Pellet Question

[DATsBBQ]

Are there other high capacity pellet fired pits other than Fast Eddie and Trager out there?

[Papa Tom]

Yes apparently Traeger's patents have expired and the are more showing up on the market. There are probably more on the horizon.

http://www.kcgrills.com/ez-catalog/X381 ... t_0100.xsl

http://www.countrysmokers.com/cs-680.htm

http://www.louisiana-grills.com/
Interesting side note here Louisiana grills come from Canada.

Oh yeah Fast Eddy is coming out with a new design I expect it will be very good. I don't think it will be marketed by Cookshack I think FE will do it himself.
There is another company making a professional type pellet cooker that makes some exceptional claims about their cooker. I'll try to find some info on them.

[3 star redneck]

I know several cookers that use the FEC-100, and love them...I have been told to shop around for pellets cause they can be rather expensive... One guy mixes 1/3 oak, 1/3 hickory, and 1/3 pecan for his comp cooking...works well

[Burnt Food Dude]

Just before the New Year I got a FEC100. I've used it several times and like it a lot. I plan on using it for comps this year with the WSMs as back up.

I got some pellets from Candy Weaver at BBQers Delight. Great people to deal with. You have to remember cooking pellets and flavor pellets are 2 different animals.

Cooking pellets are a mixed pellet of 1/3 flavor and 2/3 oak wood. As was explained to me the oak is needed for the heat "therms". Flavor pellets are all the flavor wood. It seems that cooking pellets are cheaper than flavor pellets.

You will use more straight flavor pellets than mixed. I tried it myself and found out for sure. Of course you could blend your own "flavors" to cook with but I would think that would be expensive using straight flavor pellets.

I'm very happy with the way the FEC cooks. In the beginning I had some big temp swings but as it broke in, the swings became smaller. Now I was cooking it temps between 20 above to 5 below zero in a sheltered spot no cover.

If you got to PelletEnvy.com and email Rod Gray, or Candy Weaver at bbqrsdelight.com, I'm sure the'll give you all the info you need about pellets and pellet smokers.

There is another smoker / grill with the Smith and Wesson name on it. I think it was a Traeger made for S&W.

[Papa Tom]

Some more:

http://www.greenmountaingrills.com/products/

Here is the pro smoker that I said makes the exceptional claims.

http://www.prosmokernroaster.com/

And here are the exceptional claims, (looks like they use Traeger parts)
"Please allow me to introduce myself, i am Joe Hanni from PS Seasonings/Pro Smoker. We have been manufacturing smokers since 1977 we manufacture smokers that smoke from 40 to 6,000lbs of meat at a time and everything inbetween. We also custom blend seasonings and private label. We in conjunction with Traeger have been manufacturing the "FB 150" since 2006. The FB150 will hold and cook 150lbs of meat at a time with a 1 - 2 degree variance from top to bottom. This unit is fully welded and is USDA, NSF and ANSI/NSF UL197. Please let me know if you have any other questions, you can e-mail me at joe@psseasoning.com or my direct line is 920-387-2230. Thank you."

[DATsBBQ]

Some more:

http://www.greenmountaingrills.com/products/

Here is the pro smoker that I said makes the exceptional claims.

http://www.prosmokernroaster.com/

And here are the exceptional claims, (looks like they use Traeger parts)
"Please allow me to introduce myself, i am Joe Hanni from PS Seasonings/Pro Smoker. We have been manufacturing smokers since 1977 we manufacture smokers that smoke from 40 to 6,000lbs of meat at a time and everything inbetween. We also custom blend seasonings and private label. We in conjunction with Traeger have been manufacturing the "FB 150" since 2006. The FB150 will hold and cook 150lbs of meat at a time with a 1 - 2 degree variance from top to bottom. This unit is fully welded and is USDA, NSF and ANSI/NSF UL197. Please let me know if you have any other questions, you can e-mail me at joe@psseasoning.com or my direct line is 920-387-2230. Thank you."

