Weber Charcoal Summit Thread

[redhawk]

Did you do a minion method? I'm thinking in a year's time one of these will be mine. They look fantastic and now the reports are that they are performing awesomely to boot.

 

[robinfresno]

How did you attach the guru? Looks like about 1 chimney in 24hrs more or less.

 

[KevinJ]

How did you attach the guru? Looks like about 1 chimney in 24hrs more or less.

WSC comes Guru ready.

 

[Baby Back Maniac]

Here's the video. This would have been out earlier but it took me all afternoon to fight a bogus copyright claim. I ended up having to do about half of it over.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l88zDqQdLKU[/ame]

Anyways, I'm going to go get some sleep. (If you watch the video, you'll know why. lol)

Enjoy!

 

[ssv3]

I'm starting to see something on the horizon for me. Not good. :tsk: Well, sort of. :becky:

I'm really digging this cooker the more I see it. :thumb:

Nice videos BTW!

 

[ryhonung]

Great video Baby Back Maniac! So the Summit ran 50 hours without ever having to refuel??? Wow... That's impressive! I don't own a kamado type cooker, but can they do the same? If they can't, the WSCG has a huge advantage....Looking forward to the first real cook... Get better, but don't keep us waiting too long!

 

[m-fine]

That is awesome! Now get to sleep and get healthy!

 

[cookingdude555]

Ah, what a shame. The BGE fanboys on the eggheadforum wont be able to hate on this anymore. OK, they still will find reason, but this ends the discussion on the credibility of this kamado. My double walled bubba keg uses less fuel than my eggs, I always knew this was a solid design method. 50 hours. Incredible. I am not sure my XL BGE would go that long, I'm not sure I care either. But this demonstration displays the wisdom Weber had in their design. I am very impressed.

I have several eggs, but I will be selling the large and small and making this purchase (this decision was already made, but this very much solidifies it). I love my eggs, but I am just a big Weber fanboy. Thanks for posting these videos, very informative. Looking forward to the brisket results on this thing.

 

[Smoker34]

Thanks! 50 hours is amazing! Of course it will be somewhat less with a 20-lb brisket, but that's really great insulation. I'm looking forward to your brisket results, and then I may pull the trigger. My hope is that I'm able to do a large brisket, which usually take me 1.5 hours/lb., so I need to be able to go 24+ hours in some cases. It looks as if adding fuel in the middle of a smoke might be a pain, despite the hinged grate and diffuser plate. Thanks again.

 

[m-fine]

Thanks! 50 hours is amazing! Of course it will be somewhat less with a 20-lb brisket, but that's really great insulation. I'm looking forward to your brisket results, and then I may pull the trigger. My hope is that I'm able to do a large brisket, which usually take me 1.5 hours/lb., so I need to be able to go 24+ hours in some cases. It looks as if adding fuel in the middle of a smoke might be a pain, despite the hinged grate and diffuser plate. Thanks again.

The bigger the brisket, the less hours per pound required. You should be able to cook any brisket from a normal cow in well under 24 hours, so I can't see needing to refuel that grill.

 

[Smoker34]

I often cook 14-16-lb briskets in my 22.5" WSM at 230-240 and they ALWAYS take me at least 1.5 hrs/lb. I end up using well more than one bag of Kingsford blue (this assumes no extremes of ambient temperature or wind). I wrap in butcher paper anywhere between 165-170, depending on bark formation. I have great results, but I think the WSM is not very efficient in terms of insulation. The WSCG would seem to be perfect for such a cook and I suspect that given the heat efficiency, it would take less time to cook and would not require refueling. Given the results from BBM's test, I wonder why Weber is only touting a fraction of "low and slow" cook time that he achieved.

 

[wbzipf]

BBM,

Great job with the experiment and the video! I love the efficiency of this thing and can't wait until mine gets here. Fortunately, Firecraft has shipped it to me and the track package says I should be getting it on Tuesday.

 

[Baby Back Maniac]

BBM,

Great job with the experiment and the video! I love the efficiency of this thing and can't wait until mine gets here. Fortunately, Firecraft has shipped it to me and the track package says I should be getting it on Tuesday.

Woo hoo! Please post pictures!

 

[Baby Back Maniac]

I often cook 14-16-lb briskets in my 22.5" WSM at 230-240 and they ALWAYS take me at least 1.5 hrs/lb. I end up using well more than one bag of Kingsford blue (this assumes no extremes of ambient temperature or wind). I wrap in butcher paper anywhere between 165-170, depending on bark formation. I have great results, but I think the WSM is not very efficient in terms of insulation. The WSCG would seem to be perfect for such a cook and I suspect that given the heat efficiency, it would take less time to cook and would not require refueling. Given the results from BBM's test, I wonder why Weber is only touting a fraction of "low and slow" cook time that he achieved.

They have their own little measuring cup system that comes with the grill. It's a little over 1/3 the size of a chimney. I think I saw somewhere where 3 cups are supposed to last 10-12 hours so if I filled it up with 3 chimneys (9 cups), that's about 36 hours on the high end of their estimate. If the cooker was completely loaded with meat for 36 hours (totally hypothetical because when would you do that?), but anyways, that's probably about right. I'd rather them be on the conservative side.

 

[Baby Back Maniac]

WSC comes Guru ready.

What he said ^^. there is a shot of it in the video if you want to see it.

 

[Baby Back Maniac]

Ah, what a shame. The BGE fanboys on the eggheadforum wont be able to hate on this anymore. OK, they still will find reason, but this ends the discussion on the credibility of this kamado. My double walled bubba keg uses less fuel than my eggs, I always knew this was a solid design method. 50 hours. Incredible. I am not sure my XL BGE would go that long, I'm not sure I care either. But this demonstration displays the wisdom Weber had in their design. I am very impressed.

