Used FEC 120

I'd definitely smoke something in the unit, say chicken for a couple of hours. I'd also call CookShack service and ask them what to look for that might cause a problem or might need replaced. How old is unit, have any parts been replaced, where did he buy if from. Just be very cautious and do your due diligence, as always, it's buyer beware. Just my .02.

How old is it? Cookshack offers a two year warranty. Purchase date documentation is critical though I suspect CS would have records.

Ask to see it in action. Note the time it takes to get up to temp. As Jcohen suggests, it wouldn't hurt to call Cookshack (Bill or Tony) and ask for their advice as what to look for.

That is a terrific price. Hope it all works out for you.

Find out how old it is and how it was used. See if it comes up to temp and distributes pellets appropriately. Go for it.

At that price, even a replacement part would still make it a great deal.

If you pass on it, where is it located?

quote:

what should I ask this guy before I go down there

Ask for the serial number, then call cookshack and get the history on the cooker and any potential problems to look for, Secondly ask if you can fire it up and watch it for 1/2 hour or so when you come to get it? also why is he selling it? good luck

For $1800, I'll buy it if you don't want it...caveat emptor :-)

I looked at this unit last week and saw it running for 20 minutes. Seemed to work fine. The only thing out of the norm I saw was a little wrinkle in the top back left corner like it might have been set down hard for transportation. The unit still looked square and in good shape. Also, I believe the pellet lid is supposed to have a little piece of metal on the inside that hits a safety button for the auger. It will prevent the auger from running if the lid is open. The metal piece must have broken off as it appeared a bolt was added to serve the intended purpose.

Production date was 8/17/11.

I've had a SM025 for 4 years now and use it weekly. I wanted to upgrade but that would be overkill for me. I would rarely reach 25 percent capacity so I'd most likely be dealing with big temp swings.

Feel free to call me at 319 329 3111 if you have questions. I have the serial number if you want it.

Thanks All! I went down there and watched it run, asked a ton of questions and overall, liked what I saw....especially for the money. I bought it, took it home and am happier than ever! She runs perfectly and is very smooth. I cooked two briskets on her yesterday for 12 hours and never a single hiccup. My shop guy is building a cart with 10 inch wheels and a handle for transporting to comps etc and the guy even threw in 7 bags of BBQ Delight pellets with the deal for $1800 total.

All in all, I think I got a pretty dang good cooker for a pretty good price.

Proud to be part of the FEC Family.

Dang right. Enjoy.

quote:

..... and the guy even threw in 7 bags of BBQ Delight pellets with the deal for $1800 total.

All in all, I think I got a pretty dang good cooker for a pretty good price.

Proud to be part of the FEC Family.

Pretty good price?!? You got a steal!!! Congrats!!!

You got a great deal. You're lucky you bought it, I happened to stumble upon the CL ad and texted him last night. Said he sold it the day before. Bummer for me, congrats to you.

Nice deal. Even if you wanted to purchase the ignitor in case it's a bit dated, you are way ahead ! Now go get a big ole' packer Brisket, set the smoker to Brisket (12 hours), walk away and check it the next day. Congrats !

If I bought a new smoker and money was no object, I'd buy the FEC 120. Love that model.

You did real well. Enjoy.

I'd say you batted one out of the park with that deal Fine Swine. Glad it worked out for you.

Dare I ask if this may have been in the Southern IL area? I was in a wreck after the Smithton Fire Dept BBQ contest and my toy hauler was moved to a lot in Nashville, IL. Needless to say with a truck that was wasted, and the inside of a toy hauler that the insurance company needed to see, I did not remove the smoker, I left it piled up on top of all the rest of the things in the trailer. Fast forward 2 weeks and I was going to meet the insurance agent up there in Nashville to salvage what I could, and claim the rest as loss....one BIG ol LOSS......the smoker which is easily identifiable.....I had just bought the smoker from a gentleman in GA, and did not have the Serial Number.......
all that being said, I was wondering if we could possible talk, if this is the smoker, I want the person who you paid prosecuted in a big way.....
Rob Marion
2 Worthless Nuts
216-253-6753

were any of the pellets, charcoal....pecan/....cherry?

