First things First, the dial is in Celsius. If you arent familiar with it, the exact formula is dial temp, multiply by 1.8 and add 32. (Cx1.8)+32=Temp in F. if you need a quick neighborhood, just double the temp on the dial.That being said, the unit has a thick cast iron surface. This has some pros and cons if you have never worked a flat top before. Pros are that it hold heat REALLY well. Con is it takes about 20 minutes to heat up, and around 40 to cool off.It does have an off function so you can leave it plugged in.The grilling surface is good for about 6 5 inch burgers (2 rows of 3). Pro tip, use oil. The temp difference of oil vs no oil is about 100 degrees F. I used an infrared thermometer gun to track the heat cycle and heat loss while cooking. The hottest spot is the middle, with the edges having a temp drop off of about 20 C. This is normal. The temp reached is within 5C of what the dial is calibrated to. Reasonable tolerance. I cooked a half dozen hot dogs on it, just to test. Browned very nicely, cooked in an expected amount of time for this method, and the temp drop off was only about 20 degrees F while cooking. Again, normal and expected. Important to note, the griddle surface held its heat the entire time I was cooking. The heating elements didn't turn on while cooking the hot dogs. I expect it would recover well with frozen burgers for instance, or pancakes, scrambled eggs etc. Outer cabinet stays surprisingly coolthe FOG management system is simple, but effective. It is not full depth, so keep an eye on it. its basically a 4"x" square. (10cmX10cm) (fist sized and about 2 fingers deep). The body cavity is mostly empty, and if push comes to shove, you can remove the bottom for cleaning with a screwdriver.It operates the way you would expect a flat top to operate. Cleaning is easy, they warn you not to use corrosive chemicals, all you need is oil, a scratch pad, and/or a grill stone. Nothing metallic besides a scraper. a bench scraper or grill scraper s