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Woolly Bully is a revolutionary grill accessory that turns the world’s bestselling charcoal grill into a high-performance, high-efficiency outdoor cooking machine.
- Compatibility: Compatible with 22" or 26" Weber® Original, Premium, and Master-Touch grills sold after 2015
- Advanced Fabrics: A layer of aerospace-grade insulation, sandwiched between welding blanket on the bottom and marine-grade outdoor fabric on the top
- Improved Efficiency: Reduce charcoal consumption by one-third, extending time between refills and minimizing the “white smoke” periods
- Consistent Cooks: Hold stable temperatures for hours, retaining more moisture and achieving more even doneness across your meat
- Higher Heat: Replicate brick-oven cooking, with less heat loss through the lid, and more radiating back onto your food
- All-Weather Performance: Extend the grilling season throughout the year with precise temperature control through rain, wind, and snow
- True to an American Icon: Created by Weber® Kettle Lovers who are committed to achieving the highest possible performance from the backyard classic
- Survivability: Heat-tested to 600°F+
As featured on
Level up your grilling
Compatibility
Compatible with all 2015+ 22" Weber® Original, Premium, and Master-Touch lids, anything with the vent located alongside the handle as pictured here.
Have a different lid?
How to Install
Installs in minutes, without tools, fasteners, or adhesives. If you assembled your Weber, you can install the Woolly Bully
Craftsmanship
The Story of the Woolly Bully
Hi, we're Audrey and Max, creators of the Woolly Bully.
When Max was growing up, his dad swore by his kamado, a 3000 year old Japanese design for an outdoor ceramic cooker that looks beautiful on a patio and holds stable temperatures for hours. He broke a couple over the years, but cooking on them was such a joy that he always replaced each one with another.
Max always thought that someday we would buy a really nice big one and take great care of it.
In our twenties and thirties, we lived in rental units and starter homes, some of which came with the previous owner’s Weber kettle grill, and we never could find the budget to buy anything else.
While Big Green Egg was becoming synonymous with the backyard cook’s midlife upgrade, we were learning techniques and accessories to squeeze performance out of the classic kettle.
We used the rotisserie ring, the Smokenator, the Slow and Sear, put nomex gaskets on the lids, and added drip pans, water baths, temperature sensors, fans, and more.
A couple years ago we reached a point in our life where we had the means to pull the trigger on an large kamado, when Max's brother challenged us: “Why? You love your Weber, you cook great meals on it. What problem are you trying to solve with the kamado?”
We thought long and hard in response to this, and came to the conclusion that the one trick a kamado has over a Weber kettle is retaining ridiculous amounts of heat, leading to much more even cooking, better fuel efficiency, and the ability to hit higher temperatures or hold longer sessions, depending on the desires of the cook.
We thought that if we could just find an elegant way to add a layer of insulation to the kettle lid, we would be able to match every trick in the ceramic book.
On top of this, we had recently moved from North Carolina to Seattle, WA, and thought that with the right materials we could make the cover impervious to weather, and be able to grill year round in the rainy PNW.
A guy at our local welding supply shop introduced us to a variety of heat-resistant materials and recommended we try ceramic wool, paired with silicone-coated fiberglass cloth.
Audrey made the first mockup on her Singer sewing machine, and it was clear we were onto something. We tracked down a freelance prototyper who created some test units, and a softgoods designer who improved upon them and built a manufacturing-ready tech pack. After a long search for a manufacturing partner, followed by many iterations, the Woolly Bully was born.
It is tested and proven to give your time-honored Weber kettle the same performance as high end kamados, without the weight, breakability, or cost.
We hope you enjoy cooking with it as much as we enjoyed making it!
Frequently asked questions
What temperatures can the Woolly Bully survive?
The part of the Woolly Bully most vulnerable to heat is the exterior fabric, a solution-dyed polyester with a melt point just over 470° F. Fortunately, the outer layer is separated from the lid throughout the assembly by ½” of insulation, meaning it will usually stay several hundred degrees cooler than the cooking temperatures.
We have tested cooking at up to 600° F – as measured at grill level or a few inches above - for over an hour, without any damage to the Woolly Bully.
At temperatures above 600°F, performance becomes very dependent on duration of time at that temperature, and ambient conditions such as wind. On some of our pizza cooks, we have seen 700° for several without any issue. On others, 20 minutes at 650° has been enough to damage the polyester layer.
At this time we recommend keeping the grill temp at 600° or below.
Well then why don't you use a higher temperature-rated fabric on the exterior?
Fabrics that can withstand temperatures >500ºF tend to be 1) not great with rain and sun, 2) prohibitively expensive, and 3) prohibitively ugly. Solution-dyed polyester is the best combination we could find of the three factors, and, when protected by the insulation, gives the Woolly Bully the best overall performance and longevity.
Will it age?
In a couple ways: First, repeated cycles of heating, cooling, getting wet, and drying, will lead to a small amount of shrinkage of the Woolly Bully’s outer polyester layer. This is nothing to worry about, and in fact we oversized the outer layer just a bit so that after this shrinkage it will fit perfectly. Second, UV radiation will cause the Kevlar/nomex trim and stitching to lighten a shade or two. This is merely a fading of the black pigment in those materials, and does not impact strength or stability. Lastly, very high temperatures can cause the silicone coating on the inner fiberglass layer to degrade. While the fiberglass itself remains undamaged, the overheated silicone can lead to a burnt-rubber smell. This will dissipate after a couple days.
Can I make pizza on my kettle with a Woolly Bully?
Yes! Up to an air temperature of about 600°F. Maaaaaybe 650°, but keep the time at that temperature short (and see FAQ above).
Higher than that and the polyester outer fabric will start to shrink 1-5%, and possibly melt. (For what it’s worth, whenever we get our grill this hot we start to see other problems... such as melting the black standoffs on the lid bail, melting the black handle on the lid damper, cracking pizza stones, and crazing on the lid enamel.)
But, within its temperature range, the Woolly Bully is a GREAT way to get the air temperature 50-100º higher than the temperature of your pizza stone or other cooking surface, which many pizza chefs swear produces the best results.
Is there a Woolly Bully for my (pre-2015, pre-1999, pre-1981, etc) kettle?
Not right now. The vent opening and the thermometer cutout would likely be in the wrong places, as Weber has a habit of changing the layout of their lid every couple decades. But we are looking to make the Woolly Bully for other grills, prioritized by popularity. Please contact us at operations@woollybully.com, ideally with a photo of your lid, and we can let you know as we establish a timeline.
Is there a Woolly Bully for my 18” kettle?
No, but we’d love to make them! Please contact us at operations@woollybully.com and let us know what size you have.
Will I still be able to use the built-in hook or wire bail for my lid if I have a Woolly Bully on it?
Hook: Yes. The Woolly Bully adds about 3.5lbs to a 6lb lid. So it weighs a little more, but not an issue if the grill has grates and charcoal in it. Photo:
Bail: It's a tight fit, but also yes. Photos:
