This does exactly what it's intended to do. It's very small so that it's also portable (i.e. tailgating), but it has enough space to gill around 5-6 burgers at a time. There isn't anything fancy or advanced about this, and therefore there aren't any convenient gadgets like a thermometer, either. If you want something with bells and whistles, you'll obviously have to pay more and get a different version. But for the price, this grill is of good quality, very easy to assemble, simple to use, and a breeze to clean.This was my first time using a charcoal grill, as I no longer live near my parents - who always did the grilling! :) I am an accident-prone person, so I googled and youtube video'd many "how to" articles and videos. I'll summarize for you below. I recommend this grill to anyone who is a beginner, if you grill for yourself and a few others, and for tailgating. Basic grill for basic needs.If you're looking for some pointers, I hope that this can help! Making sure that the damper (vent) below is open, just add around 15 briquettes in a pyramid-like structure to the lower grate. Pour some lighter fluid over it (and go light-handed... you don't need to douse them...I swirled for around 3 seconds), and light with a match on two to three sides. There are varying instructions on how long to wait after adding lighter fluid before lighting it - but many professionals have claimed to light it immediately so that the briquettes don't absorb the fluid and subsequently take longer to burn off (and can possibly affect the taste of your food). It doesn't flame up quickly or anything. It slowly catches fire. Once the flames build up a bit, it'll then begin to slowly die down. It took me around 30 minutes for the briquettes to turn gray (that's when you know it's ready to go ahead and put the top grate on and start grilling). It's essential that you wait until all briquettes are gray. Using tongs, spread the briquettes around to one layer. If you want to have two areas of heat, put more briquettes on one side and leave the other side with none or less. The area with more briquettes will have higher heat. Once you're done grilling, using tongs and heat resistant gloves, close the bottom damper. Put the lid on and close that damper as well. Mine was completely cool the next morning, and then I opened the dampers and poured the ashes and leftover charcoal to a bag to discard. A great trick I read for cleaning the grate real quick, is to ball up some aluminum foil and rub over the grate. I then washed the grate to remove the grease. Done! Next time, I'll use the chimney starter instead of the lighter fluid method - since I now know what to expect in how charcoal reacts.