FEC100 or CTO?

I've had my FEC-100 about four years now and I love it. No problems at all, and you can cook for a crowd. I've never loaded it up to full capacity, but with rib racks you can get more than forty slabs inside. Take the shelves out and it's tall enough to hang full pork belly's.

It really is set and forget, and I don't worry about burning my house down in the middle of the night. Pellet consumption is minimal and you can fit twenty pounds in the hopper. Want to take it somewhere remote? Hook up a car battery and inverter.

The insulation is great and temp's hold rock steady, no issues with the controller.

Want a deal? Call Cookshack and ask for Dave Mason. They almost always have demo units in stock that have been used once at a cooking class or trade show, and they sell them for 20% off regular price with full warranty. Their next cooking class is December 1 - 2 in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Might be a good way to try before you buy! It's $400 for two days, details on their website.

Also don't have experience with the CTO, but I love my FEC-100. I've had it about 5 years now. I just upgraded to the IQ5 controller. I'd recommend getting one with the new controller. I like it a lot more than the IQ4, which was still awesome.

I used an FEC-100 for several years and LOVED it!

The only reason I switched to a FEPG-1000 is that it is more versatile and I'm generally cooking for one person and occasionally two.

I've had my FEC100 for a little over three years and love it. Bought it used, was only used twice, it's a 2012 model with the black pellet hopper. I keep it outside without a cover. The only problem I have is the top of the pellet hopper is starting to rust a bit, need to take a sander to it and clean it back up. And the buttons on the control panel are cracking, perhaps from being pressed during the winter when it's really cold? I use it year round, no problem heating up or keeping temps when it's -20 out.

jasonjax said:

I just upgraded to the IQ5 controller. I'd recommend getting one with the new controller. I like it a lot more than the IQ4, which was still awesome.

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How much was the upgrade if you don't mind me asking?

I don't own either but I do like the CTO over a pellet pooper. I like what I see from Malcolm Reed's videos on Youtube.

LYU370 said:

the buttons on the control panel are cracking, perhaps from being pressed during the winter when it's really cold? I use it year round, no problem heating up or keeping temps when it's -20 out.

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Call cookshack, they sent me two new covers. you just peel off the old one and place the no cracks new one over the board. Quick and easy fix.

Love my FEC 100 and my FEC 120 and my FEC 240 and my PG-500. Really fond of Cookshack products and all the people at Cookshack that stand behind their product and are there to help.

That said, I have been having the big wants for a CTO, because I am a smoker hoarder. And Ole Hickory is another fantastic company that stands behind their product. .

I say get both :clap2: I guess I am not that big of a help. Good Luck

toys4dlr said:

Call cookshack, they sent me two new covers. you just peel off the old one and place the no cracks new one over the board. Quick and easy fix.

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I did not know that. Thanks! I'll give them a call on Monday.

That's what cookshack customer service is all about!

It's the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I knew their customer service is awesome, I just didn't know the covers were replaceable.

Really two different class of pits in question here. I have zero experience with the FEC, but have years experience with Ole Hickory...with a good bit of that experience with the CTO in particular.

The CTO is nearly twice as large as the FEC100, has a heavier gauge construction, and can be used as wood only if you ever wanted to.

For home use the FEC is probably overkill...the CTO certainly is. Both are a luxury at that level.

For commercial use...I would be looking at the CTO & only the CTO.

I have never laid eyes on an Ultra-Que, but I would assume the quality would be identical to the CTO...just less capacity. For home use I'd certainly look hard at the Ultra-Que.

Cleaning the CTO isn't difficult, but I would imagine slightly more aggravating than the FEC. You do have to bend over "in there" to scrape out the bottom of the cook chamber. It has the grease drain, of course, but you still need to get the gunk and solids off the pit floor every now & then. The little convection fan needs cleaning on occasion as well. I've heard home cooks say they clean theirs once a year. I've even heard some commercial guys say they only clean theirs a couple times a year. I don't get that as I cleaned mine weekly...or at a minimum, bi-weekly. The unit comes with a spare fan blade so it's just an easy swap to get back up-n-running. Then I had plenty of time to soak the dirty blade in degreaser for a day or three before gently washing it off.

I always ran my CTO with simple wood splits and the gas assist. However, I have run other Ole Hickory units with one or two bags of charcoal shoved in the fire chamber to help the heat and keep the excess gas away...these were the large double-door units.

The CTO is pretty well insulated which means the gas assist is just that...an assist. You don't get a strong gas flavor as the gas isn't burning enough to cause that issue. I imagine with enough coals in the chamber, and letting them burn minion style, the gas would stay off a good long while before having to help keep the temp bumped up.

The CTO is so efficient that for chicken I only used a single fist-sized chunk of wood for an entire cook. Granted I don't like a strong smoke flavor on chicken to begin with, but a full split was way too much in my opinion. A single, large chunk is what I used every single day...for chicken.

The only issue I ever had with my CTO is one that is designed into the pit from Ole Hickory. The upper limit on the pit is 325. Much more than that and the pit will shut itself down. I like chicken cooked between 300-350, but I really had to watch the temp. I ran into an issue a couple of times early on in my use of the pit when I set the thermostat at the upper limit of 325. It would overrun that and shut down. When I would check on the pit a couple of hours later I would find the problem and have to start it back. This put me behind a couple of mornings on trying to get open on time. I learned to set the thermostat at 300 to keep the issue from actually being an issue. I wish the upper limit was set higher from the manufacturer by 25-50 degrees.

But, I would buy a CTO in a heartbeat if I needed to...just not for home use (not for me). The Ultra-Que looks great, though.