“Space to hold up to 13 burgers made with a Weber burger press; The durable-plated steel cooking grate… stands up to the demands of frequent grilling”
“The One-Touch cleaning system… has a removable aluminized, high-capacity ash catcher allowing for efficient and less frequent removal of ash”
“Porcelain-enameled lid and bowl are engineered to withstand high temperatures and retain heat… resist rust and won’t peel”
“Reinforced with high-quality, glass-infused nylon, ensuring they can withstand the demands of frequent use and exposure to heat”
“Built-in Lid Thermometer takes the guesswork out of grilling, displaying the internal temperature”
“Rust-resistant aluminum damper… Angled lid hook… All-weather wheels… Tool hooks”
“a hinged cooking grate allowing you to easily add charcoal while grilling”
Seventy dollars for two mechanisms
Over the $149 Original Kettle this adds four things, and two of them matter:
A built-in lid thermometer.A hinged cooking grate. A removable high-capacity ash catcher rather than a fixed one. And glass-infused nylon handles, which the $149 listing also claims — so treat that as shared.
The capacity is the same. Both say up to 13 burgers, as do the $98, $289 and $309 Webers on this shelf.
Why the hinge is the real upgrade
On a kettle without one, adding charcoal means lifting the entire grate with the food on it. You need somewhere to put a hot grate covered in half-cooked chicken, and then you have to put it back.
Nobody does that twice. What happens instead is that you cook on one load of fuel — and a single chimney of briquettes gives about an hour of useful heat.
The hinge lifts two crescents at the edges of the grate, so charcoal drops in at the sides while the food stays in the middle.
For searing burgers it changes nothing at all. For roasting, for smoking, or for feeding a crowd in shifts, it is the thing that makes it possible.
And why the thermometer goes with it
The two upgrades are the same upgrade, really: this is the first kettle on this shelf that can be used as an oven rather than as a grill.
A lid thermometer reads the air under the dome — not the meat, but the oven. Which is exactly right for holding 225 to 250 °F for ribs or 350 for a chicken: you set the vents, you read the dial, you adjust.
It will not tell you when the meat is done. For that you want a probe, and on this shelf only the Napoleon has dedicated probe doors so the cable is not pinched under the lid.
What this page does not say
Warranty in the table only. The Amazon.com table lists: 10 year limited warranty.
No vent count. The Master-Touch publishes “3 air vents regulated by 3 arched, swiveling damper blades”; this says only “rust-resistant aluminum damper”.
No Tuck-Away holder. The lid parks on an angled hook here. The $289 Master-Touch slides it into a holder on the side instead, which is the tidier of the two.
One figure that is right
14,651 g. Worth noting because the $149 Original Kettle is listed at 1,500 g, which is impossible for the same bowl and lid. This is what a 22-inch enameled kettle actually weighs.
Availability
On sale at about $219 on Amazon.com when we read the listing on October 31, 2026.
Price and availability were read on Amazon.com on October 31, 2026; both move.
Prices quoted in this text are dated readings and can differ from the live price in the buy box.
What we rate, and what we do not
Strengths
A built-in lid thermometer, which is what makes lid-down roasting possible rather than guesswork
A hinged grate — charcoal goes in without lifting the food, which turns a one-load grill into a three-hour one
A removable high-capacity ash catcher rather than the fixed one on the $149 model
Compromises
No warranty in the bullets; the Amazon.com table lists: 10 year limited warranty
Seventy dollars more than the $149 model for the same thirteen-burger capacity
An angled lid hook rather than the Master-Touch Tuck-Away holder, and no vent count published
Specifications
Diameter
22 in
Thermometer
Built-in lid thermometer, showing the internal temperature
Grate
Hinged, to add charcoal while grilling; durable-plated premium steel
Ash system
One-Touch cleaning, with a removable high-capacity aluminized ash catcher
Stated capacity
Up to 13 burgers made with a Weber burger press
Lid and bowl
Porcelain-enamelled, stated to resist rust and not peel
Handles
Glass-reinforced, glass-infused nylon
Damper
Rust-resistant aluminum
Lid parking
An angled lid hook
Storage
Tool hooks
Mobility
All-weather wheels
Weight
32.3 lb (14.7 kg)
Warranty
10 year limited warranty, in the Amazon.com table; not in the bullets
Lid holder
An angled hook rather than the Master-Touch Tuck-Away holder
Number of vents
Not published — the Master-Touch publishes three
Amazon reference
B00MKB5TXA
EAN
0077924032479
The questions that come in
What does the hinged grate actually change?
