Weber Summit Charcoal Grill and Summit Charcoal Grilling Center - New for 2016

[Gene_N]

Pretty stiff premium. Jack of all trades, master of none? The suggested retail price(s) are a niche price point for the rich or the stud outdoor cook that "wants" a shiny toy. However it would be nice to gain back some shed and patio space by having less Weber toys.

 

[Andrew F]

From the schematics it looks like there is a 'port' on the side near the entry point for the gas ignition system. That might be the opening Amazing Ribs noted as being available for a TCS. There's no mention of it in the owner's guide though.

Yeah, I too was looking for that. This is the best I could come up with. Kind of weird that they would just leave a hole there with an explanation.

 

[ChadVKealey]

I'll just repeat what most others have said: seems like a top-notch piece of hardware, but the price seems high for what it is. My hope, though, is that this might lead some folks to sell their Performers cheap to put towards one of these, or Weber drops the prices on new Performers. Sounds illogical, but it happens in other markets all the time: a shiny new DSLR camera model comes out and all of that manufacturer's other models drop in price, even for brand new in-box units; every year new car models come out and dealers slash prices on "last year's" model.

Would I like one of these? Heck Yeah! Would my wife kill me if I spent that much money on a grill? Double Heck Yeah!

 

[russ olin]

Weber grill of a lifetime or Weber bill of a lifetime? LOL
For that much money check out a Karbeque, hand built in Texas one at a time. $1500
Lang 36 smoker, $1300.
Good One Patio Junior $800.
Good One Open Range $1100.
All better choices and built in the USA.
Just saying.......
Have a good one,
Old Grill goat

 

[Shawn W]

I would love to cook on the Summit Charcoal Grill. I owned a Performer for a few years, loved it, then bought a Big Steel Keg. I still own a WSM, but don't use it often.

Double walled construction is the most exciting aspect to me. Even though it is air gap insulation I think it's a game changer for the kettle, and a happy medium between my double walled steel keg's oven grade insulation and Weber's single wall cooker designs. Better insulation is better for fuel economy and high temp cooks, like 700ºF pizzas, but for low n slow you end up having to run such a little fire in a keg it's almost impossible to get strong smoke flavor if that's your thing.

Wind should be much less a factor than with single walled Weber's which in turn should give better temp stability and fuel efficiency. I lthink the 24" size is great too.

I do feel it's a bit pricey for the market ... but I don't think I feel as strongly about that as some of the others on the thread though ... given double wall Weber construction (and their kettles have been known to last for decades) I feel perhaps each unit is a couple hundred dollars too high, again, for the market.

I am too well grilled for the moment to justify the expense between my Keg, WSM and Napoleon M605RBCss but experiencing Summit Charcoal grill envy indeed

 

[Bob Correll]

I think it's safe to say that most people in the bbq world know about these new Weber offerings.
I wonder if any television advertising is coming.
It doesn't seem like it's Weber's normal method of marketing, but I think they should get the word out to potential buyers of this type grill/smoker.

I see similarities here that I see on my Pentax camera forum.
For years Pentax users have cried for a full frame dslr, (I'm not one of them) well it's being shipped soon, and the nitpicking for a product, not yet in hand, has started, but that is human nature.
One difference, the folks wanting a FF body were pleased with the price of about $1,800. Yikes!!

 

[Chris in Louisiana]

The Backwoods Smoker units are ubiquitous at competitions. I've looked at them but considered them too expensive for my amateur efforts at home. But, heck, for this kind of money I could be smoking on one of those Cadillacs.

Maybe that is how I will rationalize it when I finally get a Backwoods Smoker. They make them right down the road from me.

 

[ChadVKealey]

I think it's safe to say that most people in the bbq world know about these new Weber offerings.
I wonder if any television advertising is coming.
It doesn't seem like it's Weber's normal method of marketing, but I think they should get the word out to potential buyers of this type grill/smoker.

I see similarities here that I see on my Pentax camera forum.
For years Pentax users have cried for a full frame dslr, (I'm not one of them) well it's being shipped soon, and the nitpicking for a product, not yet in hand, has started, but that is human nature.
One difference, the folks wanting a FF body were pleased with the price of about $1,800. Yikes!!

I'm a Pentaxian myself and I'm glad there's a FF body out there now if only to create a wealth of very affordable K-3s on the used market

 

[Bob Correll]

I'm a Pentaxian myself and I'm glad there's a FF body out there now if only to create a wealth of very affordable K-3s on the used market

Don't want to take the thread OT, but have to give a shout out to a fellow Pentaxian, we are a pretty rare breed indeed!
My K-S2 is all I'll ever need or want forever, I think, I hope, maybe....

