The Heat Deflector for the Weber Go Anywhere Grill is a stainless steel plate that sits between your charcoal and the cooking grate, blocking direct radiant heat so Weber's little portable can cook indirect — and it doubles as a drip pan to stop flare-ups before they start. If you've ever scorched chicken thighs on a Go Anywhere because there's simply nowhere to hide from the coals, this is the fix.

What does a heat deflector do on a Weber Go Anywhere?

Charcoal cooks food two ways: radiant heat (the intense infrared energy beaming straight off glowing coals) and convective heat (hot air circulating under the lid). A heat deflector interrupts the radiant path. Heat has to travel around the plate instead, so your food cooks gently in moving hot air rather than blistering directly over the fire.

On the Go Anywhere, this one piece of stainless steel does three jobs at once:

Why does the Go Anywhere need one more than a full-size grill?

The Weber Go Anywhere charcoal grill gives you about 160 square inches of cooking space in a compact porcelain-enameled box. That's exactly what makes it brilliant for tailgates, campsites, and apartment balconies — and exactly what makes it brutal for anything beyond direct grilling. The coals sit just a few inches below your food, and the grill is simply too small to build a meaningful two-zone fire. Bank the charcoal to one side and the "cool" side is still inches from the fire.

On a grill with 160 square inches, a heat deflector isn't an accessory — it's what creates the indirect zone the grill doesn't physically have room for.

With the deflector in place, the whole grate becomes usable indirect space. Chicken pieces, sausages, pork tenderloin, a rack of ribs trimmed down, even a small pork butt — all the cooks that normally demand a bigger smoker suddenly work on a grill that fits in a trunk.

How do you set up a Go Anywhere with a heat deflector?

  1. Light a small fire. Half a chimney of charcoal is plenty for this grill — a full chimney will run hot and fight you all afternoon. For longer cooks, light a half chimney and pour it over a bed of unlit briquettes (a mini version of the Minion method).
  2. Set the deflector in place so it sits between the charcoal and the cooking grate, shielding the food above.
  3. Add water if you like. A cup of hot water on the drip-pan surface adds thermal mass that smooths out temperature swings and keeps drippings from baking on.
  4. Grate on, lid on, dampers set. Position the lid damper on the opposite side from your coals so heat and smoke draw across the food on their way out.
  5. Give it 10–15 minutes to settle before you judge the temperature. Small grills respond fast, but the reading needs time to stabilize.

What temperatures should you target — and what can you cook?

With the deflector installed, think in two gears:

A good leave-in probe thermometer matters here — the little lid thermometer tells you the air temp at the top of the lid, not what's happening at grate level where your food lives.

How do you hold 225°F on a grill this small?

This is the honest challenge of the Go Anywhere: its fire is tiny, so it's touchy. The manual craft is to start with less fuel than you think you need, crack the lower vent down to a sliver once you approach your target, and make adjustments in small steps — then wait a full 10 minutes before touching anything again. Most temperature runaways on small grills come from overcorrecting. And keep the lid on; every peek dumps your heat and sends fresh oxygen to the coals.

If you'd rather not babysit the vent — especially for overnight or all-day cooks — the Damper Adapter for the Weber Go Anywhere Grill mounts at the lower vent so a fan-driven controller can feed the fire precisely. Pair it with the BBQube TempMaster Pro and you set your target pit temp on your phone, then walk away — the fan does the vent micromanagement for you, hour after hour. On a grill this efficient, a small load of charcoal plus automatic airflow control turns the Go Anywhere into a legitimate set-and-forget mini smoker.

How do you clean a stainless steel heat deflector?

Stainless steel is the right material for this job: it won't rust like plain steel, it's completely safe at charcoal-grill temperatures, and it shrugs off years of heat cycles. Care is simple:

FAQ

Can you really smoke meat on a Weber Go Anywhere?

Yes. With a heat deflector creating indirect space and a small, carefully managed fire, the Go Anywhere holds 225–250°F surprisingly well. Ribs, chicken, and small pork butts are all realistic. A damper adapter with an automatic temperature controller makes long smokes genuinely hands-off.

Does this heat deflector fit the Weber Go Anywhere gas grill?

No — it's designed for the charcoal Go Anywhere, where it sits between the coals and the grate. The gas Go Anywhere uses burner Flavorizer bars instead and doesn't need a charcoal-style deflector.

Is a heat deflector the same thing as a drip pan?

They overlap, and this one does both jobs. A heat deflector's primary role is blocking radiant heat to create indirect cooking; a drip pan's role is catching fat. Because this stainless deflector sits directly between the fire and the food, it catches drippings while it shields — two functions in one piece of steel.

How much charcoal should I use in a Go Anywhere for low-and-slow?

Start with about half a chimney of lit briquettes. For longer cooks, pour those lit coals over a layer of unlit briquettes so the fire spreads slowly. A full lit chimney will push a grill this small well past your target and is hard to bring back down.

Why does my Go Anywhere temperature keep spiking?

Almost always one of three causes: too much lit fuel, a lower vent opened too far, or overcorrecting before the grill has time to respond. Use less charcoal, make small vent adjustments, wait 10 minutes between changes, and keep the lid closed. If you want the problem solved permanently, an automatic fan controller removes the guesswork entirely.