I miss the cool handle on the grill lid for the top vent. I really wanted to justify buying the red kettle model but it was cheaper to buy this one and get a few extra's to make it as nice, bought the charcoal briquet holders (mine were about 20 years old) and the hinged cooking grates. I had a meat thermometer. My old grill cooked hotter on one side. So far I'm not having this problem. I think it may have been the surface I had the  old grill on.