BRADLEY SMOKER | "Taste the Great Outdoors"

Bradley Smokers => The Black Bradley Smoker (BTIS1) => Topic started by: yul on January 21, 2008, 06:05:49 PM

Title: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on January 21, 2008, 06:05:49 PM
Hi everyone, I am now the proud owner of a Bradley Smoker. A friend got one last summer and I was really impressed. I have been waiting ever since for them to come on sale  ( Canadian Tire , $299 this week ) This is a great board, I have learned more in a couple of hours browsing here than all my searches on Google. Unfortunately, I will have to wait for the weather to warm up  before I can get to use the smoker but in the mean time I can pick up lots of tips from here. I first tried my hand at smoking using my BBQ to smoke salmon fillets with a tray filled with wood chips directly on the gas burner. Messed around all day trying to keep the temperature down and the smoke in the box. Six hours later I just knew there had to be a better way and then found the Bradley web site. When my friend saw the Bradley unit he went straight out and bought one. After I saw how easy it was I was hooked and the rest is history.
Glad to see some users from the Isle of Man, ah those smoked herrings. Has anyone tried smoking Cod?
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on January 21, 2008, 06:35:12 PM
Hi Yul and welcome to the forum.

Great to have another fellow Canuck aboard. I here ya on the weather, it's -30 with the wind chill here in Sask.
Hopefully the weather smartens up and you can get that puppy fired up.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: tsquared on January 21, 2008, 07:35:20 PM
Welcome Yul, nice to have another canucklehead on board. Smoked cod--I've never actually tried to do it. I've done tuna, which turned out nice.
T2
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: La Quinta on January 21, 2008, 07:41:50 PM
My hubby told me to post..."cod is for fish and chips"...and that's it!!! :) Well...at least I asked him!!! (Normally I wouldn't!!) :)
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: EnglishGuy on January 22, 2008, 12:34:14 AM
Welcome!  At least I'm no longer the new boy in the forum  ;D
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: JDM on January 22, 2008, 07:32:13 AM
I GOT ONE TOO!!  :D

The price was good and I have been one for awhile. Good luck.
This site has some great info, thanks.

Dave
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on January 22, 2008, 08:12:29 AM
Hi Dave & welcome to the forum.

You will have to keep us posted on your smokin' projects.  ;)

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: bigredsmoker on January 22, 2008, 12:21:01 PM
Welcome Yul and Dave! You guys will learn a lot about what your Bradley is capable of on this site. Don't be afraid to try anything with the help of the people here.

Dave, I visited your Blog site. Nice job, enjoyed listening to your latest Pod cast. Will check in from time to time to see what's going on at Your Hunt Camp!

Terry
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on January 22, 2008, 05:06:12 PM
Hi guys thanks for the warm welcome. Unfortunately I do not have anywhere to set up the OBS untill the weather gets a tad better. It would be nice to have somewhere to get out of the wind and white stuff and start seasoning it. Till then lot's of browsing.
I did try my hand at smoking some salmon on my BBQ
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/bwpaine/fish%20smoking/grill.jpg)
but it was a very labour intensive operation.
When I had finally finished the result looked like this.
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/bwpaine/fish%20smoking/IMG_0690.jpg)
Does any one know why the white stuff appeared. The fish tasted OK but I was a bit worried about the white stuff
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Gizmo on January 22, 2008, 09:35:38 PM
I have't done a lot of Salmon but from what I have done and what I have read, it appears the white stuff seems to be a product of the fat content of the salmon and the amount of heat it receives.  More fat and a higher heat seems to cause the appearance of the buggers.  The buggers are more of an appearance issue than a taste issue as you have found out.  The salmon experienced will be along shortly to clarify.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: hillbillysmoker on January 23, 2008, 12:26:23 PM
Welcome to the forum guys. Nice to have you with us.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 01, 2008, 09:48:23 AM
I have been looking through all the post on the board and was starting to get a little worried about if the BS would be OK when I eventually get to use it in anger. All those references to puck advance mechanisms not working or the red light for the heating element not coming on, so I connected it up in the basement and checked it out. Everything seemed to work so back to waiting for the better weather.Looks like Bradley have got there QA department working properly.
I keep seeing all those references to using a PID. I finally found the excellent article on how to make one from the various components but was wondering if the majority of BS owners actually use them or are they only for hard core users.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: more smoke on February 01, 2008, 10:17:35 AM
 I installed one two weeks ago and it is a must it held within  +/- 1 deg after the autotune takes the work out of it. GET ONE  ;)
                                                                   
                                                                       Keith   
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: 3rensho on February 01, 2008, 10:30:10 AM
I second that.  A PID is worth its weight in gold (well, maybe not at today's Au prices  ;D) but I wouldn't smoke without one now.  An OBS and a PID is all one could ask for IMHO.  Once I auto tune mine it stays locked on to what ever temperature I pick after that.  Welcome to the forum.

