New Weber Summit Charcoal - observations

[byuself]

Just did my first cook with a 18lb brisket. I was coming from a 26 inch kettle and used to use the Slow n Sear and also BBQ guru CyberQWeb

I used to cook overnight however there was some interactions as far as adding coals etc.

Last night at about 9pm I lit my summit ( i didn't use the easy jet as it seems this gets the coals too hot so I used a small amount in a chimney.
I set the temp using my bbq guru to 235. it really stayed steady the whole night. and was still holding temp even at 3 pm ( i took the brisket off obviously I just wanted to see how long this thing would go)
Amazing performace however.

I noticed a slight leak in the seal by the back hinge, very minor but irritating.
On the inital test burn to achieve 225 I had to damn near choke off the top and lower vents.
I noticed some smoke coming out of the easy jet tube si i assume air is getting in there also.
The temp gauge is pretty close to my cyberq however still a bit off

has anyone has the same issue with keeping the temps down to 225-230?

the method I used was to fill the charcoal bay up and put about 10 lit coals in minion method on the pit.(kingsford original briquettes)
I had to put the lever just to the left of the smoke position (barely cracked) and top vents barely open (less than the diameter of a pencil)
this seemed to just keep it on the 230 range.

[jacobp]

Contact Weber about smoke leaks. There's a fix for that.

Try a cook without the guru and see how that goes regarding the temp. I've found that I have better results on the Summit when I don't use the guru.

Also, check out Babyback Maniac's vids on youtube. He mentions that he found that the Summit ran hot for the first couple cooks;

[cumminfourya]

My vents are damn near closed as well. Bottom more than the top.


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[JordanW]

Runs a little hot for the first few smokes, then settles in.

To run 225 for the earlier cooks, same vent settings. smoke setting on bottom and 1/16-1/8" open on top.

I would try using the gas assist for these types of cooks. To me that's a major upgrade over a traditional Kamado.

[byuself]

thanks for the replies, good to know as i don't see much stuff posted about this grill besides the baby back maniac videos

[JordanW]

These are the best 2 threads for Summit owners....

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/where-are-all-the-summit-owners/

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-grill-modifications-customs/summit-charcoal-grill-mods-and-additions/

[chiku18]

Another thread to add for reading

http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/weber-kettles-accessories/summit-charcoal-mods/

[GoAnywhereJeep]

Same with me - getting better temp control without the CyberQ. With the CyberQ, I was overshooting the temps. It is all that i was using at first. Now I just use it as a remote temp sensor. I used the heck out of it when I had a WSM but not so much anymore.

When using the CyberQ, I throttled it down by closing the tamper half way. That seemed to help.

What I want is the SmoBot if they ever come out with a version for the summit. Instead of a fan, it uses a servo that opens and closes the top vent (a "robotic damper").

[Josh G]

Mine was so closed down I thought there was no way it would keep going.  Never really held at 225.  I had smoke coming out from all around the lid so a new gasket is now on its way.  Hopefully that solves the problem.