Has anyhone heard a rumor....

[demosthenes9]

I don't think that is 3.25 8oz cups but rather that charcoal measuring cup/bucket that was shown in one of the videos.

And if it did use that low an amount of fuel, it'd actually be a bad thing.  You need a hot fire to get thin blue smoke.  Kamados like to smolder.  Yuck.  Let's hope it is not that efficient.

true, kinda.

it's still all in the vent config. thin blue smoke can be produced by a small smoldering fire as long as there is enough fresh oxygen.
The smoldering problem (and lack of thin blue) happens when the vents are crunched down too much. This typically happens when temps get too hot and the top vent gets over-used.
The lack of oxygen (and abundance of carbon dioxide) extinguish areas of combustion. Smoldering wood is the first to suffer. As things extinguish, there is more incomplete combustion, which produces carbon monoxide and creosote.

in other words, being super efficient is fine - but fire management is still a crucial skill to have

Truth, you need to know how to handle your fire........

I'm with ABCbarbecue on this one. My Akorn basically never made clean smoke for me below 300f. I used it but 25 times or so and it got put aside and I went back to my Kettles. Perhaps it needed me not to give up on it but I never figured out how to maintain clean smoke at low temps with the thing. So I kind of wonder about a Kettle that uses so little fuel during smoking....Would there be enough air flow to keep clean smoke? I know I can do it with a normal Kettle. Would I want to drop a whack of cash on a whippy new one to find out my normal ones are somehow better?

From what I could tell from the videoz,  the SCG uses somewhat of an inverted minion method.   You pile up the coals over the gas assist and then fire it for 7 mins.   That's only going to light a small amount of the coals in the beginning.   As with the minion,  the lit coals will burn and ignite the other coals,  only with the SCG,  its from the bottom instead of the top

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[pbe gummi bear]

I don't think that is 3.25 8oz cups but rather that charcoal measuring cup/bucket that was shown in one of the videos.

And if it did use that low an amount of fuel, it'd actually be a bad thing.  You need a hot fire to get thin blue smoke.  Kamados like to smolder.  Yuck.  Let's hope it is not that efficient.

true, kinda.

it's still all in the vent config. thin blue smoke can be produced by a small smoldering fire as long as there is enough fresh oxygen.
The smoldering problem (and lack of thin blue) happens when the vents are crunched down too much. This typically happens when temps get too hot and the top vent gets over-used.
The lack of oxygen (and abundance of carbon dioxide) extinguish areas of combustion. Smoldering wood is the first to suffer. As things extinguish, there is more incomplete combustion, which produces carbon monoxide and creosote.

in other words, being super efficient is fine - but fire management is still a crucial skill to have

Truth, you need to know how to handle your fire........

I'm with ABCbarbecue on this one. My Akorn basically never made clean smoke for me below 300f. I used it but 25 times or so and it got put aside and I went back to my Kettles. Perhaps it needed me not to give up on it but I never figured out how to maintain clean smoke at low temps with the thing. So I kind of wonder about a Kettle that uses so little fuel during smoking....Would there be enough air flow to keep clean smoke? I know I can do it with a normal Kettle. Would I want to drop a whack of cash on a whippy new one to find out my normal ones are somehow better?

From what I could tell from the videoz,  the SCG uses somewhat of an inverted minion method.   You pile up the coals over the gas assist and then fire it for 7 mins.   That's only going to light a small amount of the coals in the beginning.   As with the minion,  the lit coals will burn and ignite the other coals,  only with the SCG,  its from the bottom instead of the top

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

This is exactly what I do with my wsm, except for the gas assist. I think putting the lit on he bottom of the pile is superior as the ash doesn't choke the unlit underneath.

[Troy]

I've never had any issues with my Akorn.

good.
you probably know how to use it

Have you modified yours at all?
I'm far from an akorn hater. I'd buy a 'korn before a BGE.

[AZRaptor]

No modifications. It's not as fuel efficient as I hear ceramic kamados are, but it gets the job done. I had been interested in a kamado for a while but since I already had two or three smokers of different types at the time I went with the much more affordable Akorn. The cooking grate is only 19.5" though, so not a ton of space.