Their web site, for the FAT BOY, says NSF and UL applied for. Looks like an expensive cooker -I'm guessing about 7K based on the price of a 150 that one of their few distributers advertised.

Seems these are the babies of the bunch. Most of their line are huge smokers that you wheel "trucks" into and out of. And they are 7 1/2' feet tall!. Anyway, I did email joe for more info.

Now Trager sent me this with respect to an NSF rated pit:

Hi Dave,

Currently the COM190 and COM200 are not NSF approved, but we are planning on
adding a new NSF-Certified Traeger Commercial unit in the very near future.
I will keep your information on file and contact you with more information
as soon as this product becomes available. If you have any questions, please
feel free to contact us.

Thank you,


Christy Haynie
Distribution Specialist | Traeger Commercial Smoker Grills

Trager is attractive to me cause the pits pull 200watts initially for 5 minutes and then drop to 50watts for the duration of the cook. A simple solar system could provide the juice and the panels could be designed to provide shade.

So the fuel is "renewable", pollution at a minium (compared to a stick burner) and the electric comes from the sky. The left leaning folks here will eat it up

On one of the guys on the Rocky Mtn circuit swears by the pellets. He says the pellet operating cost is less than a stick burner (assuming you are buying your sticks and harvesting them on your property) and you can get some sleep at night.

I need the NSF rating to satisfy the local HD. (New Q eatery are using Southern Pride or equivelent that have the rating).

[JamesB]

Wow, did not know that there was such a large selection of pellet munchers available...

[3 star redneck]

pellet munchers ...

Thats a great sayin!!

[DATsBBQ]

pellet munchers ...

Thats a great sayin!!

It is funny.

Up onto just recently I didn't have much time for a pellet cooker but I tell you the ability to control heat (read sleep) has changed my mind. The stick burners look cool, super cool infact but I've decided that its hard to look cool with bags under your eyes from sleep deprivation

[JamesB]

Honestly, as much as I like playing with a wood fire, if I was to start cooking for money, I would be looking at a pellet machine, or similar that didn't require constant supervision. That would be the only way to make a living, get some sleep and stay healthy enough to enjoy it...

[DATsBBQ]

Got an answer back on the Fat Boy. Guess my 7K guess was well off the mark. Joe says

New MSRP $3995.00 and yes NSF is good to go

http://www.prosmokernroaster.com/index. ... del-fb-150

[Papa Tom]

$4K not too bad. Throw in another K and you can buy my Old Hickory.
Pellets are a heck of a good compromise they cook good and are pretty much set and go. The insulated models like the FE or FB are even better than the Traegers (Traeger makes a insulated model but it has a big SS roll-up door that kinda defeats the savings).
The old Hickory and I'll bet that the Southern Pride is the same are stick burners but you set the temp and load wood and hit the go-getty. The igniter fires up a gas flame to start the wood and when the pit comes up to temp the gas shuts down and a forced air system regulates the fire/temp. If the fire goes out the gas burner kicks back in to reignite the wood or hold the temp until you check in.

[DATsBBQ]

The Southern Prides I've seen run on gas with a "wood compartment" they toss a stick or so in every hour for the first couple of hours. After that, it's all gas!

But they are NSF certified.

[Papa Tom]

Man if pits had to be NSF blessed here in Texas there'd be a load of folks out of business.

[Burnt Food Dude]

You could get a FEC100 for about a grand less (give or take)

http://store.cookshack.com/p-126-fast-e ... ec100.aspx


According to the CookShack site it holds about 50 pounds less butts & brisket. It will hold 40 slabs of ribs.

On mine I had 3 extra shelf holders added so I can vary the height of the shelves or add an extra 1 or 2 if needed.

I agree with Dats. Sleep is a wonderful thing, especially at a contest. Less chance of a mental mistake.

I imagine they are all pretty good. Just shop around, find the one you like and become a pellet head.