Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker 47 cm

Low and slow with charcoal: overview and item numbers

Weber itself distinguishes the Smokey Mountain Cooker 47 cm from kettle and pellet grills: it is a dedicated vertical charcoal smoker for low and slow, meaning large cuts that cook for many hours in smoke at a low temperature, and it requires you to control the vents by hand. As suitable foods, Weber lists ribs, brisket, pulled pork, whole chickens and fish, and the product page adds salmon and cheese.

The German Weber shop lists exactly two Smokey Mountain models, this 47 cm one and the 57 cm one. The 37 cm model appears at Weber Germany only in the FAQ section of the category page. According to a manual from Weber Australia, the Smokey Mountain Cooker has existed since 1981.

Amazon lists the smoker under ASIN B001I8ZTJ0 as “Weber Smokey Mountain 47 cm” with model number 721001. That number comes from Weber’s US range. There, 721001 is the Smokey Mountain Cooker in the 18-inch size, with exactly the dimensions that also appear in the Amazon catalogue: 41 x 19 x 21 inches. In Germany, Weber sells the 47 cm model as item 721004, and on its product page the photos have file names starting with 721001.

So the dimensions match. Weber does not confirm anywhere, however, that the Amazon offer corresponds piece by piece to the German version, and one detail does not quite fit: Amazon gives the colour as “Black / Stainless steel”, while Weber sells the 47 cm model only in black.

Our information comes from Weber Germany’s product, category and warranty pages and from two manuals: the multilingual one for 37, 47 and 57 cm from 2014, which Weber Germany links on its manuals page, and the English-language one from Weber Australia and New Zealand. Where the two differ, both values are given here, the German one first. In addition, each marked where it appears, there are Weber’s US pages for models 721001 and 711001, Weber’s US spare parts overview and Amazon’s catalogue data. For the other smokers we compare, see our smoker category.

Bowl, middle section, lid: components and dimensions

The product photo shows a round, upright body in three parts: at the bottom the bowl on three legs, in the middle a cylinder with a large silver door, on top a domed lid with a handle and thermometer. The smoker has no wheels.

In the bowl sits the charcoal grate made of solid steel. According to Weber, its bars are spaced so closely that even shrinking coals do not slip through. The charcoal chamber stands on it. As Weber describes it, it keeps the fuel together so that it burns efficiently, and prevents ash from falling into the ventilation openings. Under the bowl sits a heat shield made of rust-resistant aluminium, and the three legs are made of the same material.

The middle section is the cooking chamber. The water pan sits on its lower supports, and above it lie two cooking grates made of coated steel. At the front of the middle section sits the door made of rust-resistant aluminium, through which you add charcoal and water while smoking; Weber USA adds that it can be removed to make adding charcoal and wood easier. For the cable of a core temperature probe, the smoker has a silicone grommet. According to the German manual, small probes fit through the small round opening, larger probes and dual probes through the slot.

In the lid sits a thermometer that shows the temperature inside. Above it is a handle made of glass-fibre-reinforced nylon, which according to Weber protects your hands from the heat; the 57 cm model has two of them. Bowl, lid, middle section and water pan are made of porcelain enamel. According to Weber, lid, bowl and middle section therefore store heat, and the coating is meant to protect against rust-through, cracking and flaking and to withstand high grilling temperatures.

With the lid closed, the smoker is, according to Weber, 104.2 cm high, 48.3 cm wide and 53.4 cm deep, and the manufacturer gives the weight as 23.58 kg. The height has a purpose that Weber names explicitly: the food always sits at a suitable distance from the charcoal. In the scope of delivery of its own offer, Weber includes, besides the body and the internal parts, a measuring cup for briquettes and a cover.

Assembly is not entirely tool-free. In step 2 of the assembly instructions, you screw the legs to the bowl, using a screwdriver, a 7/16 inch wrench and six sets of screws. In step 4, the grate supports go into the middle section with eight sets of screws, after which the probe grommet and door are inserted.

Weber’s product page contradicts itself twice. The data table lists four rust-resistant aluminium vents, while the introductory text speaks of three ventilation openings. The manual describes vent dampers on the bottom part of the bowl, in the plural, and one damper in the lid; how many sit at the bottom is not spelled out in any source. The second contradiction concerns the grates. According to the description text, both have a diameter of 47 cm each, while according to the data table together they come to 3,103 cm² of cooking area. Two round grates of 47 cm would have around 3,470 cm². If you split Weber’s area between two round grates of equal size, each measures around 44.4 cm, which fits grates that sit on supports on the inside. The data table gives the 47 cm as the diameter of the unit.

