Hey folks,
New to smoking, recently got a 4-rack digital bradley smoker (won in a raffle).
Having noticed that myself, and alot of others seem to find the stock heating element underwhelming, I'm interested in doing either a dual 500W or 900W element mod.
I am curious to hear from folks that have done either a dual 500, or 900 element mod WITHOUT installing a PID or other relay etc to control the heating elements?
I understand that it is not recommended to operate the additional wattage on the stock controller, but am curious if people have done it & what their experience is/was?
Without taking the controller apart it's not really possible to know what the stock controller is rated/built to handle, but maybe someone has done this as well?
Without a pid your internal switch is not powerful enough to handle the extra watts so your playing with fire be careful.
I put a second 500 watt element in the same model smoker as yours and it improved performance tenfold. Search 2nd element, fan and burner mod and there's lots of info in that thread . Modifications do void warranty and as Toker says these units could be prone to fires. I just keep a close eye on mine and have never had any issues .
Hello GreenFreak and welcome to the Forum. I did the dual 500 watt element mod 3 years ago and love it. I do use a PID, and as mentioned by Orion and Toker, I closely monitor my smoker to avoid any "unpleasant surprises". I use my PID for greater temperature control for smoked salmon and sausages.