How good (or bad) is the Summit Kamado E6

[Gary London]

It's been a long time since I last posted on here. I'm still cooking outdoors, mostly on 22" Weber kettle(s) and now a UDS for low and slow.

I need the space in my newly built BBQ shelter.


Kids have left home so the cooks are smaller so the collection needs rationalising.
The 22" WSM and a Kettle have been sold in the past couple of weeks.
I recently bought a half price (£200, $286) Weber Traveler (first ever gasser) because it was a bargain.

Anyway, back to the topic:

I have always wanted the Summit Charcoal but it never got within my price range.
Now the Summit Kamado E6 is available for £400 ($537) less than the original Summit Charcoal I'm planning to treat myself.

Thinking eventually I just need the Summit Kamado E6 and a kettle. Quite attached to the UDS but the Traveler might not get used enough to justify keeping it.

Before I do I wanted to check what the feedback is on the E6. I've only heard good stuff but what are the drawbacks?

 

[GrantT]

Wow...having my S6 now for many months, and having cooked almost everything on it from -20C to +30C, the ONLY drawback I can really think of honestly is the price (I still think the cost is a bit artificially high) and that maybe....way, way way down the road (being metal) the possibility of rust. Following a couple main Facebook groups too and I never hear anyone with a negative comment...

 

[Mark Foreman]

I have had my E6 since June and love it. I gave my WSM 14 and Performer to my kids. I will admit that I still have a WSM 22 in the garage for the occasional big job.
Currently I use the E6 and a Genesis II 335 gasser.
With it being just the wife and I, I was concerned it was too big. Not the case. A small Weber chimney is more than adequate for a dinner for 2.
That being said, I can set it up for smoking and a full load of coals and it will hold temperature for 20 hours plus. Another thing I like is using the charcoal baskets for indirect cooking as I have much more area to cook on then the kettle.
In short, I am glad I bought an E6 even at the $1000 US I paid for it (free assembly!). It is the best charcoal grill I’ve ever used. The only down side is there is no a rotisserie available.
Hope this helps.

 

[GrantT]

The only down side is there is no a rotisserie available.

Yeah..I wish Weber had their own version...but there is one available:

Spit On Fire Kamado Rotisserie Ring Weber Summit

The Spit on Fire is a rotisserie with a stainless steel rotisserie spit and an electric motor that can support a weight of up to 20 kilos. This allows you, f...

www.vuurenrook.nl

There is a Canadian gent on one of the Facebook groups possibly considering getting together a group purchase/shipment of the Rotisserie here. Mentioned both Canadian and US purchasers...I'll post a notice here if it goes through...

 

[Gary London]

T

Wow...having my S6 now for many months, and having cooked almost everything on it from -20C to +30C, the ONLY drawback I can really think of honestly is the price (I still think the cost is a bit artificially high) and that maybe....way, way way down the road (being metal) the possibility of rust. Following a couple main Facebook groups too and I never hear anyone with a negative comment...

Thanks Grant.
Only seem to have a few people in the UK that have bought one and they like it.
The price for the E6 in the U.K. is currently £995 ($1335) so I agree it's expensive and there is never much of a discount available.
I think they are deliberately keeping the price higher than it should be but I've waited long enough!

 

[Gary London]

I have had my E6 since June and love it. I gave my WSM 14 and Performer to my kids. I will admit that I still have a WSM 22 in the garage for the occasional big job.
Currently I use the E6 and a Genesis II 335 gasser.
With it being just the wife and I, I was concerned it was too big. Not the case. A small Weber chimney is more than adequate for a dinner for 2.
That being said, I can set it up for smoking and a full load of coals and it will hold temperature for 20 hours plus. Another thing I like is using the charcoal baskets for indirect cooking as I have much more area to cook on then the kettle.
In short, I am glad I bought an E6 even at the $1000 US I paid for it (free assembly!). It is the best charcoal grill I’ve ever used. The only down side is there is no a rotisserie available.
Hope this helps.

Thanks Mark, that definitely helps.
I want to move away from briquettes. The Weber ones create a lot of ash which I've noticed covers everything in the new BBQ shelter, just from lighting them.