After all the Weber sources we have evaluated, the following remains open:

• how many litres the water pan holds
• whether there is a drip tray in addition to the water pan; the manual’s exploded drawing shows none
• how many people the 47 cm model serves, as a number
• measuring range and accuracy of the lid thermometer
• a maximum temperature of the smoker
• a fixed heat-up time to the target temperature
• how long a full charcoal chamber burns without topping up and how much charcoal goes through per hour
• the distance between the two grates and the interior height under the lid
• the metal under the enamel and its thickness
• country of origin and place of production
• the duration of assembly
• why Amazon’s catalogue gives a weight of 39.1 pounds, converted around 17.7 kg and thus almost 6 kg less than Weber

In detail: air controls the embers, water absorbs the peaks

Charcoal burns as strongly as oxygen reaches the embers. On the Smokey Mountain, air is drawn in through the dampers on the bowl and leaves the smoker at the top through the lid, together with the smoke. If you narrow the openings at the bottom, the embers are throttled. If all vents are fully closed, according to Weber the oxygen supply is cut off and the charcoal goes out.

So you regulate at the bottom. The German manual considers 120 °C ideal for most kinds of meat, has you check the temperature every 15 minutes and adjust the lower dampers. The Australian version gives 110 to 135 °C for most low-and-slow cooks and describes the start in more detail: all vents open, let it warm up for at least 15 to 20 minutes, close the vents about halfway when the temperature is reached, and wait a quarter of an hour after every change.

Why wait so long? Between the embers and the grates stands the water pan. According to Weber, it catches dripping juices, creates steam and stabilises the temperature. The last point has a physical reason. In an open pan, water at normal air pressure does not get hotter than around 100 °C; once it boils, any further heat goes into evaporation. That takes a lot of energy: a kilogram of water, about a litre, needs around 2,260 kilojoules for it, almost seven times as much as for heating from 20 to 100 °C. The pan therefore swallows heat peaks from the embers and shields the grates from their direct radiation. In our assessment, every change at the dampers therefore reaches the lid thermometer damped and delayed. That holds as long as there is water in the pan.

It is filled before smoking. The German manual has you fill the pan completely and insert the lower grate directly above it, while the Australian one fills it only to about three quarters and warns against spilling anything over the edge. For operation, a warning from the German manual applies: water must never get onto the hot coals, because steam and hot ash thrown up can cause serious or fatal injuries.

Are 3,103 cm² enough for your gatherings?

If your gatherings consist of family and friends, yes: Weber recommends the 47 cm model for regular grill sessions in this circle or for larger groups. As an example, the manufacturer names a turkey and two layers of ribs that fit on the two grates at the same time.

Weber divides the sizes in the questions and answers of the category page like this: the 37 cm model for small city balconies and urban space, the 47 cm model for the gatherings just mentioned, the 57 cm model for many guests and large quantities such as pulled pork, ribs or brisket.

What is possible in what time is shown by the cooking time table of the German manual. In the column for the 47 cm model, explicitly as guide values and not binding rules, these values appear:

• Beef brisket, 2.5 to 3 kg: 100 briquettes, 3 to 5 wood chunks, 6 to 8 hours, 88 °C core temperature
• Pork shoulder, 2 to 4 kg: 100 briquettes, 3 to 5 chunks, 8 to 12 hours, 88 °C
• Pork ribs on a fully loaded grill: 50 briquettes, 2 to 4 chunks, 4 to 6 hours, until the meat begins to come away from the bone
• Whole chicken, 2.5 kg: 100 briquettes, 1 to 3 chunks, 2.5 to 3.5 hours, 74 °C
• Turkey, 4 to 6 kg: 100 briquettes, 4 to 5 hours; turkey, 6 to 9 kg: 100 briquettes, 8 to 10 hours; each 74 °C
• Whole fish, small, on a fully loaded grill: 50 briquettes, 1 to 1.5 hours; large, 1.5 to 3 kg: 50 briquettes, 3 to 4 hours

The heaviest brisket in the table weighs 3 kg, and the heaviest piece overall is the turkey at up to 9 kg. According to the manual, the times depend on altitude, wind, outside temperature and desired doneness, and apply to fully thawed food.

You load from the bottom up: first fill the lower grate, then place the upper one on its supports and load that too. If you need only one level, the German manual advises the upper grate, because it is easier to reach the food there. If you add something later, the temperature drops and the cooking time can get longer.

Lighting, topping up, smoking wood

Weber recommends charcoal briquettes for the Smokey Mountain. The German manual does not recommend lump charcoal, nor Heat Beads briquettes. For planning, that has a practical side effect: briquettes can be counted, and that is exactly how both manuals calculate.

According to the German instructions, before lighting you remove the lid and lift out the middle section. There must be no ash in the bottom of the bowl, the charcoal grate and charcoal chamber must sit correctly, and all vent dampers on the bottom of the bowl are open. Then you pour the charcoal, in the quantity from the smoking guide, into the centre of the charcoal grate, distribute 4 to 5 firelighter cubes in it, and light it with a long-necked lighter or matches. When grey ash forms on top, you spread the coals evenly and add 3 to 4 chunks of dry hardwood, more for stronger smoke. This number comes from the general lighting instructions; the cooking time table above gives its own chunk counts for each food.

