Weber Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill, 22-Inch, Green

I bought this charcoal grill to augment the gas grill I already have. Gas grill is convenient, but charcoal grill provides better flavor.The grill arrived in one box, weight 37 pounds. There is an assembly guide. Note, it is all in pictures, no text for assembly. Fortunately, putting the grill together is relatively simple. It took about 30 minutes. There were no issues with assembly, other than one of the V-shaped clips that holds a leg to the body of the grill wouldn't snap in but that was easily rectified by opening up the V slightly. After doing that, it snapped into place. All of the necessary pieces for assembly were in the box; nothing was missing. There was one extra part; the small cap that holds the wheels on the axle. You only need two as there are just two wheels, but the parts bag had three caps, I assume in case one didn't get put on correctly and a spare was needed, but they caps tap on easily with a small hammer (small point, the caps are just plastic so tapping the cap directly with a hammer will scuff it, so better to use a small piece of wood or other flat object between the cap and the hammer. The scuffing is only cosmetic, it does not affect the ability of the cap to hold the wheel on or interfere with the wheel turning). The only tool you need to assemble the grill is a medium Phillips head screwdriver (to put the plastic cover on the front handle). There are a few hex nuts to tighten, but a small, functional tool is included in the parts to handle that.The grill performs well. It has an ash-catcher on the bottom making cleaning out the used charcoal easy. The grill has a thermometer that mounts in the hood. It seems to be reasonably accurate. Temperature is controlled by the amount the bottom and top vents are open; both move easily. There is a handle cover on the bottom part of the grill to ensure you can move the the grill without burning yourself. The handle also has built-in hooks to allow for conveniently hanging grill tools such as tongs, grill brush, spatula, etc.The food grill has two flaps that allow you to add charcoal or wood for smoking without needed to lift off the entire grill. Included is an instruction book on how to use the grill once assembled; they provide three booklets in three languages: English, French & Spanish.Overall, I am happy I made this purchase. It is a well-made, sturdy charcoal grill that is more than adequate for most backyard grilling needs. Obviously seasoned grillmasters may want a grill that has additional features (side table, electronic ignition, etc.) but this grill is fine for the average person/family. The 22-inch diameter surface easily fits more than a dozen hamburgers. My first use was 13 chicken drumsticks & thighs using indirect grilling, and they fit easily.This grill is a good choice for plain, standard charcoal grilling, It is mobile, looks good, works well, and combines solid design & construction in a wonderful product that I expect will be delivering good results for many years.

This grill was fairly easy to assemble, it has everything you need, and it cooks great.Pros:Gorgeous finish. My green grill has such a deep color that you'd almost lose it in a forest. Absolutely gorgeous. Looks great on my lawn.All the accessories. The "premium" version has a temperature-control grate that doubles as an ash catcher bucket, a handle with hooks for grill tools, two grates for both your fuel and cooking, an adjustable damper on top to control smoke/temperate, a temperature prob in the lid, a heat-safe handle... did I mention the lid has a hook so you can store it on the lip of the grill while you work? This is a truly brilliant setup.Grate ideas. The cooking grate has flip-open panels so you can stick something down and adjust coals as necessary. It also has handles for carrying, which double as hangers so you can hang the grate on the side of the grill while you prep the coals. It's genius.Cons:The temperature-control damper and ash catcher bucket only does an okay job clearing spent embers. You have to do a lot of back-and-forth adjustment to get embers to fall into the bucket, which can lead to extensive work if you're trying to cool off a grill fast. This system really works best when you're grilling early in the day, so the coal has plenty of time to burn down before you put the grill away. If you wanted to do a big grill later in the day, you'd basically have to leave the grill overnight, which could be a fire hazard - or else you'd need to douse your coal, which is a different topic. Bottom line: If you mostly intend to grill at midday for summer parties, this is a wonderful all-in-one system. If you grill mostly later in the evening to night, the ash bucket is just an accessory to prevent buildup.Questionable:Gas vs Wood vs Pellets vs Charcoal. Which is right for you? In short I'd put it like this. Charcoal is by far the cheapest way to get started. My grill, plus all the coal I'll need all year, still costs much less than a gas equivalent. Gas might be a superior grill a few years from now when I want to invest, but for now, charcoal works and I personally love the flavor. Pellets have probably outmoded wood entirely for most people, but pellet and wood grills lead to a lot of smoke, so they tend to be unsuitable for cooking in a dense urban area (if they allow grills at all!). Charcoal omits less smoke than most wood or pellet grills, and combined with its cheap startup costs, makes it an ideal solution for someone like me who only has a 2-person household and only barbecues maybe once a month.Overall:Highly recommended. Easy to setup, gorgeous to look at, and a pleasure to operate... so long as I'm cooking earlier in the day.

2nd Weber Kettle I've purchased. New design mostly good. After several tries of putting legs in and getting pins to set gave up and just left it. Metal inserts/pins push up into legs and don't sit correctly but still holds tight and that is the ultimate goal anyway. Like the top handle more, hopefully won't get as hot as the 1st one I had purchased 10+ years ago.

If you like grilling but don't have the money, time, or confidence to handle one of those expensive grills/smokers, then this is for you. The Weber holds temps really well. It also has enough room for pork loin, burgers, roasts, etc. The only thing it might have an issue with, depending on how you set up your cooking zone, would be a big brisket.I've had a few other grills before. They were cheap because I was trying to save a little money and didn't think there was that much of a difference.There is, there really is. If I could do it all over again, I would have purchased the Weber first.My only two complaints about this are while there is a small hook on the inside of the lid to hang the lid while you're checking meat, setting up coals, etc, it's sometimes really hard to find and it ends up hanging the lid low on the kettle.I know the more expensive Webers have a lid hanger attached so the lid can be set off to the side but I really wish it was included in this model as well. I didn't realize when I bought it how much easier it would make cooking.Also, be aware that only the more expensive versions of the kettle have a rubber, heat-resistant vent control on the top. The vent control on this version is all metal so it gets hot.But, other than those two issues, I love this grill. And, even with those issues, I still give it 5 stars.