Sparky asked the question about durability. Well I am only a month into ownership and have used the PoMan darn near every day. Like anything, if it is taken care of it will last longer than if it is not.
Foiling the bottom of the can catches all the ash and most of the extra drippings. If cleaned regularly and not letting ash and grease sit in the bottom, this cooker should last a long time.
Here is what the bottom of the PoMan looks like after 30-40 cooks:
With all this talk about durability and cleaning, lets talk about cleaning. How long does it take? Is it hard?
I would say cleaning takes maybe 5 minutes and it is a piece of cake. I also will throw in a couple of tricks and tips I am using.
Here we go step by step:
First off
The Smokes back aint what it used to be so I set the PoMan on a patio bench to raise it off the ground a bit. I also set it in my Texas firepit
After removing the cooking rack assembly remove your flavor/heat deflector and change the foil
Now remove your charcoal basket and dump it out: Note: notice how the briquettes did not burn down to ash? I wadded up some HD foil and stuff the air vents when I am done cooking to get the charcoal out. Less ash and you can use the coals for a cook that does not require new briquettes.
In fact you can see the foil still wedged into the two air vent holes
Now
Before dumping and rolling up your ash covered foil liner, remove the alcohol starter tray so it does not end up in the trash.
Here comes another little trick: I am using Weber starter cubes instead. So much easier, just set it on the bottom in the center on the coal, light it and you are on your way. Besides, I got shaky hands and it is hard to lower the alcohol tray full into the can without spilling, and if I try to fill the cup on the bottom I make a mess
so clean up is super easy. I also wear cheap disposable gloves when cleaning the PoMan.
I think all vertical style cookers do not let you get away with multiple cooks without cleaning. The PoMan really needs to be cleaned before every cook.
Heck, 5 minutes tops and you are on your way aint a bad deal.