Starting up

bbqlou,
hi and welcome.
we got our first sm150 from john shifflet in atlanta at the NBBQA convention. kind of funny how that came about. my wife was afraid of the fec so we compromised and got the fec and an sm150 which i looked down my nose at for about 6 months (both mounted in an 8 x 18 foot rig) time went on and i started playing with her 150 and started to see what it could really do (she had to teach me how to play the heat buttons). long story short when we needed more capacity we got another sm150 and not another fec. for our useage the sm's are great. the only drawback is the wattage when you are mobile but if i ever decide to stop competing and i don't think that is far off i will sell the fec and take those procedes to buy another 150 and and another eu3000is honda generator. that said i guess you can tell where i stand on the sm series. cookshacks service is great, as this forum is, and the only thing i can compare them to is zippo lighters. they dont care how you broke it just tell them and they will help ya fix it. service after the sale is kinda murky on the sm150 series. neither of mine have broken and one of them has been rattled around a bunch towing and never a problem. the fec which caught fire only neeeded new gaskets. one call it was done.
hope it helps
jack
ps. long day. call john at cookshack direct. he is a great help and a good person

Thanks prisonchef for the recommendation. It really seems almost like a trouble free machine that you can set & forget. Has anyone had experience with the temperature probe option?

Hello bbqlou,
Welcome to the world of CS. I started out cooking with WSMs and offsets. When I went into commercial smoking I could not afford a CS so bought a Joe Smoker, a CS clone, on ebay. For the first year it did well and got us going, however, it had it's drawbacks. Cleaning was very hard because the firebox had a base that set on the bottom of the cooker. The side rails were permanent. The door was surrounded with a rubber gasket which was always dripping grease on the floor. We recently purchased a 150 which was about 10 percent smaller than the Joe. Positive things I have noticed are. The firebox is suspended above the floor of the cooker from the back of the box. This allows one to put a sheet of foil on the bottom. Also the side rails are detachable. The net result is much easier cleanup. Also there is no rubber gasket and there is a small hole in the bottom rail, under the edge of the door which catches the runoff. It emptys into the same drip pan as the unit it's self does. I really appreciate the automated system. It really works. Looked at the Smokin Tex which has not computerized controls and is the primary reason I chose the CS over the ST. Haven't used the probe since it arrived just today. John Shiflet as well as other staff at CS have bent over backwards to give premo service. The negatives I have noticed are: 1) A small amount of smoke leaks out the edge of the door when in operation. This makes me take on the odor of smoke more than I like. The gasket on the door of the Joe did stop this smoke leakage. The drip pan is too small when cooking a full load of butts. This I fixed by using a 6 inch deep 1/2 size hotel pan versus the 4 inch one that comes with the smoker. I preseve there may be a problem using the probe since it is designed to drop the lead wire down the exhaust hole. I have vented my smoker direct so this hole does not exist. My technician says he can remedy this with an additional hole just for the probe wire. First I am going to try putting the lead wire through the door the same way we run a polter probe through the door. There are lots of positive reasons to get a CS and very few negatives. They are sure less expensive than Southern Pride and others like them. Hope this helps. Keep stokin and smokin.

Thanks 1hawsfli very much for your input. This forum is really terrific. I have been poking around it for the last several months. The amount of shared knowledge is phenominal. I'm excited about purchasing the Cs. Please keep me posted on how the probe works for you & if you get the additional hole drilled for it. That sounds like the best solution instead or dropping it thru the exhaust hole. Someone had said you could slide a bus tub under the CS to catch the drippings from a full load of butts, but I like your idea better. When you clean the CS, do you want to scrub as much smoke residue off or just a light wipe?

By the way, I haven't been to Montana. I would definitely like to visit your beautiful state sometime. Is BBQ a good business in your neck of the woods? Is Montana style BBQ similiar to Texas or Calif.?

I did 3 briskettes in my smokeete 009, and got a 6 pack for doing it. Does that make me a pro?

hahaha, i think that makes you a professional boozer...heehee
lol

Hey Bbqlou, A little on clean up from my perspective. Because we cook 4 to 5 nights a week this is my schedule. Once a week pull screens and side racks and wash in dishwasher at home on scrub pots and pans setting. At the same time I use a flat paint scraper with a long handle to go over the sides, top, bottom and door. Then wipe down with a throw away cloth. After each cook I change foil on top of firebox shield and the bottom. At the time I will scrape the bottom if it needs it. Takes only a few minutes and I don't get a build up of gaseous oil. I am not aware of a cooker that is easier to maintain. I notice that directly under the vent hole on top there seems to be a smoky residue that settles on the topmost piece of meat. It looks very unsightly so I usually way wipe it off. I have been thinking of placing a small piece of foil directly under the vent on top of the meat to catch that residue. I would be interested in how others handle this problem.

Now to Montana. There is not a lot of real bbq in this country. Most people here think beef steak. We have for several years mounted an awareness program for southern bbq. 5 years ago we started the Montana State Championship Competition here in Stevensville. It is held the first weekend in August in conjucstion with the Creamry Picnic celebration which has been ongoing for 97 years. We will normally draw teams from 5 Northwestern States and Canada. This year we have added another competition to be held the last weekend in June at Lolo, Montana in conjunction with Lolo days. So far we have been able to organize 5-6 teams in the general area. Last year the Idaho State Competition was started in Salmon, Idaho which is about 120 miles south of here. Famous Daves recently came into Missoula, Montana 25 miles to the North. Slowly but surely Montana is becoming aquainted with BBQ. We try to cook brisket like they do in Texas, pork as in North Carolina, and ribs as in KC or Memphis. I have a semi-permanent trailer on location open 5 days a week and do some catering. Kinsman is located 10 miles to the north. Knuckleheads smokes in the 8 mile area and has a restaurant in Missoula. Stevensville is located in the beautiful Bitterroot River Valley with Mountains on all sides. Many tourists pass through the area each year observing our beautiful surroundings. Come and see us. In the meantime keep stokin and smokin.