 

[Dustin Dorsey]

It's a beautiful grill. I'll never have one because I'm the kind of guy that thinks a performer is an extravagance, I flat out couldn't afford it and my wife would kill me. It's a very well thought out design though. I'd go for it over an egg easily. I think that the market is there.

 

[Tom Chilton]

Does it come with all the inserts for the BBQ gourmet system grill (wok, griddle, searing grill, etc.)?

I have a red headed one touch, an 18" WSM, and a large BGE, so this is not something I need. But that doesn't mean I don't want one! For that price you could buy a Ranch and a WSM though.

 

[Kyle Fisher]

It's a beautiful grill, but my big issue is price. Is it worth the $1,720 premium over the Char-Grill Akorn Kamado? Even if I get only 3 years out of the Akorn, I can buy 5 of them for the price of one of these. I think the correct pricing would be $799 for the base model, and $999 for the side-table model.

 

[Wes D.]

I just asked the (soon to be) Mrs', and she gave the approval to pull the trigger if I stop talking about getting the BGE.

My only worry - she hasn't yet ventured up in the attic, where my stash of OTG in different colors would be discovered. She's asked about how many grills are up there I just say a "couple". I know not to give specifics, her brother mentioned he needed a new grill and she mentioned I have an extra one upstairs!

Anyways I'm not sure I'll be buying soon at this price point, sure would be good if they offered some color choices. Or a Memorial day sale!

 

[TonyUK]

As somebody mentioned earlier, I think the SCG is aimed at those who do not have an arsenal of Weber grills already, & are looking at a top of the range unit that will do everything.
My WSM / Kettle / JJ / SJ's are great products & have me covered. And I LOVE them.

NB. Attention TVWBB UK Chapter. How about we all chip in and buy one, & use it on a timeshare basis?

Edit: Sitting on the hotel balcony, drinking cold beer with wifey, in Miami….

 

[Chris Allingham]

Does it come with all the inserts for the BBQ gourmet system grill (wok, griddle, searing grill, etc.)?

I believe it comes with the Gourmet BBQ System™ hinged cooking grate, but the inserts (wok, Korean BBQ, pizza stone, griddle, etc.) must be purchased separately.

 

[John Ford]

It's a beautiful grill, but my big issue is price. Is it worth the $1,720 premium over the Char-Grill Akorn Kamado? Even if I get only 3 years out of the Akorn, I can buy 5 of them for the price of one of these. I think the correct pricing would be $799 for the base model, and $999 for the side-table model.

I have a 4y/o AKORN & other than dropping th grate & frying the gaskets it's still going strong.

 

[Sebastian H]

im taking a Weber Grill certification in my city on the weekend (14 hours, 7 hours each day to cook, learn about weber products) we are not sure if we will have the new grill there, but from what i know in the next event we will for sure, i will try to compare the WSM and other smokers that i own/used. About the price, we have a phrase here in my town "is not this expensive, I earn too little"

Here is a pic of the weber deck here:

 

[DGordon]

Esteemed board. I am somewhat worked up with this new model. I hate my reaction to it. I do. But the price is 2x beyond what I think most people will pay. Perhaps when I see one and see the quality I will change my mind. But,,, I want this. But not at that price. I'd like to propose to the honoured host of this site that he speak with Weber, as we know he has connections. And ask for a VWB "enthusiast" version. By gosh we are owed, are we not Weber Nation? I would not want the gourmet grill setup - pass. And the gas assist= pass. I'd use the good old classic chimney. Give me the solid bones of this new unit and make me an evangelist for it. But don't penalize me monetarily for doing so. A basic setup in my mind would be 1Kish or so. And that's in crummy Canadian dollars. There's a tribe of us on this site = and we strong and strident. We are Weber. Chris, please make it so.

IMHO, we are the CORE reason that charcoal has come back in the way it has. This product is supposed (imho) to be for US. My .02c.

 

[R Kearn]

I was all excited seeing this in my FB news feed, then read the price. I don't see the $2000 value over my existing SS Performer and Mini WSM. For that price point, I'm off to a Rec Tec pellet grill/smoker.

 

[Bruno]

The Summit is a sweet looking cooker. I would love to have one. I just can't see ever paying $2,000 for a grill/smoker. I have a OTG (with a new 2015 lid, thanks Weber) a Q-320 (veggies only) and a WSM 22. For the kettle I have a rotisserie, charcoal baskets and smokenator. If I wanted to sear a steak I would put the charcoal baskets together and add a full chimney, for a low and slow I could use the smokenator or WSM and get some pretty damn good results.

I think I was the first to report the $2,000 price in the original "new products" thread and I hoped it was off, no such luck. I would pay $1,000 for the table version but it's just not possible to justify more at this point.

I am looking forward to keeping an eye on the Summit and future reviews by regular people like us. Maybe one day when I retire or something. Kinda like a musician I want to earn my chops with the kettle and WSM.