Hey Rob!,

You can click on "A Fine Swine" name and it will pop up a menu that you can write him a private message, this message will go to his e-mail address.FYI

I did....and to facebook team page....just overly excited

Rob, Last time I heard you had a Jambo. When did you join the dark side? Get tired of feeding junior every few hours? Just joking, good luck on finding the b$#@!$d and I would suspect that cookshack can track the serial number if you ask.
Mack

Rob, sorry you had the accident, sorry you lost your smoker too. What does the impound lot the vehicle was stored at have to say ?? Did you file a police report ?? ANY kind of security at this place ?? No security camera, guard dog, old retired soldier watching the place ??


A Fine Swine, sounds like you did really good. I remember last year when I scored my SM150 for $1400.00 - got some hotel pans, tongs and a bunch of hickory from the guy. I had ribs at home waiting to go right in... Still one of the best investments I ever made. Am NOT a comp cook or restaurant owner, just know good equipment is worth investing in.

Good luck getting this sorted out guys.

Rob and I have been in touch for several weeks now and we do believe I have his stolen smoker. That's the good news! We have been working on finding the jerks who stole it and getting my money returned so we can get closure on this deal. I am hurting right now because I finally got to see what it's like to cook on a FEC cooker and fell hopelessly in love!!!! We are a small but loyal family here in the BBQ world and I consider it a blessing to be able to return Rob his FEC 120 as sad as it will be....I know its the right thing to do. The good news is that we may at least get my money back as we have talked to the guys and they are supposedly sending me a certified cashiers check this week to avoid prosecution. Both Rob and I played a little "good cop...bad cop" with thoise guys in Illinois and Iowa to help ensure we are all treated fairly in this deal. Thanks for your understanding Rob and patience to allow me to try to recover my money. My wife and I saved hard to get this and my two young sons are very disappointed but we will be alright! One day, I will be a proud FEC owner once again!!!!

A Fine Swine - Sorry for your gain, then loss, but it sounds like you're doing the right thing with Rob.

That said, something sounds very suspicious with the sellers offer to send you a "Certified Cashiers Check". I could be wrong, but to the best of my knowledge, such a check does not exist. It's either a certified check or a cashiers check, and these days, most banks will provide the latter, but not the former.

Another thing, whatever type of check you receive, do nothing until you have 100% confirmation that the funds are in your account. By that, I mean do nothing with the smoker until you're sure your fully reimbursed and tell Rob upfront what you're doing. There are so many scams out there with fake cashiers checks that you're never sure what you're getting. All you need is a decent printer and some simple software and you can run off fake cashiers checks all day.

Also, you say that you and Rob have been playing "good cop...bad cop with thoise guys in Illinois and Iowa". Do you have actual police involved? If not, why? Most scumbags such as this are probably a lot better at playing that game than you are.

Personally, if you have identified the culprits, I would demand a return of my funds in CASH within 24 hours, or the real cops would be knocking on their door.

Whatever you do, good luck.

I'm with DLS on this the whole way.
You got taken by these guys already, I would demand CASH in person (with the cops waiting nearby in the bushes to pounce on their scumbag as*es).

I did't type that in correctly. They are sending a cashiers check from a bank and you can bet your bottom dollar I am going to ensure it is cashed and in the bank before we make final decision whether to prosecute or not. We knew if we prosecuted immediately, we would probably never have recovered any money so we had to play it right in my opinion. All I know is that we want to make sure whats right is right and this allows me to get my money back and Rob to get his cooker back. Thanks to all of you for your help in the very educational lesson for me. Like I already mentioned, I am heartborken that I wont have a FEC but thrilled I was able to reunite Rob with his baby!

Good to see you back dls. You almost got a pm from me wondering where you've been.

Yeah DLS, it's real nice seeing you back here.

And FineSwine:
Start looking on CraigsList and call restaurant supply places that sell used gear in your area. Being you are such a stand up guy I got a feeling that some seriously intense GOOD KARMA is coming your way... Good luck buddy, I know you're gonna find one.

quote:

Originally posted by Pags:
Good to see you back dls. You almost got a pm from me wondering where you've been.

Thanks Pags, and BigMike also.

I've been swamped with a number of business and personal projects for the past few months, and haven't been around much of anywhere for some time except for airplane seats. Thankfully, things are starting to come together and return to normal.

quote:

Originally posted by A Fine Swine:
I did't type that in correctly. They are sending a cashiers check from a bank and you can bet your bottom dollar I am going to ensure it is cashed and in the bank before we make final decision whether to prosecute or not. We knew if we prosecuted immediately, we would probably never have recovered any money so we had to play it right in my opinion. All I know is that we want to make sure whats right is right and this allows me to get my money back and Rob to get his cooker back. Thanks to all of you for your help in the very educational lesson for me. Like I already mentioned, I am heartborken that I wont have a FEC but thrilled I was able to reunite Rob with his baby!

