I don't know what he is talking about. I love my charbroiler and my only regret is that I didn't get the double wide. The unit itself doesn't smoke, that is ridiculous. Yes the food will smoke that is what bbq'ing does. All you need is good ventilation. I use mine very frequently all winter long and even often in the summer.

I don't think you will regret it. Good luck

Thanks tyguy for the reply. I was hoping that would be the response. I told my husband I wasn't going to make a final decision before I get some feedback from this sight. I trust the information here much more than from one sales guy.

What the appliance guy was referring to is normal for all indoor gas grills. The flames shooting high is due to grease dripping into the fire and igniting. You get that outdoors too, but with most outdoor grills you can close the lid. The excess smoke is due to an improper ventilation system. That either means not enough CFM in the hood or not enough or no MUA to enable the hood to do its job.

Just to give you an example, I have a friend who put in a Viking. I asked him how he liked it. He said he doesn't use it much anymore because it was too smokey. I asked about his hood and he said he put in the highest CFM at 1000 or 1200. So I asked about make-up air (MUA). He drew a blank. I explained it to him and he said he opened his windows when it gets too smokey. It's too late by then. I told him that since he didn't account for MUA, he would have to run the hood and open a window while he was preheating the grill and not when he was about to cook. He is now able to use his indoor grill again.

When explaining MUA to my friend, this is the example I used. Imagine sucking air out of a soda bottle. In the beginning there is little resistance. But as the air is depleted, it takes more effort to suck until the point where you can suck no more. Now imagine sucking air through a straw. You can suck forever without much resistance. MUA is like that open end of the straw, what goes out, must come in.

As long as you plan for adequate CFM to for both exhaust out and MUA in, you should be fine with any indoor grill.

Tyguy and Jscout are both correct, my two cents is as follows...

Firstly find a salesperson who knows what they are talking about.

Second buy a hood capable of removing the smoke and grease.... From good to excellent
36 x 24
42 x 24
36 x 27
42 x 27 (highly recommended)

Stainless Steel baffles.

1200 cfm internal or in-line or a 1400 cfm remote blower
30" from the counter top for a 24" depth hood or 32" from counter height for 27" depth, unless whoever will be cooking is over 6', then you can raise is a little height, but keep it as low as possible.

Use a 10" round duct, keeping turns to a minimum, if you have 90 degree turns try to do 2 x 45 degree turns to ease the flow of air.

Not many people use 6 burners at the same time very often, so I advise adding an alternative style of cooking by introducing the Charbroiler.

Last but not least buy the charbroiler and totally enjoy using it

Thank you for the advice. We are currently looking at upgrading our hood to a 42 or 48" with 1200 cfm. Of course I won't forget about the MAU. Fortunately we live in a rancher and can take the vent straight up without any turns (I'm hoping no bends means quieter performance).

After talking to the sales guy I was second guessing myself on the charbroiler. It sounds like as long as I have the proper ventilation system set up I will be ok.
Thank's for all the guidance.