This December will be my 5-year anniversary of owning my FEC 100. I thought I’d reflect a little on the relationship.
1. The Courtship. Previous to me buying the FEC 100, I had owned two different smokers: A Masterbuilt 40’’ electric smokehouse and a Cookshack Americue 66. I owned the Masterbuilt for a little over a year and had replaced several control units as well as returning the entire unit twice to Sams Club for replacements. Finally, it caught on fire and the wiring burnt up. Masterbuilt offered to replace it for around 300 dollars (75.00 less than the purchase price) but I decided to go with Cookshack. I ordered an Amerecue 66 and was very impressed with the quality. I had a little trouble with the control unit and worked with Bill at Cookshack and got it working fine. The 66 actually was smaller than my Masterbuilt and did not provide enough cooking space for me. I called Cookshack and they allowed me to return it for a purchase of a brand new FEC 100.
2. The Marriage. The FEC arrived on a pallet. I was blown away by its size and weight. It is one heavy duty machine. It also came packed with it was a crazy-amount of pellets, sauces, rubs and other items. Little did I know at that time, but when I bought Cookshack smokers, I really did join a family. They take care of their customers.
3. The Honeymoon. Just as a man does not take a wife and immediately know everything about her, so is the relationship with the FEC 100. I remember my first few cooks, learning the environment and the peculiarities of the pellet smoker. It was probably just my inexperience with the smoker, but I could not get it dialed in below 160ish to smoke my cured meats. I called Cookshack and they worked with me all the way, actually replacing two controller units for differently-programed models and even a different auger to help the FEC put its best foot forward with my smoking preferences. No matter the issue (most of which were probably my fault), they took their time with me. Heck, they even replaced some racks which had developed some rust pits and a cover that had an uncooperative zipper. So if you Hitch-up with a Cookshack, rest assured, it will come with first-rate ‘in-laws’.
4. Married Life. I look back after the five years and all I can say is wow! Just last week I did 65 pounds of porkbutt for a church function. I didn’t even stress over it – the FEC 100 had everything under control. I put them in and got a great-night’s sleep and didn’t even open the door again for 16 hours.
I can’t even begin to tally the thousands of pounds of meat that I’ve put through the FEC. Some of the bigger cooks that I remember (many which are chronicled on this forum) are, 90 Lbs of bacon; 120 pounds of heavy cuts of brisket and butts; 300 chicken wings; 65 pounds of chicken breast; Full loads of sausage, jerky and roast beef.
There have been times when I’ve started the FEC with a run of 60 or so pounds of raw jerky and not shut it down for four or five days straight, except to vacuum the firepot. The firepot gets vacuumed prior to every cook, the racks get cleaned after every food cycle and the entire FEC gets detailed once a year, prior to winter, as I like to have a real clean environment to do the majority of my hams and bacon.
Problems? There have been a few. I had a broken auger once and a couple of igniters go out. I had one fire resulting from me manually stoking the firepot with a full load of chicken. This fire ruined the door seal, necessitating replacement – totally my fault!
While I lived in South Carolina, my FEC sat on an uncovered back deck. I would zip up the cover and smoke right thru the South-Carolina thunderstorms. Now, she sets on our covered back deck, but I still use the cover to keep her nice and clean.
When you begin to do smoked meats, you’ll discover that friends and relatives want your products, even if you’re not in business. I’ve ran enough jerky, bacon, sausage, butts, brisket and ham thru her to purchase a new one – but there is no reason to upgrade that which works!
Prior to purchasing, I really thought the FEC 100 was too big for my needs, but now, I’ve grown into it and wouldn’t trade it for anything else. So if you’re scouting for a smoker, buy a Cookshack and welcome to the family!!!
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