A 22 inch charcoal kettle is a settled design. A new one has to earn its place in the details. The Napoleon NK22 Premium Charcoal Kettle Grill, model NK22K-LEG-3, sells for around $242.20 on Amazon. That is $13.20 above Weber’s Original Kettle Premium 22, listed at $229.00.
It also sits $140 under Napoleon’s own Professional 22 at list price. On Amazon the gap is $146.80. So the NK22 is squeezed from both sides. Does it change enough from the Weber, and keep enough of the PRO22?
The short version is a single trait. The NK22 is a one-height kettle: the coals move, the grid never does.
360 sq inOne hinged grid, 21.5 in across, fixed at a single height
41 x 23 x 28 inHeight, width and depth, with the grid set high on long legs
$140Saved against the PRO22, comparing Napoleon's own list prices
50 briquettesNapoleon's full direct fire for this bowl, plus 8 per side each extra hour
First Impressions of the Napoleon NK22 Premium Charcoal Kettle Grill
Delivery brings a 14 x 24 x 24 in box at 49 lb. That is a box one person can walk to the patio. Inside sits a black enamelled bowl, a matching lid and a set of legs.
Built up, it looks taller and leggier than the kettles beside it in a store.
Four legs splay out under the bowl. A pair of them end in wheels.
Between all four runs a grid of wire for the charcoal bag. The whole thing stands 41 in tall, so the grid lands higher than on most kettles. You cook standing straight rather than hunched.
Look under the bowl and the design starts to differ from a Weber. A steel cone hangs below the charcoal grate and feeds a closed ash bucket. The lid has a stainless dial set into its crown and a loop handle on top. Lift that handle and the top vent is hidden beneath it.
A first fire behaves like any good kettle. Fifty briquettes, banked to one side, gave a crisp crust on thick pork chops. The dome caught enough smoke to tint the fat a deep amber.
Key Features of the Napoleon NK22 Premium Charcoal Kettle Grill
Most of this kettle’s parts have a direct twin on Weber’s Premium. The interesting ones are where Napoleon took a different route.
- Vortex cone. Napoleon’s conical insert sits under the coals. It steers air upward through the fire and ash downward into the bucket.
- Hidden top vent. The stainless lid vent lives under the Stay Cool handle. Rain and crosswinds pass over it rather than through it.
- Separate bottom inlets. The lower vent works apart from the ash bucket, so emptying ash never disturbs your setting.
- Hinged cooking grid. Flaps lift so you can add coals, wood chunks or water mid-cook. Napoleon describes the grid as stainless on its product page.
- Lid gauge with zones. The dial carries marked bands for smoking and searing. You aim for a colour rather than memorise a figure.
- Lid hanger. The open lid hooks onto the bowl’s side. It never has to touch the ground.
- Tool hooks on the handle. Your spatula hangs off the lid grip while the meat rests.
- Multiple Vents or Dampers. A bottom inlet and a top vent, with Napoleon advising you to steer from the bottom.
- Stainless steel. The venting hardware is stainless, and so, by one account, is the grid.
Napoleon sells a cover, a cast iron griddle and a warming rack to fit this bowl. None of them comes in the box.
The manual sets one hard limit for griddle owners. Never cover more than 75% of the grid with solid metal.
The bowl is a full 22 inch kettle, so heat is not the question. Napoleon rates the grid at 360 sq in, a hair under Weber’s 363. That gap will never show on a plate.
What shapes cooking here is the fixed grid. The PRO22 lets you set its grid at three levels. The NK22 does not, so every change in intensity comes from where you pile the coals.
For a hard sear you bank the full load tight on one side. For a slow cook you split 25 briquettes per side and leave a cool middle. That two-zone habit works well, but it is the only lever you have.
Over an all-afternoon smoke, the cone pays for itself. It funnels ash clear of the fire, so the coal bed keeps breathing hours in. Napoleon’s guidance of 8 more briquettes per side each hour keeps a smoke going steadily.
Control follows Napoleon’s own advice. Napoleon wants the lid opening left wide, or closed only to put the fire out. Every small change comes from the bottom inlet. With one control in play, a new cook can learn this grill in a weekend.
Build, handling and durability
Four legs make the NK22 steadier than a three-legged kettle. Bump the lid while turning food and the bowl barely rocks. Uneven pavers reveal this faster than a spec sheet does.
The enamelled lid and bowl are the parts that carry the long warranty. Venting hardware is stainless, so the parts you handle hot should not rust shut.
Only two legs carry wheels. Moving the grill means tipping it back like a hand truck. That suits a patio better than a lawn.
Hanging the lid is the other daily mercy. A hot lid hooked on the bowl cannot scorch a deck board.
The grid is where Napoleon’s paperwork goes soft. Napoleon’s own US listing says stainless steel. The Amazon title and one gallery panel call them chrome plated.
The US manual’s warranty table lists chromed grids and no stainless line at all. We cannot tell you which metal ships. Chrome plating can flake after a few seasons of wire brushing, while stainless simply darkens. That difference decides whether you buy a replacement grid in year four.
Running costs, upkeep and value
Fuel cost is modest and predictable. Napoleon’s table puts a full direct fire at 0.98 kg of lump charcoal or 50 briquettes. An indirect cook starts at half that per side.
Cleanup is mostly done by the cone. Ash lands in the bucket, which lifts away from the bowl.
There is no sweep mechanism, though, and Weber’s One-Touch blades do that job on its kettle. Stray ash still needs a brush pushed toward the opening. Napoleon wants that pan emptied ahead of each fire. On this grill that is one quick lift, since the bucket comes away whole.
Value is where the squeeze shows. At list price the NK22 costs $20 more than Weber’s Premium. On Amazon at $242.20 it runs $23.20 above Weber’s own $219.00 listing. Either way you pay a premium over Weber for a Weber-sized feature set.
Against its own big brother the picture flips. The PRO22 adds cast iron grids, a three-level grid and a rotisserie-ready ring. Skip those, and the NK22 keeps the same bowl for $140 less at list. On Amazon you save $146.80.
On a first kettle, that saving buys a cover, a chimney starter and plenty of charcoal.
Possible Napoleon NK22 Premium Charcoal Kettle Grill Complaints
- The grid cannot be raised or lowered. Thick roasts and fast sears both rely on moving coals instead. Cooks used to the PRO22’s three heights will miss them. A charcoal basket or two makes zone cooking quicker.
- Warranty depth falls off fast after the shells. The lid and bowl get 10 years, but most other parts get 2. Weber covers its ash system for 5. The grid’s own term depends on a metal Napoleon names two ways, so keep the receipt.
