Summit Grill Review


 
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Since this message board category has been so slow lately, I thought that I would post a review.

I bought my 2004 Weber Summit Gold A6 one year ago, so I have had a chance to see the good and the bad.

This grill was my second choice, I really wanted to buy a BBQ Galore STS 4 burner and build it in. The cost of the grill and island was more than I wanted to pay at the time, then I found the close out sale at Amazon for the A6 NG with free delivery. So far the
Weber has not been a disappointment.

First, the bad points:
• I am sure that this thing is a gas hog, since I am NG, I really do not care.
• My grill has the cheaper SS grates; I still think that these grates are great, if I had not read online that the solid SS, cast iron or PCI were better, this would not have fallen to the bad point.
• The STS has cast SS burners, my Weber has SS tubes. If the tubes last like they should, I will be very happy.
• I get flare ups when I gook several rib-eyes or hamburgers, but I think that I am getting through the learning curve on this and the flare ups have reduced.
• The temp gauge is in the middle, so if you are only cooking on one of the end burners, the temp will read very low. Not a problem.
• On some foods, it does not taste as good as charcoal. I have both a kettle and WSM, but I think that the gas grill serves it purpose for those quick and easy clean up un-involved cooks. (“the right tool for the right job” theory)

The Good or Great points:
• I love the size, I do not need the entire grill much, but when you do…it is there so that you can fill it up or spread your food out.
• The six burners, I can cook multiply kinds of food at the same time at different levels of heat.
• This thing will crank out the heat and do it fast with all six burners on.
• With just two burners on, it will produce plenty of temperature for a few burgers or a couple of steaks. The small cooks are just as easy as the large ones. It will heat up plenty fast with just two burners on.
• I still get great grill marks on everything I cook with the “inferior” grates (both sides).
• This grill still looks great after a year in my very humid environment. I keep my grill covered with the Weber cover, but it stays outside all year. I have friends with lesser grills and their grills do not look anywhere near this good (I do not know how religiously they cover their grills, but they all have covers).
• I like the style of the grates; I have done catfish filets right on the grill without any problem.
• The side shelves work great and clean up very well, no problems there to report.


Overall, I have been very happy with the grill. None of the negative points bother me; I was just trying to be objective. The best part of the grill has been the quality; I am totally satisfied with the value I received for the price of this grill. Also I think that size matters, I am very glad I went with the larger grill, it is so flexible.

I have tried to make this an objective review. I do have two other Webers, but I think that the value of the kettle and WSM can not be beat. When it comes to gas grills, there are several good options once you get past a certain price point. The new summits at MSRP are a very expensive and hard to justify, but if I fits your needs, you can not go wrong.

Cheers,
TomK
 
TomK, if it's any consolation, I have a fairly new BBQG Grand Turbo, and now that I have used it a number of times, I think it's a GOOD grill, but is probably not BETTER than your Weber. It takes longer to heat up than my old Genesis, and I have no real complaints, but I'm not utterly thrilled, either. So don't worry about getting the Weber instead of the STS. You're grill is at least as good, and may be better.
 
TomKattt, thanks for the comments. I have no regrets on buying the Weber. I do think that BBQG makes very good grills and the Grand Turbo is a very nice grill. I am sure that your grill will last a long time and cook great during the process.

Did you go the built in route and what size GT did you get??

TomK
 
I got the 38" built in Grand Turbo and an OLP island. The GT has 6 burners, but no side burner.

I still have my 9 year old Weber Genesis, as well as my WSM and my kettle. I guess I'm a little nuts, like most of us on the board.
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Most of the time I am only cooking for 2 or 3, and I find I use my Genesis more than the Turbo. Go figure. LOL
 
You had better start liking the GT, you will have it for a very long time.
 
I just bought my 1st weber grill...the Summit Platinum D6 (LP). I've been reading this forum for a week now - educating myself on the Bullet Smokers.

I should get my Summit in a week. I had to buy it through the Internet as it's sold sold because of the Holidays
 
Kenwood,

You'll love the D6. I have had it for about a year and love it. It's great when 30-40 people are over. I've also had success using it for two person cooks by just firing up two of the burners for direct grilling. It seems a waste to fire up the kettle for two steaks or fillets. The kettle gets used for the "tweener" group of 5-10. The grill surface is large enough for that size a group and I get good use out of the charcoal.
 
Oh, one more thing. Take pictures of it when it is new so that you can sigh every once in a while as you reminisce what your baby used to look like!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ron C.:
Kenwood,

You'll love the D6. I have had it for about a year and love it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks man....just waiting for it to ship. I've wanted a Weber Grill all my life. I've had a GrillMaster gasser for about 9 years now. It's extremely hard to light since I replaced to burner (using a universal) about 2 years ago. We just moved into our house a month ago.

I opted for the 6 burner, as I want to grill a lot of my stuff using the smoker and indirect heat (for most of the stuff you all do - Ribs. briskets). But then I grill a ton of steaks too. The wifey thinks I'm insane for wanting the bigger version - but then I'm a guy and we always want the biggest and baddest toys.
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I've got to wait a while before getting a WSM. I love reading about everyone's stories. I've learned so much in a week.

BTW - I'm a Trojan Fan too
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Congratulations on you new purchase!

You will not regret getting the larger 6 burner model. All that space makes it so much easier to cook several different items at the same time. I would sometimes run out of space on my kettle, I have not had that problem with the summit.

Good luck.
 
I bought the Summit C-4 about a year ago. Extremely good grill but I wish I had sprung the extra $600 for the D-6 for the primary reason that you have so much room and versatility for indirect cooking. The C-4 and the updated version the D-4 just doesn't have that extra grill space for a large indirect cook that is needed to finish off steaks for a large crowd. I also would expect that the D-6 would allow for lower temp indirect cooking of a brisket, turkey, etc. due to the difference in the size of the unit that is to be heated. In other words two outside burners on a D-6 set on the lowest setting should yeild lower temps than a C-4 or D-4. Comments would be appreciated.
 
I am a summit platinum ***** myself. I like the cooking grates better that the Gold.

I hat to be the one to admit this, Grills are kinda like cars! The summit is kinda like a caddy. Other mfg's may have a lincon or evin a porche. If you don't properly maintain them... they will die!(fall apart) Give a caddy to a die hard redneck that never changes the oil or clean it up and see what happens. I get calls every day from people that have a genesis I that they bought in 1985 and it is still running strong!
 

 

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