New Build FEC Rip-Off On Paper... Hints? Tips? Help? =)

KnucklHed BBQ

KnucklHed BBQ

Babbling Farker
Joined
Oct 14, 2009
Location
Kalispel...
Name or Nickame
Head KnucklHed
Alrighty, after looking at some more cabinet style cookers, I've decided that I like the design of the FEC and want to build a knock off.

There are a few things I want to change on mine but wanted input from some of the folks here that own an FEC or have cooked on one.

I prefer the flavor of charcoal & wood, but I like the ease of use and consistency of pellets, so here's what I plan on doing:

Use the pellet hopper/auger/firepot out of my traeger lil tex and mount it to the back of the cabinet. The fire pot will sit in the center of the box - 1ft from the front & rear and 1.5ft from either side.

Mount a "V" shaped heat baffle directly below the pellet firepot and add a small UDS style charcoal basket below it. There would be an access door by the basket for adding fuel if/as needed.

The pic isn't quite to scale... I originally drew it intending on the smoker box to be 3'w X 4'h... I think it would work better if it was 30" - 36" high though. So instead of 10 shelves ther will be 6 -7. Thoughts?

Does the idea sound like it will work? The only thing I'm really concerned about is if the traeger fire pot will create enough heat to heat the entire cabinet top to bottom. I'm thinking that I can regulate some of the temp with the charcoal if needed...

Any ideas or input is welcome!

You fella's out there that own FEC's, is there anything you would change or add to the design of the FEC that I should consider?

Thanks!

SmokerScan.jpg
 
I know next to nothing about pellet poppers but I would also wonder if the tex apparatus will put out enough BTUs. It looks like you may be over crowding the cooking area with shelves but those can always be moved or removed as long as you have the shelf slides in place.

I have always wondered if its possible or even plausible to make pellets out of charcoal material, maybe package a mix of charcoal and wood pellets.
Dave
 
Mo-Dave said:
I know next to nothing about pellet poppers but I would also wonder if the tex apparatus will put out enough BTUs. It looks like you may be over crowding the cooking area with shelves but those can always be moved or removed as long as you have the shelf slides in place.

I have always wondered if its possible or even plausible to make pellets out of charcoal material, maybe package a mix of charcoal and wood pellets.
Dave
Click to expand...


Traeger specs this firepot at 20,000 BTU's and FEC says theirs is 36,000... those must be max temps... so it seems like it would work.

Shelves will be removable for less crowding

I have tried adding small amounts of crushed lump mixed in with pellets, it burns hotter for sure and the charcoal takes longer to burn... I've only done this in a short 1/2 hr test, intend to try it in a longer cook though.
The smoke definately had a stronger smell to it too.
 
I have wondered if a roll around bread rack,aluminum, would make a good base for a smoker. Just add a sheet of metal, insulate and another skin. Presto.They don't seem to be very expensive.
Well maybe not that easy. I wish that i had metal/welding skills.
The firepot auger system is beyond my skills also. since you can rescue one from your other unit, plug and play sounds great.
I think the unit will be big enough since you will have an insulated cooker.
jon
 
Norcoredneck said:
Bet you would love the $80 jewel I scored awhile back. Friggin blank canvas.
Click to expand...

Damn you Norco! 80 bucks?? Gahhh!

That sucker looks like a million bucks on the outside, looks like there might have been a body stored on the inside...

Seal that baby up on the bottom and say hello to your new BCS (beautiful cabinet smoker)

Pretty much what I have in mind minus the carbon steel interior, I think I'll do SS inside and carbon out with auto paint and clear coat.

Nice find! What are your plans for it?

BTW - your neighbors must love you keepin all your goodies in the front driveway! :biggrin:
 
Holding out to build a gravity feed that transfers heat through tube to center and up. Just got too much on the plate right now. Someday. These are usually used in chinese restaurants. Might check around.
 
Norcoredneck said:
These are usually used in chinese restaurants. Might check around.
Click to expand...

Umm, helloooo? What part of "Kalispell, Montana" says "Abundance of chinese restaurants" to you???

I'm in the middle of an ethnic wateland around here. Until this year there was not a single store within 60 miles that carried fish sauce! :roll:
 
jonboy said:
I have wondered if a roll around bread rack,aluminum, would make a good base for a smoker.
Click to expand...

Kinda got me thinking, anyone see any pro's or con's to making the frame out of 1.5" square aluminum tubing?

Obviously it would be lighter, kinda important since I plan on doing some catering and comps this year with it...

I don't want it to be so light that I would have to worry about it blowing over in the wind either.
 
