The bottom element doesn't get red hot the way the top one does (I took the first one back, but new one is the same.) Supposed to be like this?
805394
i returned mine and used my old one which didn't look so good but he bottom element gets bright red
805395
Basically every time I go to harbor freight, I take a 20% off coupon so I don't overpay for aanything. Personally I think you have to ask yourself why Chevy is so much better than Ford and why Tom Brady is so handesome and you'll figure out the answer to your own question is quite simple. Pink Gatorade.
805396
When the oven is in the bake and toast mode, both units seem to be equally hot. If in broil mode, the top element is hotter than bottom heating element.
2088736
There should be a little red light that turns on and it flashes until it goes solid that means its ready. If the light doesn't turn on and it doesn't get hot then it doesn't work. I would send it back for a new one. There should be a warrenty.
1486252
My experience is, it does not get hot at all. I have two batteries on charge all the time in this, as well as one on the original charger. Based upon my experience - Yes it is defective.
1153841
Turn the unit on to high, remove the lower and upper cooking plates, raise the upper plate lid up to its resting position. Wait a few minutes and check the upper heating element to see if it is hot. If it is hot, make sure you are using the right plate for the upper unit and it is in the correct position. If the upper heating element is not hot and the lower one is, then you have a problem. Do not try to fix it yourself. The unit is not designed for home repair. Take it to an authorized service center for repair.
2233398
The element is supposed to get hot and very often will appear red or orange. Now for my own liability sake I cannot tell you that it's operating at a normal or too high a temperature.....but mine turns bright Orange and Yes becomes VERY HOT. This Has been true with ALL of my Electric Dryers.Best of Luck,G
1269173
I've never noticed mine do that, but if I had to make an educated guess, it would be that your use of the flat iron is cooling it down to a temp lower than what you have it set at, turning the ready light red. If I am accurate, I would also assume it would very rapidly come back to temp and turn back to green. If it does not rapidly change back to green or is changing to red when you haven't used it, I would guess you have a defective product.
1362893
I too just got back from a camping trip and everything worked like a charm. Both burners operated without any missteps. All I can surmise is perhaps a connection may have jiggled loose during shipping. Try opening up the top and looking at the connections under the burner plate. I would further check the burners in an opposite direction...try lighting the burner that did not light first and see what happens. I'm glad mine worked ok while I was out camping, because it is truly a heavy duty piece of camping equipment that will last for years.
768413
I've never seen mine glowing red and the 8 min warm up is normal. Enjoy grilling
362472
Responding to Andrew, that wasn't my personal experience. I had a problem with my heating element itself, but it was covered under my warranty, and when I contacted Char-Broil directly, they had another element to me by the end of the week. Very good customer service.
1153840
Our 6 year old unit stopped heating on the bottom only (the top still heated fine). No repair shops in my area would even look at it, so I decided to open it up. I removed the 5 small phillips-head screws which secured the bottom plate, and when I lifted it up, discovered that one of the leads to the heating element had come loose. I crimped it back into place with pliers, screwed the plate back in place, and it now works fine. While I had it open, I also cleaned out a fair amount of grease which had somehow gotten underneath the metal heating plate. My only caution is to be careful not to lose the tiny washers which sit underneath the plate where the screws go. Our 6 year old unit stopped heating on the bottom only (the top still heated fine). No repair shops in my area would even look at it, so I decided to open it up. I removed the 5 small phillips-head screws which secured the bottom plate, and when I lifted it up, discovered that one of the leads to the heating element had come loose. I crimped it back into place with pliers, screwed the plate back in place, and it now works fine. While I had it open, I also cleaned out a fair amount of grease which had somehow gotten underneath the metal heating plate. My only caution is to be careful not to... » Read More Our 6 year old unit stopped heating on the bottom only (the top still heated fine). No repair shops in my area would even look at it, so I decided to open it up. I removed the 5 small phillips-head screws which secured the bottom plate, and when I lifted it up, discovered that one of the leads to the heating element had come loose. I crimped it back into place with pliers, screwed the plate back in place, and it now works fine. While I had it open, I also cleaned out a fair amount of grease which had somehow gotten underneath the metal heating plate. My only caution is to be careful not to lose the tiny washers which sit underneath the plate where the screws go. « Show Less
1014047
Also make sure you have one that is a yellow to green mine is actually a flash to solid but is always yellow! If it is suppose to be green ask for an exchange I have been using mine for a couple years its great!
1076766
If neither of the other answers here works, you might have bent the top tubes. That happened to me and one actually BROKE. Don't try to get the manufacturer to make good on his warranty. He'll tell you that you used it wrong and it is not defective (see my other review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2217KI7AHEUHY/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R2217KI7AHEUHY)
1245230
The new model can get as hot as the old one (which I also have)...I just missing fine tuning the temp manually rather than using the LED set temps.
373224
I've had two of these grills and same thing happened to both. (once the top and once the bottom stopped heating up...) It couldn't be fixed.....Love this grill except for that reason...I'm moving on to something different unfortunately...
2051540
If your elements are still lit up and it stays hot, there must be a problem with it. Mine does neither of those things. I'd return it, I think :).
1953396
This is not like the older ones that heat up quickly. Not sure of the bottom. I ended up getting a used older one on eBay. It is so much faster. Newer one is nice but very slow heating.
429387
the metal part gets hot but the surrounded area not really. hope that helps!