I posted above about following Steven Raichlen's 2005 book on cooking ribs on the Kettle.
A free ad-supported streaming service , Tubi , has Raichlen's " Primal Grill " series from 2008. I was watching Season 1 , episode 8 , and it has the rib cook I referenced above.
I've no idea what's involved with getting to this show if you're not already a subscriber to Tubi, but here's a link . For me, its interesting seeing how smoking on the Kettle has evolved in 18 years.
I remember his BBQ University show, back when he was working out of this lodge in West Virginia. What's interesting, and a little bit eye-opening, was a lot of the things he used to do, AR debunked. I still have to give him credit, he's evolved with the times. And some of his spice mixtures in those older books, we're pretty darn good. Thanks for the tubi link.
I'm not much of a fan of Tom Horsman. He led me to make a mod to my MB560 that did not work, and I followed his directions to a Tee . And in later vids, I noticed he no longer had the mod on his MB560. He did not tell us.
But anyway, he's done a thorough review of the new Smart Performer. Using any ATC, if the temp overshoots it has to be ran manually to get it back down. The temp overshot on Tom and he could not bring it down manually. He says must be too many air leaks. Seems to be a problem. He's already talking about mods trying to solve it.
I think that's the trouble with a lot of these mods. What these videos and tutorials don't tell you is the negative effects. What's good for low and slow, may limit you on hot & sear, and vice versa. My rule of thumb, don't mod it unless you can A) Reverse it. or B) Afford to buy another one. Who knows if some of these guys are sponsored, get free test equipment, or what. Being a backyard BBQ kind of guy, not an aeronautical engineer, and somewhat limited budget, I'm careful what I do.
dpearce this was a simple fix for a smoke leak at the top of the charcoal hopper. But it did involve buying a special silicone tadpole gasket that cost $40, IIRC. It was bright red in color. So it was easy to see that he no longer had that gasket on his MB560.
Last edited by Lynn Dollar; March 24, 2026, 07:16 PM.
Appears Horsman has found where the air is entering the cook chamber ............. the Fireboard Ring has a damper that can be adjusted and completely closed off. Same for Billows ATC .
Started smoking in Aug 2025. First smoker is a Weber Searwood. I purchased a ThermoWorks Smoke to get a more accurate temperature and the pro-series needle probe. I also have a Weber grilling basket, Weber grill brush, and the Grillart steambrush. I've tried all sorts of pellets and wood flavors and my family mainly likes the Traeger signature blend. I have a meat injector and shears for poultry.
I also recently purchased a new 2010 used Weber Kettle Performer. Just got a cover for it. I bought the ThermoWorks RFX with 1 wireless probe, the SnS and DnG to spruce up the grill. I have not cooked on it yet. I cut a hole and installed the ThermoWorks billows. I did buy 4 bags of the B&B charcoal briquettes.
All my cooking has been on the Searwood. I absolutely love cooking Pork Shoulder, chicken wings, chicken breasts and steak. I won first place in my church chili cookoff (I bragged to everyone about it) and I really enjoyed the chili (and I don't really like chili). I really enjoyed Moink balls. I like cooking ribs, chicken breasts, and chicken legs with white sauce.
I look forward to cooking pork burnt ends, smoked turkey for Thanksgiving, and maybe even a brisket.
I'm still trying to determine rubs my wife will really enjoy. I love the rubs from the website, but my wife just wants some rubs that will bring out the meat flavor so she can taste the meat. I'm seeking simple rubs for chicken breasts and steaks.
I love soda and especially Dr. Pepper. I don't drink alcohol.
I live near Boise, ID. I've been married for 25 years and I have 5 kids. I'm a second career dentist.
So my older 2011 performer I drilled a hole and set it up for Thermoworks Billows and RFX. I found the billows to be too powerful and bringing in so much cool air (during winter) that temps would drop dramatically. I bought the damper and still had trouble dialing in temps. I actually bought a Weber Smokey mountain because it’s much easier for me to smoke and dial things in. I usually only use the kettle for hot and fast now. I’m curious to see if I can dial in temps better than Weber can. I do NOT like how Weber doesn’t show you the ups and downs of temperature like on my Searwood. I wish it did. I am certainly glad I did not purchase this as I planned.
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
Leaks, and overshooting the temp are why they would have issues like this. That said - my opinion is that a fan controller is ONLY useful for smoking temps - 200 to 300 range. Above that, I don't fool with it. If you DO ever overshoot, it takes hours to bring the fire back down, even without leaks through the fan controller.
I've used a PartyQ for years, with a Guru fan adapter, on my Performer Deluxe. I used the same PartyQ on my SNS Kamado, with an adapter. I'm using the same adapter to attach the Billows, and so far have had zero issues. Note that I knew going in that the Billows had a lot more airflow just through the fan, and I started with the damper on the Billows, closed halfway. With the damper present, you are already blocking half of the intake of the Billows, and with it turned halfway more, you are restricting it to about 25% of the airflow through the fan, even when the fan is not running.
Lynn Dollar I had an offset for 30 years, a custom built job my father used to give to customers as appreciation gifts back in the 80's, from his business that fabricated mostly chicken house equipment. I found the kettle is SO much more hands off than my offset ever was. I used the offset less and less, and finally gave it to my nephew for Christmas 2024, as he was wanting a smoker, and his grandfather built it, so it had meaning for him.
I have a Thermoworks Billow fan on my kettle. I run it with a snake of briquettes. When starting, I am careful not to overshoot my desired temp. And my fitting are tight and don't allow any extraneous air into the kettle. The lid seal is not perfect and does leak a little. But, I have not had any issues maintaining temps 225-250. Very happy with this set up.
briano52 I just put new ash sweeps in my 26 Kettle. Ordered from Weber and they're steel, not aluminum. They fit tight and won't bend easily. I also used RTV Sealant to seal the lid. I had a huge leak on one side. I also think its important for the cooker to be air tight for using an ATC.
The reviews I’m seeing say the fan continues to run to cool off due to inadequate insulation from the heat of the kettle thus raising the temp like you don’t want during the cook.
Horsman can't leave it alone, and he can't get no satisfaction.
He's matched the Performer vrs Spider Grills Venom .......... and its not a contest. The Venom beats down the Performer. I've been considering putting a Venom on my 26 Kettle. That just may be the perfect match .
Well, after discovering this was available from SnS , I'm gonna put my Billows on the 26 Kettle. I don't need the Venom. I never liked the idea of drilling a hole in my Kettles, but this looks to be the answer. Makes me feel much better about it.
And if its good enough for SnS to put on their kettles, its good enough for me.
Don't be afraid of drilling in the kettle. A good quality step drill bit makes it easy. I did it to mount my Billows. Be careful where you locate the Billows. Don't put it where it will interfere with the handle for the ash cleaner.
Last edited by briano52; April 20, 2026, 07:45 PM.
briano52 , thanks for the encouragement. Does the Billows work well on the Kettle ?
I've got the left side of my Kettle marked with masking tape, that would be the side opposite the Control Rod. And it will also be opposite where I put my SnS.
I'm still waiting on the Smoke Hole Cover from SnS. It's been a week. I think the Post Office lost the package. My concern there, is getting the bolt/nut high enough that it does not catch the ash sweeps
Got ur done briano52 However, I could very easily have screwed this up. I did not consider that the spring in the Billows that holds it in place portrudes inside the Kettle and could get in the way of the ash sweeps. But when it came to locating the hole, I followed Thermoworks instructions and I was good.
Now clean up the hole and a little Rustroleum and its time to cook some ribs.
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