Weber Original Kettle Premium 26 Inch Charcoal Grill, Black

Full disclosure: I already own several other Kettles--from a Jumbo Joe, to a few 22s--from Original, to Master Touch. Yes, I'm a fan of Weber products.The Pros: This 26" Premium, is great for cooking for larger groups, or for cooking larger food items, like briskets, beef ribs, a turkey, or pizzas.With the charcoal baskets, or something like a Vortex, it's great for the indirect cooking of chicken wings, or drumsticks, and the like.It's easy to maintain, and with a tiny bit of care, the kettle should last forever.The cooking grate is stainless, so it should last a lot longer than the plated steel grates on the other, smaller, kettles.Replacement parts are available from several sources, for most, if not all, the typical wear items, like the grates, or the ash cleaning system.The few "Cons": It is heavier than the 22" Kettles, so the legs can be a little more wobbly than usual, but that can be fixed with a few pieces of 3/4" EMT conduit, inserted in the legs. You can find videos of how to do this, online.The lid is also heavier, and it sits a little higher than the 22" kettles, but it can slide onto the lid holder, this shouldn't be a problem.It'll use more charcoal, since it's a bigger grill. It's to be expected, though.All in all, it's a great grill, and if you like to cook for larger groups, this will certainly do the trick.

Assembly was a bit annoying since the leg locking pins have to start from within the mount instead of sticking a pin through the cylinders that are supposed to be locked together. Seems sturdy. Wheels have a bit of give so rolling across a bumpy surface isn't going to put undue stress on the plastic wheels.Cleaning is straight forward because it's a bowl with ceramic enamel. You just take a wet sponge to the bowl and scrub off anything you think would cause a flare up and burn your food. The ash disposal system isn't the best on its own. I recommend taking a small soft brush and brushing it down into the ash bucket. Easy enough. Moving the lever back and forth to get the ash out creates an awful screeching sound of metal on ceramic. No real way around this because it doubles as a control for airflow. It has to be a decent seal to put the coals out.Both grates are pretty solid and Weber offers replacements if you somehow manage to destroy them.The grill is big enough to do 2 zone grilling for a family of 4. Smoking meats is fine once you get used to the grill. Water baths will help you control the temp, but keep an eye on it with a digital thermometer as always. No one wants to open the lid and find out that their brisket went up in flames.Overall its a good grill. Good capacity. Good versatility.

Weber, I would of never of thought to go back to one. I had one many years ago and it was the 22 inch unit. Now I see they make two larger ones a 27 inch and an even larger one then that. I opted for this one as It is plenty big for my backyard grilling needs. It is quite easy to use and cooks very nicely. Of course a lot depends on your line of accessories too. If I grill a tri tip for instance, I use a digital thermometer with dual probes. One for the meat and the other for the temp at the grill where the meat is located. An accessory that ships with the weber is two charcoal baskets. These can be a handy item. I bought the Slow N Sear unit myself. It works exceptionally well. The lid holder is a nice item that is on the weber as it allows you to place the cover there if removed instead of on the ground. The ash catcher is great, I am glad it has one. And one other nice design that this one has is the bottom air vent is actually one unit, instead of the way they were in earlier models. And the sucker is made in the USA. I found it worth the money and am very pleased with mine. I did start out looking for another barrel type BBQ similar to my old one but after lengthy research I found this to cook way better.

I've always loved the Weber kettle 22 inch I've owned for two decades. It never failed to produce great flavor. I recently purchased a huge pellet grill with all the whistles and wifi bells. I loved the ease of use and the technology, so I gave my old Weber to my daughter. Soon after, reality set in. The pellet grills are amazing for sure, but something was missing,,,,that charcoal seared flavor.Now my daughter owns two of my grills including the new 300 pound pellet monster.It was time for me to go back to the tried and true Weber and upgrade to the 26 inch. Trouble is, none were available anywhere. I searched high and low, even calling Weber who informed me none would be available until October. Then, by a stroke of luck, Amazon had 6 available. I immediately ordered. An hour later, none were available again.My huge Weber arrived in perfect shape, and I'm amazed at the over 600 square inches of cooking space. I bought a Slow n Sear for it and it smokes just as well as my Smokey Mountain. I installed a probe port in the side and can maintain perfect temps in this awesome grill.Pellet grills are great cookers, but I'm glad to be back where I belong. The flavor is back too.If you are lucky enough to find the big 26, you wont regret it. If you cant find one, get on a waiting list. It will be worth the wait.