I have several eggs, but I will be selling the large and small and making this purchase (this decision was already made, but this very much solidifies it). I love my eggs, but I am just a big Weber fanboy. Thanks for posting these videos, very informative. Looking forward to the brisket results on this thing.

Woo hoo! I think you are going to love it. So far it seems like a good mix between the Kegs and the XL ceramics I've had in the past...plus the conveniences of Performer. You'll feel right at home with it.

 

[wbzipf]

I often cook 14-16-lb briskets in my 22.5" WSM at 230-240 and they ALWAYS take me at least 1.5 hrs/lb. I end up using well more than one bag of Kingsford blue (this assumes no extremes of ambient temperature or wind). I wrap in butcher paper anywhere between 165-170, depending on bark formation. I have great results, but I think the WSM is not very efficient in terms of insulation. The WSCG would seem to be perfect for such a cook and I suspect that given the heat efficiency, it would take less time to cook and would not require refueling. Given the results from BBM's test, I wonder why Weber is only touting a fraction of "low and slow" cook time that he achieved.

Just as an FYI, I purchased this silicon jacket for my WSM from BBQ Guru. I have one and It works really well at increasing your cooking efficiency.

Regarding cooking in the winter, I can attest that I have used it in wind and rain as well as sub 20 degree F just fine.

https://www.bbqguru.com/storenav?CategoryId=9&ProductId=80

 

[wbzipf]

Woo hoo! Please post pictures!

Will do!

 

[Baby Back Maniac]

Thanks! 50 hours is amazing! Of course it will be somewhat less with a 20-lb brisket, but that's really great insulation. I'm looking forward to your brisket results, and then I may pull the trigger. My hope is that I'm able to do a large brisket, which usually take me 1.5 hours/lb., so I need to be able to go 24+ hours in some cases. It looks as if adding fuel in the middle of a smoke might be a pain, despite the hinged grate and diffuser plate. Thanks again.

Yeah, It's better than nothing though. I did it both ways during the 2 days I was running this experiment. I think if I was just adding a few coals to finish a cook, I'd use the hinge system and by fine with it. It seems like there is some sort of tool that weber should have added to make all that work. I used my BGE tool, but I'm not sure what you would do if you didn't have one. (I guess tongs)

I can also see it being helpful regarding wood chunks. That whole issue with kamados of having to add your wood at start up and not really have any control after that. Honestly, it's so easy to take the grate off, I might just keep doing that. Sliding the grate over to the table and throwing the deflector down below the ash bowl takes about 10 seconds total and then you have complete access. The performer card and handles on the grates are really a game changer. If I was actually cooking something there would be the extra step of wiping down the table, but since it's stainless, that should be easy since I keep a rag out by the grill all the time anyways.

 

[Baby Back Maniac]

I should clarify something. I REALLY like this grill, but I'm really necessarily not trying to talk anyone into buying this. I'm just trying to give out information so those of you interested can make an informed decision. With that in mind, I need to talk about some of the things I would change just so you guys have a complete picture.

1. The hinge- Weber actually made a fantastic hinge for this. It's holds the lid steady at almost any angle and it's very sturdy. Whats unfortunate is it attaches to the support ring which has a little bit of give to it. So instead of feeling rock solid, it reminds me of (don't get mad) the way the Primo or vision hinges feel. It's feels totally adequate for the job, but not rock solid. What's unfortunate about that is it's just a perception thing because the hinge itself IS rock solid but that ring needs to be supported more if it's going to give the perception of being as well made as it is. I'm not at all worried about how well it works or how long it will last. I just wished it felt as solid as it is. (I'm probably being picky)

2) the table isn't 304 stainless. It's magnetic. Weber does something to it to keep it from rusting in water, but I put a big chimneys of charcoal on the table and when I slid it over, I noticed the table had a tiny surface scratch that I can see in certain light. I won't do that again now that I know that can happen, but you should know it can happen. The chimney is very old and sharp on the bottom (and full of coal) so that probably had something to do with it.

3) They put awesome metal locking casters on the front but left the cheap plastic lawn mower wheels on the back. The plastic wheels have always worked great so I'm not necessarily mad about it, but aesthetically it doesn't look right to me. however, I'm glad they didn't put those cheap plastic casters on this like they do with everything else so I guess I'd rather have the mismatch than no upgrades at all.

4) This is also purely aesthetic, but I REALLY wish they would have updated the lower ash assembly. The top vent is wonderful and they seem to have put a TON of work into that design. But the bottom they almost ignored completely. They did put a very useful smoking setting in the lower draft vents, but externally, it looks almost exactly like the vents on the kettles...INCLUDING (this drives me nuts) installing fake leg holders (that will never actually hold legs) so they could attach the lower ash vent assembly to it. Again, it's an aesthetic thing, but it just seems like a missed opportunity to do something better.

5) The charcoal grate on this thing is FANTASTIC. It's EXTREMELY heavy duty and the bars are close together so the charcoal doesn't fall through until it's almost completely spent. It's also got this cool feature so you can raise and lower it depending on how much space you need between the coals and the food. However, there is no tool to raise or lower it. Some sort of grill grippers would be nice so you don't have to get your hands dirty. Again, not a big deal, but if Weber is going to start making high end charcoal grills, they need to include these little high end conveniences.

6) This isn't really a negative...just something to be aware of. The temp control blower port is on the right side so the fire burns that towards it. So my plan next time I use the temp controller is to start the fire on the left side and let it burn over that direction. It's really nice that the port is already there so you don't have to drill into your $2K grill.

None of these are deal breakers and probably won't bother most people but I just want to give me full opinion. Hope this helps.