Weber Jumbo Joe 18 vs Performer 22
$89.99 for a 240 sq in kettle 19.7 in tall, or $449.00 for a 363 sq in kettle in a cart with a side table, Char-Rails and a lid thermometer.
It depends — and here is on what
This turns on where the grill lives and what it stands on. If it travels, or you already own a sturdy table, the $89.99 Jumbo Joe cooks the kettle way on 240 sq in. If it stays on the patio and you want a surface beside the fire, the $449.00 Performer supplies one. That money also brings 363 sq in, Char-Rails, a hinged grate and a lid thermometer, in a 69-pound cart.
What actually differs
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The Joe's weak spot is the Performer's whole pitch
The Jumbo Joe's main fault is a grate at knee height with nowhere to set the tongs. The Performer answers with a painted steel side table and a shelf beneath. Its own review prices that cart at $300 over the bare 22-inch kettle.
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Feeding a long cook
The Performer's grate lifts on each side, and its Char-Rails hold the bank of coals in place. On the Jumbo Joe, adding coals mid-cook means kneeling beside a hot bowl, unless it is up on a table.
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Ten years on the bowl, two on the furniture
Both bowls and lids carry ten years. The Performer's frame, table, shelf and wheels sit in a two-year bucket, so most of the extra money buys the shortest cover. The Jumbo Joe has little beyond wire legs and a handle to wear out.
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.
The Original Kettle 22's bowl and 363 sq in, plus Char-Rails and a hinged grate that hold two zones and feed a long fire.
Porcelain bowl and lid carry ten years, but the plated grate, nylon handle and wire legs sit on much shorter cover.
Bowl and lid carry 10 years like every 22 in kettle, but the painted-steel cart, table and wheels sit in a 2-year bucket.
Enamel is the same as the big kettles, yet a wide bowl on short wire legs rocks on gravel or soft grass.
Hand-applied porcelain enamel on bowl and lid is excellent; the grate is plated steel and the side table is painted steel.
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.
Beats the Master-Touch's kit of hinged grate, Char-Rails, Tuck-Away holder and lid dial by adding a side table and a shelf.
At $89.99 it matches the Go-Anywhere's price with 240 sq in against 160, and undercuts the same-sized $129.00 kettle.
$449.00 buys the $149.00 Original Kettle 22 cooking hardware plus $300 of cart, which is steep for a table and a shelf.
No sweep feeds the ash pan, so clearing a cold bowl means lifting the grate out and tipping the whole grill.
The One-Touch sweep drops ash into an enclosed, wind-proof catcher, and Weber warrants that system separately for 5 years.
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 cook at campsites and tailgates, or on a patio where a sturdy table already stands.
Check price →Your kettle never leaves the patio, and you want prep space, a lid gauge and a shelf for the charcoal.
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.