is sizzling hot to the touch and will inflict endless little burns if you are not very careful. I used my matte black BarBChef grill for many years and don't recall a single burn. It just wasn't that hot to the touch. For the first couple of months using this grill, I burned myself a couple of times a week. I'm getting better at avoiding burns, but doing so requires being almost constantly gloved, which is a pain in the neck. This is not a deal breaker for me – I'm still happy with my purchase given the alternatives I saw – but I thought the surprising “burn factor” worth noting.The Grilling Experience - Pros and Cons:The Pros:1. The elegantly curved cast iron grilling surface is as good as the manufacturer says it is – much better than the heavier cast iron grill surface on my old grill. More heat gets to the food, and its easier to clean.2. I can't say why, but it seems to me that this grill does a better job cooking with the hood down than my old grill. The food seems to cook faster and more evenly.3. This setting that raises and lowers the charcoal, at its highest setting, gets the fuel closer to the food than any grill I've seen. This is great for steaks.4. The hood thermometer is easy to read and functional. You actually get useful information from it.5. The mechanism for raising and lowering the charcoal, which involves moving a handle and seating it in any one of several pre-cut notches, is very easy to use – much faster and easier than the crank I am used to (however see the “Con” below on this same subject).The Cons:1. The little door in front for adding charcoal while you are grilling is too small – apparently for no reason other than “styling” -- and does not fully open. This is an especially serious problem when using the grill as a smoker, for a couple of reasons. First, given the burn issue described above, you do not dare try to put in new charcoal bare handed, but it's too small to accommodate a mitt (I use a standard Weber mitt), so I have to have a separate glove, which is not insulated, to do this. Second, once I'm properly gloved up and in, its still too small to properly stir the new charcoal in with the old.2. The mechanism for raising and lowering the charcoal does not allow for fine (or even not so fine) adjustments; the settings are pretty far apart. I miss a crank's ability to get the exact distance between grill and charcoal I want. That said, I have adjusted for this problem by periodically, and easily, toggling between two settings that bracket my ideal height, and have not noted any problems with the quality of the result.3. The air holes in the charcoal cradle are too small and too few to allow accumulating ashes to fall through easily, even when stirred Again, this is a problem when using the grill as a smoker, as the ashes build up and retard the fire.4. The ash catch tray is oddly small and awkward to get to and empty while you are grilling. It's inside the cabinet and has to be pulled completely out to access properly. I'm used to a big tray that I can pull part way out and empty on the fly.5. In my yard the grill is situated on a slight slant, but its basically impossible to set the wheel brakes, or even to put some kind of block against the wheels to ensure against rolling. The wheels are seemingly “protected” by various parts of the steel cabinet from any such interference.The Neutral: I have not used the removable rotisserie grill in the hood and have no comment on it, except to say that it looks like it would be difficult to clean.Overall: Minor complaints aside, this is a great barbecue for standard grilling. I would purchase it again. For use as a smoker, I find it overly difficult to use and generally inadequate. In fairness to the manufacturer, I don't think they market it as a smoker, but it's frustrating to think that a few minor modifications would fix the problems I experienced. I guess I'm going to have to buy a dedicated smoker too.

Now that I've had a chance to use this grill quite a bit, I can't honestly give it a good rating. Without a lot of modifications there is no way to stop or shut down the fire so all your coals don't burn off. I will use 3 times the amount of charcoal because of this. Normally you light the fire and then place the grade on because it has outside handles, not with these grates and fit tightly in place. You have to wait for the fire to go down. The accessory to do indirect cooking are sloppy and keep falling down. The nice stainless steel warming rack isn't nice after the first grill. It got black from the flame and grease from the food grilling. Don't get me wrong, the grill looks great and has a lot of cooking area, but not worth the $1,000.00.

I've had this grill for about two months now and it's been a mixed experience. First the good. This is a high quality, very nice looking grill. It's solidly constructed, and they don't skimp on the stainless steel. The handle which raises and lowers the charcoal bed is easy to use and secure. The removable ash tray is very convenient when cleaning.Now the bad. My first requirement for a charcoal grill is that when you close the cover and close the vent the airflow should at least decrease enough to stop any flares. Not so with this grill. I can put the cover on, close up the vent control and there's still enough oxygen to support a continuous, roaring fire inside. So I've had to be very careful to avoid flare-ups. I'm looking to see if there's anything that can be done to tighten it up but until then I'd recommend this only with reservations.

I tried many different grills in the last years, but this is really the best one.It`s not cheap, but I think it lasts forever. Most of the Material is stainless steel. It`s easy to assemble and everything fits good together.There are many possibilities to use this grill. But you have to buy the rotisserie set to make it perfect.I like to make chicken or a whole turkey on the rotisserie.