Tom
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: aces-n-eights on February 01, 2008, 12:20:27 PM
Welcome aboard, Yul! 

You can still use your BS in the winter time for cold smoking.  I just smoked up some cheese and it was awesome!  The outside temps were in the 20° range...  So scoop out a place outside and give 'er a try!
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Zerolimits on February 01, 2008, 02:18:06 PM
Quote from: yul on January 22, 2008, 05:06:12 PM
Hi guys thanks for the warm welcome. Unfortunately I do not have anywhere to set up the OBS untill the weather gets a tad better. It would be nice to have somewhere to get out of the wind and white stuff and start seasoning it. Till then lot's of browsing.
I did try my hand at smoking some salmon on my BBQ
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/bwpaine/fish%20smoking/grill.jpg)
but it was a very labour intensive operation.
When I had finally finished the result looked like this.
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/bwpaine/fish%20smoking/IMG_0690.jpg)
Does any one know why the white stuff appeared. The fish tasted OK but I was a bit worried about the white stuff

Hi fellas, I too am a newbie, and read your post about the cold temps...I just posted something on the board about smoking in cold temps.  Here's the link:  http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=6748.0 (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=6748.0)


Fire that OBS up!!

I also highly recommend the PID, I built one, and like they said, it's worth it's weight in gold!

ZL
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Dalby Spook on February 02, 2008, 01:14:14 PM
Hi Yul

thanks for the Isle of Man plug. As a Manxman I have to say our  smoked herrings or "Kippers" are the best in the world. A decent sized cod is indeed a rare beast in our waters these days but we do have some very good pollock, a close relative but not the fine flavour.
It does, however, cold smoke well. I brine for 30 mins in 80% solution, dry, then cold smoke for about 8 hours with oak. Very popular with my fishing buddies.

Cheers
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 02, 2008, 03:50:55 PM
Hi Dalby, I have to agree with you 100% about those kippers. In my younger days I was introduced to those succulent beauties by an aunt that I would visit in Douglas. She used to get them by the box from the smoke house in Peel. She had a young  evacuee billeted in her house during the war and he later worked at the smoke house and he always made sure she did not go without her weekly kippers. Brown bread, a mug of tea, and dig in with your fingers.. I was hooked. Such a delicate flavor, just smoke, no additives or coloring. Sadly she passed away and my visits were curtailed but the craving for those golden beauties still lingers. On this side of the pond we get a "kippered herring" but it is so heavily salted  that it is nearly  inedible.
I understand that the herrings are not as plentiful as they once were and that it is getting hard to find them of a decent size.
I originally came from Hull in east Yorkshire and I think smoked cod was a local item. We had lots of smoked haddock but they had a dye added to the process to enhance the look of the flesh. I believe that any such tricks were prohibited by law on the Island.
We get plenty of salmon here and as you can see from the pictures that was what I tried as my first foray into home smoking. Now I have the BS I am going to increase the amount of fish smoked and thanks to this board I have got lots of ideas for ribs, chicken and beef.
Looks like I will have a go at making the PID, and  a vacuum packing/storage system (foodsaver maybe) is on the wish list.  According to the Foodsaver web site you can marinade food very quickly by placing it in a bag and sucking the air out. The vacuum is supposed to drive the marinade into the meat. I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has used this system to confirm if this is true or just advertising hype.
                     
