# My new toy has arrived



## wade

HeHeHe my new toy has arrived. I will be trying it out this weekend...













FEC120 Front.jpg



__ wade
__ Jul 17, 2015


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## thenegativeone

That look like some industrial level kit! What is it?


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## kiska95

Its a FEC 120 I believe and looks awesome, I WANT one!!!!!!


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## wade

It is a Fast Eddy FEC-120. If you want to do 30 chickens, 150 lbs Pork shoulder, 120 lbs brisket or 30 racks of ribs at one time then this is your beast. The day I got it it really tried to max out the capacity with... 6 sausages 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. And today I am trying one side of salmon - LOL

Over the weekend it will do a whole shoulder of pork, a leg of lamb and 4 racks of ribs to see how it gets on.

I have bought it in order to cater for events but I need to try it out on a few non-paying victims first.


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## daveomak

Are you taking this smoking stuff serious ????  lol


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## wade

Nawww - My wife says that its just another passing fad - LOL. I always agree with her


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## thenegativeone

Awesome Wade! I've always wanted to smoke lamb, it's a bit expensive to cock up though haha, a nice mint and garlic rub, chuck some Rosemary on the coals for a bit more flavour, I really must get round to it!


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## smokin monkey

Boys and there toys!  Looks good Wade, let me know how you get on with it!


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## smokewood

Wade said:


> It is a Fast Eddy FEC-120. If you want to do 30 chickens, 150 lbs Pork shoulder, 120 lbs brisket or 30 racks of ribs at one time then this is your beast. The day I got it it really tried to max out the capacity with... 6 sausages
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> . And today I am trying one side of salmon - LOL
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> Over the weekend it will do a whole shoulder of pork, a leg of lamb and 4 racks of ribs to see how it gets on.
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> I have bought it in order to cater for events but I need to try it out on a few non-paying victims first.


and that is just a snack!  It sounds amazing Wade.  You are going to have to post a video showing the inside of the smoker and how it works.


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## gavlar

Haha fantastic. Cannot wait to hear how thou get on this weekend


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## wade

thenegativeone said:


> Awesome Wade! I've always wanted to smoke lamb, it's a bit expensive to cock up though haha, a nice mint and garlic rub, chuck some Rosemary on the coals for a bit more flavour, I really must get round to it!


Just for you I bought a led of lamb to add to its inaugural meat smoke - Photos tomorrow 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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I don't particularly like lamb but a friend of mine does. I know that she will enjoy it.


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## osprey2

Wade said:


> Just for you I bought a led of lamb to add to its inaugural meat smoke - Photos tomorrow
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Lamb smoked with cherry wood is great.


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## foamheart

Congratulations Wade! Thats a sweet looking smoker. I am sitting here drooling over it.  That really is a nice unit.


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## instamatt

Oh WOW, Christmas has indeed come early Wade. Would love to see some pic's of that bad boy when you get it going 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





M


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## boykjo

Congrats on the new smoker.........................Nice


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## wade

Slight hitch at the moment. The controller seems to keep switching itself off after about an hour, regardless of what program is set 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. I have not been able to get hold of anyone over the weekend but should be able to tomorrow. Hopefully it is something that I am doing wrong.


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## kiska95

Hi Wade,

I know that you will have gone through the manual cover to cover but could it be the cook timer setting?


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## smokin monkey

Put another 50p in meter!


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## smokewood

It's not what you need after spending all that good money on something.


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## daveomak

It's probably something simple....   Time to re-read the destruction book...


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## foamheart

Its just life reminding you, it just shouldn't be that easy.

I'll swap ya my MES40 for it even though its all broke down. Course You'll need to probably throw in some pellets and some meat to get it to a fair swap.


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## kc5tpy

Hello Wade.  Was that 6 WHOLE sausages???  And you cooked them ALL by yourself?  I see your skills are improving grasshopper.  Soon you will be able to snatch the pebble from my hand.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






   Congats on the new toy!  Sorry you are having troubles.  Did you kick it and call it nasty names??  If you have then you have done all I can advise.  REAL MEN don't read the book but maybe Dave has a point!  At some point ya gotta admit defeat and read ( or re-read ) tha book.  Just don't tell anyone.  Read it at night in the dark with a torch so no one knows.

