Deciding between Weber master touch, performer or summit E6


 
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Every time I see a Summit Charcoal in person it's a little mesmerizing. But, the cost always kills it for me. I have a '99 redhead SSP and it's my workhorse. Combine it with my 14.5 WSM, Q1200, Jumbo Joe, (2) Smokey Joes, Gas Go Anywhere, and Charcoal Go Anywhere I can cook anything and everything, pretty much anywhere in country I happen to be. And, even if I add up everything spent on those grills and accessories I'm maybe at half of what a gas assist Summit is going to run me.

Unless you have unlimited budget, the gas assist Performer is the best single grill you can own, in my opinion. The gas assist gets the coals going easily and quickly and it's such a versatile grill to cook from searing to low and slow and everything in between. And, when you consider the very full array of accessories available for the 22" kettle format, it's tough to justify the extra cost for the Summit, for me anyway. But, if I had the dough I'd own a Summit too, just sayin. lol

Keep your eyes peeled on marketplace and craigslist. I looked for four years before finally finding a NIB Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center for $1,100 on my local Facebook Marketplace.
 
My wife was fully supportive of the E6. Maybe upgrade the wife along with the grill 🤣🤣🤣

Who wouldn’t want to eat good food? My wife loves what I cook. And on the E6.
My wife also likes good food too which I grilled-up yesterday on my Weber Performer Deluxe fitted with a SlowNSear Plus and DripNGriddle Pan that I bought new here in Costa Rica for $550 in January, 2020.

With that said, "Kudos" to you and the other VWB Form Members on enjoying and turning out great eats on your Weber Kamado!
 

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I think the next thing on my list is a rotisserie for the performer ,will be asking which 1 soon
I bought my Cajun Bandit Rotisserie Kit for my Weber Performer Deluxe around 1 1/2 years ago. Great product with that Stainless Steel Rotisserie Ring and their excellent Customer Service!
 

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Well I would vote for a performer, I think it’s possibly the best grill I have owned. You don’t know how much you need a table until you have a table, so out of the 3 it gets my vote.
Now I’m going to be thinning out my grills SLOWLY and work on a spot for an S6. I’m thinking of losing the WSM 22 and a master touch 22 to make some room.
Good luck!
Do you have the Performer with the Gas Assist? If so, how often to you clean the Burner Tube and how do you go about it?
 
I had to clean my burner orifice 1 time in 10 years, pretty simple 1 or 2 screws take it out/off blow out and used a torch tip cleaner on the orifice , thanks for the roisterer info guys
 
I have been looking into these 3 grills. I mostly do hot and fast right now. Steaks, skewers, pork chops chorizo, things like that. I am currently using a Santa Maria grill.

The only things I dislike of my current grill is cleanup and that I can’t really do things like ribs. I might be up to experimenting on pork butt or pulled pork as well but don’t quite think I will ever be interested into 12 hour + cooks like brisket. If any of these grills are good for pizza that would be a plus.

The prices here in my country are:

Master touch: €338

Performer:€484

Performer premium: €581

Performer Deluxe: €678

Summit E6: €1260

So as you can see, prices are a lot higher than in the us. I could save up a bit and go for the summit if it is head and shoulders better than the others, but I kind of get the feeling that the summit doesn’t make a lot of sense if I am not planning on doing 12hour + cooks since it looks like the other options as more than adécuate for ribs.

Between the master touch and the performers there is quite a difference in price. Of the 3 performers the premium is the one that has caught my eye, it has the large table and everything the deluxe has except the ignition, which I am not sure I would pay €85 more for. I enjoy starting the fire with my chimney. Anyone think that €581 is excessive for the performer premium? The same grill costs 459 in the us if I am not mistaken.

Interested to see your opinions.
You seem to have a good understanding of the pluses and minuses of these products and I agree with you that the performer premium is the best fit for you.

I have owned and used all of these grills (except the E6) over some 40 years. I have used all the different versions and vintages of the performer. I now own a version of the performer with the gas ignition and of course the big table (The names have changed over the years). The performer I now have has the older non-metal table top. I have owned the newer metal top but it would not tolerate hot items much better than the non-metal top. It also would rust/discolor after being subjected to heat exposure. So I do not consider the metal top an improvement.

My opinion is the Weber Performer is the best overall product Weber makes. I don't use the gas lighter and, like you, prefer the chimney and cubes. My wife actually prefers to use the gas lighter of the grill to ignite a chimney full of charcoal while sitting on the charcoal grate instead of using cubes or paper. We also use the SNS insert to section the charcoal and provide two zone cooking and the Cajun Bandit expansion ring to add capacity or to smoke when needed. I also use the Weber Smokey Mountain for smoking and I recommend the 18" version over the 22". It just works better.