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: La Quinta on February 02, 2008, 06:42:37 PM
yul...I very much enjoyed reading your post...(although had to ask my husband what billeted was!!) He explained...I guess he had 2 kids "billeted" (? pardon my ignorance) in his home when he was a kid...he is a kipper freak also...can't get them over here tho...but...just wanted to say I enjoyed reading what you wrote...very interesting!! :)
Cheers!!
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Dalby Spook on February 03, 2008, 04:32:56 AM
What a small world. My wife is a Peel girl. Sadly there is only one smoke house there now, albeit a very good one. I understand the herrings are caught in the Baltic and shipped in. Still good though. For smoked salmon, Kummoks recipe is a must.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 03, 2008, 07:42:11 AM
Thanks for all the input. As you say ,it is a small world, the wonders of the world wide web, glad you find my ramblings interesting.
For my first try at salmon I used a method I found on this web site.

http://www.salmonuniversity.com/rs_htss01_index.html (http://www.salmonuniversity.com/rs_htss01_index.html)

As you will see it was a dry rub/brine. The result was a little sweet for my taste but I am sure this could be corrected by using less sugar in the mix.
One thing did puzzle me. After the salmon has been in the brine and is rinsed off they tell you to dry it until a "pellicle " is formed on the flesh. I was not to sure what to look for so just waited until it had a "varnished " look to it. Maybe I did not wait long enough? Have a look at the picture.
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/bwpaine/fish%20smoking/Drying.jpg)

I got a little excited when I saw the link for brining herring but after looking at the method realized that they were processing them as bait to catch Salmon.

Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Gizmo on February 03, 2008, 11:28:18 AM
The varnished look you mentioned sounds like you got the pellicle.  Dry and tacky to the touch.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: tsquared on February 04, 2008, 09:38:58 PM
I 2nd what giz said re the pellicle-sounds like you waited long enough--and the waiting is usually the hardest part!
T2
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: bjl on February 05, 2008, 12:08:17 PM
We are also the proud owner of a Bradley Smoker and living in Sask. How cold is too cold for using our smoker?
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Tiny Tim on February 05, 2008, 12:14:50 PM
How cold can you stand it to go check on the progress?  If kept out of the wind, it'll work down to whatever you can stand for temps...may take a little longer to produce desired results or achieve your temps, but it'll work anyway.  Storage may be better inside, although mine's suffered through some -20 (F) nights in a tool shed, and works fine.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: bjl on February 05, 2008, 12:38:24 PM
Thanks Tiny Tim for your reply. The cold doesn't bother us too much, however for the past couple of weeks our day time highs have been around   -20C to -30C without the wind and we weren't sure if the smoker would ever reach the desired temperature since we would be using it out in the open. Hopefully the weather will warm soon and then we will give it a try. Until then we will just continue with the BBQ.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Tiny Tim on February 05, 2008, 12:43:37 PM
Meant to say this before, but Welcome to the board and to the world of Smoking with the Bradley Smoker.

Lot's of innovative ideas on here about people keeping their smokers out of the wind and/or cold temps...look around in the General Discussions area.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 05, 2008, 12:52:33 PM
Hi bjl and welcome to the forum.

Good to see someone from Saskatchewan. I'm in Moose Jaw.
There's lots of great ideas around the forum to sidestep the cold. Wind (which we get lots) is the biggest enemy.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: bjl on February 05, 2008, 01:06:13 PM
Thanks again Tiny Tim and Mr. Walleye. I def have some reading to do.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 05, 2008, 07:04:50 PM
Welcome to the board bjl. You are going to spend lots of time going through some of the old post's. These guys are really helpfull. Nearly every question you have about the Bradley is answered somewhere here. Happy browsing.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Stickbowcrafter on February 05, 2008, 11:29:19 PM
Welcome! You'll find just about everything you'll ever want to know about smoking food here. This forum got me up and running in no time when I made the move to a Bradley. GREAT site!!!

-Brian
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 06, 2008, 06:52:47 PM
Hi Guys, after reading everything on the board about the advantages of using a PID I have taken the plunge and ordered the main components from Auberins. Just waiting to see if they get past Canada Customs OK. The only trouble I have had is finding the Radio Shack  (or The Source as it is called in Canada ) project box . Luckily, I have a friend who makes regular trips south of the border and he is picking one up for me.
I found a digital thermometer in the local Canadian tire on sale for $9 ( Maverick ET-808C ) so I wont have to rely on the one in the Bradley door.
Just got to find a selection of pucks now...
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 06, 2008, 07:00:57 PM
Brian

No problem getting Auber products as I have ordered from them. The only thing I would add is to ask him to send it USPS. My experience with UPS (the usual shipping method) is they usually screw you on the brokers fees.

