My bradley is still going from 2004. I wondered what the average life of a bradley is, so if you want to check in and tell me how old your Bradley is, that would be great.
Mine came new in 08
Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
Good timing. I purchased mine Aug 2007. Has worked without issue. I just broke it out today. Has been wrapped up in a plastic bag for over a year. It just fell off the table I had it on, still works...lol
As you can see I haven't cleaned it in ?.....who know ;D
(https://image.ibb.co/my00mm/20180114_110436.jpg)
I also purchased mine in 2004. August to me more exact. At that time the heating element had a glass casing, until they later started making the casing out of metal. I've had to replace the front faceplate and temperature controller. Because it had been dropped twice; once from a height of 3 feet, and a second time of over 6 feet I had to replace the door.
A Bradley Airplane. HeHe Just had to make that comment , that shows just how good they put things together. I don't think you would get that from some of the others.
Mine is about a 2012.
Replaced the smoke generator to address an inconsistent puck feeding issue, as motor and micro switch hadn't corrected problem. New smoke generator still had puck feed consistency issues. Well, dang. Just live with it. Guess my taster isn't very discerning. Can't taste a bitter flavor the once in a while a puck or two burns to ash.
I purchased mine new in 2010.
Still works as good as it did the day I got it. (I'm knocking on wood as I type this) ;D ;D
I have a big collection ( 14 ) from 2007 to 2017 and only my older one ( the 2007 ) had issue with the door.
I don't remember when I bought mine, maybe ten years ago now. I have had problems with the door, had to replace hinges and plastic pieces on the front, also had a problem with smoke generator not advancing pucks correctly and had to open up and clean it out, but been pretty good besides that.
Bought mine in 2009 and only issue I have had is the element (1 replaced) other than that no issues at all
My door works fine, the seals are perfect and I don't remember the smoke gen ever giving me any problem
oh yeah I did have to replace 1 - 500 watt element, forgot about that.
I seasoned my Bradley on July 2nd 2004. Have passed many pounds of food through it since.
Al
Bought my Bradley 4DBS 2009, added a Auber PID and a 2nd element, all are working well. I have replaced two elements over the years and I have cooked many, many #'s of food on this unit. I like the bisquets better than pellets. The pellets give me a slight bitter taste to the smoke ( I have tried at least 4 different brands ). If I can afford a good quality meat to cook and smoke, then I can afford the bisquets.
I have never had to replace anything on my Bradley, thankfully.
The pucks, to me, are just as important as the meat since you put a lot of money, time and effort into that, but that is my opinion. You do what you have to do!
Stainless steel original bought late 2004, two replacement generators due to faults in first year but no issues since. Added the cold smoker attachment and Auber PID over next few years and everything lives outside in a purpose built wooden shed.
Used mainly for cold smoking probably on average 12 to 18 times a year and would buy again without hesitation. :)
since I have never heard of a cold smoker attachment, you peaked my interest. Back in the mid-2000's, there was a lot of talk trying to make this happen, but it was not very successful and then, I quit reading the posts for about 10 years. So, here we are, and you just mentioned the cold smoker attachment, and WOW, I have been missing out on cold smoking for no reason at all except that I have not kept up to date on the newest and latest!
Thanks for posting about it. Ordering mine tomorrow!
What do you cold smoke, if you don't mind me asking?
Don't mind you asking at all :)
Mainly cold smoke fish.... salmon, trout, whitefish, herring, mackerel etc and also cold smoked quite a lot of cheese and bacon over the years plus salt, butter, garlic, nuts, olives and a few other items with varying degrees of success!
Hope this helps
what kind of smoke would you use for salt? and that sounds delicious- Olives! What smoke do you use for that? Does it take long to smoke olives?
Here is some info on the cold smoker attachment. Just check the internet where to buy.
Bradley® Smoker Cold-Smoke Adapter
Bradley smoker accessories will help you get that great smoky taste that's made Bradley smokers famous. The Cold-Smoke Adapter is ideal for perfectly flavoring cheeses, salmon and other such food that call for cold smoking. Easily attaches to your existing Bradley generator. Vent tube attaches to smoker box.
Dimensions: 11"L x 11"W x 17"H.
As for salt I use hickory, and the same for garlic - nuts but you can use any of the flavors. I also make sweet onion salt the last batch was 25lbs of sea salt with Wala Wala sweet onions I have also used Maui sweet onions.
I use oak or apple for most cold smoking, did the olives for a couple of hours with oak then stored in olive oil.
To be honest olives are something I prefer unsmoked, I have only smoked them a couple of times although other people did like them... quite a few commercial smokehouses in the UK and Europe do them which is where I got the idea.
I use my cold smoke adapter mostly for cheese.
I do a big batch at least twice a year. It works great.
I also use it to smoke chex mix & potato chips. Again a couple times a year.