Besides the gas grill I have a small Master Bilt smoker that can be operated with either propane or charcoal. In the time I've owned it I have only used charcoal a few times, and only lump charcoal when I did, briquettes contain a wide variety of chemicals and other things I object to eating. Regardless of the type of grill used you can easily duplicate the flavor of charcoal cooked food with smoking or some of the newer bbq sauces, and quite frankly I just don't have the patience for charcoal anymore. About the only time I use it now is as a back up cooker to supplement my gas grill when I have more than a few guests, and for hands off slow smoking. My foreman at work is a die hard charcoal fanatic, and I've fooled him more than once with gas grilled meats and smoking or sauce.