AmazingRibs.com is supported by our Pitmaster Club. Also, when you buy with links on our site we may earn a finder’s fee. Click to see how we test and review products.

Weber Original Kettle 18″ Charcoal Grill Review

Share on:
Weber Kettle Original 18 Inch

The Weber Original Kettle 18″ Charcoal Grill has about 240 square inches of cooking surface and sells for under $100. It is the basic unadorned low price Kettle, and a perfectly fine cooking tool just the same. Ash is swept through the vent holes in the bottom under the grill by a lever beneath the bowl and it drops into an aluminum pan. This compact grill is great for moderate capacity cooking and use where space is limited, like an apartment patio. However, the ability to effectively set up 2-zone cooking is reduced. Weber’s 22″ Kettles work much better for 2-zone.

In 2015 Weber made a few changes to some of their classic BBQ kettles. The Original Kettle 18″, formerly One-Touch Silver 18.5″, has a new nylon lid handle that adds a protective heat shield between your fingers and the lid. Previously the legs just popped into brackets. Now they are secured to the body with spring loaded pins, which also enable them to be easily removed. Although the name changed from 18.5′ to 18″, Weber specs declare the grate is still 18.5″ diameter with the same 240 square inch capacity.

Let’s debunk a myth: The parabolic shape of the Weber Kettle is not a more efficient heat reflector than other shapes. By far the vast majority of the heat is radiated directly from the surface of the glowing charcoal with some more reflected from the sides. Very little heat is being reflected off the curved bottom of the bowl. There is a solid barrier in the way: The bed of coals. Any heat that hits the bottom of the kettle just bounces back into the charcoal pile. So the parabolic shape of the kettle is no more efficient than a square box.

Weber offers their kettles in a variety of sizes and colors.

Weber Kettles
Haven't found what you want?
Click the buttons below to search our complete database of reviews:

Product Information:

  • Model:
    Original Kettle 18" Charcoal Grill
  • Item Price:
    $ 89.00
    *Price Subject To Change
  • Where to buy (buying from this supplier supports this website):
  • Made in USA:
    yes
  • Review Method:
    Cooked On It
    We have hands-on experience testing this product. We have also gathered info from the manufacturer, owners and other reliable sources.
  • Primary Function:
    Grill
  • Fuel:
    Charcoal
  • Primary Capacity:
    240 square inches
    Small (about 11 burgers)

Published On: 2/22/2013 Last Modified: 10/24/2022

  • Max Good, Full time grill tester - Max Good, AmazingRibs.com's Vice President of Product Reviews & Keeper of the Flame, is the man in charge of finding the best products for the AmazingRibs.com Equipment Reviews section. Max bottles his own barbecue sauce recipes and now sells them around the country.

 

High quality websites are expensive to run. If you help us, we’ll pay you back bigtime with an ad-free experience and a lot of freebies!

Millions come to AmazingRibs.com every month for high quality tested recipes, tips on technique, science, mythbusting, product reviews, and inspiration. But it is expensive to run a website with more than 2,000 pages and we don’t have a big corporate partner to subsidize us.

Our most important source of sustenance is people who join our Pitmaster Club. But please don’t think of it as a donation. Members get MANY great benefits. We block all third-party ads, we give members free ebooks, magazines, interviews, webinars, more recipes, a monthly sweepstakes with prizes worth up to $2,000, discounts on products, and best of all a community of like-minded cooks free of flame wars. Click below to see all the benefits, take a free 30 day trial, and help keep this site alive.


Post comments and questions below

grouchy?

1) Please try the search box at the top of every page before you ask for help.

2) Try to post your question to the appropriate page.

3) Tell us everything we need to know to help such as the type of cooker and thermometer. Dial thermometers are often off by as much as 50°F so if you are not using a good digital thermometer we probably can’t help you with time and temp questions. Please read this article about thermometers.

4) If you are a member of the Pitmaster Club, your comments login is probably different.

5) Posts with links in them may not appear immediately.

Moderators

  Max

Click to comment or ask a question...

Spotlight

These are not paid ads, they are a curated selection of products we love.

All of the products below have been tested and are highly recommended. Click here to read more about our review process.

Use Our Links To Help Keep Us Alive

Many merchants pay us a small referral fee when you click our “buy now” links. This has zero impact on the price you pay but helps support the site.