Also I will see if I can come up with the part number for the Maverick ET73. It is available from Home Hardware here in Canada. But you need the part number because they really don't know they are available from their own store.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 06, 2008, 07:06:21 PM
Here is the product number for the ET73.

Home Hardware - Product Number 6427182

You will have to ask them to look it up on their computer because they won't have any idea what your talking about. At least that was the case here.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 07, 2008, 04:00:00 PM

  Hi Mike, I went and had a closer look at my bisquets inside the box and you are quite right, there was the recipe on the back of the card . I did not think to look there.
Thanks for the info on the Maverick ET73. I will have to go out of Quebec to order one  as there do not seem to be any Home Hardware stores here. I am a regular visitor to Ottawa so I will try there.
Pity I did not know about the shipping from Auber. When I got to the final check out they only gave one option for shipping to Canada. Ah well, lets see what happens.
Thanks again for the info, Brian.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 12, 2008, 04:50:35 PM

Hi Mike, went to the mail box today and there was my package from Auber. They had sent it via  USPS so no problems with brokerage fees etc. Really good service from them. I have now got the items thawing out on the kitchen table as it was –15 here all day and the package was sat in the box for at least six hours. That's all the components now except for the project box. I have tried  3 "The Source " stores but no luck. One even told me that they are now independent from Radio Shack and don't carry any of their stock. When I pointed out to him the number for the connector strip was exactly the same as their stock number he just stood there looking dumb. I have two more branches to try then I will have to wait for my friends trip south of the border.

Brian.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 12, 2008, 05:03:33 PM
Brian

I never was able to get the project box from "The Source". I just kinda created my own. A person should also be able to get some type of box, roughly the same size, from an electrical supply store.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: coyote on February 12, 2008, 10:30:14 PM
Hey Yul , welcome to the forum! Sorry it took me so long to roll out the welcome mat. :-[
Some how I missed the post.....Hope that's not a sign of anything ::)
                                                                                   Again Welcome Aboard,
                                                                                                        Coyote
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 13, 2008, 05:25:01 PM
Hi Mike, I finally got a store clerk to look up the Radio Shack part number on the inventory computer and you are right, they no longer stock that item. So I will try the local hardware store and see if I can find a suitable box.

Hi Coyote, thanks for the warm welcome. This is a great board with a nice bunch of active members.

Brian.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 13, 2008, 06:38:20 PM
Brian

You might want to look at an electrical supply store. One that sells household wiring. See if they have an electrical enclosure box. Here is a link to one on ebay to give you an idea of what it looks like.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/A37138-Hoffman-ASE8X6X4-Pull-Box-Enclosure-8-6-4_W0QQitemZ260211201911QQihZ016QQcategoryZ111612QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 20, 2008, 04:57:39 PM
Hi Mike. Finally making some headway with the PID. Last week I tried to shoe horn all the parts into a piece of 4" plastic drain pipe, a 45 degree elbow, but it was a really tight fit so took everything out again. My friend finally turned up with the Radio Shack box so I have been hard at work today. Everything has gone OK except for the main power cable. I used an air conditioner extension cord but the thing is like a steel towing cable, will not bend easily and is way to stiff. I tried to cut the outer sheathing of to expose the thinner inner wire but this type of cord is molded in one thick lump.  Tomorrow I will change it for a couple of 3 foot lengths of softer extension wire. Apart from that it went just fine. I ran it at work and it registered the ambient temp OK, dipped the TC into a cup of icy water and the indicator started to drop to 33 degree.
My friend who also has a B.S. was impressed with the outcome of the project so we are ordering another set of components tomorrow. The second units assembly will be a lot easier now that I have ironed out all the snags. Thanks for the link to the alternate type of box. We will be going that route and have found a local supplier thanks to the description on the link.
I will also be using Amazon .ca for all future book purchases. I did not realize that we could get free shipping in Canada, I thought such largess was reserved for our cousins  south of the border.
Brian
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 20, 2008, 06:30:10 PM
Brian

Sounds like you pretty much have the PID thing cased. You will definitely be happy with it once you get it dialed in. It will give you alot more confidence in it as a more "set it & forget it" setup.

