Weber Jumbo Joe 18 vs Original Kettle 18
Both carry a 240 sq in grate in an 18 in enamel bowl. The Jumbo Joe is 19.7 in tall at $89.99; the Original Kettle 18 adds legs, wheels and One-Touch for $129.00.
It depends — and here is on what
It depends on whether the grill travels. The cooking is identical: one 18 in bowl, 240 sq in of plated grate, lid and bowl dampers, rated for four to six. The Jumbo Joe latches into one piece for a tailgate or campsite at $89.99. If it will live on a patio, the Original Kettle 18 puts that grate at standing height and sweeps its own ash for $129.00.
What actually differs
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19.7 inches against 36
On the ground, the Jumbo Joe's grate sits at shin level, so every flip is a crouch. Set it on a sturdy table and the gap closes. The kettle's legs are that table, built in.
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Ash: a sweep or a tip
The kettle's One-Touch lever pushes ash into its catcher, and Weber covers that system for 5 years. The Jumbo Joe's pan catches what falls, but clearing the bowl means lifting the grate and tipping the grill.
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Carry it, or roll it
The Tuck-N-Carry hoop clamps lid to bowl, so the Jumbo Joe lifts by one handle. The kettle tips onto two wheels and rolls across a patio slab, but drags on grass.
The scorecard, side by side
Both reviews are scored on the same six weighted categories, each bar on the same 0–10 scale, and every cell carries the reason that review gave. A row is marked won only where the two differ by a tenth or more. How we score →
The Original Kettle 18's bowl, grate and dampers, so the same two-zone fire; the thin plated grate stores little heat for searing.
Lid and bowl dampers give the usual kettle control, but a 240 sq in grate leaves a cramped cool side once coals are banked.
Porcelain bowl and lid carry ten years, but the plated grate, nylon handle and wire legs sit on much shorter cover.
Enamelled bowl and lid carry ten years, the aluminium legs shrug off rust, and only the grate and small parts sit on two.
Enamel is the same as the big kettles, yet a wide bowl on short wire legs rocks on gravel or soft grass.
Porcelain enamel and glass-reinforced nylon handles are the real thing; the plated grate and wire leg brace are where the money was saved.
The Tuck-N-Carry lock carries and holds the lid, but at 19.7 in tall every coal adjustment means crouching unless you supply a table.
No thermometer is listed, so dampers are set by feel, and a 5 in lid height turns away tall roasts.
At $89.99 it matches the Go-Anywhere's price with 240 sq in against 160, and undercuts the same-sized $129.00 kettle.
At $129.00 against $149.00 for 363 sq in, the bigger Weber kettle buys far more grate for each extra dollar.
No sweep feeds the ash pan, so clearing a cold bowl means lifting the grate out and tipping the whole grill.
One-Touch sweeps ash into a shallow open catcher in a few strokes, and the enamel wipes down; nothing encloses the ash.
Published figures that differ
Quoted from each maker's own specifications, as each review records them. Figures the two products publish identically are left out — only the differences are listed.
Which one is for you
You grill at tailgates, campsites or on a balcony table, and want a full kettle grate that packs as one piece.
Check price →The grill stays home on a patio, and you would rather stand to cook and sweep the ash than kneel and tip it.
Check price →More head-to-heads
Every score and figure on this page comes from our own reviews of these two products, linked above. We have not tested them side by side in one place; the comparison is between two full reviews, each built from the maker's published specifications and documentation. Prices move, and the ones quoted are the ones each review checked on its own date.