Can't wait to see that dude in action!  Good luck with fixing the problem.  I am sure you will get it sorted.  Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## smokin monkey

Hi Wade, I have pulled up the manual on line and read it for you. Unless you are setting a cooking time (one hour in your Case) or a product temperature, there should be no reason for the smoker to stop, as the smoker in each mode should go into hold mode. Possibly the hold setting is too low, but as it says it will hold until turned off manually.

Would hope you have you feet up now with a relaxing drink, only 12 hours to wait for professional help.


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## daveomak

Wade, afternoon....   It's 105 F here now....  got my hay baled and waiting to find out how you are making out....   By the way, I'm on my second ICE COLD beer while I wait......


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## smokewood

That's it Dave rub it in to us Brits, I don't think we have ever see 105, we are lucky if it ever reaches 90 degrees.


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## daveomak

That's bad news..... Soooooooo, you probably don't have air conditioning in your pub's either....  no American baseball, no American football, no Nascar......  BUT you do have the Isle of Mann....  that's cool...  I did own a TR6-R 650 Triumph waaaaaay back when I was into speed biking.....


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## wade

DaveOmak said:


> Wade, afternoon.... It's 105 F here now.... got my hay baled and waiting to find out how you are making out.... By the way, I'm on my second ICE COLD beer while I wait......


I could have done with a few cold beers yesterday. I have been lining the smoking shed with aluminium sheet for fire resistance (stainless steel was just too expensive) and it must have been 105 F in there for most of the day LOL. I also had to widen the shed door a little as, when it arrived, the smoker was several centimeters wider than the ones I saw published. Still, when it gets going it should we worth it and I will post photos


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## wade

KC5TPY said:


> Hello Wade.  Was that 6 WHOLE sausages???  And you cooked them ALL by yourself?


Yes I did all 6 at once. There was no point not pushing it to its limits


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## wade

Smokin Monkey said:


> Hi Wade, I have pulled up the manual on line and read it for you. Unless you are setting a cooking time (one hour in your Case) or a product temperature, there should be no reason for the smoker to stop, as the smoker in each mode should go into hold mode. Possibly the hold setting is too low, but as it says it will hold until turned off manually.


Yes it appears to be idiot proof. Maybe I have just proved that wrong


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## kc5tpy

Hello My Friend.  NOTHING is idiot proof!  I have proved that MANY times in my life!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   I have faith in ya mate.  You will get there. The shed door:  TYPICAL isn't it.  Those dimensions do not include the hinges and handles which protrude an extra 18" either side!!!!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   Keep Smokin!

Danny


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## smokin monkey

Hi Wade, did you get the Smoker sorted?


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## wade

Not yet. Darren is consulting the guys in the US as they have not seen this problem before - It is a new version of the controller though. It looks as if I may be getting a new controller unit but we will hopefully find out tomorrow. Darren is being incredibly helpful and I am sure that this glitch will be sorted very soon.


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## smokin monkey

As with the GMG, their seems to be problems with the controllers.


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## kiska95

Quality Chinese craftsmanship


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## wade

Actually the stainless steel cabinet was built in the USA and I have the signatures of each of the welders who put it together on the quality certificate. Unfortunately one was called "Rusty" LOL

Yes, the controller was almost certainly put together by our Asian friends though.


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## kiska95

Its a shame, great products, great service but constantly getting let down by a weak link!


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## smokewood

Unfortunately it is a sign of the times.  My Brinkmann was made in China not the US.


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## foamheart

smokewood said:


> Unfortunately it is a sign of the times.  My Brinkmann was made in China not the US.


Yeppers, we are paying for their nuclear navy.


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## jockaneezer

thenegativeone said:


> Awesome Wade! I've always wanted to smoke lamb, it's a bit expensive to cock up though haha, a nice mint and garlic rub, chuck some Rosemary on the coals for a bit more flavour, I really must get round to it!


Did this shoulder a couple of months back on the weber with cherry wood, should have taken the IT a bit higher as it was a bit chewey in places, but it still got eaten.













20150523_165142[1].jpg



__ jockaneezer
__ Jul 22, 2015


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## foamheart

Wade said:


> Actually the stainless steel cabinet was built in the USA and I have the signatures of each of the welders who put it together on the quality certificate. Unfortunately one was called "Rusty" LOL
> 
> Yes, the controller was almost certainly put together by our Asian friends though.


