instructions that came with it dont tell me much except to be careful doesnt tell me how to get started or anything useful.
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Congrats on the new fec100, I'm soooo jealous, don't worry about hurting it, just play with it and enjoy. You can search the forum by using the find button in the top left corner,BUT, I'm sure a FEC owner will come by shortly and help...don't think it is necessary, just put in the pellets and learn for yourself,I sure in the heck would!
As cal said, the search button will help allot with specific questions. As a general starter, put a layer of foil on the drip tray, fill the hopper with pellets and turn it on. Pellets will produce more smoke at lower temps and less smoke at higher temps so allot of folks will start at a lower temp for a few hours then go to a higher temp. The nice thing is you can set the FEC to do that all by itself. Good luck and remember, we like pictures.
A few tips off the top of my head:
As NaughtyNurse mentioned, foil the drip tray. A layer of foil on the bottom of the smoke box also helps expedite cleaning.
Keep the channel on the lower right side free of grease and debris. Any grease/fat must have access to the lower hotel pan or you run the risk of a fire.
Before smoking any product, season the smoke box. I'd suggest 4-6 hrs of pellets at 225 o.
When loading the racks, do so in such a way that your meat (poultry, fish, etc.) is not over extending the lower drip pan. Rule of thumb, maintain 1/2 inch of clearance from the edge of your racks. This prevents drippings from over extending the bottom drip pan, and collecting on the bottom of the smoker, which may create a fire hazard.
Be diligent about keeping the bottom of your FEC clean and free of grease and pellets. Check the pellet fire pot every other smoke for ash. While it's minimal, you'll want to extract spent ash every other smoke or so.
Welcome to the CS forum. Fire away if you have further questions.
As NaughtyNurse mentioned, foil the drip tray. A layer of foil on the bottom of the smoke box also helps expedite cleaning.
Keep the channel on the lower right side free of grease and debris. Any grease/fat must have access to the lower hotel pan or you run the risk of a fire.
Before smoking any product, season the smoke box. I'd suggest 4-6 hrs of pellets at 225 o.
When loading the racks, do so in such a way that your meat (poultry, fish, etc.) is not over extending the lower drip pan. Rule of thumb, maintain 1/2 inch of clearance from the edge of your racks. This prevents drippings from over extending the bottom drip pan, and collecting on the bottom of the smoker, which may create a fire hazard.
Be diligent about keeping the bottom of your FEC clean and free of grease and pellets. Check the pellet fire pot every other smoke for ash. While it's minimal, you'll want to extract spent ash every other smoke or so.
Welcome to the CS forum. Fire away if you have further questions.
Here's something the manual doesn't cover. When you first flip the switch to on, wait about ten seconds before pushing buttons. It spends that much time thinking about where it's at and you can push all you want and it's going to ignore you. Also, as a short cut, I just push start and it fires up at 225 degree and 12 hour settings.
Welcome to the forum.
Moderator note. Don't post your email (I removed it). Webbots troll the internet looking for emails. People can PM you if needed.
But we like to post the questions & answer in the forum to share (lots of new users don't even ask). No worries, we'll answer anything about Q.
Max is a chef like you, so he'll be a great help (his real name is Chris).
Sorry about the manual, you might give a call to CS and tell them that so they can improve it.
New owner notes:
1. NEVER let the pellets get wet. NEVER. When they dry then it's pelletcrete and that's a bad thing.
2. Level the smoker if this is inside, hopefully the floor is level). Grease will pool if you don't and that's a bad thing.
3. NEVER walk away until you're sure the fire is going. In the future if the ignitor fails, all you'll get is a pile of pellets. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
4. Do a temp check. The four levels typically have slightly different temps. For me, the back left is hotter (because of air flow). Also verify that the temp on the sensor is the same as inside (especially on new smokers)
5. Read through the FE forum, there's a lot of info. NOTE, if you see posts about fires, don't worry, really.
Negative posts tends to get your attention. There are a lot of threads there with great info.
