A 22 inch Weber kettle can wear either of two Weber covers. The 7176 sells for $19.99. The Premium 7150, model number 7150, sells for $39.99 at Weber and $39.95 on Amazon.
That is a doubling, so where does the second $20 go? Weber’s own pages answer it, if you put the two side by side. Most of the money went into cloth. You get heavier fabric, a longer drop and a handle on top.
One part did not change at all. Weber doubled the cloth and kept the strap.
Whether that trade suits you depends on two things. One is how much sun your kettle sees. The other is how hard the wind blows across your yard.
$39.99Price at Weber, twice the 7176
494 gWeight, against 290 g for the 7176
35 x 25 x 27 inHeight, width and depth unpacked
1 strapThe same single strap as the cheaper cover
First Impressions of the Weber Premium 22 Inch Charcoal Grill Cover
Folded flat, it comes in a box you could slip onto a bookshelf. Shaken out, it is a black tube with a domed top. It reads closer to a cylinder than a bell. Weber’s red and white badge is the only decoration.
The first thing your hand finds is the loop. Weber’s photographs show a fabric loop handle at the crown. It is the natural place to grab.
Weight is the next surprise, in the other direction from the 7176. Weber’s store lists 494 grams. The budget cover weighs 290 grams, so this one carries far more cloth. It hangs with a fuller drape.
On the kettle, it falls further than the gray cover does. Weber’s pictures show the hem reaching down level with the wheel hubs. The bowl, the ash catcher and most of the legs disappear under black cloth.
Key Features of the Weber Premium 22 Inch Charcoal Grill Cover
Weber’s feature list is three lines long. The photographs and spec table add a little more. Together, this is what the 7150 brings:
- UV inhibitors in the fabric: Weber’s first claim, aimed at slowing fade.
- Breathable, water resistant polyester: meant to keep rain off without trapping damp air.
- One fastening strap: the only hardware Weber describes.
- Crown handle: visible in every Weber photograph, though the text never mentions it.
- Longer, straighter cut: 35 inches tall and 25 wide, falling well past the bowl.
- Recycled material: the Amazon listing calls it 100% recycled PET; Weber just says polyester.
Two things are absent. No vent appears in any source, and no denier figure either. Amazon’s table lists a drawstring closure, but Weber’s photographs show no cord at all.
Fit and coverage
Here the 7150 is unusually specific for a maker’s cover.
Weber’s own fit chart names three kettles. First is the Master-Touch 22. Beside it sit the plain Original Kettle 22 and its Premium sibling. Amazon even files it as a Master-Touch cover.
The exclusions are just as clear. No kettle with a side table, and no Smokey Mountain Cooker. Performer Premium and Deluxe owners get pointed to a separate $64.99 cover that wraps the cart.
Coverage is where the extra cloth shows. The cheaper 7176 stops a little below the bowl in Weber’s photographs. The 7150 carries on down over the ash catcher, close to the wheels. That extra drop keeps rain off the vents and ash parts below the bowl.
One oddity is worth knowing. On paper, 35 inches is the height for each Weber cover. Yet the 7150 clearly hangs lower in the photographs. Trust the pictures over the table when you compare them.
Weather protection and durability
Sun is the plainest difference on paper. Weber claims UV inhibitors in the fabric for the 7150. It makes no such promise for the 7176. For a kettle parked in the sun all summer, that sentence is the purchase.
Rain protection reads the same on both covers: water resistant and breathable, never waterproof. With no vent, damp air has to escape through the weave. Covering a kettle that is still warm on a muggy night tests that.
Durability rests on weight more than published specs. Fabric weight in denier is missing from Weber’s pages, as is any coating or seam spec. Amazon lists a 3 year warranty, where the 7176 shows 2. Weber’s own page states neither.
The strap is the soft spot. One hook-and-loop strap at the hem has to hold a large, heavy shell. Heavier cloth does resist a light breeze better. A real gust, though, gets underneath and lifts the whole dome at once.
Handling, upkeep and value
The handle earns its place every weekend. Pull the strap, lift by the loop, and the cover comes straight up. No dragging fabric across a lid that may still be dusty with ash.
Going back on, the loop leads again. Hold the loop, let the hem fall, then close the strap. At under 500 grams it remains a one-hand job.
Upkeep stays simple. Weber says spot clean only, and black cloth shows pollen and bird mess quickly. A wet rag handles both. Leave it draped until it is dry, then fold.
Value is where the 7150 has to argue hardest. It costs twice the 7176. The extra $20 buys real cloth, a fade claim and a handle.
It does not buy better wind security. Weber charges $64.99 for its Performer cover. By that yardstick, this one sits mid-range.
Possible Weber Premium 22 Inch Charcoal Grill Cover Complaints
- The strap was not upgraded. One hook-and-loop strap holds a cover now much heavier than the budget one. In an exposed yard the dome can balloon. A bungee cord around the legs, below the hem, fixes it cheaply.
- Black shows everything. Pollen, ash and droppings stand out on dark fabric. Weber allows spot cleaning only, so expect to wipe it by hand fairly often.