Sorry for the Hijack, so have we heard anything yet?

<Chuckles>  Case suggests you try adding more water.  Sorry I couldn't help myself.

I had actually been thinking about one of those, ( although not the commercial industrial extra heavy duty sized smoker).


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## wade

The new controller board is on its way and I have just received a test telling me it will be delivered tomorrow morning. We are hoping that it will fix the problem. Too late unfortunately for the event I am catering for tomorrow... I will keep you updated


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## foamheart

I can FedEx my MES40 to you. Be there tonight, I'll take an even swap just cause ya in a bind. No need for you to throw anything else in the trade.

I am really likeing that smoker, the more I read, the better it looks, but you'd have to be in the business to justify it.

Ok, Ok.... I'll even cover the freight to send the MES40 to you. Last offer?


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## daveomak

...  :popcorn ... :cheers: ...


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## wade

Foamheart said:


> I can FedEx my MES40 to you. Be there tonight, I'll take an even swap just cause ya in a bind. No need for you to throw anything else in the trade.
> 
> I am really likeing that smoker, the more I read, the better it looks, but you'd have to be in the business to justify it.
> 
> Ok, Ok.... I'll even cover the freight to send the MES40 to you. Last offer?


At the moment it is just worth the price of the scrap stainless steel - but tomorrow i am expecting the phoenix to rise from the ashes 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  

Throw in a kegger of Coors and I may consider your offer


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## mr t 59874

I am quite certain the people at Cookshack will take care of you as you have already found.  Quite a nice piece of equipment you have there, I'm envious for sure.

Enjoy your new smoker, it's a dandy.

Tom


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## wade

Hi Tom. Yes they are on the case and I cannot expect them to do any more at the moment. Tomorrow will be the awakening of the beast... I hope


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## foamheart

Wade said:


> Hi Tom. Yes they are on the case and I cannot expect them to do any more at the moment. Tomorrow will be the awakening of the beast... I hope


Will it require a virgin sacrifice? Beef? Pork? Seafood? Poultry?


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## wade

Foamheart said:


> Will it require a virgin sacrifice?


No. I decided that I would try something different this week. The same old routine is starting to get a bit monotonous.


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## wade

New controller board is in. Unfortunately the first test smoke with it has failed in the same was as it did before.


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## smokin monkey

Wade, that dose not sound good, are you sure you're not all fingers and thumbs, when you are setting it up!!!!


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## gav iscon

Wade said:


> New controller board is in. Unfortunately the first test smoke with it has failed in the same was as it did before.


Thats not good news. So frustrating..


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## kiska95

Hi Wade,

Below is from the Cookshack Forum it may help? Or is yours shutting down electrically? If it is you may have proven that the controller is Ok and it is something else triggering the shut down

Something else to be aware of with the FEC-120, is it likes a big load. If you want to smoke a few racks of ribs at 225 degrees, you may find the smoker sometimes puts itself out. Reason being the FEC is such an efficient smoker, that it will go to over 225 degrees easily, and stop feeding pellets until temp comes down. Sometimes the fire pellets will be burned up, and when the smoker decides it's time to feed pellets again, the fire isn't there. This has happened multiple times, and Cookshack concurs with my experiences - either raise temp up a bit or increase the load.

As an example, we smoke a full prime for our Ribeye sandwiches early in the week. I like to smoke it low and slow to rare. TO keep the smoker going around 230 to 235, I load a full pan of ice on the lower shelf to keep the smoker producing smoke and fire - if not, it would put itself out.


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## smokin monkey

Could this be the problem? You would of thought Cookshack would know about this and inform people.


