Weber sells two Summit Kamados, and inside the bowl they are the same cooker.
Both put 452 square inches on a 24 inch grate. Both bodies are dual-walled steel. Both use the hinged Rapidfire damper and the same two-position fuel grate. The Summit Kamado S6 Charcoal Grill Center, model 18501101, costs $1,000 more than the E6.
Not one dollar of that goes into the fire. It buys a cart, a stainless worktop, storage and a gas starter. So this page answers a narrow question. What is the furniture worth?
452 sq inCooking area, the same as the cheaper E6
56.6 inWidth with the lid down, bowl plus worktop
$1,000The premium over the E6, for no extra grate
15 minWeber's time from gas button to lit charcoal
First Impressions of the Weber Summit Kamado S6 Charcoal Grill Center
Two boxes arrive, and the cart is the longer job of the two. Weber advertises a fixed $99 Angi assembly booking on grills above $399. The same block names Summit as an exception. So the widest charcoal grill it sells is one you build yourself.
Upright, it reads more like a bar than a kettle. The black bowl sits at one end of a steel frame. A brushed stainless worktop fills the rest of it. A chrome wire basket slides out from underneath on rails.
The rolling gear is split. Two black spoked wheels carry the bowl end. Two small swivel casters take the worktop end, and both of those lock.
Lighting is the part that will not feel like a kamado. A knob on the worktop face, marked with a red flame, opens the Snap-Jet burner. Weber gives it 15 min to bring charcoal up. Steaks off the raised fuel grate came up dark-edged and clean tasting.
Key Features of the Weber Summit Kamado S6 Charcoal Grill Center
Nearly every item below also appears on the cheaper E6. The shared half is the cooking half. What is new sits outside the bowl, with one exception. The gas burner is new, and it hangs off the cart.
- Snap-Jet gas ignition: A burner under the fuel grate runs off a small disposable cylinder. Push and turn the knob, then walk away. Weber says the charcoal is up within 15 min. That cylinder is not in the box.
- Large stainless steel worktop: A brushed tabletop runs from the bowl to the far handle. It is the reason this model is called a Center. Weber prints no size for it anywhere.
- Stainless steel wire basket: A chrome basket rides on rails under the worktop. Tongs, gloves and foil live there rather than on the floor.
- Dual-walled steel body: Trapped air between an inner and an outer skin does the insulating here. Porcelain enamel covers both outer faces.
- Two-position fuel grate: The charcoal grate sits high or low. High puts the fire under the steak. Low pulls it away and leaves room for the diffuser.
- Stainless steel diffuser plate: A plate breaks up direct heat for the long cooks. It arrives with the grill instead of on the accessories page.
- Multiple vents and dampers: The Rapidfire lid damper is hinged, so it swings fully clear. Once the coals catch, nothing but a vent adjusts this fire.
- Stainless steel One-Touch cleaning system: A lever swings three stainless blades beneath the fuel grate. Ash ends up in an aluminum catcher that lifts away. No hand goes near the firebox.
- Gourmet BBQ System cooking grate: Stainless and hinged, with a centre that lifts out. A pizza stone, griddle or roaster fills that gap, each bought separately.
- Storage on three levels: A wire rack spans the whole frame below. Three tool hooks hang off the ends. A fuel bag of 20 lbs capacity comes with it.
- Built-in lid thermometer and fan port: One dial reads the dome air. A port for a forced-air controller is fitted, and no controller is supplied.
Start with what has not changed. The cooking envelope here is the E6’s envelope, part for part. Same bowl, same grate, same damper, same fuel grate, same diffuser. Anyone expecting the extra money to widen it will be disappointed.
The Snap-Jet earns its place at the start of a cook, not during one. A charcoal fire normally costs a chimney, a match and a stretch of waiting. Here it costs one turn of a knob and a wait spent indoors. That difference decides whether charcoal happens on a Tuesday.
Past the lighting, air does all the work. The Rapidfire damper is hinged rather than screwed down, so it swings clear and pulls hard. Drop the fuel grate, slide the diffuser in, and the same fire runs low instead.
Weber prints no degree figures for this grill at all. Nothing is published for the hot end, the low end, or how long a fire lasts. You get one dial in the lid and nothing else. Budget for a probe.
Build, handling and durability
Read the warranty as a materials statement and the cart tells on itself. Weber splits it three ways. The enamelled shell carries 10 years against rust and burn through. Five years covers the ash system and the plastics, and 2 years covers the rest.
The rest is the cart. The frame, worktop, basket, hooks and gas burner all sit in that bottom tier. The parts the premium paid for are the parts Weber backs for the shortest time.
Moving it is a problem of geometry. Fixed wheels sit under the heavy bowl end, swivel casters under the worktop. It pivots around the bowl rather than turning on the spot. The E6 is narrower, rides on three swivel casters, and turns anywhere.
Width is the other handling cost, and it is permanent. At 56.6 in, getting it down a side passage is a real question. Treat this as outdoor furniture that gets sited once.
Running costs, upkeep and value
Bags of charcoal are the recurring bill here. Weber argues the insulated shell burns less of it per cook. Nothing on the page lets you test that claim. There is no load figure and no burn duration to check against.
The gas is a second running cost, and it is easy to miss. The Snap-Jet needs a disposable cylinder that Weber does not include. The page does not name a size for it either. Order this without reading the fuel line and the button does nothing.
Cleaning is the best-behaved part of owning one. The ash system clears the bowl in a few strokes. What the cart adds is somewhere to set the full catcher down. On the E6 that job wants the ground or a spare hand.
Then the price, which is the whole argument. It is $2,399.00 at Weber, and the same figure at Amazon. The E6 puts the identical cooker on a plain stand for $1,399.00. The difference is $1,000 and buys nothing that touches food.
Two smaller sums point the same way. Covering it costs $99.99, against $84.99 for the narrower E6. Neither grill ships with one. Paid assembly is offered on Weber grills above $399 and withheld from this one.
Possible Weber Summit Kamado S6 Charcoal Grill Center Complaints
- The premium sits in the shortest warranty tier: The cart, worktop, basket, hooks and gas burner are what the extra $1,000 buys. Every one of them falls under all remaining parts, covered 2 years. The bowl above them is covered 10. A buyer feels that in year three, not year one.
- It eats patio the cooking area does not justify: This runs 56.6 in wide with the lid down, against 34.8 in for the E6. The cooking circle is 24 in either way. Measure the run of wall before ordering, and add 14.5 in of headroom for the lid.
