Should I give CS a second chance???

muleman1 - I did a quick search of all open forums (from the top of the page) and found many posts regarding making bacon. Here is just 1 link with some pictures:

http://forum.cookshack.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_t...f=13;t=000403#000000

Jowls have been discussed here and a search may turnup some info on that too. My experience with those people at Cookshack is they will bend over backwards to make you the customer happy. Without a doubt the finest people I have ever dealt with. By the way... the bacon from this post above was done in a Smokette 008.

Bob

Cookshack is a very good company and has been establised for a long time. If you really think you have the proverbial 'Lemon', take them up on the exchange for another unit. I know nothing about the 250, I only have an 050 and am very happy with it.
Good luck
Dave / Rhino

I've been reading this forum for a number of years , do not work for the company,and have never heard of anyone have a customer service problem with cookshack.

There are a bunch of folks out there,that consider the 250 as their real moneymaker and a lifesaver as to time management,etc.

Don't know what the problems were,but sounds like they are willing to straighten them out.

muleman,
saw your posting as i am waiting for the delievery of our second sm150 to go with my fec100 and our first sm150.
my advice is to take cookshack up on their offer!!!
if it is not too nosy though could you give a description of your problem??
there a lot of good minds here on the forum that would be glad to help you in any way they can.
they sure helped us a lot!!!!!!!!!!
jack

Thanks for the input. prisonchef asked what specific problems were. Unit was to have the probe feature. It arrived with no place to plug in the probe. A new hood was sent which I had an electrician install and then the door closed feature would not work. Tony told us how to bypass that so I thought we were in good shape but the meat probe has never worked. I place meat thermometers in the product next to the probe and they work fine.
After oversmoking a batch of summer sausage terribly, I learned to babysit the unit and the next batch of German sausage was much better. Have now done some bacons and jowls which came out fine but I couldn't trust the unit to leave it alone. I truly believe the unit is capable of producing great results if I could just get one that works as advertised.
I think I am going to give it another try. After all, the new unit will also have a 30 day 'risk free' option and I have 14 hogs and 4 beef to process before Christmas which should give me ample opportunity to try the new one out. John and Tony have been great to work with but if this new one don't cut it, I'm outta here.

muleman,
sounds fair enough to me. tony has been a great help to me with the few little self caused deals on my fec and talked me thru how the hood goes on my 150.
14 hogs and 4 beef sure sounds like a fair try!!!
jack
ps. even though i know i should trust my units i have 9 taylor remotes now. it keeps me from fiddling about opening the doors and what not. my wife says i am like that kid in the peanuts cartoon except i have thermos and not a blanket

Great you came to the forum. I think there is an experienced enough group here to help, just give us details. Remember, over the internet all we have is what you write, so if you need specific help, we're here for you.

quote:

Originally posted by muleman1:
[qb] After oversmoking a batch of summer sausage terribly, I learned to babysit the unit and the next batch of German sausage was much better. Have now done some bacons and jowls which came out fine but I couldn't trust the unit to leave it alone.[/qb]

Well, there are a couple of things going for you.

1 -- you have a money back guarantee, not many smokers have that
2 -- Tony and gang will take care of you
3 -- You have the forum for help.

I hadn't replied yet because I wanted to see the responses. Regardless of what most people think, I do not work for cookshack, I do this site for fun (yes, fun). So my comments are my own.

I think you have two main issues going.

1 -- is the equipment, CS will resolve that to your satisfaction.

2 -- is more challenging but correctible with the help of the forum. "oversmoking horribly" is just a typical issue converting from ANY other smoker to a CS. I just doesn't take as much wood, because you're not using the wood for heat, but flavor only. As for trusting the unit to leave it alone, I think that goes back to problem 1. Why did you have to babysit it? The temp won't fluctuate normally outside a set range, so it's not like a stick burner you have to watch constantly. Once you get that fixed, the units work great. The challenge is you're going to have to work the recipes to figure out your best end product, once you modify them (temp, time, etc) I think you'll be fine.

Resolve the equipment concerns and check in with us.

Let us know what the problems are; oversmoking, time/temp, etc and we'll help if we can.

Best of luck, I know it's a challenge, but we're here for you.

Smokin'

Not only are these great smokers, they are made in USA (not like others made in China). Remember, buy American, the job you save, may be your own.

I'm just curious what your second choice for a smoker is, and how it will resolve the issue you're having with the Cookshack?