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Kamado buying guide: shell, grate, then the box

Updated: 23 October 2026

You are choosing among seven kamado listings on amazon.co.uk, from £137.90 to £810 on 19 October 2026, or setting that shelf beside a specialist egg above a thousand pounds. The price looks settled. The fields often are not: one ceramic prints two weights, another prints a grate that cannot be the cooking surface, and three colours of one model have no star line. This kamado buying guide is the order before you click. Check the shell and the kilogrammes, then the real grate, then the vents and the included line, then the warranty sentence. The [kamado barbecue comparison](/hub/grills-and-barbecues/kamado-barbecue) holds the seven cards. We did not run a lab cook.

You are choosing among seven kamado listings on amazon.co.uk, from £137.90 to £810 on 19 October 2026, or setting that shelf beside a specialist egg above a thousand pounds. The price looks settled.

Our top picks

Char-Griller Char-Griller Akorn Jr

Best overall

Char-Griller Char-Griller Akorn Jr
6.4/10about £169.99
View offer
Ynni Ynni Kamado 23 inch

Rank 2

Ynni Ynni Kamado 23 inch
7.1/10about £810
View offer
Relaxdays Relaxdays 26 cm kamado

Alternative

Relaxdays Relaxdays 26 cm kamado
4.3/10about £137.90
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the shell and the kilogrammes
  2. 2.Read the grate, not the slogan
  3. 3.Vents, gauge, and what is actually included
  4. 4.Warranty words and a cracked delivery

Start with the shell and the kilogrammes

A kamado here is either a ceramic egg or a triple-wall steel cooker in that shape. Ceramic stores heat and shatters if you drop it. Steel is the shell you can still carry. The black Akorn E6714 is about 16.2 kg with side handles, and the Junior listings sit around 15–16 kg. Relaxdays is 21.3 kg, a one-person lift on a flat path, with a side-dish grate. Goods Emporium’s BBQ-KE21 prints about 75 kg in a bullet and 85 kg in the specification, kerbside for two or three people. Ynni is 95 kg. If you are alone when the driver leaves the pallet, the Junior matches that plan. Ceramic or steel takes the heat store further. Use the heavier printed kilogramme until you know who meets the delivery.

Read the grate, not the slogan

The inch in the title is usually the outside. Food sits on a smaller grid, and some printed areas should not be used. Ynni states a 23.2 inch shell and a 19.7 inch grid, 1,982 cm². Match meals to that grid, not to the 23 on the badge. Goods Emporium’s 0.27 m² is 2,700 cm², while a 21 inch circle is about 2,234 cm², so do not plan a crowd on that box until the seller confirms the grid. The black Akorn states 155 square inches, about 1,000 cm². The ash E86714 prints 14 square inches against a 14 inch diameter, so that field is not a grate. Relaxdays prints 530.93 cm², about 26 cm, a couple of burgers at £137.90. People and the path from the kerb sit on what size kamado.
Char-Griller Char-Griller Akorn Jr

Testsieger

Char-Griller Char-Griller Akorn Jr
6.4/10about £169.99
View offer

Vents, gauge, and what is actually included

You want a bottom intake and a top exhaust that move and stay put. A dome thermometer reads the lid, not the grate. The ash Junior’s bullets mention a heat gauge and dual dampers at £232.40, but the review text matches the black Junior, so 5,093 ratings are not a separate test. Ignore the black E6714 line that prints 20 watts and 12,000 BTU on charcoal. Deflector plates and pizza stones are absent from these included lists, so indirect heat on the first weekend needs a plate you confirm. Ynni’s bullets name a chip feeder, a trolley, and bamboo tables, while the included line says thermometer only. The black Akorn’s included line is the user manual, which is not a stand.

Warranty words and a cracked delivery

A long ceramic promise is a sentence with exclusions. Big Green Egg UK’s lifetime exclusions for drops and transport are not these listings’ terms. Ynni prints 20 year ceramics and a 20 year spare-part duration, and does not say a drop or a split pallet is replaced. The E6714 prints 2 years from the manufacturer and 1 year of spare parts. Relaxdays leaves the warranty field empty. Goods Emporium prints manufacturers standard with no term, at £589.99, £599.99, and £649.99. Photograph a cracked bowl on the pallet. Section 9 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires satisfactory quality. None of these seven states a result against BS EN 1860-1:2024. A missing line is not a pass. Who should skip a row is on best kamado on these listings.

Common questions

Do I buy the ceramic or the steel first?
Choose the shell you can move, then the grate. Ynni at 95 kg, or the BBQ-KE21 at 75 kg in one field and 85 kg in the other, needs two or three people at the kerb. The Akorn Jr, around 15–16 kg, is the cooker you carry. Steel does not hold heat the way thick ceramic does.
Is the inch on the title the grate?
Usually it is the outside, and the grid is smaller. Ynni prints both a 23.2 inch shell and a 19.7 inch grid. Goods Emporium’s 0.27 m² is larger than a 21 inch circle, so it is not settled cooking area. The ash Akorn’s 14 square inches against a 14 inch diameter is a broken field. Use numbers that agree.
Will a stand, a thermometer, and a deflector be in the box?
Not as a set. Deflectors and pizza stones are absent from these included lists. Ynni’s included line is the thermometer; the bullets also name a feeder, a trolley, and bamboo tables. The black Akorn includes the manual. If the stand is why you are paying, get that line confirmed first.
What does a 20 year or lifetime line refuse to cover?
Read the sentence on the brand you buy. Big Green Egg UK, which is not these listings’ terms, excludes transport, dropping, and impact from lifetime ceramic cover. Ynni prints 20 years and does not say a courier crack is replaced. Char-Griller prints 2 years on the E6714. Relaxdays’ empty field is not a promise.
Why do three colours of the same model have three prices and no reviews?
BBQ-KE21 is one 21 inch ceramic in red at £589.99, black at £599.99, and green at £649.99, and none has a star line. Colour is not three tests. Paying more for green does not buy reviews. Compare shell, grate, weight, and the included line once, then pick the colour.

Related pages

Charcoal barbecue

Kamado barbecue

Best kamado barbecue for these amazon.co.uk listings

Ceramic kamado or steel: heat store or a lighter carry

How to light a kamado safely and then cool it outside

What size kamado: the grate, the stairs and the kerb

Sources

Public UK sources on satisfactory quality, smoke, carbon monoxide and barbecue fire safety, plus buyer notes on kamado size and vent lag. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved on 19 October 2026. These listings are not scored as certified to BS EN 1860-1.

  1. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. GOV.UK — smoke control area enforcement (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. GOV.UK — nuisance smoke (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. NHS — carbon monoxide poisoning (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. London Fire Brigade — BBQ safety (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. BSI — BS EN 1860-1:2024 solid-fuel barbecues (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Smokey Rebel — kamado guide (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. Love2BBQ — kamado size guide (retrieved 22.10.2026)