I don't have any advice as to the use of these product as a pizza oven. I don't do pizza at home and prefer Papa Johns offerings.

I do wish the table had the stainless top but that would probably make the price much higher and place it too close in price and performance to the E6 and S6. I can't imagine having a grill/smoker without the table so the alternative for me would be the S6 with the table but that would take a major increase in investment. I am certain the S6 is a great product and maybe someday one will show up at my door at a reasonable price but I am very happy with the Performer.
 
Ran my summit in the middle of a snowstorm with 20 degree outside temps and up to 50mph gusts. held temps really stably and didn't use much fuel at all. This was how much coal was left over after a 10hr cook. The chamber was probably only about 1/2 to 3/4 full when I started - didn't fill it up to the top.
That’s damn impressive!
 
Great thread going here!
I, too have been ponderIng a Summit E6. I have a Performer that I love and use often. My 18 WSM is used regularly however I have found myself dreading the set up and clean up with that grill.
The one thing holding me back on an E6 other than the cost, is that I can’t find one to look at in person where I live. Nobody carries it as a floor model. I can’t make a purchase like this without seeing it...
 
Great thread going here!
I, too have been ponderIng a Summit E6. I have a Performer that I love and use often. My 18 WSM is used regularly however I have found myself dreading the set up and clean up with that grill.
The one thing holding me back on an E6 other than the cost, is that I can’t find one to look at in person where I live. Nobody carries it as a floor model. I can’t make a purchase like this without seeing it...
More than happy to post any pics you’d like to see. Just ask. Yes, not the same as in person but I bought mine without ever seeing one live, in person. And I’ve bought cars that way too, via pics and detailed reports.
 
Great thread going here!
I, too have been ponderIng a Summit E6. I have a Performer that I love and use often. My 18 WSM is used regularly however I have found myself dreading the set up and clean up with that grill.
The one thing holding me back on an E6 other than the cost, is that I can’t find one to look at in person where I live. Nobody carries it as a floor model. I can’t make a purchase like this without seeing it...
oh its impressive in person, the one with the table definitely has a wow factor ......Ive researched and pondered going with one unit that does it all for over a year...big green egg- kamado joe - E6 and actually sold off a lang smoker and humphrey insulated smoker and extra 18 wsm / performer. If I were going with only one do it all and wanted to splurge it would be the E6, I do not want to deal with broken ceramic or the fear of moving it around and having an accident. I however enjoy having a dedicated smoker and separate grill for grilling though
 
Great thread going here!
I, too have been ponderIng a Summit E6. I have a Performer that I love and use often. My 18 WSM is used regularly however I have found myself dreading the set up and clean up with that grill.
The one thing holding me back on an E6 other than the cost, is that I can’t find one to look at in person where I live. Nobody carries it as a floor model. I can’t make a purchase like this without seeing it...

That’s exactly why I never used my wsm and why I love my summit. The moving, set up, cleaning, breakdown, and covering was such a pain that I never wanted to do it. There’s a saying with cameras that the best camera is the one you have with you, or something like that :). So in this case, the best cooker for you is going to be the cooker that you want to use every day.
 
Great thread going here!
I, too have been ponderIng a Summit E6. I have a Performer that I love and use often. My 18 WSM is used regularly however I have found myself dreading the set up and clean up with that grill.
The one thing holding me back on an E6 other than the cost, is that I can’t find one to look at in person where I live. Nobody carries it as a floor model. I can’t make a purchase like this without seeing it...
I used to dislike setting up and cleaning my WSM 18 and then I bought a 22. Now, the 18 is piece of cake - almost enjoyable!
 
Do you have the Performer with the Gas Assist? If so, how often to you clean the Burner Tube and how do you go about it?
I also one time turns out nothing wrong with the burner at all. Turns out bought mine used by the way the plastic knob that turns the gas on and off was slipping after I had it for 4 or 5 months just worn on the inside where it attaches to the valve stem. I ended up taking the knob off hit it from the back of it with a screwdriver to pop it off then I used some gorilla grill contact cement put some in the inside of the knob and a bit on the valve stem never had an issue with it since and that was a few years ago. I cleaned the tube and everything else when I took it apart just shot compressed air in the tube to make sure nothing was in there blocking it.
 
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