When I started thinking about writing about the Expert grill charcoal models I almost changed my mind.
There are three grills in this category I found doing the Expert grill reviews and to be honest the cheapest 17.5-inch I found is a grill I would not recommend. With a price under $20, you can not expect too much.
The 22-inch kettle grill did not get a lot of great reviews and I think that for a kettle grill you should look at the Weber original kettle premium 22″.
“That leaves 2 models that they carry that I think is worth the money.”
Expert Grill Heavy Duty 24-Inch Charcoal Grill
Grill Surface
The grill surface of the grill is 372 square inches and when you use the general rule of 72 square inches per person then this is big enough for 5 people, an average family.
I always suggest keeping a little room to move your meat around and even then you can have about 16 burgers on there at the same time.
It also comes with a 201 square inches warming rack that is chrome plated.
Grill grates
The grates are made of cast iron and that is one of my personal favorites since it retains the heat very well and can make some nice grill marks.
Adjustable charcoal pan
This is a feature you normally only see on higher-priced, and better charcoal grills. You can adjust the height of the plate where the charcoal is sitting and this opens the option for lower or higher the temperature under your meat.
More Features
There are a few more features of the Expert Grill 24-inch charcoal grill that are worth mentioning.
I could not find how many gauges the used metal was but many mentioned that it was pretty sturdy.
The built-in thermometer in the lid is not my favorite and if this was my grill I would add a digital probe thermometer to it.
One other thing I like is the foldable side shelf. The folding makes it easier to store and takes up less room that way.
I am always a fan of an ash catcher in grills. This will make cleaning a lot easier and less messy.
Customer reviews of this Expert charcoal grill
I found 88% 4 and 5-star ratings and to be honest, after doing so many grill reviews, this is a pretty good score.
The few lower ratings are talking about the low quality of the tray you put the charcoal on and that it rusted away after 2 years.
In the 4 and 5-star ratings, there are not a lot of bad things to mention. Some people mention they had a hard time regulating the temperature and it was getting too hot.
With all the air vents, however, I see I can not imagine that it is hard to regulate the temperature.
The adjustable rack for charcoal gets a lot of good mentions. The fact that you can adjust the temperature that way is mentioned several times.
Assembly seems to be just like any other grill. For some people it is hard and others had no problem at all.
My advice is to assemble with two people. This will always make it easier.
Expert Grill 17.5 Inch Charcoal Grill
If you are looking for a cheap grill to get started with grilling this is a nice product. Just don’t expect the same quality as the more known brands in this type of grill.
With its size of 17.5 inches you are able to even use it for indirect grilling and that makes it that you can expand your grilling.
Expert Grill Charcoal – My Opinion
As I mentioned earlier I was not sure if I would write about these Expert grill charcoal grills. But after reading some more about them I thought that they were worth the time
Overall I can only say that they are a nice grill that will if you keep it covered, can be used for a long time.
The charcoal pan seems to be a bit of a problem and I read a few times about rust deterioration that happened too soon.
I can recommend these grills as a nice grill if you are not planning to use them every day and expect them to last forever.
Expert grill modification.
I received an email from Terrence that he noticed that the lid of some models fell back when you opened them. He had a solution for it and maybe someone else can benefit from it.
He just added a piece of a chain on it to keep the lid open and not falling back
Happy Grilling!
Eddie van Aken
Eddie van Aken has years of experience in running his full-service restaurant and with this came working with using and dealing with all types of kitchen equipment. With his experience, he can find all the pros and cons of grills and add them to the grill reviews and the outdoor cooking tips he is writing about. You can read more on the About page for Eddie van Aken
