New to this forum but not to BBQ

[special ed]

Hello my name is Ed Sauer, I am from Springfield,Il and have been cooking BBq since I've been 5 yrs old and going with my dad on hog cooks. I am trying to decide on adding another cooker to my collection and have decided on a backwoods but cannot make a decision yet on the model. Price is a concern but I am looking for the best that i can afford.

[RickC]

Welcome to the forum. A lot of excellent information here. Check out Old Dave's posts, here is the BBQ Professor when it comes to Backwoods Smokers. Here is a link to his posts:
search.php?keywords=&terms=all&author=Old+Dave&sc=1&sf=all&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

[japerry01]

Hey Ed, Welcome to the forum. Regardless of the model you choose look for Jamie Clark with Derby City Sauces in Louisville, KY. He should be one of the closer dealers to you. I bought a Chubby and a Fatboy from him recently and couldnt be happier with my purchases. Best of Luck in your decision.

Jason

[trueque]

Welcome to the forum Ed! Search is your friend here.

I don't think you can go wrong with backwood smokers, but as with any other cooker get as much surface area as you can afford and then consider going one model larger. I bought my fatboy and could have gone with a competitor but am very happy with my fatboy.

Some things to consider...
Options - the smallest smoker with a commercial fire grate and 2" insulation standard is the fatboy
Weight - while backwoods are some of the lightest vertical insulated smokers, they get heavy quick.
Footprint - small footprints are awesome but for the same space the competitor gives larger cooking capacity than the fatboy.

I found that the fatboy met all of my needs to compete in KCBS with all of the commercial features and the least amount of weight when loaded in my trailer. I have it on a cart and is easy to manage at only 275 pounds dry.

[special ed]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. My dilema is between the fatboy or the party. I have done the math and there is not much difference in cooking space between the 2 of them. Any input is welcome in helping make my decision.

[japerry01]

While the area is the same, the grates are bigger in the fatboy making it easier to hold larger items like ribs and whole packers. Also the fatboy has more insulation, standard stainless doors, and the comm fire pan which is very stout. That bad boy will never burn thru. I love my fatboy.

Jason

[trueque]

+1

I love my fatboy too! Already thinking about a competitor for the fall or next season.

[special ed]

I think the fatboy will be my choice in the cooker now need to come up with the money to purchase it. I hope my mobile vending cart starts paying out some major dividends in the upcoming weeks!

[Braddog]

I've got a slightly used Fatboy and could save you a few bucks over a new one. See my post in the Classified section.

Cheers,
Braddog