Larger Capacity Cooker
- Thread starter Doug KC
- Start date
Bruce Bissonnette
TVWBB Guru
Not knowing what your definition of "large groups" is, I'll offer this; If I was in the market for a larger capacity cooker and was looking for something other than an offset like a Klose or Gator pits, I would look at a Backwoods(Party or Fat Boy model), Stumps(GF222CM or GF223 models), an FE100(pellets; need electrical to work), or a Spicewine(Medium or Large model).
Have heard nothing but good things about these cookers, they are all insulated cookers and hold temps well, and the Backwoods and Stumps are as close to "set it and forget it" fire control of the WSM as any on the market. The FE100 is an auger driven wood pellet cooker.
There are other cookers out there that people will swear by that are good cookers. Keep in mind that nothing beats some good research. If you can go to a comp and you will see every cooker there that I have mentioned and look at them and then make your decision. All of these have their own web sites, do some googling and you should come up with them. Good luck!
Have heard nothing but good things about these cookers, they are all insulated cookers and hold temps well, and the Backwoods and Stumps are as close to "set it and forget it" fire control of the WSM as any on the market. The FE100 is an auger driven wood pellet cooker.
There are other cookers out there that people will swear by that are good cookers. Keep in mind that nothing beats some good research. If you can go to a comp and you will see every cooker there that I have mentioned and look at them and then make your decision. All of these have their own web sites, do some googling and you should come up with them. Good luck!
Gary Bramley
TVWBB Pro
Doug,
Do the 4 wsm's have different homes? Seems you could smoke a good bit of Q with that many wsm's.
If I were to constently smoke larger volumes of Q I would explore Bruces suggestions... pricey though. OR, buy more wsm's.
Q'n, Golf'n & Grill'n... too many choices!
Gary
Do the 4 wsm's have different homes? Seems you could smoke a good bit of Q with that many wsm's.
If I were to constently smoke larger volumes of Q I would explore Bruces suggestions... pricey though. OR, buy more wsm's.
Q'n, Golf'n & Grill'n... too many choices!
Gary
Dale Perry
TVWBB Guru
I bought a small Spicewine which is set up to cook like a WSM and it works great. At 500 lbs, it is ironic to call it small. It is built like a tank. We are thinking of getting a medium and selling our pull behind just because the product is so much better cooked on the SW. It is so tight, the meat has very little chance but to be moist. I love my WSM though. For the money, you cant beat it for the sleep factor.
The Backwoods is similar to the SW except the BW weighs 140 lbs and the SW is 500 lbs. That sold us on the SW, but we are trailering ours. If I was going to haul either one of these on the back of a truck, I more than likely would have bought the BW. Any that Bruce mentioned is great though. I have seen a Stumps in action. Cant go wrong there either. Lots of good choices out there.
The Backwoods is similar to the SW except the BW weighs 140 lbs and the SW is 500 lbs. That sold us on the SW, but we are trailering ours. If I was going to haul either one of these on the back of a truck, I more than likely would have bought the BW. Any that Bruce mentioned is great though. I have seen a Stumps in action. Cant go wrong there either. Lots of good choices out there.
Konrad Haskins
R.I.P. 3/23/2014
Four WSM's have more capacity than an FEC-100.
Talking about FEC-100's I have the current config that is shiping from the factory and have owned the two prior configs. First it was a straight auger, then the next model had a drop ramp auger with original Traeger controller and now it's the same drop auger but with a big IQ-4 electronic feedback controller. It's electro-mechanical and that means it can and does break. All of mine have had electrical and mechanical failures at the worst possible times. The latest should not be compared with prior models it cooks completely differently. I like it but it's like a whole new cooker in how it performs. Not worse just different. It's a competition winning race car but needs maintenance and spares and a pit crew (pardon the pun). My experience is based on cooking with FEC's 5 days a week upwards of 2,000 pounds of meat a week
In my not humble opinion the best bang for the buck is a Lang www.PigRoast.com choose your size and get the propane option.
Talking about FEC-100's I have the current config that is shiping from the factory and have owned the two prior configs. First it was a straight auger, then the next model had a drop ramp auger with original Traeger controller and now it's the same drop auger but with a big IQ-4 electronic feedback controller. It's electro-mechanical and that means it can and does break. All of mine have had electrical and mechanical failures at the worst possible times. The latest should not be compared with prior models it cooks completely differently. I like it but it's like a whole new cooker in how it performs. Not worse just different. It's a competition winning race car but needs maintenance and spares and a pit crew (pardon the pun). My experience is based on cooking with FEC's 5 days a week upwards of 2,000 pounds of meat a week
In my not humble opinion the best bang for the buck is a Lang www.PigRoast.com choose your size and get the propane option.