[:D]Good News for short batch smokers!!
I'm currently making non-combustible bisquette spacers and taking orders. Those interested in purchasing same, contact me at
[email protected]Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Sent you an email, how much are they and what are they made from?
Can you post a picture on here?
[:D][:D]
These bisquette spacers are now available from Chez Bubba. Officially called "Advancing Chips", they have been affectionally referred to as "Bubba Pucks" [;)]
Check them out at http://www.chezbubba.com/cart/index.html
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Any discount for the person who suggested it¿ [:o)]
Email me your address and I'll do better than a discount...[:D]
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Kirk:
These spacers weigh in at a heft 3 1/2 ounces versus the wood pucks at about 1/2 ounce...
I'm concerned about the weight versus the lever that moves them along..any problem?
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
I was wondering how much they weighed. I have never had a problem with them and just throw them in in dishwasher along with every thing else. Never noticed any bogging down of the motor while pushing the pucks. I would be willing to bet the geneator could push a lot more than the 3 1/2 ounces with no problems.
That's good to know and thanks for the update.
I was considering putting them in a drill press and drilling some holes in them to lighten them up to get as close to the wood pucks as possible without compromising the integrity of the bubba pucks...
Any other opinions?
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Fuzzy,
I haven't had any issues with the weight, but certainly don't see your idea as a bad one. Just make sure you give the faces of those holes a couple of trips with a file to keep the sliding surface free of burrs.
Heck, someone out there probably has the mathematical skills to figure out the exact size hole to drill in the center to bring the pucks to exactly 1/2 oz. As long as the outer ring remains about 3/8" thick, I wouldn't think that would be a problem either.
But, A) I don't have a problem as they are., and B) Can't justify the time to figure out said mathematics because of (A).[:D]
Let us know your results. You know, inquiring minds...
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
Ok...just as soon as I can get to a drill press...just bought a new computer and it has taken the last 3 hours to get connected and hooked up for internet access....it might be some time before I can drill that baby...
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
are these made of metal?. if so would there not be a problem with them conducting the heat from the hot plate to the very soft plastic of the gears in the advancing motor,especially if you were to leave them a bit longer than you intended?.
I only say this because in my opinion the weak point in the Bradley is the advance mechanism , and in particular the plastic gears, i would love to see Bradley get a better gear drive and pay an extra ten bucks for the unit.
Yeah Julian..they are made of metal...my concern was the excess weight on the gears/advancing mechanism - if they were designed to handle 1/2 oz, then 3 1/2 oz will be a problem down the road...I'm giving serious thought to lightening them up to avoid strain on the mechanism prior to use...I gotta lay my paws on a drill press first though...
I'll probably sacrifice a few pucks till I can get the weight down...
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
Julian,
If you only use two, they will never contact the hot plate. The only heat they could transfer is the ambient from inside the smoker, but so too would the arm of the feeder. If the arm of the feeder can't transfer enough heat to harm the gears, I wouldn't think the pucks would be able to.
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
I made my "dummy" biscuits out of hollow aluminum cylinder with a wall thickness of about 1/2". They are very light and are an easier option than drilling a disk. But then not everyone has access to a skilled toolmaker with a large lathe. Hollow stock may be a good option though for the person who sells the pucks online. Just a suggestion[;)]
Is true Troutman!
I have soft hands from pushing pencils and typing on keyboards - the insurance industry has made me soft!!!
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
I'm new please tell me why the spacers are needed?
SMOKIN & SPOKEN[8)]
So the last biskit you load gets pushed onto the burner, see:
http://bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=24
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions on improving the design of the advancing pucks. These pucks were designed to be a simple solution, as low cost as possible, loooong lasting, and easy to keep clean. I understand the concern expressed about weight and I offer this in response....the pucks tested well prior to release, they are still working great as designed, and there's been no reports of any problems. These pucks are already lathe cut to ensure accurate sizing....to add drilling to production costs would up the price of the puck for, so far, no demonstrated or anticipated reason.
I'm concerned about the "ring" style suggested.....jamming is my chief concern. The Original Bubba Puck is flat on both sides so that as the smoke generator advancing arm moves, it slides easily. If the puck was a ring, (although I've not tested this design), I'm concerne that the top puck could pitch into the center of the bottom puck and wedge itself in the "launch ramp".
In summary, so far I've seen no reason to change from the original design.....mainly to keep the price down.....in short, everything in design, production and actual use indicates to me that they're simple and they work.
I sincerely appreciate all the suggestions and will continue to listen/respond positively to all inquiries.[8D]
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
Thanks for the update Kummok...I feel better now but just out of curiosity, do you think it would hurt to drill into them and lighten it up?
"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!
After digesting Kummok's post, I tend to agree on the jamming possibility. Like he basically said, if it ain't broke........
However, if any of you feel the need to experiment, we'd all sure like to hear your results.
Smoke on[8D],
Kirk
Oh, Jeff I forgot. Does this answer your question? http://www.bradleysmoker.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=24
http://www.chezbubba.com
Bubba, Thank you,4 the info.[:)]
SMOKIN & SPOKEN
Actually, if it was the link that helped, the thanks belongs to Wilbur. I didn't catch that he posted that info before me.
http://www.chezbubba.com
I have used both solid and hollow. I prefer the hollow with 1/4" wall. never had a jamming problem. In any case the mechanism could care less if it is hollow or not. It cares about diameter and thickness.
The pusher is solid and will push the hollow spacer just as well as a bisque or the solid spacer. I prefer the hollow due to the lighter weight.
