Kingsford Barrel Charcoal Grill: Review

Review of the Kingsford Barrel Charcoal Grill

As of this writing, there were 116 customer comments and 29 answered questions on Amazon for the Kingsford Barrel Charcoal Grill.  I’ve read through the customer feedback and then condensed the results into this review.  I hope that this helps you when shopping for a charcoal grill.

Best Fea​tures

• check ​Durable/Made to Last​
• check ​Large Cooking Area​
• check Sturdy Cast Iron Grates
• check Heavy Gauge Legs
• check Easy to Assemble 

Item Specifics

The Kingsford Barrel Charcoal Grill has 793 square inches of cooking area.  It comes with a cast iron cooking grate with metal side shelves and a bottom rack.  There are sturdy wheels on it for easy transportation.   Included is a thermometer for  precise temperature control.  The dimensions of this grill are 43 X 23.5 X 50 inches with a weight of 73.5 pounds.

Very Big and Sturdy Grill

People had fun names for this grill with one being Grizzilla.  It measures 43 X 23.5 X 50 inches with a weight of 73.5 pounds.   Here is a comment on some of the grill parts that are well built, “The legs for example are heavy gauge bent, pipe and very solid for a base. The cast iron grates are really beefy compared to the wire ones these days in many other grills.”

Takes Awhile to Get the Smell to Go Away

Some grills need time to have the factory smell burn off.  Apparently, the Kingsford Barrel Charcoal Grill takes quite awhile to get the smell to go away.  Here is one of the comments on the smell, “It stinks, A LOT. So I run it about 12 hours at temperatures ranging from 400 to 700 degrees. Still stinks. Every time I fired up my old bbq I would fill the chimney a few extra times and dump them in this bad boy, thinking that the smell would eventually dissipate as the paint cures or whatever.  Nope, it stinks like burning plastic/paint, cooking food in it would have been absolutely disgusting. Wasted AT LEAST 80 pounds of charcoal.”

Just One Shelf

Some customers wished that this grill had more than one shelf.  It seems like an older model of this grill had more than one shelf.  There were no big complaints, though people did wish it had another shelf.

Easy to Assemble

Most of the comments about assemblage were positive.  The comments about assembly ranged from 1 to 2 hours of time.  Here is one of the many comments on ease of assembly, “Haven’t cooked on it yet but the assembly was fairly easy took myself about 1 hour to put together. Looks fabulous and huge. Can’t wait to cook on it!”

Pros

• plus Sturdy and well built
• plus Easy to assemble
• plus 793 square inches of cooking area

Cons

• close Factory smell may take time to burn off 
• close Only one shelf 

Kingsford Barrel Charcoal Grill Conclusion

The Kingsford Barrel Charcoal Grill is a sturdy and large charcoal grill that is easy to assemble.  It has 793 square inches of cooking area.  It may take awhile to season it and get the factory smell to go away, but if you are patient, I think you will really like this grill. It is built to last.

Common Questions

Here are some top questions that I found for people considering buying a Kingsford Barrel Charcoal Grill. 

• chevron-circle-right What are the actual dimensions of the cooking surface? The main cooking surface is 27 wide by 19 deep. It has four cooking grates. It also has an upper cooking area that is 28 x 8.
• chevron-circle-right What is the chimney for? Used in conjunction with the lower side vents, it controls the amount of air that can circulate through the system, and therefore the intensity of the heat when the lid is closed. It has a plate over the top that you can rotate to one side or the other to open the upper vent stack more or less. This then pulls in more or less air from the lower side vents and across your cooking coals.
• chevron-circle-right Can the side table be placed on either side of the grill?  No. It goes on the left side. The holes are there for the screws.

Related Article: Best Charcoal Grill: (Our Top 10 Picks and Overall Favorite)