Just Ordered an FEC500!!

Congrats and welcome to the group.

Fast Freddie is in CA and has one, so if you haven any questions, just give us a shout.

Ed Whats the team name?
Been to the Calif Associatation site?
www.cbbqa.com

Thom,
Our team name is Addicted to Rub. We have 2 competitions under our belt, Faifield & Clovis. The 4th place in Ribs at Fairfield really sank the hook into us!!!

My wife Heidi and I joined the CBBQA in May 2006 at the Modesto event. I'm a irregular on the forum. I also participated at the USS Hornet event here in NorCal. BTW - Heidi took second at Clovis in the Anything Butt category but "doesn't want to be involved in the BBQ team". Yeah right. I've created a monster!!!

I've read that you've recently become a pellet head. Welcome to the dark side. My Traegers have served me well but I've stepped up to get more grill space, better control with an FEC and to get the catering jobs going.

I'm still waiting to see if Arlie has room for us at the Autry. If not I may come down to help out at the CBBQA booth and will seek you out to say hello.

Ed

P.S. I'm changing my screen name to match what I'm using on the CBBQA site so you know it's the same Ed out here on the Cookshack forum.

SmokinOkie,
Thanks for the welcome. I've read some of your replies in other threads and look forward to your advice.

I've informally met Fast Freddie at a competition and will definetly look him up. I'm hoping he'll want to order some pellets together to help reduce some of the cost.

I'll see you around the forum!!
Ed

Congrats. I've had my fec500 since Novembember and love it! Formerly had an big Horizon offset. Just cooked 24 Brisket on it last night. Cooked butts one night when it was zero. This thing is awesome. Just waiting for my new trailer now!

jbrink01,
Thanks! What type of trailer are you getting? Getting a trailer is next on my list.
Ed

Congrats Ed

I've had mine since Oct. really likie mine. Did you get the new controller??

I put mine on a 16' car hauler, then put a roof on it. I've got a 42" grill to mount on the trailer, and I'm putting some cabinets on it.

Thanks Randy!

When I spoke to John at CS he said I would be getting the new IQ4 controller. I sure hope the electronics are built sturdy enough to take the traveling to comps and catering gigs.

Funny, I'm looking right now at a 16' car hauler with a metal floor and a 4' dovetail. The guy is asking $1550 for it. Can you send me a picture of your trailer? I'd love to see what your roof looks like.

Thanks!
Ed

Ed,

I will try. Photos on the internet may be more like rocket science for me though.

I had a buddy of mine who build race cars to make a 1x2 frame of steel, then I painted it and put metal roofing on it with bubble insulation under it. I'm going to put swingout roofs on both sides to help keep the blowing rains out.

If I can get your e-mail, I can get a buddy to help me send the photos to you easier than posting them. I think.

Ed if you can get that car hauler for that price I would go for it. I have been looking here in FL and it would be around $2,500.


Craig
www.firehouse-bbq.com

quote:

Originally posted by RandyE:
Ed,

I will try. Photos on the internet may be more like rocket science for me though.

I had a buddy of mine who build race cars to make a 1x2 frame of steel, then I painted it and put metal roofing on it with bubble insulation under it. I'm going to put swingout roofs on both sides to help keep the blowing rains out.

If I can get your e-mail, I can get a buddy to help me send the photos to you easier than posting them. I think.

Randy,
Thanks for offering to send me pictures. My email is ed@addictedtorub.com. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've done.
Thanks again,
Ed

Ed, if you can't get the photos posted and want to share them, send them to me and I'll post.

My email is in my profile (just click on the left column where you see my name).

Russ

Ed,
That doesn't sound like a bad price if it is new or in good shape. I went with a wood floor. I think that when I have a grease spill, the space between the boards will let the grease pass thru. Plus I thought the metal would get to be very slick. But I payed $1525 plus tax.

I've mounted two trailer jacks on the back corners to keep it from shaking when I get on and off. Going to mount a step soon.

I'll try and get some photots made and to you later today.

Ed,

Check your e-mail and see if they came through. Sent 5 photos.

Randy,
I got your emails along with the pictures. Thanks for the different angles. You've got a great looking trailer and exactly what I'm envisioning for our trailer. If you don't mind me asking, how much did the supports and roof cost to install?
Thanks again for the great pictures.
Ed

Ed,
By the time I got the metal supports and the roof framing and the sheet metal and screws and the insulation. Plus the labor to fabricate the roof and frame. I have about $1,500 in it. The 1x2 might be over kill, but you can walk on the roof with no swag. And it is pretty stable on the road. I'm going to put a storage cabinet in the front right corner and then some base and wall cabinets across the front. And maybe a small fridge?
On the back end I have a meadow creek grill I am going to mount to be able to do steaks and burgers.

Ed,
I hope you have the right equipment to unload the cooker when you get it. I went to pick it up from the freight company. I had to step back and rethink what I had planned. You really need 8' forks on a fork lift to handle it.
When you go to mount it, really take a look at the tounge weight I had to move it forward 18" more than I wanted to.

Randy,
Thanks for the info. I think I'm going with the larger stock like you did since I plan on hauling the trailer & smoker all over the place. I like how sturdy your trailer looks and can see how it can help reduce the amount of flex thus stability while driving.

