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-   -   Backwoods Smoker Fatboy.....??? (https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80973)

T-Man 03-22-2010 09:56 PM

Backwoods Smoker Fatboy.....???
 
Any experiences reviews etc...... Thanks....

watertowerbbq 03-24-2010 06:37 PM

bump

MilitantSquatter 03-24-2010 06:52 PM

I don't have one, but I've seen them in use many times and they produce a solid final product if you like the cabinet style units and charcoal.

A number of members here own them, they just may not have seen this thread yet. I'm sure they'll chim in.

PM Muzzlebrake for details, I know he owns one and likes it.

Cigarbque 03-24-2010 08:04 PM

T-Man,

I just picked up a BWS Party. I have used it only a few times so still getting a feel for how it wants to cook. So far it has been great. The Fat Boy will give you more depth space on the racks. Solid construction yet easy to move around, and the temps are spot on (using a Guru). The BWS line is a rib cookers dream. Did a few birds on it Sunday and they were even more moist than the BGE produced.

Shame the Party can't hold more fuel and water casue if it did i could forget it till the product was done. Very happy with it so far and I only expect that to improve as I lean more about it.

WineMaster 03-24-2010 08:35 PM

Any Backwoods is a great cooker. I think Smokin Joe from Tippie Canoe uses the Fatboy.

Dan

mjl 03-24-2010 08:48 PM

I have a had a Fatboy, Party, and a Chubby, all excellent cookers. I don't think you can go wrong with any BWS cooker.

Cigar- try making a charcoal basket that sits inside the Party charcoal pan, run it up to a few inches under your water pan or heat diverter. Depending on your fuel and cooking temps, you can nearly get a contest long burn time.

ML

T-Man 03-24-2010 10:26 PM

What be the cooking time on one load of charcoal , without a Guru...???
Also how about using a stoker with the Fatboy....??

Spydermike72 03-25-2010 05:24 AM

T-Man, a lot depends on how long you can cook on one load. Typically I can get 4-6 hours on one load of charcoal in my Party. I cook at about the 250 degree range. I do not use a Guru, I feel you do not need a guru/stoker with the backwoods...

Bob S 03-25-2010 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjl (Post 1226050)
I have a had a Fatboy, Party, and a Chubby, all excellent cookers. I don't think you can go wrong with any BWS cooker.

Cigar- try making a charcoal basket that sits inside the Party charcoal pan, run it up to a few inches under your water pan or heat diverter. Depending on your fuel and cooking temps, you can nearly get a contest long burn time.

ML

Good advice here. I extended the sides of my BWS Party charcoal pan with expanded metal and can easily go 8 hours without reloading.
I love my Party!

jrb03 03-25-2010 09:32 AM

Another extremely happy BWS Party owner here. I have not got around to extending the charcoal pan to hold more fuel, hasnt been an issue to spend the time on it. I have had 8+ hours before with briquettes, and with the heat diverter the water lasts about as long. We started competing this year and have been using only lump. The way our schedule is at comps I dont over pack it, and get about 4 hours between loads, but thats the way I like it.

I tried the stoker years ago when I first got the party, and frankly I didnt care for it. The product worked as described, but the Party didnt need it and it was more a bother than anything. Im a tech geek, but once the novelty wore off, it was just a chore to setup and take down. I can dial my Party into my 240 - 250 zone with both eyes closed and half asleep.

If we ever upgrade to a bigger smoker, it will be another BWS. The fatboy your looking at has the same cooking space as the party, just configured differently. I chose the Party over the fatboy because of the weight, and now that we started competing im glad i did. Get whatever configuration suits you better.

50+ lbs of brisket, could of done 2 more.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a7/...d/DSC_0478.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a7/...d/DSC_0483.jpg

btcg 03-25-2010 09:33 AM

Gawd... how do all of you guys get away with having all these different grills/smokers? Am I missing something here? Some trick I should be using?