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## wade

kiska95 said:


> Hi Wade,
> 
> Below is from the Cookshack Forum it may help? Or is yours shutting down electrically? If it is you may have proven that the controller is Ok and it is something else triggering the shut down
> 
> Something else to be aware of with the FEC-120, is it likes a big load. If you want to smoke a few racks of ribs at 225 degrees, you may find the smoker sometimes puts itself out. Reason being the FEC is such an efficient smoker, that it will go to over 225 degrees easily, and stop feeding pellets until temp comes down. Sometimes the fire pellets will be burned up, and when the smoker decides it's time to feed pellets again, the fire isn't there. This has happened multiple times, and Cookshack concurs with my experiences - either raise temp up a bit or increase the load.
> 
> As an example, we smoke a full prime for our Ribeye sandwiches early in the week. I like to smoke it low and slow to rare. TO keep the smoker going around 230 to 235, I load a full pan of ice on the lower shelf to keep the smoker producing smoke and fire - if not, it would put itself out.


Thanks for looking Brian. Yes I saw something similar on there this morning and have had some success since my last post. It was recommended that for small loads you place a foil covered pan of water on the rack above and below the meat to simulate a heavier meat loading. This I have done and i have been smoking some test rib trimmings in there which have now almost completed a complete cycle (and are still going strong) 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. That may have cracked the problem.

The CEO of Cookshack does not have this problem when smoking small loads though


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## kiska95

That's great news, obviously Darren doesn't know about this solution at ABBQ or he would have said. 

I cracked the 5 degree increments controller problem for him too. The controller was meant for the New Zealand Market not the UK


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## wade

He was working on the problem with the Cookshack tech support in the US last week so I guess they are not aware of it either.


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## kiska95

only the guy said.

This has happened multiple times, and *"Cookshack*" concurs with my experiences


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## daveomak

Sounds as if the smoker is "too well" insulated....


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## foamheart

Remember you are across the pond and instead of holding your tongue of the right side of your mouth on start up, you need to reverse flow with that fonky power you got. Try holding your tongue on the LEFT side.

Hope that solves the problem.

Really sorry for your problems Wade, nothing worse than a new toy and no batteries!


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## kiska95

That's what the missus said[emoji]128536[/emoji]


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## smokewood

kiska95 said:


> That's what the missus said[emoji]128536[/emoji]


boom Boom
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  

By the way Kiska, I ordered the Kosher Salt on Thursday evening and it arrived this morning, thanks for the recommendation, I appreciate  it


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## wade

New set of boards overnighted from the USA. Hopefully these will fix it. The last ones had the same problem. It seems there was a faulty batch. CookShack Tech Support are very helpful.


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## gav iscon

Fingers crossed Wade, I hope this sorts it.


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## wade




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## foamheart

Ya know, I heard adding more water usually makes things work.

Man, I am feeling your frustration. Hang in there.


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## wade

Foamheart said:


> Ya know, I heard adding more water usually makes things work.
> 
> Man, I am feeling your frustration. Hang in there.


We tried that already. I had it loaded with trays half full of water to simulate meat without any luck.

I cannot fault Cookshack - they have been so helpful and are as frustrated with it as I am. I think they are going to swap it out.

Although it isn't working yet I will give them 10/10 for customer service so far


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## smokin monkey

No Luck again Wade?


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## foamheart

Wade said:


> We tried that already. I had it loaded with trays half full of water to simulate meat without any luck.
> 
> I cannot fault Cookshack - they have been so helpful and are as frustrated with it as I am. I think they are going to swap it out.
> 
> Although it isn't working yet I will give them 10/10 for customer service so far


That sounds like Masterbuilt. Their CSR is so good, you just hate to call and tell 'em its broke again. LOL


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## kiska95

Maybe a daft one but the post from the cool shack forum said iced water?


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## wade

kiska95 said:


> Maybe a daft one but the post from the cool shack forum said iced water?


We even tried it with a twist of lemon 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. I drew the line at the suggestion of adding Gin though.


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## wade

A loan unit is being shipped to me today so that I can cater for the 400+ on Saturday. My replacement unit has now been manufactured and as we speak is winging its way air-freight from Cookshack USA. Hopefully it will be fine as they have carried out more extensive QC testing on it before it was shipped 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





. Hoping to receive it early next week.


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## gav iscon

Thats good news Wade. My fingers are crossed....


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## kiska95

Lets hope you are good to go

400+ what you doing? and what you cooking?


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## resurrected

400+ wow!

Tell us more.


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## kiska95

Hope Joyce will be by your side in a wing (Wo) man support role!

X £6.00 a sarnie giz a job!