Are you going to get your trailer approved as a mobile kitchen?

John warned me about the delivery issue. He said to get a wrecker picker but I have access to a commercial loading dock so that'll take care of taking it off the truck.

I looked at a different 16' trailer today at a local dealership that has a loading ramp that can handle way more than the weight of the FEC500 and @ 8" removable railing that goes around the other three sides. I want to be able to take the smoker off the trailer for jobs that want me to cook on location and don't have room for the trailer & for competitions that are limited in space. I plan on installing a winch to make the on and off process easier. Another feature I liked was that @ 4ft of the railing on both sides near the front is removable which will make entry onto the trailer much easier from either side. This trailer is $2000 from a dealer and comes with a warranty whereas I have no idea who made the trailer on Ebay for $1550 or if there is a warranty. Plus the Ebay trailer is 350 miles away which will mean $90 in gas for a round trip, time and wear and tear on the truck. I think I just made my decision!!

I'll send you pictures as soon as I start putting it together.

Thanks again!
Ed

Ed,

So far i haven't had a need try and have a mobile kitchen. But I'm slowly working toward that direction. If I do, I'll still need to set up a fixed kitchen to supplement with meat prep and sides.

I think the biggest thing about unloading the unitis that there is no suppurt under the center of the unit. It is simply open, which means the fork lift forks have nothing to lift. The trucking comany lifted mine of the truck, and bent the drain pan pretty well. I took a rubber dead blow hammer and bent it back down.

Randy,
Ouch!!! I am not going be happy if I've got to get a blow hammer to knock black beauty back into shape. I think I'll have some hooks installed on the smoker so I can easily hook the winch up and move the smoker.

BTW - I got word from the Health Department that I'm in the final stages of getting my permit issued. Whew! I wasn't sure how that was going to go but I found a great resource in the county department.

The frame of the cooker is only 52 inches apart. If the truckline fork truck driver would have gotten off the lift truck and looked, he would have seen this. Most fork extinsions are at least 60 inches and if they would have taken the time to put them on , that wouldn't have happen. Did you write in the freight recipt the damage that they did to the unit?

quote:

Originally posted by RandyE:
Ed,

So far i haven't had a need try and have a mobile kitchen. But I'm slowly working toward that direction. If I do, I'll still need to set up a fixed kitchen to supplement with meat prep and sides.

I think the biggest thing about unloading the unitis that there is no suppurt under the center of the unit. It is simply open, which means the fork lift forks have nothing to lift. The trucking comany lifted mine of the truck, and bent the drain pan pretty well. I took a rubber dead blow hammer and bent it back down.

The trucking company did have their extensions on. The blocking across the front of the crate prevented the lift from getting in far enough. It was a real learning experience.
I didn't find the dent until I got it to my business. It looked alot worse than it was. On the second hit most of the dent popped back to normal.
I ended up buying a set of 8' extensions for my lift to be able to handle the unit once I got it to my bussiness.

OK, Know that you got your 500 what are you going to do? I have had 3 cooks on mine and results have improved every time-especially after a short talk with John. (by the way, who put the 5 amp fuse in the rotisserie?) Anyway it is a cool machine that for sure gives a sweet(apple wood) smoky flavor and nice smoke ring. product stays juicy and the temp control is sweet.
Now here is the deal. Where is the book that tells me how to use the smartsmoker? I guess trial and error but I am sure I will miss some of the better features of it.
Anyway it seems to be a great smoker.

Can the 500 be used to cook corn in the husk? How about roasting a med.size pig?
Thanks,
Joe

I've been using mine mainly for various scouting events. And for family stuff, and dinners and things for my business. The largest so far has been 28 racks of spares and 48 thighs and a pork loin for a scout event, then 15 brisket flats for a scout dinner, next month 60 lbs of pork loins for a dinner.
I've used mine about 12 times since I've gotten it. Never really pushed it volumn wise. But the other cookers I was looking at cost more, but cooked less. So now I can cook more while spending less. I can always cook one butt or 500lbs. Capacity is a good thing.
I think you could do a pig or five. The trays are about 12x48 so what size pig would that be?

quote:

Originally posted by smokincowboy:
OK, Know that you got your 500 what are you going to do? I have had 3 cooks on mine and results have improved every time-especially after a short talk with John. (by the way, who put the 5 amp fuse in the rotisserie?) Anyway it is a cool machine that for sure gives a sweet(apple wood) smoky flavor and nice smoke ring. product stays juicy and the temp control is sweet.
Now here is the deal. Where is the book that tells me how to use the smartsmoker? I guess trial and error but I am sure I will miss some of the better features of it.
Anyway it seems to be a great smoker.

Smokincowboy,
I'm still waiting for my cooker to arrive. What types things did John help you with? We're they fine tuning type of things? What's up with the 5 amp fuse? Should it have been a higher rated fuse?
Thanks!
Ed

Hi Ed,
It was good to meet you this weekend. I'd say fire it up and start cooking. You'll eat well and have it figured out in no time. See you in March!

Ray

Ray,
Good to meet you too! As soon as the FEC500 gets here I'm going to load 'er up and give 'er a good workout. It'll be well seasoned for the March class. See you then.
Ed