I got myself one of these sturdy portable grills last fall and haven't had the time to use it all that much, but was wondering about one thing in particular. Unlike the larger stand-up Weber kettles, as well as the portable Smokey Joe Silver, the Gold model doesn't have bottom vents for drawing air but side vents (one on each side). This design feature was intended to create a solid bottom so as to eliminate the need for an ash catcher.
The thing is, however, that with side vents, getting a proper draw, or airflow, seems problematic: the air vents are above the charcoal line! The last time I tried, what happened was that the lump charcoal, while very hot with the lid off, would cool down and almost go out - even though both side vents and the lid vent were all fully open.
Later, I figured that maybe what needs to be done is to either put all the coals in the centre, leaving a "pathway" for the air drawn in through the side vents to go "underneath" the charcoal and feed the burn, or simply to move it all to the side so that it would be perpendicular to the set of side vents. In other words: laying the coals all across the bottom grate seems to preclude the bottom draw necessary to keep the burn going when the top lid is closed; one appears to have to have a portion of the bottom grate not covered with charcoal.
Has anyone else figured out how to get around the quirks of this side vent design when doing indirect grilling with the lid on?