Anyone Own a Cookshack Fast Eddy's Smoker?

GregW

I'm considering buying a FEC 120 or larger smoker.
These are pellet burning units.
I'm somewhat concerned, based on what I've read, that I might not be able to get the smoke flavor that I can obtain with the egg.
I've read that a two burner unit such as the FEC 500 gives better flavor due to the two fire pots?

Anyone have any thoughts? Other than my obvious insanity?

SGH

The FEC 120 is about as good as it gets when it comes to pellet smokers. It will come very close to stick burner results as far as clean smoke. This may piss some folks off, but it will provide a better smoke profile than a kamado style cooker. The FEC 120 is simply a phenomenal unit.  

GregW

SGH said:

The FEC 120 is about as good as it gets when it comes to pellet smokers. It will come very close to stick burner results as far as clean smoke. This may piss some folks off, but it will provide a better smoke profile than a kamado style cooker. The FEC 120 is simply a phenomenal unit.  

Thank you for your input. It's nice to have someone around that is knowledgeable on other cooking equipment.
Do you think the FEC 120 would hold up well in a covered outdoor area?
I have a 16 Ft x !6 Ft covered area where I keep all my cooking equipment. It is surrounded by a 7 Ft tall privacy fence that prevents rain from blowing in.

Thanks again.
Greg

SGH

GregW said:

Do you think the FEC 120 would hold up well in a covered outdoor area?

Absolutley. We have the smaller version. The old FEC 100. It sits on a trailer in the barn. No harm has come to it yet. As long as it is not exposed directly to water it will be fine. 

GregW

Thank you, based on your experience, do they have even temps cooking top to bottom?
I know the larger units have the rotisserie, which would in theory, help with even cooking.
Also, what in your experience is the practical limit on the # of slabs of St Louis style ribs or Boston butts that can be cooked? I know they say 120# but I don't know how that plays out in the real world.

Thanks  

SGH

@GregW
As far as their capacity, like most manufactures they are giving you numbers based on absolute ideal circumstances. In real world use you can count on about 10%-15% less than the stated capacity. As far as the temps, for the first hour or so I find that the top runs 20-35 degrees hotter. However, over time this will even out considerably. Especially over a real long period. After about 2 hours, they will usually run within 15 degrees or so of each other. 

GregW

Thank you. The 120 has a circulation fan that may help even the temps out.
Does your 100 have a circulation fan?

Now if I could find a good deal on a used 120 I would be set.

SGH

@GregW
No sir, mine does not have a fan. Mine is one of the first run models. 

GregW

I'm on the lookout for a used 120 now.
What do you think about a used one? or would you buy new in order to get a warranty.
A new one is about 6,000 right now

SGH

@GregW
If it's in your means I would bite the bullet and buy a new one for the warranty. Electronics can be a issue. As such, I would not buy a used one unless I knew the person very well that I was buying it from. That's just me my friend. 

GregW

Your thoughts mirror mine. It's human nature to try and find a deal.
You make an excellent point about the electronics.
Many years ago I had spoken with the local Cookshack rep. In our area it is Ber-Vel Distributing. Hopefully they can at least offer some discount.

I will try to call them this week.

Thanks for your help.

SGH

GregW said:

Thanks for your help.

My pleasure. Glad to help when and where I can. Hey, if you end up getting the big 120, please post or send me a pic of it. 

Thatgrimguy

You may be interested in looking at the Yoder pellet smokers as well. If I was to ever get a pellet cooker, the Cookshack and Yoder would be my short list.

billt01

GregW said:

I'm considering buying a FEC 120 or larger smoker.
These are pellet burning units.
I'm somewhat concerned, based on what I've read, that I might not be able to get the smoke flavor that I can obtain with the egg.
I've read that a two burner unit such as the FEC 500 gives better flavor due to the two fire pots?

Anyone have any thoughts? Other than my obvious insanity?

Why the pellet cooker?

GregW

Thatgrimguy said:

You may be interested in looking at the Yoder pellet smokers as well. If I was to ever get a pellet cooker, the Cookshack and Yoder would be my short list.

Thanks for the Yoder recommendation.
They appear to be well built units.

Thatgrimguy

GregW said:

Thatgrimguy said:

You may be interested in looking at the Yoder pellet smokers as well. If I was to ever get a pellet cooker, the Cookshack and Yoder would be my short list.

Thanks for the Yoder recommendation.
They appear to be well built units.

The fire pot design allows the smoke to spend more time in the chamber or something like that. I do know it pumps a completely constant stream of thin blue smoke and has a wonderful flavor profile. I've eaten off them at a couple comps and I've been very impressed. 

GregW

billt01 said:

GregW said:

I'm considering buying a FEC 120 or larger smoker.
These are pellet burning units.
I'm somewhat concerned, based on what I've read, that I might not be able to get the smoke flavor that I can obtain with the egg.
I've read that a two burner unit such as the FEC 500 gives better flavor due to the two fire pots?

Anyone have any thoughts? Other than my obvious insanity?

Why the pellet cooker?

I've had a bit of a fascination for pellet smokers for a while now. I first noticed the Trager units and looked at them. I see a lot of folks having quality issues with them.
I see that Yoder seems to make a good unit, however I don't think it will cook enough at one time.
I'm really hoping to get something that could easily do at least 15 Butts at a time.

Having the ability to do larger volumes has steered me towards the Fast Eddie line of pellet smokers.

For the record, I'm a long time 20+ year BGE fan.
 

Spaightlabs

Do you have capacity for 15 butts now?  Do you do a bunch of catering that you need that kind or capacity?

GregW

SGH said:

GregW said:

Thanks for your help.

My pleasure. Glad to help when and where I can. Hey, if you end up getting the big 120, please post or send me a pic of it. 

I talked to the local Cookshack rep tonight. He has a concession trailer equipped with a FEC 500 and a FEC 120.
I'm going to see them Saturday to look and taste the food produced with the hickory pellets.
I'm really excited. Hopefully I can find a swing it.
The rep say's that I won't be disappointed, I hope he's right.
It would be nice to find a easy way to get good results on a larger scale than my large BGE  

GregW

Spaightlabs said:

Do you have capacity for 15 butts now?  Do you do a bunch of catering that you need that kind or capacity?

No, my large BGE is all I have. I actually have a couple, with one being older and needing a few repairs.
I could potentially do some larger cooks and sell the Butts at my family's business. I think I could sell around 25 on a Saturday.
The 300 or 500 # smoker is what I would ideally have, however the prices is pretty steep on the big units

SGH

@GregW
Glad to hear that you getting to try some grub cooked on one before you make a purchase. With that said, I can tell you that you will not be disappointed in the FEC's performance.  

billt01

I haven't owned a FEC, but I have owned a SM150 with a smoker box in the bottom. It was....meeh....."OK"....I am liking my EGG more and more every time I fire it up...last night i did steak and veggie kabobs at 400 for a few minutes...they turned out great...My opinion, if you are looking to do medium to large cooks, I would look at a Stumps Stretch, Classic, or maybe a Baby XL...if you need to do XL cooks, i would look at getting a SPK or OLE Hickory...whatever you choose, I'm sure it will turn out great product.


Almost forgot...if you don't sleep, look at a LANG Tandam 108...I call it a log hog, but it also turns our some GREAT Q.....but you have to fuel it about every 45 minutes to an hour (even with an automatic draft system)

billt01

Here are a few picks with my Baby XL and a small catering gig I did for the local softball concession stand.