Fine Swine - A cashier’s check is less risky than other types of checks only if the cashier's check is genuine, and there are a lot of fake one's out there these days. If you can, ask for a cashier’s check drawn on a bank with a branch in your area. If you want to find out whether a check is genuine, call or visit the bank on which the check is written. If you can visit the bank's branch in your are, just cash the check there and deposit the funds at your bank. If you have no recourse but to call, don't necessarily trust the phone number on the check. Verify the actual number on the bank's web site. If there's not a match, call the web site number. Many scammers have a fake number established for "verification" purposes. Also understand that most banks seriously limit the amount of information they will provide over the phone these days and, depending upon the bank, you may end up with nothing.

Also,know and understand the difference between funds being available for withdrawal from your account and a check having finally cleared. Your bank is required by law to make funds available to you even if the check has not yet cleared through the issuing bank. I think that with cashier's checks banks must make funds available to you within 1 day following deposit. However, it could take a couple weeks to know if the check will actually clear the issuing bank, or not.

DLS- That is outstanding advice! Many thanks for your willingness to assist. It means a lot to me.

quote:

Originally posted by A Fine Swine:
DLS- That is outstanding advice! Many thanks for your willingness to assist. It means a lot to me.

You're welcome. Receiving a check from a known and trusted source is one thing. In this case, you're supposedly getting a cashier's check from a known thief, so act accordingly.

One other thing. I assume Rob has filed a theft report with the local police. I'm pretty certain his insurance company would require that. If that's the case, there's an open investigation so he needs to let the investigating officer know what you are doing, if he hasn't done so already. They may or may not consider your actions as hampering their investigation. You don't want to get nailed with an "Obstruction of Justice" charge.

Yeah DLS is right.
Let's recap the charges:

guys break into a wrecker yard and steal a $5100.00 smoker from a trailer impounded there.

The these same guys sell the smoker to you. They profit $1800.00 of your money.

Real owner finds you here posting about your great deal, you do the right thing and cooperate with him. Kudos

BUT these guys have grand theft charges waiting for them. Don't interfere with the police, call Rob's insurance company and give them the contact info. Get the police involved. Really.

Obstruction charges, hmmm no fun.


ONE GOOD THING THIS THREAD MADE ME DO:

Take photos of my smoker's serial numbers with my iPhone.


Mike

Really good community here! This is outstanding! This thread is evidence of the awesome nature of a BBQ cook. Really are the best.

Once all the dust has settled, fill us in on the final outcome.

Me,too. I want to hear how this ends. Hope the bad guys get justice. I'm glad Rob got his smoker back.

Okay, Here is the latest.

Rob and I have been talking the whole time and even developed a friendship. I am hoping to cook with him someday soon. We have been able to get my money back from the people who stole it and hopefully, this weekend we will be meeting halfway somewhere so I can return him his FEC 120. Rob is getting the cooker he thought lost forever and I got my money back. Win win? Yes! and no as I am no longer a proud owner of a Fast Eddy Cookshack! But not sa fast, someone said good karma is bound to happen and it is. The good folks at Cookshack have been paying close attention to this story and we have been talking. They really are the best folks in the business and appreciate the gesture from both Rob and I and how we both handled the situation. Therefore, they have agreed to offer me a special deal on a slightly used FEC 120 which is a dream come true for me. Now we both will have a story to tell for a long time and we both will have the honor and priveledge to be able to cook on the best smokers in the world! Thanks to all of you on this forum and and a very special thanks to Fast Eddy and the whole cookshack team. You not only have the best products on the market, but also the best people. People that truly care and appreciate doing the right thing.

That's awesome. A true, happy ending for all.

WOW great ending to a very interesting story.
Glad Rob got his FE120 back, glad you got your money back and glad that Cookshack stepped up and showed AGAIN what a classy organization they are.

VERY CLASSY EVERYONE !!
COOKSHACK, you are so cool !!

Very interesting And a happy ending for everyone

Great reading. Happy for the both of you. Cookshack continues and surpasses their typical class act. Nice folks over their in Oklahoma.

It always makes me smile when I hear a good story of a Jambo cook converted to a pellet cooker...