Fuzzybear:
Can't see any reason why drilling to lighten would cause a problem as long as you smooth all surfaces free of any burrs that could cause sticking.....(then again, haven't seen/heard any reason to do it ?!?!?).....
Variety being the spice of life though, this thread might be on to something?!?!? I'm thinkin' I should introduce a a powercoated or chrome plated and drilled or ringed "Binford 5000" model Puck in the $35 range for the conniseurs of faster and lighter puckery. OR, perhaps a $250 titanium personalized model like the stuff the bike stores used to try to sell me to lighten up my MTB .5g[;)] If BS users can support this concept, I could be into that new twin screw diesel 36 ft Seasport by summer[:D][:D][:D]
Spyguy:
Sounds like rings are working for you[^] That's cool and I hope that they continue to operate jam free for you forever....[:)] For me as a "manufacturer" though, the risk of failure IN A BUYER'S BS is higher than that with which I'm comfortable being involved....especially as compared to the, so far, nonexistent risk of the current solid puck causing any failure of the mechanism "due to weight". I can appreciate that it would probably be even cheaper for me to produce a 1/4 inch "ring" puck for retail, but I'm still "hinky" about the jamming possibility during the "tower drop" transition. I'm encouraged by your positive experience with the rings in your personal BS, however when selling a product to someone else to use in their BS, I'll err on the side of caution....not saying your rings are "bad", just saying that, for me, I don't want to mess with the current simple, inexpensive, trouble free solid design....besides, while I value all the feedback on this, looking at this looooong thread, it appears that we're using considerable time on metal puck design that's likely to be better spent on Smokin' and I'm getting back to it! [8D]
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Kummok</i>
<br />Variety being the spice of life though, this thread might be on to something?!?!? I'm thinkin' I should introduce a a powercoated or chrome plated and drilled or ringed "Binford 5000" model Puck in the $35 range for the conniseurs of faster and lighter puckery. OR, perhaps a $250 titanium personalized model like the stuff the bike stores used to try to sell me to lighten up my MTB .5g[;)] If BS users can support this concept, I could be into that new twin screw diesel 36 ft Seasport by summer[:D][:D][:D]
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
LMAO[:D][:D][:D][:D][8D]
http://www.chezbubba.com
[8D] Wow what a great idea about the spacers I will have to pick up a pair..Chez Bubba is there anything in the works to produce racks for ribs so they stand up horizontal and you could fit like 3 slabs to a rack, kind of like they offer at other competitors (cook shack). By the way I enjoyed the set of jerky racks I picked up from you all.
Sammy,
The vertical racks are offered by a lot of others because they have excessive vertical space. With the Bradley, if you were to allign the ribs vertically, you'd have to remove two of the racks, leaving you with only two.
Take your extra rack set & invert them onto the top of your four filled regular racks & pile more ribs on. I think you will find this to yield more capacity than the vertical solution.
If I do this, I normally rotate the ribs on the second set 90 degrees to allow the smoke & heat to more readily convect.
Gnaw a bone for me,
Kirk[8D]
http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?
Quote from: Chez Bubba on February 12, 2004, 12:22:30 AM
Julian,
If you only use two, they will never contact the hot plate. The only heat they could transfer is the ambient from inside the smoker, but so too would the arm of the feeder. If the arm of the feeder can't transfer enough heat to harm the gears, I wouldn't think the pucks would be able to.
Kirk
http://www.chezbubba.com
Having already had two motors burn the gears up I have doubts as to the corrctness of those statements, I really wish Bradley would come up with a metal gear in the motor.I now remove the smoke unit after the initial smoking and block the hole with a piece of Aluminium, hopefully this will stop the problem,
Thankfully Bradley came through with two new units, but my warranty is out now so i am cautious, and also using my own design pit to smoke pork and brisket, let the Bradley do the cooler stuff.
I still see the Bubba Pucks as useful additions either way,
I've been using Bubba pucks for about 18 months. I use them to push off the last burnt puck, so the metal puck sits on the hot plate for the duration of the cooking time, which many times is +12 hours. I have not had any problems. I use two Bubba pucks, with a wood puck on top so that the wood puck pushes the Bubba puck onto the heat plate. After 12 hours the wood puck only gets slightly brown where it touches the second Bubba puck. Therefore I don't believe that there is too much heat being transferred back to where the gears are, and the pucks are not that heavy to put that type of strain on the gears.
Are the gears melted or are they stripped. If they are stripped, then maybe something else caused the problem.
I have also been using bubba pucks for over 1 year and love them. No problems to report. ;D
QuoteI've been using Bubba pucks for about 18 months. I use them to push off the last burnt puck, so the metal puck sits on the hot plate for the duration of the cooking time, which many times is +12 hours. I have not had any problems. I use two Bubba pucks, with a wood puck on top so that the wood puck pushes the Bubba puck onto the heat plate. After 12 hours the wood puck only gets slightly brown where it touches the second Bubba puck. Therefore I don't believe that there is too much heat being transferred back to where the gears are, and the pucks are not that heavy to put that type of strain on the gears.
I have used bubba pucks for about 15 months, the only difference is that I use 3 of them rather than "two then a wood puck on top" and have not had a problem with heat being transferred back towards the gears despite smoke/cooks of 12+ hours.
I have had a couple of smoke generator problems but these were unrelated to the bubba pucks, the biggest benefit of them is that they keep the puck heater plate a whole lot cleaner after smoking/cooking which is particularly helpful the longer the cooking time. :)