Kamado Joe Fire Starters - 24-Piece Box - KJ-FS

After a lot of online research, watching video reviews and reading forum posts on this model, and having wanted to go back to charcoal as a fuel source for awhile, when a critical part broke in my 21 year old gas grill and I couldn't replace the part, it was time, and I chose this one. I had been wanting to get into the smoking game, but couldn't really justify the space on my deck for yet another cooking apparatus, so this being a combo grill and smoker that runs on lump charcoal really sold me. Having used this 1050 now a couple of times, it did not disappoint on either cook, and has completely met my expectations. It holds the temperature much more evenly than I originally thought it would, too. I had no issues installing and configuring the app, updating the 1050's firmware upon initial connection to the grill went smoothly, and using the app during a cook went just fine as well - no hiccups to report. The hopper is easy to manage, both loading and cleaning, and I love how easily it is to mix in chunks of various woods with the lump charcoal. It is a heavy unit, but maneuvers easily enough on the deck. Delivery was made by Estes due to the size and weight, but went very smoothly overall, in that my order just "showed up" on the upper part of my driveway one morning with no interaction required from me other than to receive the delivery notification. Assembly does take 2 people at various steps, but I did most (~85%) of the assembly myself and that all went very smoothly as well. Overall I am very happy with the purchase and the experience in using it so far!

Masterbuilt has done it again, another amazing product to add to our arensal. The AutoIgnite Series 545 Digital Charcoal Grill & Smoker is a new product similar to their Gravity Series Smokers, but a litte more compact and with a ton of new features. We got to demo the product this past weekend and heres our initial feedback; 1. The look is sharp and really sits nicely on our patio, especially lined up next to our Gravity 800 and 1050. 2. The layout of the smoker is great. Not too overly complicated but has exactly what you need to cook an array of foods and proteins. The placement of the controller, hopper, probe ports, ash catch & fire starter box always make for a grill/.smoker that exceedes expectations on the conveneince scale. 3. The user function of the smoker is second to none. Being a Gravity Series owner for several years now, you cant go wrong with a charcoal grill that feeds & stokes the fire itself. On top of that, they added an auto-ignition??? Only thing this grill/smoker is missing is a pitmaster to cook your food for you. Just power on the grill, set your desired temp, press the ignite button and then load your charcoal & fire starter and within a couple minutes your up to temp. 4. The temperature range is also phenomenal for a charcoal grill. We just did a Tomahawk Ribeye steak with the reverse sear method. We let the cooker go at 250F for about an hour, pulled our steak and then cranked it up to 650F which took under 60 seconds. We were able to finish it off on the cast-iron plate which well talk about next. 5. Extra features such as the cast iron fire box lid is just such a clever idea. The hot charcoal stoking below makes for a very hot surface area on that cast-iron, allowing you the option to also get a heavy sear on your meat, or vegetables if you prefer. Normally when reverse searing we need to bring out the cast-iron pan, not anymore!. 6. Extra storage space is always a plus for BBQ season, so were not cluttering our homes with what we need to cook. Its also a pain when you nee to constantly run inside to grab that one thing you forgot. WIth the Auto-Ignite Series, there is a magnetic hold on the front door with plenty of room to store your fire starters, lighters, charcoal, appron, accessoriers... you name it. 7. Last but not least is flavor. A smoker can look great and be easy to use, but none of it matters if its not producing good meat. The Autoignite does not disappoint to say the least. After a quick seasoning session, this cooker produces amazing traditional charcoal flavors any BBQ fan loves. Masterbuilt gave me this cooker in return for an honest review, and i wish i had something bad to say or a down-side, but there really is nothing i did not love about our first few cooks on this thing. Highly recommended for anyone new or experienced, to add to your line-up!

2 users found this review helpful

I bought it a month ago and would like to receive it so I can give it a review

1 user found this review unhelpful

We got the new Auto Ignite grill from Masterbuilt in return for our thoughts on the grill. First off, we have owned several of the Masterbuilt Gravity Series grills and are BBQ pit master experts so we have cooked on just about everything. With that being said, I would be hard pressed to find another value on the market that even competes with the Auto Ignite. Couple things here: its a well built grill, it cooks really well for the size, smokes at 250 and holds a consistent temp, sears at 650 including the sear plate on top of the hopper that is my favorite feature BY FAR, no other grill has this type of unique cooking capabilities, you can also do other cooking methods from baking to just grilling so its versatile, the hopper holds about 2/3 of a Kingsford bag and was able to smoke over night. FINALLY, the auto ignite feature is really cool, took a minute to get used to compared to the Gravity Series but after 2 cooks or so it makes the lighting process so much easier!! If you are an everyday grilled, gas griller, pellet griller or even an old school stick pit guy you can't beat the value for the size especially for a compact size on a back porch. You get the same convenience of gas but charcoal and its digital and connects to my phone.

I would not purchase again, the warranty is so inadequate., The website for parts is not user-friendly, and I've already bought five replacement pieces in less than one year of use! I am back again, trying to purchase the entire control unit. Was working just fine, then would not turn on, and here I am putting more money into this poorly built product, obviously not built by a master.

I bought this cover a year ago and there is no way it is what is says mine has faded fallen apart and it is awful not waterproof and a complete waste of money I expected it to last more than a year

I received the AutoIgnite in exchange for an honest review and was genuinely impressed with the cooker. I have used the Masterbuilt Gravity Fed series for several years and love them, so was a little bit dubious with trying a different style of cooker, but was absolutely blown away with it! The charcoal chamber is set to the side, which allows for easy smoking and grilling. When smoking, food can be kept far enough away from the heat source, that it will cook evenly. When you are ready to grill, the heat can be applied directly, which is perfect for searing. Using the temperature settings is super easy. You just spin the dial until it hits your desired cooking temperature. The cooker then adds oxygen to the charcoal until it meets that temperature. It's fast and super simple. Once built, I found it to be sturdy and strong. The build process was pretty easy (Far easier than some other builds I have completed) and the only tool I needed was a screw driver/drill. When cooking low and slow on the AutoIgnite, I have been able to maintain temperature for about 8 hours, using quality charcoal. The cooker maintained temperature within about 2 degrees either side of where it was set and did this consistently throughout the full cook period. If you are someone who is looking to cook a few racks of ribs or wings, as well as searing steaks and burgers, this is a great cooker for you.

I received this smoker for an honest review. This grill holds temperature rock solid! I have used this smoker with both lump charcoal and briquettes and have been able to go 8-9hrs without needing to fill it back up. Charcoal is easy to light and the digital controller and app are easy to use for monitoring the cook. All around this is a solid grill and smoker. I would highly recommend it

I had high hopes for this product. Broke on first use.

Love the unit and would have given 5*s if not for horrendously bad customer service!