Assembly involves attaching the legs to the top, then the side panels to the legs. No real issue and took me about 20 minutes. There's not much room between the pan and the propane tank so it's not easy to turn the tank valve off. Mine had a few scratches on the top, but nothing objectionable. You do have to hold the ignition switch while turning the control knob. The flame itself is substantial at medium (see attached photos) and does generate warmth. It's a very nice unit and does everything we wanted. Would've given it 5 stars if not for the tank access.