Keep us posted how you make out with the auto tune.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 22, 2008, 01:40:41 PM
Maybe I am looking at this wrong but...  ???
A basic question, where in the power connection set up do you plug the PID.
I thought that it went between the smoke generator and the smoke box instead of the supplied cable. I followed the instructions about using an extension cord cut in half with regular household plug and socket at each end. When I went to try and plug it in between the smoke generator and the smoke box, the plugs on the Bradley units are not a  regular plug and socket. The only place that my set up will plug in is from the wall outlet to the smoke generator, but this cycles the generator on and off too.
Have Bradley changed their connector plugs since the PID instructions were posted or am I missing something.
Here is a picture of the back of my smoke generator and the ends of the wires coming out of my PID. (they are heavy duty plug and sockets) and the Bradley cable is just behind the yellow plugs.

(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/bwpaine/fish%20smoking/cables.jpg)
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Wildcat on February 22, 2008, 01:47:10 PM
I am brand new to the PID thing, but with mine, I plug in the PID to the wall and plug the tower into the PID.  Depending on your wiring, I think you plug your generator into the house current separate.  With mine, I have an extra plug in my PID that does not go through the PID, so that is where I plug in my tower.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Habanero Smoker on February 22, 2008, 02:08:37 PM
In 2007 Bradley did change their plug,and connections. You can plug your PID directly into a power outlet.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 22, 2008, 05:29:50 PM
So.......let me get this straight, :-\







       PID                    Smoke Gen                   Smoke Box

I  tried this layout at low temp setting on the PID but it cycled the smoke generator too.
This would play havoc with the puck feed unless the time taken smoking is shorter than the time it takes to reach the required cooking temperature
I will take the Bradley cord to the hardware store tomorrow and see if I can match the original plug and socket and replace the yellow ones.
Maybe this is just a ploy by Bradley to get us to buy the Digital unit  ;D

Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 22, 2008, 05:44:29 PM
Brian

What most of us do is plug the generator into the wall outlet by itself. Next, plug the PID into the wall outlet as well and plug the back of the tower into the PID. This way the generator has power all the time and the tower only is controlled by the PID. If you have the OBS make sure you set the temp slider to the max.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 22, 2008, 06:05:40 PM
Hi Mike, I see how that will work but Bradley seem to have changed the plug and socket for the type that are normally found on computers. Here is a pic of the male plug on the back of the tower.
(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/bwpaine/fish%20smoking/boxplug.jpg)

A regular female outlet does not fit. Maybe I will have to find an old computer power cable and cut the male end of and wire that into the PID
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 22, 2008, 06:09:46 PM
Brian

That's exactly what I used was a power supply cord for a computer. I cut the end off it and wired it into the PID. I have the DBS and it has the same plug on the back of the tower as yours.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 22, 2008, 06:11:52 PM
Thanks Mike ...the fog is clearing. Thanks for your patience. :-[
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 22, 2008, 06:17:15 PM
Quote from: yul on February 22, 2008, 06:11:52 PM
Thanks Mike ...the fog is clearing. Thanks for your patience. :-[

Not a problem Brian. I'm sure if you looked back a couple of years ago it was me asking all the questions.  ;) :D  ;D
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 22, 2008, 06:42:20 PM
Hi Mike, I guess I had better get my friend to check his OBS to see what type of connections he has on his unit. We are waiting for his components to arrive but if he has the old type plug and socket arrangement  I will just give him this unit and build the next one to suit mine. He bought his OBS in July 2007 so maybe he will have the old set up.
Printed out the Canadian Tire coupon. Going to Ottawa tomorrow so I will see if they have any different flavors.  A couple packs of pucks and a couple of fishing lures should soon get me up to the $40 mark. I see you can print and use more than one coupon, they are good until March 2nd.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 22, 2008, 06:50:24 PM
Brian

I would bet your friend's will be the same as yours. Although I guess you never know if it was older stock when he bought it. It's worth checking into but if all else fails it's easy enough to just change out the one cord.

I always use at least 2 or 3 of the Canadian Tire coupons when they email them to me. Hey, what the heck, they wouldn't send them to you if they didn't want you to use them.  ;)

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 22, 2008, 06:54:54 PM
One other thought on the PID, did you wire in any fuses?

The original plans where designed for the PID to go between the generator an the tower. By doing it that way the power is coming from the generator and it has a fuse in it.

