New 2026 Performer Smart Charcoal Grill video


 
Are there any pictures of the fan on these new smart models? Interested to see where it's blowing into the kettle. Perhaps where the gas start assist burner used to be? Can't find any photos

Was surprised to see that new smart fan ring attachment to me it always makes sense for the intake air to be at the bottom.

Also that Amazon video link is not working for me.
The air enters the kettle at charcoal grate level on the right side. It's in about the same spot as where the gas burner tube was, only above the charcoal grate instead of below. This helps keep ash out of it, and also provides optimum air flow to the coals.
 
The air enters the kettle at charcoal grate level on the right side. It's in about the same spot as where the gas burner tube was, only above the charcoal grate instead of below. This helps keep ash out of it, and also provides optimum air flow to the coals.
Perfect thanks John that's what I thought :)

So the ring is more like an attachment for a regular kettle.

I know you are US based but do you have any idea if South Africa (EMEA) region will be getting these awesome new products?

The smart performer fan setup sounds perfect and loving the new Smokey Joe colours, here in my region we get the black one and that's it.
 
So they have eliminated the gas assist and dry storage compartment altogether? That is a bit of a bummer, I love the gas assist, but I suppose with all the options for chimney starters having a propane canister is not longer practical? The charcoal bin was what made me initially want the performer over a standard kettle. The table was just an added bonus!
 
Perfect thanks John that's what I thought :)

So the ring is more like an attachment for a regular kettle.

I know you are US based but do you have any idea if South Africa (EMEA) region will be getting these awesome new products?

The smart performer fan setup sounds perfect and loving the new Smokey Joe colours, here in my region we get the black one and that's it.
That's correct. The Smart Ring is considered an accessory or attachment for any 22" regular kettle. I'm US based at Weber HQ in Palatine, Illinois, but I work on the Global Product Management team, so the products I'm involved with developing (or my fellow team members in the case of the Smart Ring) are for the worldwide market, with region specific SKUs setup for particular regions and countries. I don't know specifically if the Smart Ring is coming to South Africa, but I can ask and find out. As for colors, they can be polarizing and everyone has their own opinion on them, which limits their appeal. Each region generally opts in our out of carrying color versions within their assortment. Black is always the most popular color, and sometimes regions don't want to take a gamble on offering color options. Disappointing to be sure, but understandable.
 
That's correct. The Smart Ring is considered an accessory or attachment for any 22" regular kettle. I'm US based at Weber HQ in Palatine, Illinois, but I work on the Global Product Management team, so the products I'm involved with developing (or my fellow team members in the case of the Smart Ring) are for the worldwide market, with region specific SKUs setup for particular regions and countries. I don't know specifically if the Smart Ring is coming to South Africa, but I can ask and find out. As for colors, they can be polarizing and everyone has their own opinion on them, which limits their appeal. Each region generally opts in our out of carrying color versions within their assortment. Black is always the most popular color, and sometimes regions don't want to take a gamble on offering color options. Disappointing to be sure, but understandable.
You are a gem thank you John!

I do understand the colour thing but still wish we got some nice Smokey Joe options here :) But from a business standpoint I get it to not carry too many SKUs that wont necessarily sell here.

There are a few colour options on the 22inch Master Touch over here atleast. Or 57cm as its called here. And on local Facebook marketplace I do see some lime green Joe's popping up every now and again so I guess the colours were trialed here at some point and didn't sell well enough to justify more options.

Must be an awesome job working at the Weber HQ and seeing people's reactions to you and your teams work! I'm excited by these new charcoal products and I might not even be able to buy them locally :)

I could always try importing through the US Amazon
 
So they have eliminated the gas assist and dry storage compartment altogether? That is a bit of a bummer, I love the gas assist, but I suppose with all the options for chimney starters having a propane canister is not longer practical? The charcoal bin was what made me initially want the performer over a standard kettle. The table was just an added bonus!
Hey Cory, yes, that's correct. The new line of Performers will not have a gas assist option or charcoal bin. The gas assist ignition certainly was a cool feature, but it was prone to clogging up and required maintenance that a lot of people simply didn't want to perform. That caused it to be a bit of a pain point on Performer w/gas assist models. A lot of people would also start out using it and then simply switch over to using a chimney starter. The charcoal bin was a great idea, but since it didn't have a lid it left charcoal a little bit open to the elements, and usually ended up as a glorified garbage can for many people. That's not to say it couldn't do it's job well as a charcoal bin, but many people simply didn't use it as one.
 
You are a gem thank you John!

I do understand the colour thing but still wish we got some nice Smokey Joe options here :) But from a business standpoint I get it to not carry too many SKUs that wont necessarily sell here.

There are a few colour options on the 22inch Master Touch over here atleast. Or 57cm as its called here. And on local Facebook marketplace I do see some lime green Joe's popping up every now and again so I guess the colours were trialed here at some point and didn't sell well enough to justify more options.

Must be an awesome job working at the Weber HQ and seeing people's reactions to you and your teams work! I'm excited by these new charcoal products and I might not even be able to buy them locally :)

I could always try importing through the US Amazon
I'm very happy to help when I can!

Maybe someday South Africa will pick up some of the other Smokey Joe colour options. There's always hope in the future.

FYI - I did hear back that the Smart Ring will not be coming to South Africa. It's similar to the colour situation in terms of taking a gamble, but it's compounded by all of the compliance, testing, and development required due to the electronics. Just like the colours though, things could always change down the road.

I'm really sorry for the disappointing news, but at least now you have a bit less uncertainty.

Honestly, it's a dream job. I am a huge kettle fan, and being able to conceptualize and develop news ones makes me feel incredibly fortunate.
 