My wife was p'd off when she saw my Kiwi knives... can't imagine what another smoker would do.

jrb03 03-25-2010 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btcg (Post 1226457)
Gawd... how do all of you guys get away with having all these different grills/smokers? Am I missing something here? Some trick I should be using?

My wife was p'd off when she saw my Kiwi knives... can't imagine what another smoker would do.

My secret is cook delicious food that her and her family cant get enough of!

btcg 03-25-2010 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrb03 (Post 1226465)
My secret is cook delicious food that her and her family cant get enough of!

I get it now... I've been trying to influence her in the bedroom. I was in the wrong place... all along! :idea:

Bbq Bubba 03-25-2010 09:45 AM

Can't cook on a set of knives. :)
Quote:

Originally Posted by btcg (Post 1226457)
Gawd... how do all of you guys get away with having all these different grills/smokers? Am I missing something here? Some trick I should be using?

My wife was p'd off when she saw my Kiwi knives... can't imagine what another smoker would do.


btcg 03-25-2010 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bbq Bubba (Post 1226473)
Can't cook on a set of knives. :)

Very true. :confused:

KC_Bobby 03-25-2010 01:13 PM

While we've never owned a Fatboy, we have had a Gator which is very similar to a Fatboy (Gator is about 2-3 deeper and 2-3 narrower) We've had a Competitor for 3 years and a Party before that. Obviously happy with them, or we wouldn't have purchased multiple. :-D

T-Man, anything specific you want to know ... feel free to ask and I or someone will answer as best we can.

butts a fire 03-25-2010 04:23 PM

I agree with everyone before me, I have a Party (actually Kc Bobby's old one) and love it it has an extended charcoal basket and I have no problem getting 8 hour burns on one load of charcoal. I have never used a guru or stoker on it as I see no need it pretty much sets itself at 240-250 and just runs there.

Smokin' Joe 03-25-2010 08:33 PM

I have a party and a fatboy and love them both. I like the layout of the fatboy better, seems I can get more meat in it and it hold more fuel and water. They turn out excellent results...fire away with questions!

Yazoo's 03-25-2010 09:13 PM

A Fatboy is a shortened competitor, has 5 racks instead of 8. You can cook 4 whole shoulders fairly comfortably, verses cooking 8 in a competitor. That being said the fatboy is a very consistent solid cooker, with better heat consistency top to bottom than a competitor. We use a fatboy for preliminary ribs (Memphis BBQ Network contests) and a competitor for shoulders. Other than the Comp Hog, the Fatboy is my favorite cooker-consistent, great control (we don't use a guru on it-we do on the other 3 backwoods we have), ability to impart as much or little smoke as needed, quick temp control by using amount of fuel and air intakes. Great cooker.

Big Poppa 03-25-2010 09:38 PM

I have a chubby and a party and am loving them both...Im a new dealer (dont worry Im legal here!) and think they cook really nicely

bander7003 03-26-2010 05:54 AM

I have a fatboy and love it. I use a guru with it and have no trouble getting burn times in excess of 12 hours. I've had to re-fuel during a cook only once and that was because I didn't have enough charcol to start with.

Phred 03-12-2012 12:27 PM

Party vs Fatboy
 
I am going to be purchasing a Backwoods this spring and I'm trying to decide between the Party & the Fatboy. I mostly cook for my family and a few friends. However I'm getting more requests to cook for larger groups. I have done up to 160 using all my equipment but that totally wore me out running between my UDS, Good-One patio and my kettle.

What are the advantages of the Fat boy over the Party? If this question has already been answered please direct me to the thread and I'll get my answers there.

Thanks for your suggestions,

Phred

Still Smokin 03-12-2012 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phred (Post 1977632)
I am going to be purchasing a Backwoods this spring and I'm trying to decide between the Party & the Fatboy. I mostly cook for my family and a few friends. However I'm getting more requests to cook for larger groups. I have done up to 160 using all my equipment but that totally wore me out running between my UDS, Good-One patio and my kettle.

