Took my 6 rack camping a few weeks back with the plan to cook some chicken 1/4's and 2 racks of ribs for our group of 8 campers... Prepped all food the night before and planned to start the process at about noon the next day. I preheated the smoker to a nice 280 and readied the smoke.. Protein loaded, smoke flowing, heat recovering.. All is well I thought... I check back 30 minutes later and the temp is down to 160.. I check all connections, breakers, fuses, extension cord and can't find a problem.. Temp down to 140. I shut the unit down and restart but the temp is still going down... I take out the V tray and it hits me.. No glow!!! Element shot.. >:( Now what???
I gather my thoughts after a few cuss words, grab a beer and sit staring at the open door Bradley... May as well get some smoky flavor... I let the smoke run for an hour and the temp held at 130 ish.. I set up the old grill and finish them off low and slow saving the meal..
Back at home, I order the element and get it a few days after.. Make the swap and try it out.. Nothing... I check all connections and still nothing.. I come to the Bradley Forums and do a search and figure out what to check for.. I find my electrical tester and begin the process of elimination till I get to the RED wire with the inline fuse... No continuity.. Bingo, problem solved.. Make the call to Bradley customer service and order the wire as well as a new set of porcelain brackets for the element.. Items arrive in a few days, I swap the parts and we are back in business in time for our next camping trip... Glad to have these forums......thanks..
As the saying goes, all's well that ends well! Back in the game.