Sm150 VS FEC 100

The easy answer would be yes.

If you intend to compete or make pizzas,you will be moved towards an FEC.

If we know more about what you intend to cook,how much,and how you intend to use the cooker,we can be more specific.

Tom
i have been smoking as a hobby for about 20 yrs. ribs, brisket, turkey, chicken and pork loins are my favorites. i have been told i should compete but i own a business that takes up too much of my time. i make my own BBQ sauce that i have been told should be bottled and sold as well but likewise time is an issue. plus its a hobby (a hobby that is out of control)not a business and i prefer to keep it that way.


ken

I have both and cook all kinds of product on both.

We compete on FEC s,due to rules.

The 150/160 will peak about 300*-315*,which is pretty much what you want a smoker to do.

I can effectively add more smoke,if I wish, on the 150 series.

If I did much cold smoking,fish,cheese,sausage,etc,I would, personally, probably do it on the 150.

I can teach a novice to use the 150 ,more easily/quicker than the FEC,but the FEC is no problem.

I can pick wood up off the ground for the 150,or buy a year's worth for $15 from the box stores

You will be ordering/storing pellets for the FEC,as on the Traegar.

It probably runs us less than $0.75/hr to run an FEC on pellets,maybe $0.25 for overnight on the 150.

They both are well insulated and very effecient.

Impervious to wind,rain,cold.

The FEC will recover temp more quickly,if you have a need to open the door a bunch.

Cooking chicken wing flats,shellfish,etc it would recover,if you kept opening the door to look.


The FEC can hold temp within 2*-4*,and cook comfortably at 350*-which means you are no longer smoking.

My 150 was built in the 90's and never had a problem.

I see them heavily used,20 yrs old and no problems.

I have an older preramp FEC,and a new IQ4 FEC at home and never had a problem.

We have never had a problem with our comp units,either.

I set all to run all night and then drop to hold temps,and never look at them.

I go back to the motel.

Smokin Okie might say the FEC could be a little more versatile,if you were operating in a commercial situation.

It would really depend on some specific need.

Hope this helps a little.

Tom

i bought the FEC 100 and it is being delivered today.

thanks for you help

Yessir.

You'll love it.

While you have the time,I'd go through every thread on the FEC forums.

It won't take too long,and will certainly speed your learning curve.

There is no book,but our accumulated posts are the whys,whens,what fors of all our combined experiences.

Tom-Fl

Tom:

I was reading your old post on pellet usage. If you put a single typical 7.5 lb butt on the fec, how long a cook would you expect and would the pellet usage be 75 cents an hour ?I am just wondering about the cost of very small loads. Thanks.

could you spend $15 on pellets to do a single butt ?

When I buy pellets, mine are costing about $.40 per lb. Cooking on the IQ4 FEC, it uses about 1/2 lb. per hour to hold 230*. So if it cooks for 15 hours, that would be $6. On the old FE, it would probably cost around $10-12 in pellets for the same time.

But if all you want to cook is one pork butt, why are you buying an FEC? As such, I don't understand your question, Mark. While you can cook small loads on an FEC, most of my cooks are larger loads with no more usabe of pellets.

When I cook one or two pork shoulders or a brisket in my new FEC I use a little less than 1/2 lb per hour.

I've only used the pellets that came with the unit and Candy Sue's pellets but I did not see a difference in pellet consumption.