I'm much more likely to "give it a whirl" when it comes to an $80 CL Akorn than a $1700 MSRP SCG, but doesn't mean I wouldn't like one.

[Eastex]

Smoldering sooty fires?? Nope. My long cooks in my Kamado Joe are lit Minion style, and the fire spreads throughout the charcoal pile just like any other minion burn. The only difference is that it doesn't have to spread out as far as it did to keep the temperature where I want it as it did in my WSM. That's a good thing too since I'm burning lump exclusively in the KJ and its not nearly as cheap as Kingsford.
    Hopefully the new Weber will do the same. The Kamado guys get goofy talking about 24 hour plus cooks but realistically if you can hold temp for 12-14 your food should be done.


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[Saluki1]

FWIW, The BBQ Central Show had a Weber Rep on a couple of day ago to talk about the Summit Charcoal. I'm still in the wait and see camp, but his guest made some intriguing points (being able to quickly go from low to high heat, and then back down again, for example...)

Interview starts about 20 minutes in: http://thebbqcentralshow.com/the-bbq-round-up-episode-4/

[Winz]

No more rim rash or lost/dented lids - worth the $1,500 alone...


Winz

[Tommy B]

@Winz I'll sell you a $50 hinge for your 22.5 kettles for half of the $1,500 price.... I kid

[Winz]

@Winz I'll sell you a $50 hinge for your 22.5 kettles for half of the $1,500 price.... I kid

Attractive offer, however I can get the hinge for free when I purchase a SCG.   


Winz

[macmanjpc]

Okay. So, I was able to check out both versions of the SCG today! I'm going to rescind part of my earlier comments. This this is much more substantial than it looks. Very well engineered and put together. I actually don't have any gripes with the standalone unit. It's gorgeous. It's much bigger in person. Not a flimsy piece in it. Even the heat deflector is a heavy (several pounds) piece of insulalated stainless steel. In Canada this is the $1999 option. Would I pay that? Sadly, no. I really can't comment on the USD pricing as the exhange rate these days is really wonky.

I'm more interested in the grill center model but, unfortunately, this is the model I have issues with. If you're going to charge a $500 premium for a table it had better be a great frickin table! The table version makes the most sense to me as I see this as replacing several units and being the centerpiece to most grilling activities and therefor requires the most space for prep, etc. So the gripes. 1) the wire mesh basket slides in on metal rails. It's impossible to slide unpolished stainless steel rods against unpolished stainless steel rails. It's binds. Every time. It a pain in the ass. Should have a simple ball bearing mechanism. Problem solved and much more premium feel. 2) There is a wire rack at the bottom of the unit to store the heat deflector. It's about 4" off the ground. You literally have to get on all fours to retrieve or stow the deflector. Plus, unless the deflector is perfectly clean it's going to be a tasty treat for many a wildlife. 3) The charcoal bucket was not thought out at all. Unlike the performer, it is not hinged in any way. It just sits on the bottom shelf and is intended to be slid in and out. Even without 20lbs of charcoal in it the 3 day old display model was already all scratched up on the black bottom shelf. With weight in the bucket I can see that being worn through to bare metal within a year. Solution? Stainless steel bottom shelf or a sort of bearing sliding shelf. 4) the tool hook were clearly an afterthought. For this kind of money they need to be rethought from a more premium point of view.

Finally, back to pricing. Before actually seeing and touching it I was fairy critical and thought it was overpriced by at least $1000. Now that I see what they've really accomplished with this thing I can how the value is higher. In my opinion, it's about $500 too high. I could see spending $1499 and $1999 respectively and it being worth that kinda money. A $2500 ask is just too much unless they fixed all the issues I mentioned above. At least for me.

Keep an open mind until you see one. I think it's worth more than I originally thought but less than Weber currently asks.

Cheers!

[pbe gummi bear]

Thanks for the detailed observations, @macmanjpc! You've confirmed my fears about the grilling center. The table portion of it just did not look that "premium" in any of the advertising materials or reviews. I'm more interested in the tripod one because that frame does look well built and looks cool. I'd park it to the right side of an SS performer.