You top up through the door. The rule for this appears in the German manual only in the troubleshooting section, under “Temperature is too low”: on longer smoking sessions you check the amount of charcoal every 3 to 4 hours and add 12 to 14 briquettes on the 47 cm model.

For smoking wood you also open the door, place chips or chunks on top of the burning coals with tongs and close it again; the vent dampers stay partly open at the bottom and top. You keep the lid closed, because every time it is lifted, according to the German manual, the cooking time grows by 15 to 20 minutes.

The Australian manual goes about it differently and lights only part of the charcoal. The unlit briquettes go around the inside of the charcoal chamber. The lit ones from the Rapidfire chimney starter, which Weber offers as an accessory on the product page, are ready after 10 to 20 minutes when mostly grey-brown ash covers them, and are tipped in a heap into the centre with heat-resistant gloves. Weber describes the unlit charcoal as a reserve that burns along slowly. For the 47 cm model, the manual calculates 40 unlit and 40 lit Weber briquettes for normal cooking times of 6 to 8 hours, and for long ones of 10 to 12 hours 65 unlit and again 40 lit.

The Australian version also differs on topping up and on the lid. It starts smaller, with 5 to 10 unlit briquettes, and checks after 15 minutes; for cooks of 12 hours or more it checks at the same interval as the German one. After the lid is opened, the temperature there needs 3 to 5 minutes to recover.

Two calculations on this. Even the long Australian variant, with 105 briquettes, arithmetically fills just under half of the charcoal chamber, into which, according to the German version, approx. 220 briquettes fit. The comparison is not entirely clean, because the Australian manual counts Weber briquettes and the German one briquettes in general, and their size can differ. And for the same period of 6 to 8 hours, the cooking time table above allows 20 more briquettes for the brisket than the Australian calculation.

Running costs arise for briquettes, smoking wood and, if you light it according to the German instructions, firelighter cubes. One-off costs may include a chimney starter (Weber listed the Rapidfire at €24.99 on 1 October 2026) and a probe for core temperature, because the lid thermometer measures the temperature in the cooking chamber, not in the meat.

Care and safety rules from the manual

After smoking, according to the German manual, you brush the grates with a grill brush or crumpled aluminium foil and wipe over with paper towels. You do not have to wash them thoroughly after every use.

The Australian manual is stricter. There, the water pan is cleaned before every cook: empty out water, fat and residues, then clean with hot water, washing-up liquid and a nylon sponge. The bottom of the bowl should be free of ash, the grates free of old residues, fat and sauce. Stubborn residues come off with a wire brush, and after use the grates are rinsed just like the pan.

Once a year a thorough clean is due, which according to Weber extends the service life by years. The German manual divides it into four steps: let the smoker cool until the charcoal is completely extinguished; take out the cooking grates and charcoal grate; remove the ash; clean with mild detergent and water, rinse with clear water and dry all surfaces. Water is therefore intended for cleaning the cold smoker, but ruled out for extinguishing the embers.

The safety notes of the German manual follow here in full, in paraphrase and sorted by topic. According to Weber, anyone who ignores them risks serious or fatal injuries or property damage from fire.

Where and how the smoker stands:

• never in enclosed spaces, only outdoors, because toxic fumes collect indoors that can cause serious health damage or death
• in operation at least 1.5 m clearance from combustible material
• not on a table, always in a level position
• not in strong wind
• use only when all parts are properly assembled
• remove all deposits from the lower heat shield before use
• do not line the bowl with aluminium foil, it obstructs the airflow

Fuel and lighting:

• remove the lid to light the briquettes
• always place charcoal on top of the charcoal grate, never directly in the bottom of the bowl
• do not use charcoal soaked in lighter fluid, and do not put lighter fluid or soaked charcoal on hot or warm coals
• never use lighter fluid, petrol, alcohol or other highly volatile liquids to light or relight, and never use or store them within 1.5 m of the smoker
• with an electric lighter, follow its operating instructions, keep electric cables away from hot surfaces and route them out of walkways

Heat and supervision:

• the smoker gets very hot and must not be moved during operation
• never leave infants, children and pets unattended near the hot smoker, keep children and pets away
• never check by touch whether the cooking grate, charcoal grate or smoker are warm
• when smoking and when adjusting the vent dampers, always protect your hands with grill gloves or oven mitts and use grill tools with long, heat-resistant handles
• do not wear clothing with loose, flowing sleeves when lighting and using it
• the by-products of combustion contain chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm

Extinguishing and cleaning:

• to extinguish, put the lid on and close all vent dampers, use no water, it destroys the porcelain enamel layer
• for flare-ups likewise put the lid on, no water
• empty the ash only when all the charcoal has burned completely and gone out
• use no sharp objects to clean the cooking grates or remove the ash, and no harsh cleaners for cooking grates or smoker, otherwise the surface can be damaged

A few pages further on, the manual requires you to always protect hands and forearms with protective gloves. Weber’s product page gives a short version. New compared with the list are two points there. You should read the manual before use, and for enclosed spaces the page names the danger outright, namely carbon monoxide poisoning. Its remaining notes (use outdoors only, exposed parts can get very hot, keep children away, neither methylated spirits nor petrol for lighting or relighting) match the manual.

