I guess if your pit is reliable like mine, no. Do I use Mavericks to moniter temps in case Mr Nimrod(me) forgot to add gas to generator (use promoters electricty, thats a good one) or pellets before going to bed, you bet. Can you moniter a stick burner from your hotel room? I guess you can any pit with a Stoker hooked up to your pit as long as you had computer access at your location.

Pellets were good enough to take 2nd Runner up at the Royal Open this year, does that help?

Larry Hill from Pelletheads.com has a 500 in Hanford, 3 hours up the road...for two hot links on an Sunday, I will get you in the door if you like...I will even ride with you and watch you cook on it! :bow:

On a serious note, he is coming down to Pasadena on December 4th, might be a stretch, but I might beable to get him to bring it an have you cook on it? Let me know...

I would stay away from the 300 if it only has one burner. You will not get enough smoke.

Larry (rib ticklers) has a FEC 500 I am sure he would be happy to let you cook on or see. He is in Oceanside.

500 is a nice unit

You calling us Pellet Poopers such names as Pellet Poopers is insulating to us Pellet Pooper. You can only call us that if you are one :becky:

We know it's jealousy of our sleep :heh:

Not sure what "checking temps from a hotel means" to this thread, but you can buy a temp probe, hook it up to an internet connection and monitor it form your room. If I owned a restaurant, I'd probably do that, so great idea.

Think about it this way.

If you're using a gasser, do you worry about running out of gas?

If you're using a rotisserie, do you worry about the gear breaking?

If you use electricity, do you worry about electricity going out?

Use a stick burner? How about the weather, falling asleep from an overnight cook (can't stay up 7 nights a way all year)

you better if you're in the business. I've either had it happen or seen ALL of the above happen.

It's pretty old news now when someone who calls them Pellet Poppers points out that they saw one broke somewhere. Does it happen, yes. Often, no. I think preventive maintenance takes care of 95% of common problems.

If you're worried about it in a restaurant, you'll probably worry about anything you have.

Depending on if Neil is planning on keeping it inside or out, that may be driving some of the decision making... They developed the 300 to have a model that would go into EXISTING buildings. Many times a 500 is too large to fit through the openings, etc. if you are trying to build it into the kitchen. A 300 was designed to fit through a set of dbl doors, both height and width wise. I dont believe a 500 will. So if you are going to have the room to get it in the bldg, or you are going with an outdoor unit... go with the FEC500. IF you are trying to get indoors, into an existing kitchen/tighter space, go with the FEC300. Having said that Neil, you know we have a buddy who has one on his showroom floor that he would make you a heck of a deal on :) Now my cartage fee to CA might erase all that to bring it to ya!!!! <insert evil laugh> but the girls would love to play with Morgan...

whatever you get ...get one size bigger than you need...it is a great rule of thumb for media whor....types!

I've been told, by more than one person that has one, that a 500 turns out a better product than the 100. Whether it's the extra pots, the volume of meat and the moisture it gives off, I don't know.

I'd suspect you'd get some sort of break on insurance as well because you are buring wood, instead of having compressed or natural gas around. Storage of pellets will take up less space than storing cords of wood as well, and they come in sealed bags to protect them from the elements.

As for dependability, I think you can probably order a spare controller board, and a few other parts to go along with the cooker if you are looking at an investment that size. As Bentley pointed out, there are ways to monitor the pit. If you've got a problem it's not a big deal to replace a board, pin, auger if you have to.

I'll bet my list of successful BBQ restaurants that use SP or OH is much longer than your FEC list.

So they make money. Is their BBQ any good? The FEC 500 cooks better food than the OH, IMHO.

Real wood fired BBQ blows compressed sawdust out of the water every time, bro.

i have a fec750 and i would beg to differ

Any experience with a SP or OH?

Not sure where you came up with this... esp. since those pits typically use GAS for the fuel source, and have a firebox to provide flavor/secondary heating source. Gas brings the pit up to temp, and typically kicks on to maintain temps. (unless the owner is choosing to run it on wood only.) Gas can impart a flavor other than wood... pellets on the other hand don't impart any flavor other than wood.

I'm not trying to say who produces better BBQ, But there are some large names using FEC pits in thier local and in chain restaurants. I wouldnt think the "list" of restaurants would be that big an issue...

They are both excellent, and proven pits, but Pellets have been proven to provide a better yield, and typically they are cheaper than gas to run. Those are the types of things that I would hope someone looking to use it in a commercial setting would be considering.... not just the list of who cooks on what.

And yes, I have cooked on all 3 OH, SP, and FEC. So outside of the tests done to show the cost advantages (better yield, lower operating cost, etc) , I can tell you my personal experience is that the FEC puts a better color on the meat, and does produce a consistent product. You wouldnt go wrong with any of those cookers. I just happen to like the FEC the best, having cooked on all three many times over.