If you want help with a specific topic for yourself, just post a new question in the FE Open forum. If you want some help in a restaurant setting, post in the "PROS" forum.
Welcome and we'll help any way we can.
Russ
PS>>> Cal, you're banned for an hour. You know we're not supposed to tell them to go search.... We like to be more friendly to the newbies. (chef this is an inside story)
Moderator note. Don't post your email (I removed it). Webbots troll the internet looking for emails. People can PM you if needed.
But we like to post the questions & answer in the forum to share (lots of new users don't even ask). No worries, we'll answer anything about Q.
Max is a chef like you, so he'll be a great help (his real name is Chris).
Sorry about the manual, you might give a call to CS and tell them that so they can improve it.
New owner notes:
1. NEVER let the pellets get wet. NEVER. When they dry then it's pelletcrete and that's a bad thing.
2. Level the smoker if this is inside, hopefully the floor is level). Grease will pool if you don't and that's a bad thing.
3. NEVER walk away until you're sure the fire is going. In the future if the ignitor fails, all you'll get is a pile of pellets. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen.
4. Do a temp check. The four levels typically have slightly different temps. For me, the back left is hotter (because of air flow). Also verify that the temp on the sensor is the same as inside (especially on new smokers)
5. Read through the FE forum, there's a lot of info. NOTE, if you see posts about fires, don't worry, really.
Negative posts tends to get your attention. There are a lot of threads there with great info.If you want help with a specific topic for yourself, just post a new question in the FE Open forum. If you want some help in a restaurant setting, post in the "PROS" forum.
Welcome and we'll help any way we can.
Russ
PS>>> Cal, you're banned for an hour. You know we're not supposed to tell them to go search.... We like to be more friendly to the newbies. (chef this is an inside story)
One thing many of us found on the new IQ4 s is the first few hours you may get spikes in temp,or the cooker running hotter than set.
Just open the door and dump some heat and don't worry.
Yes,we hear about it staying within a couple degrees of the set temp,but give it a couple days to break in.The more use and the better load of product,the better it runs.
Just open the door and dump some heat and don't worry.
Yes,we hear about it staying within a couple degrees of the set temp,but give it a couple days to break in.The more use and the better load of product,the better it runs.
thanks all who wrote in with some help. will be trying the new smoker out this weekend im sure i will have questions so i will keep all posted thanks again chef
Do NOT wait until this weekend if you've never fired it up. Fire it up tonight so you can see if it works so that if there are ANY issues, you can call CS. They're not open on the weekends.
add-on to what Smokin said...
seasoning the FEC prior to your 1st cook will produce a better smoke profile on your food.
seasoning the FEC prior to your 1st cook will produce a better smoke profile on your food.
Foil is your friend. foil the bottom of the FE and the drip pan. I also foil the shield over the pellet pot and the drain tray on the far right side. Makes clean up a snap especially if you change it after every smoke. I also use my vac to suck out the pellet pot after each smoke. Break out your level and make sure you know where the grease is going to flow. I've never had a fire or failure in the past three years. Every month or so I'll soak the racks in a plastic pan or pressure wash them. It doesn't hurt to wipe down the temp sensor monthly, at least eyeball it for any food stuck to it. Go ahead and season it before your first smoke and place a few thermometers in it to get a feel of the hot spots. To keep consistent temps, don't open the door use your thermometers to monitor your cook. I did some pork butts on my first cook and it really helped with the season, the FE just can't screw them up. Good luck and have fun!
quote:Originally posted by WineCountryQ:
... I also use my vac to suck out the pellet pot after each smoke.
Great point. The #1 reason for ignitor failure is that the ash doesn't get cleaned out, settles over time and then as it heats up each time, it solidifies and eventually covers the ignitor and it burns out.
If you don't have a small shopvac you may want to go get one soon. I never start mine without cleaning out the fire pot. (except yesterday) It didn't want to light and really smoked a LOT!.Thats what I get for rushing something I always do the same way. You can learn a lot from the forum post so keep reading. Good Luck