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## wade

We have just finished taking the membrane off and applying rub to 20 full racks of meaty ribs, applied rub to 30 lots of rib trimmings and applied rub to 8 full boned pork shoulders.

The shoulders will be smoked tomorrow (Friday) and the ribs early morning Saturday.

The options are:

Pulled Pork in a brioche bun with coleslaw
Pork Ribs (2) with BBQ Beans


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## resurrected

Kiska, 

Shall we head down to Kent for the weekend. I'm sure there'll be some bbq going somewhere :drool


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## kiska95

Hi Wade,

Seriously now have you got some sort of calculator for how much to cook for a certain number of guests?


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## foamheart

Wade said:


> We have just finished taking the membrane off and applying rub to 20 full racks of meaty ribs, applied rub to 30 lots of rib trimmings and applied rub to 8 full boned pork shoulders.
> 
> The shoulders will be smoked tomorrow (Friday) and the ribs early morning Saturday.
> 
> The options are:
> 
> Pulled Pork in a brioche bun with coleslaw
> Pork Ribs (2) with BBQ Beans


I'll take one of each.

Seriously, good luck, I figure you're due.


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## smokewood

That is a serious amount of piglet!


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## foamheart

Dang it, I jumped back here all excited thinking there would be some pictures by now........ <sighs>


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## wade

My replacement unit is still somewhere in the air over the Atlantic I think. They did loan me their competition unit though so that I could get this week end sorted. The loan unit worked impeccably and everything went to plan.

I did not take any photos of the ribs smoking but here are 6 of the the pork shoulders as they were cooking.













Porl Shoulders Smoking 2.jpg



__ wade
__ Aug 23, 2015






Left: Here is the unit at the event on the day - Yes it is sitting in a newly mown wheat field.

Right: Meet the team













The New Toy.jpg



__ wade
__ Aug 23, 2015


















The Team.jpg



__ wade
__ Aug 23, 2015






The Big K Restaurant Grade briquettes arrived on Friday and so I tried them out in the half-barrel BBQ/Grill. Wow they were good. They burned slowly and gave out loads of heat. They kept hot for hours and I only used about 5Kg all afternoon.













Big K Briquettes.jpg



__ wade
__ Aug 23, 2015


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## wade

The temperature profile for the pork shoulder - impressive 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			


















Temperature Log.JPG



__ wade
__ Aug 23, 2015


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## smokin monkey

Looking good Wade! will look into the briquettes.


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## kiska95

I suppose the only bother with them unless you break them down is the stacking and placing of them. Did you have to break them up Wade?


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## smokewood

Excellent weather with fine food makes for a fantastic event.  Well Done Wade (and the team)


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## wade

kiska95 said:


> I suppose the only bother with them unless you break them down is the stacking and placing of them. Did you have to break them up Wade?


Having tried them out I can see how well they perform when grilling but I am not sure how well they will perform in a smoker (using snake or Minion?). I will do a comparison of these against the Heat Beads and start a new thread for it.


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## wade

The replacement igniter arrived yesterday but I fired it up manually on Friday to smoke a pork shoulder for the weekend. 













Shoulder.jpg



__ wade
__ Sep 6, 2015


















Pork Rub.jpg



__ wade
__ Sep 6, 2015






The temperature profile was impressive













FEC120 Replacement TDC Logged Sep 4 2015.JPG



__ wade
__ Sep 6, 2015






6 hours at 180 F then 8 hours at 250 F.


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## smokin monkey

Hi Wade, is this your new unit? or the temporary one?


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## wade

My new unit. Unfortunately it arrived with a European plug on it and a faulty igniter


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## smokin monkey

Hope it's workings OK now!


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## wade

I will put the new igniter in this morning and try it out with some ribs. I hope it fixes it too


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## wade

AAAGGGGHHHH - The new igniter has exactly the same problem. I cannot believe this


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## smokin monkey

Not Good! Are they aware of this problem with the ingnitors?


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## wade

I have told them that they need to send someone down to fix it completely next time or I will be expecting my money back so I can buy one that is more reliable. I really did not want it to get to this point.


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## smokin monkey

Could not agree more, you would not buy a new car, then start changing starter motors, or the ECU units.

They need to get there customer service sorted.


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## smokewood

I think you have been more than patient, I think i would have sent it back by now


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