It is the difference between a one-hour grill and a three-hour one. On a kettle without a hinge, adding charcoal means lifting the entire grate with the food on it — so you find somewhere to put a hot grate covered in half-cooked chicken, top up the coals, and put it back. Nobody does that twice. What happens instead is that you cook on one load of fuel, and a single chimney of briquettes gives you roughly an hour of useful heat. The hinge lifts two crescents at the edges of the grate, so charcoal drops in at the sides while the food stays put in the middle. For searing burgers it changes nothing. For roasting, smoking or cooking for a crowd in shifts, it is the feature that makes it possible.
Is it worth $70 more than the $149 kettle?
If you cook with the lid down, yes; if you sear with it off, no. Over the Original Kettle this adds exactly four things: the lid thermometer, the hinged grate, a removable high-capacity ash catcher instead of a fixed one, and glass-infused nylon handles (which the $149 listing also claims, so treat that as shared). The capacity is identical — both say up to 13 burgers — and so is the porcelain enamel, the aluminum damper, the angled lid hook, the tool hooks and the wheels. The one real cost of trading down is that the $149 model states its ten-year warranty in the bullets. Here it appears only in the table.
How accurate is a lid thermometer?
Accurate enough for what it is for, and not a substitute for a food probe. A lid thermometer reads the air temperature under the dome, several inches above the grate and offset from the coals, so it tells you what the oven is doing rather than what the meat is doing. That is exactly the right measurement for lid-down cooking: holding 225 to 250 °F for ribs, or 350 for a chicken, is a setting you reach by moving the vents and then reading the dial. Where it will mislead you is as a guide to doneness — for that you want a probe in the meat. On this shelf the Napoleon is the only grill with dedicated probe doors in its stainless ring, so a probe cable does not get pinched under the lid.
Our score
8.1/ 10
The step that buys the thermometer and the hinged grate — the two things that turn a kettle from a searing grill into one that can roast. Two hundred and nineteen dollars, with the warranty only in the table.
This one against the other cookware and knives
Close prices, same category: comparable cookware and knives. We keep only the specifications all of them publish, because a column with gaps compares nothing.
Model
Price
Thermometer
Grate
Lid parking
Warranty
Weber 14401001 Original Kettle Premium
$219
Built-in lid thermometer, showing the internal temperature
Hinged, to add charcoal while grilling; durable-plated premium steel
An angled lid hook
10 year limited warranty, in the Amazon.com table; not in the bullets
Specifications: the manufacturer sheet for cookware and kitchen knives and the matching Amazon product page. Prices and availability: Keepa. Every figure on this page names its source.
22 in charcoal kettle with hinged cast iron grids adjustable to three heights, a Vortex heat management system, a Smoke Stack Chimney, a stainless steel extension ring with rotisserie spit ports and temperature probe doors, an offset hinged lid and chrome-plated cooking grids
The only kettle here with grids at three heights, probe doors and rotisserie ports, at 28 kg (61.7 lb).
Best for: A charcoal cook who smokes with a probe, roasts on a spit, and wants to move the grid rather than the coals
22 in charcoal kettle with 354 sq in of cooking space, a porcelain-enamelled lid and bowl, adjustable air dampers, a removable ash catcher and a storage rack
A 22-inch porcelain-enamelled kettle with 354 published square inches, at twenty-seven cents a square inch.
Best for: The most cooking area per dollar on this shelf, if you can live without the lid hook
