Char-Griller AKORN Jr. 14-inch
Kamado shape for the price of a kettle — Triple-wall insulated steel in a 14-inch kamado shape, 155 sq in and 35.7 lb, under Char-Griller’s $199.99 list on Amazon — 4.6★ on 759 owners. TechGearLab tested it hands-on and named it its best tabletop charcoal grill. Not ceramic.
Contender — The Best Kamado Grills (2026): The Egg Is Not Cheaper, and the Warranty Depends on Who Sold It
Contender — The Best Portable Charcoal Grills (2026): Jumbo Joe vs Rambler, and the Tested Winners You Can't Buy
Sold and shipped by Amazon · read 2026-10-18
Specs
| Model | E86714 (grey) / E6714 (black) |
| Body | Triple-wall insulated steel — NOT ceramic |
| Cooking area | 155 sq in |
| Weight | 35.7 lb |
| Included | Cast iron grate, legs, locking lid |
| Warranty | 5-year burn and rust-through; registration required; original purchaser only; EXCLUDES surface rust |
| Rating basis | Global — the grey and black listings are separate bases (grey 759 on 2026-10-18; black 690 on 2026-09-12) |
| Owner rating | 4.6★ / 759 |
| Area per pound | 4.3 sq in (155 ÷ 35.7) |
| Lid locks for carry | Yes — locking lid (Char-Griller listing) |
Pros
- Under $200 for kamado-style cooking, a fraction of any ceramic
- 35.7 lb — one person can carry it
- A deep owner record for a small grill — 759 ratings on the listing we link
- Char-Griller sells nearly every part on its own site — firegrate, damper kit, latch kit, legs, hinge, thermometer — mostly in stock
Cons
- It is steel, not ceramic: faster up and down, less forgiving on a long low cook
- Rust is the long-term story — a Florida owner's second Akorn Jr started rusting at the damper in five months under a cover, and the 5-year term covers rust-through, not surface rust
- Quality control is uneven: owners report missing latches and legs, flaking porcelain and misaligned lids on new units
- Parts are sold, but one owner in Hawaii was told the company does not ship parts there
Rust and quality control. A Florida owner's second Akorn Jr began rusting at the damper after five months under a cover. New units arrive with missing ash-pan latches, an extra leg and no lid handle, porcelain flaking inside the lid and base, dents, and lids that do not line up with the body. One owner was told a brand-new unit was past warranty and that parts are not shipped to Hawaii.
37 critical reviews on the grey listing as of 2026-09-12 · critical reviews read 2026-09-12
Pro review “Though the pan is only sized for a small coal bed, we were still able to sear steaks at 500 ℉ within minutes of getting the coals up to temperature.”Hands-on scored test of 13 charcoal grills; award "Best Tabletop Charcoal Grill"; buy link B08GTTMZ41, the listing we link. Quote matched 2026-10-18 (raw HTML).— Ross Patton, TechGearLab
FAQ
Who is the Char-Griller AKORN Jr. 14-inch for?
You want to learn kamado cooking for under $200, or need a kamado one person can carry, and you accept a steel body that rusts and a quality-control lottery on assembly.
What do owners say about the Char-Griller AKORN Jr. 14-inch?
4.6★ across 759 owner ratings (Amazon, read 2026-10-18 · global base). What owners complain about: Rust and quality control. A Florida owner's second Akorn Jr began rusting at the damper after five months under a cover. New units arrive with missing ash-pan latches, an extra leg and no lid handle, porcelain flaking inside the lid and base, dents, and lids that do not line up with the body. One owner was told a brand-new unit was past warranty and that parts are not shipped to Hawaii.
Who sells the Char-Griller AKORN Jr. 14-inch on Amazon, and can it be returned?
Sold and shipped by Amazon, when we read the listing on 2026-10-18. Sellers and return terms can change, so check both on the listing before you buy.
What is the warranty on the Char-Griller AKORN Jr. 14-inch?
5-year burn and rust-through; registration required; original purchaser only; EXCLUDES surface rust
Record
- — Re-read for the portable charcoal showdown: 4.6 across 759, $183.46 from Amazon.com (was $198.57 on 2026-10-02). TechGearLab’s hands-on test found and linked.
- — Price read 2026-10-02 from the live Amazon offer (Creators API): $198.57, no deal flag; was $159.99. Published at read time per the 2026-09-15 rule, ahead of Prime Big Deal Days.
- — Added as the budget compact kamado. It is the only kamado in the top 20 of Amazon's charcoal-grill best sellers, at about $160 against Char-Griller's own $199.99.
Warranty — and what changes if you buy it on Amazon
5-year burn and rust-through; registration required; original purchaser only; EXCLUDES surface rust · you are buying this on Amazon
Read it yourself: Char-Griller warranty document · we read it . Terms change without announcement, so treat this as a dated snapshot. How warranty works by buy path →
✓ Safety: no active recall — No CPSC recall found (saferproducts.gov Recall API, 2026-09-12: ProductName=Akorn and RecallTitle=Char-Griller returned zero records; positive control ProductName=heater returned 181).
Size your pool first → ·All pool gear →
Data last verified: 2026-10-18. Ratings are real, dated reads — never scraped or invented. Full methodology and monetization disclosure: how we test.