Butcher BBQ said:
I do cook on a FEC, I don't know much about smoker building but I do know about people copying your hard work. So if the money is your only hold up save it and buy the real thing.
Click to expand...

Thanks David (if I'm not mistaken)

While I completely agree with you on the topic of a person's hard work being copied and sold, I disagree with the notion that "once you've thought something out and built it, it's off limits to everyone else to use the idea"

The very concept of taking another's idea and copying/improving upon it is what has made human advancement possible...
Without looking into it, I'm fairly confident that Fast Eddie wasn't the first to put a pellet firepot into a cabinet smoker. You could even look at it from the stance that he borrowed the "hard work" put into the idea of the pellet cooker, and transformed it into his own vision... that's what is great about it.

My other option for building a smoker would be a reverse flow offset. Who should I give credit to for the hard work of coming up with the offset cooker, and who capitalized on that person's hard work to turn the standard offset into a reverse flow?

I really am not trying to be a dick here, merely trying to suggest that one should be able to "build their own" of any design they choose and modify it to their own personal needs and tastes.
As long as they do not sell the product, they have not legally infringed upon any anyone's intellectual property

As a side note, I'm already more of a do-it-yourselfer, and I already have a Traeger firepot and the ability to cut & weld, why wouldn't I build it myself?
I'm not removing any cash from Fast Eddies pocket, I would never have dropped the $5K for one in the first place.
As a result of that, part of the "savings" to me is having to trouble shoot and solve as I go, but that's what a project is all about. :biggrin:

I'm done. :icon_shy You can add me to your ignore list now... :wink:

Ryan
 
KnucklHed BBQ said:
Thanks David (if I'm not mistaken)

While I completely agree with you on the topic of a person's hard work being copied and sold, I disagree with the notion that "once you've thought something out and built it, it's off limits to everyone else to use the idea"

The very concept of taking another's idea and copying/improving upon it is what has made human advancement possible...
Without looking into it, I'm fairly confident that Fast Eddie wasn't the first to put a pellet firepot into a cabinet smoker. You could even look at it from the stance that he borrowed the "hard work" put into the idea of the pellet cooker, and transformed it into his own vision... that's what is great about it.

My other option for building a smoker would be a reverse flow offset. Who should I give credit to for the hard work of coming up with the offset cooker, and who capitalized on that person's hard work to turn the standard offset into a reverse flow?

I really am not trying to be a dick here, merely trying to suggest that one should be able to "build their own" of any design they choose and modify it to their own personal needs and tastes.
As long as they do not sell the product, they have not legally infringed upon any anyone's intellectual property

As a side note, I'm already more of a do-it-yourselfer, and I already have a Traeger firepot and the ability to cut & weld, why wouldn't I build it myself?
I'm not removing any cash from Fast Eddies pocket, I would never have dropped the $5K for one in the first place.
As a result of that, part of the "savings" to me is having to trouble shoot and solve as I go, but that's what a project is all about. :biggrin:

I'm done. :icon_shy You can add me to your ignore list now... :wink:

Ryan
Click to expand...

Not to comment on the ethics aspect here, but just to offer some "insight". I don't know the extent in detail, but there were agreements and patents involved with Traeger and at least Cookshack when the FEC cookers were being designed. I'm not sure everything Eddy was able to do was free for grabs.

Again, legal or ethical in regards to your build are not mine to judge.
 
I do agree with Todd on ethics I'm not here to judge that, Now read your own thread title. It clearly reads Rip off. Not Fec's thoughts for improvements.
 
I don't know the measurements you need off hand, but measure your racks to put full pans side by side on a rack. You could put 8 full pans in a four rack vertical.
 
Thank you Todd and David both for your thoughts and input. This is kind of a big thing for me, going from several backyard/off the shelf cookers to something much larger and hopefully efficient.

Perhaps I should have called it a FEC clone? =)

I'll check my measurements, thanks Todd.

I do intend on adding a charcoal basket below the firepot to get a closer to charcoal/nat wood flavor, something I haven't seen yet. Perhaps someone else has and had sucess or failure?

Thanks again!
 
I am currently cloning the Frito pie. Willkat is probably gonna get Pi$$ed. Who invented the pellet? I honestly feel as long as you are not selling a clone to make a profit all is good. I know when I copy something It makes me appreciate the original units selling price. Between parts, time, injuries, tool wear and tear, ect builds get expensive.
 
Will you sell me the recipe when you get it right?
Hopefully @ pennies on the dollar of what willkat is selling it for...

While yer at it, I'll take a few of RTD's pics too (if you can get that watermark off)

Alright I've prolly crossed a line or two. I'll zip it.
 
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