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In this guide
The Smokey Joe is the Weber kettle shrunk to 14 inches, and for 2026 Weber has folded the old Premium version into the base model. The single Smokey Joe 14 in Charcoal Grill now carries the Tuck-N-Carry lid lock as standard, in black for $54.99 and in Deep Ocean Blue or Burnt Orange for $64.99. The older Premium listing at part 40020 no longer resolves on Weber's US site, so this review covers the current black model, part 1501695.
Everything that makes the 22-inch kettle work is here at reduced scale: a porcelain-enameled steel bowl and lid, a plated-steel cooking grate, aluminum dampers top and bottom, and an ash catcher under the bowl. What you give up is area. Weber rates the grate at 147 square inches and says it fits six burgers, which is dinner for a few people and a crowded surface for anyone beyond that.
Our verdict
The right small charcoal grill for a car trunk, a balcony or a campsite table: enamel that lasts, real dampers, an ash catcher and a lock that turns the lid into a carry handle, all for $54.99. Just do not expect to feed six.
- A good fit for
- A household of two, a tailgater, or a camper who cooks burgers, sausages and vegetables over charcoal and wants the grill to survive years outdoors.
- We would skip it if
- You regularly cook for more than four, want to smoke a pork shoulder, or need a grill that stands at counter height without a table under it.
Reasons to consider it
- Porcelain-enameled bowl and lid backed by ten years of rust-through and burn-through coverage
- Lid and bowl dampers plus an ash catcher, the same control layout as the 22-inch kettles
- Tuck-N-Carry lid lock is now standard, so the lid stays on in transit and doubles as a lid holder
The compromises
- 147 square inches of grate is six burgers, and the lid sits low, so tall roasts and beer-can chicken are out
- It sits on the ground or a table; there is no stand, and the body is 17 inches tall with the lid on
- Weber lists no weight for it and no cover is included
What we have not verified: The grill was not cooked on here. Weber does not publish a weight, one badge on its page reads cast-iron while the specification reads plated steel for the grate, and how long a full chimney of briquettes holds temperature in this bowl was not measured.
The things in this guide
A closer look at the products, who they may suit, and what to check before buying.
Smokey Joe 14 in Charcoal Grill, Black
A 14-inch enameled kettle with two dampers, an ash catcher and a lid lock, priced at $54.99 in black, with the bowl and lid covered for ten years against rusting or burning through.
Before you buy: Six burgers is the ceiling, the lid clearance rules out tall cuts, and the grill needs a table or the ground because there is no stand.
Price checked September 11, 2026. Retailer prices can change.Fourteen inches across, six burgers deep
Weber gives the Smokey Joe a 14-inch bowl and a single 147-square-inch cooking grate, with no upper rack or warming zone. Closed, the grill measures 17 inches high, 14.2 wide and 16.5 deep, the extra depth coming from the lid handle and the ash catcher. Weber's own capacity line is six burgers made with its burger press, and its cook count is a small household. Those numbers are honest: a 14-inch circle takes four thick patties comfortably and six if they touch.
The step up is the 18-inch Jumbo Joe at $89.99, which Weber lists at 240 square inches, a 19.7 by 19.7 by 20.5 inch footprint and a four-to-six-person cook count. The $35 gap buys 63 percent more grate and a taller lid. For a couple or a solo camper the small one is enough; for a family that grills every weekend the Jumbo is the better portable and the 22-inch kettle is better still if nothing has to move.
The lock that used to be the Premium upgrade
For years Weber sold two Smokey Joes: a plain one and a Premium whose difference was a Tuck-N-Carry lid lock that secures the lid to the bowl so the assembled grill can be picked up as one piece. The 2026 model makes the lock standard on every color and drops the Premium name. The lock also doubles as a holder that keeps the lid at the side of the bowl while you turn food, which keeps a hot lid off a picnic table.
Weber does not publish a weight for the grill, which is an odd omission for a product sold on portability. What it does list is a single glass-reinforced nylon lid handle and a porcelain-enamel finish on the bowl and lid described as scratch- and rust-resistant. Weber sells a $27.99 carry bag and a cover for it as separate items, and its free-shipping threshold is $99, so a $54.99 grill on its own will carry a freight cost or a trip to a retailer.
Two dampers, an ash catcher and enamel that shrugs off heat
The control scheme is the same as on the big kettles: a damper in the lid and one in the bowl, both rust-resistant aluminum, and Weber's guidance is to set temperature without lifting the lid and to close both to choke the coals when you are done. Air control on a 14-inch bowl is coarser than on a 22 because the fuel bed is small and burns down fast, so expect a shorter high-heat window from a single load of charcoal. The bowl damper vents into an ash catcher below, which collects ash so it does not land on a deck or a tailgate.
Weber lists the cooking grate as plated steel and the fuel grate as heavy-duty. One graphic on Weber's own page reads "Durable Cooking Grates: Cast-Iron," which conflicts with the specification, and the specification is the safer reading given every other Smokey Joe Weber has sold. Plated steel is light, heats fast and does not need seasoning; it also wears its plating off eventually, and the grate falls under the two-year tier of the warranty rather than the ten-year one.
Ten years on the bowl, two on everything else
Weber's charcoal schedule covers the bowl and lid for ten years against rusting through or burning through, the One-Touch cleaning system for five years on the same terms, plastic parts for five years excluding fading, and all remaining parts across two years. The headline is fair: enamel failure is the thing that kills a cheap kettle, and it is the thing covered longest. Weber adds that the schedule on its site is informational and the owner's guide for your specific grill governs, so a claim starts with the manual, not the website.
At $54.99 in black the Smokey Joe is the cheapest Weber charcoal grill, and the colored versions at $64.99 are paint, not function. Set against the $89.99 Jumbo Joe, the small one is the pick only when the grill has to ride in a small trunk or live on a balcony. Set against no-name 14-inch kettles costing half as much, the argument is the enamel coverage and the replacement-part supply, neither of which the generic grills offer in writing.
Skip it if you cook for a crowd or cook low and slow
Pass on the Smokey Joe if your normal cookout is more than four people. Six burgers fills the grate, and there is no second level to stage cooked food, so a bigger group means cooking in shifts while the first batch cools. The lid is also low. A whole chicken sits too tall, and long smokes are impractical because a 14-inch bowl cannot hold enough unlit fuel for a multi-hour burn without refills.
Also pass if you prefer to stand while you cook. The grill is 17 inches tall with the lid on and has no legs of its own, so it belongs on a table, a tailgate or the ground, and a table that can take radiant heat is on you to supply. If those conditions describe an occasional picnic, the grill is well matched to the job. If they describe your only grill, buy the 18 or the 22 and keep the small one as a wish.
How we put this together
Built from the product pages and listings below, without test scores or results we have not measured. Specifications and prices change, so check the original page for the exact model, current price, delivery, and returns.
- Weber: Smokey Joe 14 in Charcoal Grill, black (part 1501695) (opens in a new tab)
- Weber: Portable charcoal grills category (opens in a new tab)
- Weber: Warranties (opens in a new tab)
- Weber: 18 in Jumbo Joe Charcoal Grill (part 1211001) (opens in a new tab)