[Craig]

Great insight, @macmanjpc !

This is definitely one that I would need to touch and feel first. It'd be great if Weber pulled a page out of their old playbook and take these SCG's on the road and demo them at various stores across the country (Ace, Weber Alliance/Premium Dealers etc) Maybe that's already in the works? I'm with @pbe gummi bear in that I prefer the stand alone unit.

[Darko]

Okay. So, I was able to check out both versions of the SCG today! I'm going to rescind part of my earlier comments. This this is much more substantial than it looks. Very well engineered and put together. I actually don't have any gripes with the standalone unit. It's gorgeous. It's much bigger in person. Not a flimsy piece in it. Even the heat deflector is a heavy (several pounds) piece of insulalated stainless steel. In Canada this is the $1999 option. Would I pay that? Sadly, no. I really can't comment on the USD pricing as the exhange rate these days is really wonky.

I'm more interested in the grill center model but, unfortunately, this is the model I have issues with. If you're going to charge a $500 premium for a table it had better be a great frickin table! The table version makes the most sense to me as I see this as replacing several units and being the centerpiece to most grilling activities and therefor requires the most space for prep, etc. So the gripes. 1) the wire mesh basket slides in on metal rails. It's impossible to slide unpolished stainless steel rods against unpolished stainless steel rails. It's binds. Every time. It a pain in the ass. Should have a simple ball bearing mechanism. Problem solved and much more premium feel. 2) There is a wire rack at the bottom of the unit to store the heat deflector. It's about 4" off the ground. You literally have to get on all fours to retrieve or stow the deflector. Plus, unless the deflector is perfectly clean it's going to be a tasty treat for many a wildlife. 3) The charcoal bucket was not thought out at all. Unlike the performer, it is not hinged in any way. It just sits on the bottom shelf and is intended to be slid in and out. Even without 20lbs of charcoal in it the 3 day old display model was already all scratched up on the black bottom shelf. With weight in the bucket I can see that being worn through to bare metal within a year. Solution? Stainless steel bottom shelf or a sort of bearing sliding shelf. 4) the tool hook were clearly an afterthought. For this kind of money they need to be rethought from a more premium point of view.

Finally, back to pricing. Before actually seeing and touching it I was fairy critical and thought it was overpriced by at least $1000. Now that I see what they've really accomplished with this thing I can how the value is higher. In my opinion, it's about $500 too high. I could see spending $1499 and $1999 respectively and it being worth that kinda money. A $2500 ask is just too much unless they fixed all the issues I mentioned above. At least for me.

Keep an open mind until you see one. I think it's worth more than I originally thought but less than Weber currently asks.

Cheers!

I just got back from Ontario Gas Barbecue, and concur with this 100% Someone really dropped the ball on that table with that cheesy drawer and charcoal bin. I just can't see how that slipped through in the  final design stage. One interesting tidbit; apparently Weber only made 360 of these units right now. I also talked to someone who has used it and they said that the temperature control is phenomenal.

So, after seeing it I think I would be happy paying 1500 CDN for the basic unit, but even 1900 is too much for the grill center as it is now.

[dwnthehatch]

I went to the grilling demo at the Grill Store in Edgewater, MD on Saturday. No free hats, bummer. It was snowing like crazy at first (rare for this time of year in MD) and turned to rain. There was not much of a crowd. Unfortunately the Summit Charcoal w/o table was only on display and not being used. The BGEs were all fired up though. This gave me a chance to really look at the summit charcoal.  I was impressed. My only complaint is the ring that holds the handle to the lid was not contoured to fit the lid perfectly. This leaves little gaps between the handle and the lid which already had leaves collected in it.  Not a deal breaker since I always cover my grills. I will own one soon. I'm just waiting for the table model to arrive today to make my decision.

[Troy]

I snuck out yesterday to check them out too. They only had the tabled version, bummer.

The wire cage drawer thing was by far the biggest disappointment. No bearings? Ick.
I think I would prefer it be fully enclosed drawer, or even a cabinet.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the lid and the insulation. The cook space is quite a bit larger than the 22.
I need to have this grill.