Pellet smoker advice needed

[NomNomBBQ]

Hey folks,

Im interested in a pellet smoker, something I can set and goto bed and not have to worry if the coals have gone out/got too hot etc

What I would like is it to be relatively portable, to take to comps/events in a transit sized van and be able to hold enough food for a medium event. Say 10/20 racks, 5 Briskets and 5 pork butts.

Ive looked at the Cookshack and they are a bit pricey for me at the moment.

I dont know if this is a realistic budget but ideally it would be less then £2000

Any advice would be brilliant

Cheers

Bryn

[Swindon_Ed]

Sorry to say 2K is quite a small budget for the size of cooker that you're talking about, then adding that you want it to be a pellet cooker makes it even harder.

For 2k you could get two GMG Jim Bowies, i'd think you might be able to fit a 5 small briskets in one & pork butts on the other if you added a 2nd tier grill that some others have done. You could then cook ribs whilst the big meats are resting.

If you were to go for GMG's you'd want to get the thermal jackets as it will save you on pellets and help the cooker work better.

That's going to be your best option with pellet cookers.

Other than that you're going to be looking at charcoal cooker like a Backwoods or the new ones Toby is building and fitting a BBQ Guru to them.

[NomNomBBQ]

Thanks Ed, thats some good info.

If the buget was higher, what would you recommend? The Cookshack Fec100s look the nuts but are over 4k

You obviously went for the Backwoods Fatboy, how portable is it? Is this something that you leave outside?

These ones Toby is building sound interesting, Is there a thread on them?

[Swindon_Ed]

If the buget was higher, what would you recommend?

Personally i'm not a huge fan of pellet cookers.

I decided to buy a Backwoods as it was the cooker i wanted for the jobs i need it to do for me. Also at the time i ordered it, it was one of the cheapest cookers for the amount of cooking space you get. If Toby had been making his ones before i bought the Backwoods it would have been a tough call between which one i would have bought, but i'm really happy with the backwoods.

You obviously went for the Backwoods Fatboy, how portable is it?

The Fatboy only weighs 275lbs so is quite light for this type of smoker but still needs a couple of you if you're looking to pick it up and move it into a van, although I'm working on some mod's that will make it possible for me to move into a van on my own.

Is this something that you leave outside?

Mine is

[NomNomBBQ]

Cheers Ed, appreciated mate

Toby - Have you got any info on your smokers? I would be very interested to see it

[Steve]

You building an elaborate winch system to get the fat boy in a van Ed?

Reckon you can do one for the Spicebox?

[paulandabbi2013]

Would an engine crane not working to get it in a van??

[Swindon_Ed]

You building an elaborate winch system to get the fat boy in a van Ed?

Reckon you can do one for the Spicebox?

I'm working on getting a cart made that the Fatboy will sit in but it will have runners in the frame so it will slide out of it straight into the back of a van. Also need to look at a way of having adjustable leg heights as at all of the comp's i've done this year the ground has been uneven and want a way of getting the cooker level.

[keith157]

Would that be something like the traditional Ambulance Gurney so it's had the van's bed height and collapses as you load it in?

Glad Steve picked this up as the way your original post read I thought you were moving into the van
"I'm working on some mod's that will make it possible for me to move into a van on my own."

In all seriousness these new "infernal contraptions" relate to my first aid skills compared to paramedics, way out of my league. Doesn't mean I can wait too long for the guided tours

Congratulations to you both.