Warranty and spare parts

According to Weber’s product and warranty page, bowl, lid and middle section are covered for 10 years against rust-through and burn-through respectively. Plastic components have 5 years, excluding fading and discolouration, all other parts 2 years. On the website the grates count among the other parts; the 2014 manual likewise provided 2 years for cooking and charcoal grates against rust-through or burn-through.

The warranty is voluntary and comes in addition to the statutory warranty rights. It applies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, from the date of purchase and only to the first buyer. Exceptions apply to gifts and promotions, and it cannot be transferred. Surface rust, dents and scratches count as normal wear and are excluded; material defects such as rust-through or burn-through, or damage that prevents safe use, are recognised.

The manual also lists when the warranty expires: in case of misuse, modification, lack of care, improper assembly or setup, damage by insects or rodents, by salty air or chlorine sources such as pools, in storms and when non-original parts are fitted. If the smoker stands on the coast or near a pool, regular washing and rinsing of the exterior surfaces is part of the maintenance that the warranty requires.

Be careful with the replacement grates 8413 and 7440 in the German shop: Weber offers them for charcoal grills with a diameter of 47 cm, but their descriptions refer to the kettle grill, and the Smokey Mountain is not mentioned there. Because Amazon lists the offer under 721001 and Weber USA lists the Smokey Mountain Cooker 18 inch under this number, Weber’s US spare parts overview for the 18-inch model is the closest reference point. The overview does not name a model number. It lists charcoal grate (63013), lower cooking grate (85042), upper cooking grate (7432), door (63018), water pan (63024) and charcoal chamber (63007).

57 cm, 37 cm or offset

The two Weber siblings are the same design in a different size; the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland works on a different principle.

The prices are the guide values from our respective reviews. They come from different points in time and not all from the same retailer; for the 47 cm model it is Amazon in September 2026. What the offers behind the links cost today may differ. The rating is our editorial assessment, not a measurement result.

When the 47 cm model fits and when another smoker does

For the size, what counts is the quantity that regularly lies on both grates. The 57 cm model has, according to Weber, around half as much again cooking area and weighs almost 12 kg more, and the 37 cm model gets by, according to Weber USA, with around 40 percent less area and also has two grates. If you fill both levels of the 47 cm model with large cuts and it is still tight, the big one is the better choice. If you usually smoke just a single piece, we would also consider the small one.

Calculate the spot generously. To the footprint of the smoker you add the minimum clearance from the safety list on all sides, together a zone of a good 3.5 m in diameter without hedge or awning. On a small balcony, we consider that hardly feasible. The 1.5 m appears in the shared manual for all three sizes, so also for the 37 cm model, which Weber names for small city balconies; with its footprint of around 37 cm, the same calculation gives just under 3.4 m there. And because the smoker must not be moved during operation, the spot is fixed before you light it.

Our price box records the Amazon offer at approx. €709 (as of September 2026). That is around €110 more than the guide price in our review of the 57 cm model (approx. €599). This guide price corresponds to Weber’s own shop price, because the catalogue did not give us an Amazon price for the 57 cm model in September 2026. In the Weber shop, the 47 cm model cost less than the 57 cm model on 1 October 2026 and also clearly less than at Amazon, cover included. Our advice is therefore: put the prices of both sizes side by side on the same day at the same retailer.

Then there is the time. For the pork shoulder from the cooking time table (8 to 12 hours), the 15-minute rhythm of the German manual means, by our calculation, 32 to 48 glances at the thermometer, plus two to four checks of charcoal and water. If you prefer to set the heat once and then leave, this smoker is the wrong choice. Whether a water smoker suits you at all, or rather an offset like the Oklahoma Joe’s Highland, is covered by our guide smoker for beginners.

In our assessment, the 47 cm model is wrong for two groups. For anyone who mainly grills steaks and sausages: the distance between embers and grate, which Weber justifies with the build height, is the opposite of what you need for that. And for anyone who wants to earn money with the smoker: according to the manual, Weber’s warranty applies only to individual private households, not to commercial use, for instance in restaurants, hotels, holiday resorts or rental properties.