What are the advantages of the Fat boy over the Party? If this question has already been answered please direct me to the thread and I'll get my answers there.

Thanks for your suggestions,

Phred

I am looking for the same answer as I want to get a BWS for my next upgrade (It will be used primarily for comps)

cpw 03-12-2012 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Still Smokin (Post 1977801)
I am looking for the same answer as I want to get a BWS for my next upgrade (It will be used primarily for comps)

The biggest difference between the fatboy and the party is the height of the smoking chamber. The Party's is 6" or so taller, but the fatboy's is a little deeper and wider (just shy of a fullsize foil pan). The fatboy also has 2" of insulation vs. the Party's 1", and the fatboy weighs about 100 pounds more.

-Chad

PS...you see all the teams cooking on BWS's and getting jealous, eh?

The Cosmic Pig 03-12-2012 04:19 PM

Seems to me that if you upgrade to SS doors, etc, on the Party, you might as well buy the Fatboy because the upgrades are already there and there's not much difference in the price at that point. The BWS site says you can cook 16 butts in the Fatboy, and 8 - 10 in the Party, so you do gain a lot of capacity.

IvanC 01-08-2013 12:22 PM

I'm looking at the Fatboy too. Looks like it needs a stand to be more usable. Has anyone here built a stand for it?

cpw 01-08-2013 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IvanC (Post 2321509)
I'm looking at the Fatboy too. Looks like it needs a stand to be more usable. Has anyone here built a stand for it?

Search the forum for "fatboy cart" and you should find a couple, I know Andy Bangs (abangs) has some pics of his. Here's a pic of the cart I built. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/09/3u6e2u6u.jpg

abangs 01-08-2013 06:28 PM

3 Attachment(s)
Here you go. Some fatboy PRON. Fatboy.....such a cool name.......I told my wife once that I just got a new fatboy....she was excited.....for short time....

So, some technical difference:
Fatoby: 2" insulation, stainless doors, perm water pan, commercial fire box, 17.5 tall, 20 wide, 20 deep.
Party: 1" insulation, powder coated doors, removable pan, standard, 25 tall, 16.5 deep and 15.5 wide.

If you want, you can pimp a party out with commercial fire and stainless doors, but you might as well buy a Fatboy at that point. Fatboy is worth the money.

Down side to a fatboy, it is short if you are a tall guy and really needs a stand. Upside, it is loaded out of the box. You can also change shelf confirations based on application. Here are two. 1 basic 4 shelf set up. 1 with 6 shelves evenly spaced (rib machine). Custom carts are nice.

For pics, that is a 16 lb untrimmed packer with a lasagna pan and 4 shelf set up (4.5" spacing) and the other one is a 6 shelf set up w/ upgraded 180 doors. The custom cart is a design very similar to CPW's.

abangs 01-08-2013 06:32 PM

3 Attachment(s)
Party PRON for comparision.

T-Man 01-08-2013 11:13 PM

I started this post about three years ago... Just to let everyone know I went with a Med. Spicewine , a little while back . The Spicewine is great , build quality pound for pound unmatched ! BBQ is great , easy clean up , good steady temps . Oh and did I say
Great BBQ !

Backwoods is also a great smoker , Hard choices to make .... Good BBQ...

Peace out , and yours in BBQ ,
T-Man

swamprb 01-08-2013 11:13 PM

Backwoods Gater owner here.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...r/IMG_5624.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t...r/IMG_5080.jpg

Only option I would suggest are the extra grate rails. I hate sacrificing grate space to the pit thermo.

Untraceable 01-09-2013 06:29 AM

I want your gator!

Pappy Q 01-09-2013 06:38 AM

The 2007 Jack World Champion cooked all 4 meats on a Fatboy and continued to do so up until 2012 when went to a Competitor. So I'd say it's a pretty good cooker.

