Weber Original Kettle 22 vs Master-Touch 22: 363 Against 443 Square Inches
Two 22-inch Weber kettles stated at 363 and 443 square inches, both with room for 13 burgers. The extra 80 square inches are a warming rack, not more grate.
The two listings at a glance
One-Touch cleaning, lid thermometer
Read our review · Check price on Amazon
Hinged Gourmet BBQ System grate, tuck-away lid holder
Read our review · Check price on Amazon
Weber’s 22-inch kettle and the Master-Touch built on it are a familiar pair, and Amazon states them at 363 and 443 square inches, so the Master-Touch looks like it has about a fifth more room. This page looks at what each listing says about that, because the two listings contain the sentence that explains the gap, and the explanation is that the Master-Touch has the same grate and a warming rack.
| Figure | Original Kettle Premium | Master-Touch | Charcoal class median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area on Amazon | 363 sq in (both sources) | 443 sq in (both sources) | 363 sq in |
| What the area counts | the 22-inch grate | primary plus warming rack (our review) | — |
| Burgers, from the listing | up to 13 | up to 13 | — |
| Weight | 14.7 kg, 32 lb (listing only) | 16.9 kg, 37 lb (listing only) | 18 kg |
| Dimensions on Amazon | 22.5″ D x 38.5″ W x 22.5″ H | 24″ D x 24″ W x 42″ H | — |
| Ash cleanup | One-Touch, removable ash catcher | One-Touch, removable ash catcher | — |
| Lid and thermometer | built-in thermometer | built-in thermometer, tuck-away lid holder | — |
| Grate | plated steel | hinged, takes Gourmet BBQ System inserts | — |
| Price band | $200-500 | $200-500 | — |
The same grate, the same thirteen burgers
Both listings say the grill has “space to hold up to 13 burgers made with a Weber burger press”. That is the same sentence for two grills with different stated areas, and it is the clearest clue on the page, because a grill with 22 percent more grate would hold more. Our review of the Master-Touch resolves it: it calls its 443 square inches “primary plus warming rack”. Our review of a sibling Original Kettle Premium listing calls its 363 square inches “a 22-inch diameter grate”. So the 80 square inch difference is the Master-Touch’s warming rack, which keeps food warm above the main grate and is not a place to grill. A shopper who read the two figures as grates would think the Master-Touch had a fifth more room to cook, and on the evidence of the two listings it has the same.
The class report finds the same ambiguity across the catalogue: only a handful of charcoal listings state a rack separately, so for most the stated area could be a grate or a grate plus a rack and the listing does not say. The charcoal grill class report has the detail. There is a second Master-Touch listing in the catalogue, in slate blue, stating 465 square inches; our review gives its area as 3,000 square centimetres, which is 465 square inches, so the two sources agree once the units are the same, and the two Master-Touch listings still do not agree with each other, at 443 and 465.
Weight: 2.3 kilograms for a lid holder, a rack and a hinged grate
The Original Kettle Premium is listed at 32.3 pounds, 14.7 kilograms, the Master-Touch at 37.3, 16.9: 2.3 kilograms or 15 percent more. Both numbers are plausible for the equipment each lists. The Master-Touch adds a warming rack, a hinged cooking grate, a tuck-away lid holder, tool hooks and eight-inch rubber wheels. The weight is also where the Weber charcoal listings are least reliable: of the Weber grills that state exactly 363 square inches, the listed weights run from 1.5 to 41.3 kilograms, with two at 1.5. Those two are not the Original Kettle Premium in this comparison, whose weight is the one the other Premium listing agrees on.
Dimensions and labels
The listings give the Original Kettle as 22.5″ D x 38.5″ W x 22.5″ H and the Master-Touch as 24″ D x 24″ W x 42″ H. The first lists a width of 38.5 inches and a height of 22.5, which are not the proportions of a 22-inch kettle on legs, and the same page gives item dimensions of 38.5 by 22.5 by 27 inches, so two dimension fields on one listing disagree. The second, 24 by 24 by 42, is the more usual shape of a kettle on legs. Amazon also lists the Master-Touch’s installation type as “Built-In”, though the listing describes eight-inch wheels and a freestanding kettle. The dimensions and the installation field should be taken from the text of the listing, not the table.
Where the Master-Touch sits among kettles
Of the 45 charcoal grills in the catalogue, 4 state exactly 363 square inches on Amazon, all Weber. Both titles say 22-inch and both listings give 13 burgers, which is why we read the Master-Touch’s extra area as a rack. The catalogue’s three Master-Touch listings state 443 and 465 on Amazon and, in our review of a third, 600, a spread of more than a third on one grill. If you are choosing between the two for the sake of space on the grate, the burger count is the figure to use.
What else the listings say
Both list a porcelain-enameled lid and bowl, a One-Touch cleaning system with an ash catcher and a built-in lid thermometer. The Master-Touch’s grate is hinged so that charcoal can be added during cooking and takes the Gourmet BBQ System inserts, it has a tuck-away lid holder, tool hooks and a warming rack. The Original Kettle Premium lists glass-reinforced nylon handles, a rust-resistant aluminium damper, and a ten-year limited warranty on the plain model. Neither listing, in the text we read, states a fuel capacity, a vent size or how long a load of briquettes burns.
Which suits which
The Original Kettle Premium suits you if
- you want the lighter grill, by 2.3 kilograms, and the plainer one;
- the same 13-burger grate is all you need and you do not want to pay for a rack;
- you want a listing whose stated area is the grate and says so.
The Master-Touch suits you if
- you want a warming rack, a hinged grate for adding charcoal and a place to hang the lid;
- the Gourmet BBQ System inserts are something you will use;
- you read its 443 square inches as the grate plus a rack, and not as more grate.
What this comparison cannot tell you
Nothing here was tested. We did not light either kettle, so we cannot say which holds heat better, which has the better vents or how either wears. For each in full, read our review of the Original Kettle Premium and our review of the Master-Touch, and see the charcoal grill reviews for the rest of the type.
Figures are the manufacturers’, as published on each listing and quoted in our reviews; none was measured by us. How we work · Affiliate disclosure