By supplying power directly from the wall outlet to the PID there is no longer a fuse in it.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 22, 2008, 07:16:09 PM
Brian

If you are interested here is the thread where we were discussing putting fuses in the PID. I used 2 fuse chassis style fuse holders. One with an 8 amp fuse for the main power coming into it. The other with a 1 amp slow blow fuse to protect the PID Controller itself.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4639.0

Here is the type of fuse holder I used. They are available from The Source by Circuit City in Canada.
http://www.thesourcecc.com/estore/Product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=Fuses_Holders&product=2700364

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 23, 2008, 03:45:18 AM
Hi Mike, you must have read my mind. After I logged of last night I seemed to recall an old thread that said you did not need a fuse if you used the set up as shown because you were protected by the fuse in the Bradley unit. You have saved me a lot of time and have supplied the fix to boot. So it's of to Le Source this morning. Thanks again. ;D
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 24, 2008, 10:35:05 AM
It was so nice to get a break in the weather. We have some very spring like temperatures here so I decide to take out OBS and get her seasoned. I am not using the PID at the moment (see the above post) just the smoker plugged into the  wall outlet via an extension. I have a digital thermometer in through the top vent and so far it looks like the Bradley dial thermometer is about 10 degrees out. Put 4 alder pucks in but I am having to manually feed the last two, they are out of reach of the puck pusher. Now I see the need for the Bubbapucks.

(http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t138/bwpaine/fish%20smoking/Deck1.jpg)

It smells just great. Let's hope the weather is nice for next weekend too.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 24, 2008, 10:39:42 AM
We are having some above average temps too Brian! Ya gotta love that!  ;D

We are above 0 degrees F, just melting a bit and very little wind.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 25, 2008, 02:35:06 PM
Hi Mike, finally got the fuse holder and fitted it in the box. I checked out your previous post (how I missed that one I do not know) I see you managed to shoe horn it into a 4" 45 degree piece of pipe. Very neat. I have not mounted the SSR on a heat sink. A friend looked at the set up a said he did not think that heat would be a problem. Do you get any significant heat from the sink?
I made some alloy pucks and was about to ask if anyone had drilled them to reduce the weight when I found your other post on just that subject ( gotta love this board ) .
Went to Canadian Tire to use the coupon but the branch I went to had no stock. Strange thing, they had the "Cetrino" smoker in with the rest of the BBQ but the Bradley tucked away at the back of the store with the fishing tackle and not a pack of pucks to be found.
Going to try another branch tomorrow.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 25, 2008, 02:42:56 PM
As far as the heat sink goes I think you will find alot of people don't use one. Having said that there definitely are that have. I believe it was Arcs that said the way to test if it is too much heat is to hold your thumb on it while it is in operation. If you can keep your thumb on it, it's fine. If you can't, you need a heat sink. I have held my thumb on my heat sink and although it's not hot, it does get fairly warm though. I just salvaged an old heat sink off an old computor and trimmed it to fit.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 27, 2008, 04:50:02 PM
Hi Mike, I have made some pucks from aluminum but they are only 2" dia. (it was a scrap piece of bar we had hanging around). I notice that you gave the diameter as 2.25".
Is the diameter critical or do you think I can get away with it. I was thinking that the smaller diameter would be lighter but was wondering if jamming might become an issue.
I see that you have modified your OBS quite a bit. Did you wait until it was out of warranty or will Bradley still honor the warranty even after we have done the various mods.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on February 27, 2008, 05:40:18 PM
Hi Brian

I'm not sure what to think about the diameter on your homebuilt Bubba Pucks. My first thought is the smaller diameter may cause them to have a higher potential to jam. I'm not really sure if this would be an issue or not. The other thing to keep in mind is once you 2 of them in the shoot and the 3rd comes along to push the final wood puck off the other end into the water bowl, will they push far enough? Each puck would be 1/4 inch smaller times 3 pucks equals 3/4 inch less of a push. Again I'm not sure if this would be a problem or not. I would probably do some testing with them while you are there to keep an eye on it. You never know they might work perfectly too.

