Pit Barrel Cooker Junior Premier 14 vs Pit Barrel Cooker Badger Barrel 16.5
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Quick take: The Pit Barrel Cooker Badger Barrel 16.5 costs $85 less; the Pit Barrel Cooker Badger Barrel 16.5 offers more cooking space (16.5 vs 14 sq in).
| Spec | Pit Barrel Cooker Junior Premier 14 | Pit Barrel Cooker Badger Barrel 16.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$360 | ~$275 |
| Rating | 5★ (396) | — |
| Type | Charcoal Smoker | Charcoal Smoker |
| Cooking Area | 14 in grate plus 2 hanging rods (4 hooks) | 16.5 in grate plus hanging rack |
| Max Temp | — | — |
| Fuel Type | Charcoal | Charcoal |
| Build Material | Porcelain-Enameled Steel | Porcelain-Enameled Steel |
| Hopper Capacity | — | — |
| Burners | — | — |
| WiFi / App | No | No |
| App control | No | No |
| Meat probe | No | No |
| PID controller | No | No |
| Side burner | No | No |
| Rotisserie | No | No |
| Searing | No | No |
| Dimensions | 14 in drum diameter | 16.5 in drum diameter |
| Weight | — | — |
| Warranty | 1 year | 1 year |
Pros & cons
Pit Barrel Cooker Junior Premier 14
- ✓Hanging meat vertically over the coals is a genuinely different cook from a grate — drippings hit the fire and the smoke is heavier than a water smoker's
- ✓Sealed-drum design has no damper to fiddle with: you set the single intake for your altitude once and it holds 275–300°F on its own
- ✓Premier heat shield means it can legally and safely sit on a wood deck, which the older Junior could not
- ✓Ships fully assembled with hooks, rods, charcoal basket, grate, hook tool and two rubs — nothing else to buy
- ✓Half the charcoal load of the 18.5-inch Classic, so short cooks are much cheaper to run
- ✗No damper control by design — it runs hot and fast at 275–300°F, so true 225°F low-and-slow is not what this cooker does
- ✗A full packer brisket over 8–10 lbs will not fit hanging; the 18.5 or the PBX is the one for competition-size cuts
- ✗No built-in thermometer at all — the lid is blank and you supply your own probe
- ✗$360 is a lot of money for a 14-inch drum next to a $289 Weber Smokey Mountain 14 with twice the grate area
- ✗Every product photo on Pit Barrel's own store for this model is AI-generated rather than a real studio shot, which makes it hard to judge fit and finish before buying
Pit Barrel Cooker Badger Barrel 16.5
- ✓Lid and base dampers give you the temperature control the rest of the Pit Barrel line refuses to offer
- ✓Removing the mid-section turns it into a hibachi — a genuinely useful second mode, not a marketing claim
- ✓Cheapest entry into the hanging-drum method at $275, below both the Junior and the Classic
- ✓Porcelain enamel over steel with spring-coil side handles and a three-leg base, so it moves without a caster kit
- ✓Hangs six racks of ribs in a 16.5-inch footprint, which is more than a same-diameter kettle can hold
- ✗Only three reviews on Pit Barrel's own store, so there is no useful track record on durability yet
- ✗Patent-pending design introduced in 2022 means a much thinner accessory and parts ecosystem than the Classic
- ✗Sits between the Junior and the Classic on capacity without clearly beating either — easy to buy the wrong size
- ✗No thermometer, no probe port, and the vents have no calibration marks
- ✗The hibachi conversion means handling a hot mid-section mid-cook, which needs gloves and somewhere to set it down