Weber Jumbo Joe 18 vs Smokey Mountain 14
240 sq in on one 18-inch grate at $89.99 against 286 on two 14-inch grates at $289 from Weber. One sears and banks coals; the other is built for long cooks.
We pick the Weber Jumbo Joe Charcoal Grill 18
The Jumbo Joe, unless low and slow is most of what you cook. At $89.99 it puts 240 sq in over an 18-inch fire that sears direct and banks for indirect. The Smokey Mountain 14 adds 46 sq in across two grates, a water pan and a fuel door. Weber lists it at $289; we found it around $219 at Amazon and Walmart in July. Either way, that money buys a cooker that does not sear.
What actually differs
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Fuel at shin level, or through a door
On the ground, every coal the Jumbo Joe gets mid-cook goes in at shin level, over a bowl 19.7 inches tall. The 14's door lifts away, so fuel goes in without lifting the cooking section.
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Each has one chore that never goes away
The Jumbo Joe has no sweep, so a cold bowl gets tipped over a bin. The 14's chamber keeps ash off its dampers, but its water pan needs emptying after every cook.
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What comes in the carton
The 14 ships with a cover, water pan, charcoal chamber and lid thermometer. The Jumbo Joe's carton holds a bowl, lid, grate, wire legs and an ash pan.
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.
Four dampers, a water pan and an enamelled barrel give real control, though a 14-inch fire has less mass to steady it.
Porcelain bowl and lid carry ten years, but the plated grate, nylon handle and wire legs sit on much shorter cover.
Ten years against rust through on bowl and lid, with aluminium at the door, so cover is longest where a smoker dies.
Enamel is the same as the big kettles, yet a wide bowl on short wire legs rocks on gravel or soft grass.
Porcelain-enamelled steel throughout, but the grates are plated steel rather than the cast iron Weber uses elsewhere.
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.
The thermometer and removable fuel door help, yet a small charcoal chamber means the cook checks in more often.
At $89.99 it matches the Go-Anywhere's price with 240 sq in against 160, and undercuts the same-sized $129.00 kettle.
A cover and a decade of rust cover are included, though Weber's own listing has climbed well above street price.
No sweep feeds the ash pan, so clearing a cold bowl means lifting the grate out and tipping the whole grill.
Enamel wipes clean and the chamber keeps ash off the dampers, but the water pan needs emptying every cook.
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 have a small space and $90, mostly cook burgers, sausages and chicken, and have a table to stand it on.
Check price →Low and slow is most of your cooking, and paying more for a cooker that will not sear is fine by you.
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.