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I'm not overly familiar with the 120 though I know it has a convection fan. Does it have one or two fire pots?

The convected air may offset the direct down to upward flow of heat, in which case may alliviate the dryness issue.

Which way are you smoking briskets now? If you're happy with the results and scoring well, leave well enough alone. You can always practice both methods in the off-season and see what works best for you.

If I owned a Jambo offset, I'd probably go with fat side up till plateau and then flip. Lacking $12K and a Jambo, I'll stick with fat side down in my 100 Smiler
I'm no expert on FE 120s,but like Max says-most try to keep fat towards the heat source.If there is no direct heat,folks do like their politics-stick it however you feel like.Thus,practice side by side at home and see if you can tell the difference.If you are like many cooks that cook three at large comps,try different methods in your practice,but don't EVER change up good methods at a comp.

We do have an ex teammate that cooked with us for a few years that has a 120 in his Food Truck for vending and he sticks to the fat down.

Of course,either way in an FE they will be great ,so he has to judge ease of his operation.
Last edited by tom
I haven't changed up much this being my first year. We've finished as high as 3rd, but then the next comp we get a 15th or lower, then back up. I really don't know other than different judges. I'm using the same meat, but sometimes it doesn't come out as tender and juicy as others. Cooked same way, same temp, same position, same internal temp. We do wrap after color is right.
Ask Johnny Trigg how his ribs placed 162 out of 174 teams at the American Royale Invitational.

Comps are always a crap shoot. Sometimes you hit a good table; sometimes not.

Keep practicing (the same meat helps but it's not a guarantee) until you're satisfied with the end result.

Your mention of "same internal temp" might possibly be worthy of reconsideration. As Tom might say, he's never met a cow who could read a thermometer Smiler Test for tender as well.
The FEC120 generates the heat in the 'furnace' on the back with a single burner. The heat and smoke rise to the top of the 'furnace'. It is designed in a way that most heat and smoke are then pulled into the fan and pushed down the ductwork on both sides of the cooking chamber. This heat and smoke enter the cooking chamber out of these ducts about 8 inches from the floor where it rises again to cook your meat.

This all said...if your desire is to insulate the meat from the heat you would put meat on the bottom rack fat side down. Meat on the center racks however you prefer and meat on the top rack fat side up.

FEC120s are awesome rigs. Designed to work harder with less maintenance than the FEC100s.
I believe Trigg finished that low because so many teams are copying his recipe. Judges are looking for something different. In my opinion candy sweet going out of fashion in the judges tent. The sauce everyone has been so successful with the last few years is getting marked down. At least that's what I noticed when I judged about a month ago.
KCBBQTruck is correct in that FEC120 generates the heat in the 'furnace' on the back, in a seperate chamber, with a single burner. The heat and smoke then rise to the top. At this point the converction fan pushes heat/smoke down from the top through the cabinet.

The ports on either side of the unit, at the bottom, are the exhaust ports. These exhaust ports then rise up inside the side walls and exit out the top, rear of the cooker. A very simple efficient design.

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