We have good quality lumpwood here and I think it will work well with the E6.
More space will also be a big plus. I tend to push the limit of the 22" kettle even with just two of us to feed.
I'll keep the kettle for the rotisserie and plancha.

 

[Grant Cunningham]

I've only had my E6 for about a month, but I cook on it at least twice a week. Haven't done anything truly "low and slow" yet, but as a grill — direct or indirect — it's a definite step up from a kettle. Depending on how you set it up, it gets hotter or retains heat longer than a kettle, and uses less charcoal to do either.

Wish I'd bought it earlier!

 

[Brett-EDH]

My gasser hasn’t been used since early June when I bought the E6. Feel free to see my posts in Photos for my various cooks.

I wouldn’t own any other grill. If that tells you how I feel. And it cooks with lump, incredibly.

 

[Mark Foreman]

Thanks Mark, that definitely helps.
I want to move away from briquettes. The Weber ones create a lot of ash which I've noticed covers everything in the new BBQ shelter, just from lighting them.

We have good quality lumpwood here and I think it will work well with the E6.
More space will also be a big plus. I tend to push the limit of the 22" kettle even with just two of us to feed.
I'll keep the kettle for the rotisserie and plancha.

I mostly use Jealous Devil lump in mine with wonderful results. I do however use charcoal for long slow cooks, it just is easier to manage.
if you want to move on to lump charcoal, the E6 will do what you want.

 

[Mark Foreman]

My gasser hasn’t been used since early June when I bought the E6. Feel free to see my posts in Photos for my various cooks.

I wouldn’t own any other grill. If that tells you how I feel. And it cooks with lump, incredibly.

Agree with Brett. The E6 does wonderfully on lump. I have read that Kamados are designed to be used with lump and the E6 bears that out.

 

[Gary London]

Come on guys, it can't be that good

 

[Mark Foreman]

Come on guys, it can't be that good

in My opinion, it is. There may well be be better grills/Kamados out there, but I’ve not cooked on them.

 

[GrantT]

I've had a Visions Kamado (small), a BGE (Large), and a Broil King Keg in the last 10 years. They've all had there pros/cons to some degree, at least for my requirements. Other people have other requirements which could offer differing opinions.

Before the S6/E6, I looked at what I think is the only other kamado I would want (Big Joe) for me right now, but it's too heavy (I move mine around depending on weather, season etc), and also a LOT more money here...even compared to the S6.

So...yup...I would not want another.

 

[Gary London]

Well I've bought one today. Now waiting for help to get it out of the car!

Price dropped £100 to £895 ($1193) in a Black Friday offer. Cheapest I've ever seen it in the U.K.
Surprised how heavy it is, but still half the weight of a ceramic.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

one of us....one of us.......

 

[GrantT]

one of us....one of us.......

Hehe!! Welcome @Gary London ....you're going to love it I'll confidently predict.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Well I've bought one today. Now waiting for help to get it out of the car!

Price dropped £100 to £895 ($1193) in a Black Friday offer. Cheapest I've ever seen it in the U.K.
Surprised how heavy it is, but still half the weight of a ceramic.

Looking forward to your proper cooks once you get this all sorted. Congratulations!

 

[JohnTak]

I have a 26" kettle and an E6 Kamado. I did turkey yesterday in both and the E6 did a way better job with a lot less charcoal. I had to transfer my thighs to the E6 to finish browning after using at least three baskets of charcoal in the kettle and one basket load in the E6.

 

[Dustin Flavell]

I have had mine now (1st Gen) for 18 months. The only draw back I have found is what to do with all my other kettles and WSMs… seriously I have used my 26 once for the rotisserie and the ranch once for 10 tri-tips. Everything else has sat and collected dust and became spider condominiums…

 

[TimA]

I’ve had my Summit Charcoal for almost 2.5 years now, and it truly is that good. I’m amazed at the thing, I’ve gone months where I won’t even touch any of the other grills, it’s just frankly so superior to everything else I have and I can’t think of anything better on the market.

Truly love it. Enjoy the new toy, it takes a bit to go from a kettle to it because it’s almost backwards from normal kettle usage in how you set it, it’s choked down so much on the vents. But it just churns out fantastic food time after time after time.