About a year late to this party. The pics are gone, and yes removing the ash ring is certainly helpful. So is turning the bowl upside down and setting it on the ground (grass preferrably)
Had a similar problem with the "H" drive one touch system on a Performer. In the words of John Lovitz, "That's the ticket".
You wedge a flathead screw driver between the rod and washer on the bottom of the bowl, in between the tabs of the "H" drive. This creates just enough room for you to twist the rod and get the ridge on the rod out of the groove on the washer. You then line up the ridge and pull it through the tab of the "H" drive. Customer service tells you just to "wiggle" it. Wiggling it will do nothing but drive you batty.
