Backwoods Smoker Fatboy.....???

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.
 
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
 
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)
 
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?
 
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.
 
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?
 
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.
3u6e2u6u.jpg
 
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.
 

Attachments

  • IMG00062-20101017-1218 (3).jpg
    IMG00062-20101017-1218 (3).jpg
    22.6 KB · Views: 391
  • Fb on cust stand.jpg
    Fb on cust stand.jpg
    43.4 KB · Views: 389
  • DSC_0100.jpg
    DSC_0100.jpg
    50.1 KB · Views: 381
Party PRON for comparision.
 

Attachments

  • butts on party.jpg
    butts on party.jpg
    42.8 KB · Views: 377
  • chubby ribs3.jpg
    chubby ribs3.jpg
    56.2 KB · Views: 374
  • IMG_0008.jpg
    IMG_0008.jpg
    33.9 KB · Views: 375
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
 
Backwoods Gater owner here.

IMG_5624.jpg


IMG_5080.jpg


Only option I would suggest are the extra grate rails. I hate sacrificing grate space to the pit thermo.
 
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.
 
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.
 
I cant imagine trying to lift out the waterpan of a gater
 
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...
 
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.
 
Back
Top