WineMaster 01-09-2013 06:41 AM

A hacksaw takes care of that pit probe problem. Its a Backwoods, You dont need a Pit Probe! Set the guru to a temp, it'll be there.

IvanC 01-09-2013 11:41 AM

Great looking rigs there; thanks!

I'm going back and forth on the Fatboy and the Gater. I like the extra space of the Gater, but I like the Fatboy water pan. I'll have to check into the Gater options and see if I can upgrade it.

abangs 01-09-2013 11:50 AM

You can! Nadachance has one like that for sale.

Untraceable 01-09-2013 11:53 AM

I cant imagine trying to lift out the waterpan of a gater

abangs 01-09-2013 11:54 AM

It sucks.

IvanC 01-10-2013 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Untraceable (Post 2322620)
I cant imagine trying to lift out the waterpan of a gater

Which is one of the main reasons I'm now looking at a Fatboy. I could get a Gater with a welded-in water pan but that adds even more to the cost.

Going to pull the trigger on this soon...

Teamfour 01-10-2013 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob S (Post 1226260)
Good advice here. I extended the sides of my BWS Party charcoal pan with expanded metal and can easily go 8 hours without reloading.
I love my Party!

+1. I extended the sides and got a little over 8 hours this past weekend. Running about 260 degrees with a guru.

grantw 01-10-2013 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btcg (Post 1226457)
Gawd... how do all of you guys get away with having all these different grills/smokers? Am I missing something here? Some trick I should be using?

My wife was p'd off when she saw my Kiwi knives... can't imagine what another smoker would do.

Easy, i put up a shed just for smokers. :)

firefighter4634 01-10-2013 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by btcg (Post 1226457)
Gawd... how do all of you guys get away with having all these different grills/smokers? Am I missing something here? Some trick I should be using?

My wife was p'd off when she saw my Kiwi knives... can't imagine what another smoker would do.

Remember, it is always better to ask forgiveness than permission!!!

firefighter4634 01-10-2013 08:12 PM

Just went through my third summer with my new Fatboy and love every minute of cooking on it. I do not compete but love the space to be able to cook for friends and family.

IvanC 01-10-2013 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firefighter4634 (Post 2324380)
Just went through my third summer with my new Fatboy and love every minute of cooking on it. I do not compete but love the space to be able to cook for friends and family.

I just placed an order with Kevin at Purple Pork Masters for a customized Fatboy. Very exciting!

Dirtbuddy 01-10-2013 09:42 PM

Sexy rig there swamprb :thumb:

swamprb 01-10-2013 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Untraceable (Post 2322620)
I cant imagine trying to lift out the waterpan of a gater

Quote:

Originally Posted by abangs (Post 2322624)
It sucks.

I second that emotion!

Man314 06-17-2017 10:54 PM

I've had my BWS Fatboy for over 3 years. I love it. I have paired it with BBQ Guru CyberQ. I'm planning on adding extended sides for firebox.

Kimo1 06-19-2017 05:45 AM

We love our Fatboy. We do use a guru and charcoal briquettes. Usually, cooking at 275 and get at least 10 hours no problem. Actual burn time is unknown as we never need it longer but there is always un-burned charcoal left over. We have a custom cart that makes moving a breeze and holds a cutting board to hold our drinks...I mean food.

Smokesignalsfromtx 06-19-2017 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-Man (Post 1226145)
What be the cooking time on one load of charcoal , without a Guru...???
Also how about using a stoker with the Fatboy....??

This all depends on how you set it up. If you run it with no water it'll burn considerably longer. Using water in the water pan will decrease burn time significantly UNLESS you pre heat the water and cooker with a weed burner.

Smokesignalsfromtx 06-19-2017 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IvanC (Post 2322596)
Great looking rigs there; thanks!

I'm going back and forth on the Fatboy and the Gater. I like the extra space of the Gater, but I like the Fatboy water pan. I'll have to check into the Gater options and see if I can upgrade it.

Spend the extra money on any of the G2 series, well with it.


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