Actually my Bradley started off life as a DBS. I kinda like to, almost have to, tinker!  :D I can't help it, it's in my blood!  ::) So, yes, I did do my mods while it was still under warranty. I don't really think there is much of a problem with Bradley as far as warranty goes, depending on the modification. As far as a PID goes it's completely removable, providing you don't mount it into the generator.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on February 27, 2008, 05:51:34 PM
The old cumulative error eh. I will go ahead and drill them and then try them through the smoke tower and see what happens. At least they kept the "little grey cells" working. ;)
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on March 03, 2008, 03:53:24 PM

  Yep..you were right. My pucks push the last bisquette to the edge but no farther, it is just not past the C of G.  :-[
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on March 03, 2008, 04:40:49 PM
That's too bad Brian. The actual size I believe is 2.25" x .5". You will have to try and find some larger diameter material.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on March 03, 2008, 05:36:57 PM
Hi Mike., I was looking through the McMaster –Carr catalogue for some 2.25 round bar (they sell it in 2 ft lengths) and saw that they sell an alloy pipe, 2.25"dia with a 1.25" hole. Do you know if anybody has gone this route? :-\
Maybe I will check the catalogue for Mortons Tenderquick, they seem to sell everything else.  ;D
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on March 03, 2008, 05:52:08 PM
Brian

Here is a link to a post from StickBowCrafter. He made some pucks from some aluminum pipe. Here is the link.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=5849.msg55290#msg55290

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on March 03, 2008, 06:03:51 PM

      Great stuff Mike ,you must have an encyclopedic memory. I will give the pipe a try, at least it will save on the drilling again.  ;D ;D
Any ideas on the Mortons Tenderquick , I have an urge to try curing my own bacon. :)
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on March 03, 2008, 06:35:33 PM
Brian

If you are going to make Canadian Bacon (Back Bacon for us Canucks) give Habs recipe a shot. It always turns out great for me and it's easy to boot. Here is a link.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?p=500#post500

Habs also posted about making his own TenderQuick. It's also a goo read. Here is the link.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=5463.0

Habs has the nickname around here as "IronHabs".... and well deserved it is!

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on March 04, 2008, 04:44:41 PM
Hi Mike, I looked through the post you sent and it seems quite straight forward and I think I am going to give it a shot. I am having trouble finding  the Instacure #1. I found it online from a sausage making supply company in Buffalo N.Y. but an $9 bag ends up costing $24 thanks to shipping etc. :o What sort of stores should I be looking in, the local grocery stores don't  stock it.  ??? Is there a Canadian supplier with cheaper shipping that you know of. 
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on March 04, 2008, 05:35:56 PM
Brian

I buy it from JB Sauasage in Regina, SK. It's a sausage supply store. Try looking in your yellow pages or online yellow pages in your area for sausage supplies or something like that. There must be somebody there that sells it locally. It is sold under many names, the stuff I get is called Super Cure. What you are looking for is cure #1 which contains Nitrite. There is also cure #2 which contains Nitrate and is used for long term curing/drying such as salami.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on March 05, 2008, 04:34:47 AM
Mike
       Thanks once again, sorry to keep bothering you with all this newbie stuff  :-[
        I will check in the local yellow pages now I know what to look for.  ;D
        I found one Canadian company online in B.C. if I get stuck here I will try them.
         www.stuffers.com
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on March 05, 2008, 05:54:42 AM
Quote from: yul on March 05, 2008, 04:34:47 AM
Thanks once again, sorry to keep bothering you with all this newbie stuff 

Not a bother Brian... ya don't know if you don't ask. I too asked a lot of questions when I started out... That's what it's all about!  ;)

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Habanero Smoker on March 05, 2008, 02:12:35 PM
Quote from: yul on March 05, 2008, 04:34:47 AM
Mike
       Thanks once again, sorry to keep bothering you with all this newbie stuff  :-[
        I will check in the local yellow pages now I know what to look for.  ;D
        I found one Canadian company online in B.C. if I get stuck here I will try them.
         www.stuffers.com

While you are on that site, make sure you down load their recipes. You can download to PDF or excel file.
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Mr Walleye on March 05, 2008, 02:43:00 PM
You're right Habs! I have them at home. I kinda forgot about them.

Mike
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: yul on March 07, 2008, 04:00:12 PM
Hi Habs, I downloaded and then printed out  the sausage recipes I did not know there were so many varieties. Have you tried the fish sausage yet ;D
Title: Re: New Smoker from Canada
Post by: Habanero Smoker on March 08, 2008, 03:37:19 AM
I haven't tried the fish sausage yet!! I seen several versions of fish sausage, and plan to do some one day. I also taking a close look at their vegetarian sausage, and plan to form them into balls instead of patties.