Stove " Carolina Cooker " Switch-out Problems

In another post I posited that I may try a baked-on high-temp ceramic coating to attempt to avert the unsightly rust that routinely forms on the CI stovetop pot supports, and add a bit of "zing" to the galley. To do so, and try a couple different paint options and methods, and to "upgrade" the controls from a 180 deg ball valve to a needle valve, I got the Carolina Cooker as it appears to be virtually the same product from the same factory as the OEM:

Cast Iron Stove, Double Burner Stove | Carolina Cooker

It is not.

There is a "paint" coating (which could possibly support a new ceramic coating better than going over glossy enamel like the OEM has) but the castings are all much lighter and cheaper. The parts, however, are mostly interchangeable, if not comparable in quality. Meaning simply that the screw holes line up.

This all would not be so bad if it wasn't so cheaply made that it arrived in a perfectly good box but with multiple breaks in the casting:

View attachment upload_2023-11-17_14-44-43.jpeg

I don't know if or what the remedy will be from CC. For $39 I'm not losing sleep. Suffice to say that even if they did send a new one, I would be reluctant to use it in the manner in which it was designed and would be treating it with kid gloves.

At least the needle valves and burners are transferable to the OEM and I should see some improved ergos there.

CI sourced their cooktops well; I did not. Treat it nice.