The gas assist ignition certainly was a cool feature, but it was prone to clogging up and required maintenance that a lot of people simply didn't want to perform.
I and mean no offense have never required any maintenance on the gas assist and certainly not prone to it clogging. By the way my Performer is Gen 3 and I have never seen a lot of people on this forum having issues some I am sure do but forum members responded and that was the end of it.

The gas assist to me was one of the reasons I actually bought a performer easy to light my chimney and ready to go. I would never buy one without it so I guess I am not going to be a customer down the road keep the one I have. IMO this is just a cost cutting move no matter how you try to spin it.
 
I'm very happy to help when I can!

Maybe someday South Africa will pick up some of the other Smokey Joe colour options. There's always hope in the future.

FYI - I did hear back that the Smart Ring will not be coming to South Africa. It's similar to the colour situation in terms of taking a gamble, but it's compounded by all of the compliance, testing, and development required due to the electronics. Just like the colours though, things could always change down the road.

I'm really sorry for the disappointing news, but at least now you have a bit less uncertainty.

Honestly, it's a dream job. I am a huge kettle fan, and being able to conceptualize and develop news ones makes me feel incredibly fortunate.
That's all good thank you for finding out for me :)

My 10 year old Kettle has seen some mods over the years so I could always add a PID blower to it
 
Nice grill, but for me the gas assist is important. Fill up the baskets, hit the button and turn off 5 minutes later. I have a 20# tank connected to my Performer that I replace every 3 or 4 years. I have had to replace the igniter kit once in 8 years which is understandable.

I purchased an Akorn Auto-Kamado when they were selling them for $200, which I use when I want to use an ATC.

I would have considered one of these if it had gas assist. The ATC is not as important to me with a kettle.
 
I had a Spider Huntsman for a while, and I did really like the Venom temp control on it when I was doing low and slow BBQ. I assume that just like on the Huntsman, using the temp control is optional. The Huntsman's huge thermal mass meant you needed to use a ton of fuel to do high heat grilling in cold weather. I am thinking this Weber kettle will perform a lot better in that regard but still do great on low and slow bbq - as it does even without a temp control. The controller and app just make things a lot easier when you are constrained by other obligations and sadly can't enjoy a lazy afternoon tending your grill.
 
I and mean no offense have never required any maintenance on the gas assist and certainly not prone to it clogging. By the way my Performer is Gen 3 and I have never seen a lot of people on this forum having issues some I am sure do but forum members responded and that was the end of it.

The gas assist to me was one of the reasons I actually bought a performer easy to light my chimney and ready to go. I would never buy one without it so I guess I am not going to be a customer down the road keep the one I have. IMO this is just a cost cutting move no matter how you try to spin it.
Light one paraffin cube and start your chimney that way. I can see if you didn't use a chimney like Pat G later on in the thread, but this doesn't make sense to me.
 
I recently drilled a hole into my One touch (warranty has expired) to stick in what's known as a "flame stick" in my country for gas assist starting and so far I find the chimney a lot more useful. Just my two South African cents which is about 0.0012 USD so probably not worth much round these parts :)

This fan controller seems a lot more interesting to me as lighting a Weber is really not that hard. But again just my opinion

Link for those who might be interested in what a flame stick looks like. Essentially a burner tube on a propane hose for lighting wood fires quickly

Screenshot_20260123_203231_Samsung Internet.jpg

https://www.4x4direct.co.za/camping...k_moY4KXha9FNt_H7WBw-2_e5gmTwGSi7tWaQ2Q5Qvuiy
 
Hi Jon! The cart is made of painted steel. The kettle itself is of course still porcelain enameled like always. A porcelain enameled frame would be pretty cost prohibitive, presents a lot of challenges manufacturing wise, would be heavy, and assembling it would be a bit precarious as I would worry a lot about consumers overtightening the hardware and causing the enamel to crack. We already see this today when lid handles are tightened onto kettles with a bit too much zeal.
What's the slot cut out on the left side for?
Hand hold or a place to hang the cooking grate?
 
Light one paraffin cube and start your chimney that way. I can see if you didn't use a chimney like Pat G later on in the thread, but this doesn't make sense to me.
I also do what Pat G does sometimes not using the chimney. I don't want to deal with cubes or newspaper with bacon grease or whatever as Pat said push the button wait five minutes let it do its thing. To be honest and its fine to disagree for $900 if that's what its going to sell for than I expected the gas assist.
 
I also do what Pat G does sometimes not using the chimney. I don't want to deal with cubes or newspaper with bacon grease or whatever as Pat said push the button wait five minutes let it do its thing. To be honest and its fine to disagree for $900 if that's what its going to sell for than I expected the gas assist.
I think this fair. I know I paid more than this for my WSK E6 and have to use a paraffin cube in the chimney or in the charcoal area. Not a big deal to me, but is to you.
 
Hey Cory, yes, that's correct. The new line of Performers will not have a gas assist option or charcoal bin. The gas assist ignition certainly was a cool feature, but it was prone to clogging up and required maintenance that a lot of people simply didn't want to perform. That caused it to be a bit of a pain point on Performer w/gas assist models. A lot of people would also start out using it and then simply switch over to using a chimney starter. The charcoal bin was a great idea, but since it didn't have a lid it left charcoal a little bit open to the elements, and usually ended up as a glorified garbage can for many people. That's not to say it couldn't do it's job well as a charcoal bin, but many people simply didn't use it as one.
TBH, I stopped using the gas assist due to the cost of canisters in the UK and the hassle of trying to get the thing to screw in! I always used a chimney with it anyway. Swapped to using the little wax bale things as a box of those is a lot cheaper than the gas. Still a great grill though and in my experience, I never had a damp problem with my charcoal in the bin especially since the Weber briquettes changed from the old white paper bags to the waterproof ones.
 

 

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