LOVE my Auto K. Light it. 3 min. drop lid. Go prep food. Its ready for food. Patience with it is the name of game. Try forcing it and it will over shoot. Trust it and it's rock solid. I have cooked everything from low and slow to hot and fast on mine. It's a traditional Akorn with a brain. Manual is very good and has a lot of info on properly running. I did notice I need to set top damper .5 below what it calls for once the temp is 90% reached. did a 3rd party temp test and mine is pretty accrete.