I'm looking for a smoker. Have been shopping around. Why should I choose Bradley Digital over maybe a cookshack? ???
Just need some Pros and Cons.
Thanks in Advance,
Stingworm
PS And I need to sell this to the Better Half! ;D
Because the customer service is second to none for any issues. ;) ;D trust me they will take care of any issues fast.And thats a nice thing to have when doing this stuff.Plus ya have all us here to help ya along with any questions ;D
Stingworm,
Never had a cookshack, so others will have to weigh in on the comparison. I had a Brinkman water smoker, but it required too much attention. The Bradley makes it simple. I built a PID controller, so even the temperature control part is taken care of (although it was not hard tweaking the rheostat manually).
However you go, this forum has great advice and pointers to receipes, etc...
Arcs_n_Sparks
Never owned a cookshack, so I'm entirely speculating...
After jacking around with various smoking gadgets over the years, the Bradley fits my needs best. Total automation. I've grown too old to be staying up all night jack with temp control, feeding wood for smoke, etc. The Bradley does these things well.
It looks like the smokeshack models can do temp, but I have a hard time believing the they supply smoke fuel as well as the Bradley does.
Cookshack products look like they are of first-rate craftsmanship. I like that they're made in the US. And in my experience, anything from OK is bound to have excellent customer support behind it.
But with my Bradley - load up the tube with wood pucks, set the temp, come back and get your food when its done. Everytime! I like that...
I've owned two cookshack units. I will not get into why I no longer own them as it seems to start a flame war with the cookshack owners who ghost here. Then all of a sudden their admin over there is E-mailing me. This is not to say that the cookshack is not a good unit. What this is saying is it did not work for me.
I have purchased 3 Bradley's and I'm dog-gone-glad I have. There are not the new digital units. At the moment my TS controler got smashed. However, I'm from the old school of smoke so taking readings every 15 minutes for the first hour in order to "balance" out my box is no big deal for me. After that depending upon what I smokin' I will take a reading every couple of hours or so. Some items like a butt, once my box is balanced ,I might not check until the 4 hour mark when I change out my water bowl.
Sorry that I cannot give you a better answer.
Olds
Like Olds said the cookshack units just didn't fit my needs. The Bradley (old style) seems to perform to all my expectations every time I use them. As far as customer service you will not find any better than with Chez or Bradley service center. I can only say, been there, done that and I still prefer the Bradley.
OK I see the infrared signatures of the cookshack folks already...
But I will add my .02 cents worth Stingworm.
If you go with a smaller model one thing you will not have is a way to VENT...very bad JuJu, you have to vent the moisture! This causes things like "Black Goo" there words not mine dripping on your meat. In my opinion, yes the wood pucks cost something but I will tell you that you will never get at as consistent as the Bradley with those pucks as you would with other brands. One last thing, we have NO drip pan underneath our units, the clean up on a Bradley is much easier...later on you WILL appreciate that part.
What ever brand you buy, just make friends and have fun...that is really the bottom line.
I'm running back to my cave....Ouch!!! I felt that.