Wow I had no idea they built them like that. Is trager the only one? You could have the best of both worlds. This thing cooked with or without the lid opened so I don’t know why the CC DLX instructions say to close the lid when using it has a true grill. I get having to move the food to something that would put sear marks on it, but with this thing you don’t have to. I guess it’s to keep the cooker from dropping pellets all the time. At the 350 setting the center of the sear daddy is HOT just like the charcoal grill is. I would place my hand over the grill to check if it was ready for food on the old grill.