I love this little grill. We have used it twice already. It is high quality for a low price. The Weber portable grill was convenient for myself and my family to use. We got a good sear with charcoal. The grates were easy to use. There is a slot at the bottom and one at the top. If you want to start a charcoal fire, you just have to remember to have both slots open. This allows the oxygen to get through!  You need carbon, oxygen and an ignition source to get the fire roasting!  If you close the grate, nothing will happen.  Put some newspapers on the bottom but leave a small hole for the air flow to move through. Pile on your unused charcoal. Light the newspaper and wait for the charcoal to catch.  When the charcoal turns red, orange or grey then you are good to go.  Let it heat the grill for about 30 minutes or so. That way you get an even distribution of heat. Then, you can put on your marinated meat or hotdogs. We used aluminum foil to cover our grill so the hotdogs wouldn't fall in. The dogs still got the grill marks on them and tasted great. I would recommend this cute little guy to anyone looking for a first time Weber grill.