BRADLEY SMOKER | "Taste the Great Outdoors"

Bradley Smokers => The Black Bradley Smoker (BTIS1) => Topic started by: arnieminter on July 14, 2008, 07:12:30 PM

Title: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: arnieminter on July 14, 2008, 07:12:30 PM
I am assuming that this is an open forum and that you can speak honestly without being edited or censored.  Got my new "Original" a couple of days ago.  Love it, EXCEPT, I can see now that I won't be able to use it as much as I want.  I can't afford the wood discs.  Does anyone know about any aftermarket wood that can be used in the Bradley Original?  Surely there must be something more reasonably priced that will do the job.  I figure the profit from these discs must be upwards of 6oo%.  C'mon, make 100% profit.  That's fine.  Bradley would probably double the sales of their smoker, and continue to make a nice 100% profit on all of the wood they sell.

If there is a vendor that has a product that can be used , please tell me.and where.  Write to my email if you'd like:

[email protected], if you don't feel comfortable using this forum to tell me (and others, I'm sure)

Thanks
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: West Coast Kansan on July 14, 2008, 07:24:25 PM
Welcome Ted, This forum gets as non bradley as they come from time to time.  I agree the wood is the blade of this Razor business.  I have seen estimates that peg operation at about $1. an hour for the Bradley.  That is a pretty good fit for me having driven around to hickory sources in the past. There are members here who also distribute these devices, amazon.com has pretty good deals and once in a while others post deals they come across.

Where have you shopped and what are you paying?

Your question is what this forum is for... hope you don't end up with just a decorative smoker... Let us know what is happening.
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: Arcs_n_Sparks on July 14, 2008, 07:27:29 PM
arnieminter,

Welcome to the forum. Pucks are running about 30 cents apiece. For a three to four hour smoke, that is $3 to $4. I know my adult beverage bill watching the smoker is more than my puck bill. Figuring in what brisket or butts costs, pucks are pretty minimal.

Arcs_n_Sparks
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: FLBentRider on July 14, 2008, 07:33:23 PM
W E L C O M E to the forum arnieminter!

I buy the 120 packs, it gets the cost per puck a little lower, like the others have said. I guess if you weigh the convienence factor against the price of the supplies, for me the Bradley comes out way ahead. I've used other smokers, and this one is hands down the easiest to get it right without alot of futzing.
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: aces-n-eights on July 14, 2008, 07:48:33 PM
I don't know of any alternative wood pucks for the Bradley.  Some guys here have tried to make their own with some success, but ultimately it seemed to be too much work/hassle to make them yourself.

I pay roughly .35 per puck and i knew before i bought the Bradley that the wood was more expensive than the "bag of chips".  Many of my recipes take 2-3 hours of smoke so that costs me $2-3 per smoke.  A bit more, but the ability to set and forget makes up for the small additional cost, IMO.

BTW, welcome to the forum and be assured you won't be flamed for asking this question.
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: KyNola on July 14, 2008, 07:50:38 PM
Ted,
First of all, welcome to the forum and thank you for posting your concern here.  I thought long and hard before I responded as I had several different thought paths I went down.  I finally settled on the fact that once you start turning out the quality of food that the Bradley is capable of turning out, the cost of the pucks will be more than worth it.  Cost is relative.  I just smoked 19 pounds of bacon this weekend.  The cost of the 23 pounds gross weight of pork belly was $46.00.  The cost of the cure was minimal.  I used 9 pucks of apple wood.  Go to your local grocery and price 19 pounds of bacon.  I know I'm money ahead AND the quality is so much better than store bought.  How do I know?  When I mentioned I was doing bacon, 5 different friends asked if they could buy bacon from me because they had tasted my first batch.  I don't smoke foods to sell but it told me I was doing something right.

I know the economy is tough right now but believe me, you will find the cost of the pucks well worth it.  If not, hang around on the forum anyhow.  Lots of good folks here.

KyNola  
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: westexasmoker on July 14, 2008, 08:24:33 PM
Welcome to the forum..am

I too was a bit worried about the cost involved with this new contraption I purchased, and the puck cost was my biggest worry.  With my offset a bag of mesquite (shocking I know) roughly 50 lb cost me right at 12.00, now granted I finished everything in the offset....so I'd get 2 smokes out of that bag, one for saturday and one for sunday so times 4 for a month 48.00 bucks, and ya gotta keep in mind fireing up the grill with charcoal with some wood, so may have been a bit more than that!  Still keep some wood on hand for the grill, but typically I've got some trimmed from trees laying about!  I'm with Ky for the quality of vittles coming out of the BS, and I think my wood bill is a bit lower or if nothing else the same, you won't be disappointed!  I wouldn't mind trying my hand at making my own pucks, to save a buck, but alas I'm usually told to go mow the yard!  So time and the whole set and forget is worth the extra money, if there is that much more expense!  The best way I justify it, is go to my favorite Q shack and a chopped beef sandwich(and they are good) cost me right at 5.00 bucks, then I realize....nope not that expensive for me to make my own, and why the heck I'm not opening my own Q shack!!   ;D  Anywho  Good luck and let us know!

C
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: firerescueman on July 14, 2008, 09:20:02 PM
Welcom to the forum, Ted!

I am fairly new here myself.  But let me tell you,   go to Amazon and watch for their specials.  They will often run Buy 3,  get 1 box free and sometimes they offer free freight on top of that!   Also,  it does in fact cut the cost per puck WAY down if you buy them in larger quantities.   I would suggest buying a sampler box off of ebay or Amazon and see what types of wood you like.  Once you cook a few times and figure out your favorite woods.......   STOCK UP!!!   Buy them in boxes of 120 and you will save.   The Bradley Store has them right now on Ebay for buy 3 get 1 free in lots of 120.

The quality of the food that comes out of this little smoker is beyond what can be described in common words.   I have tried for years to smoke many different kinds of food,  but because my job requires that I be subject to callout 24/7/365...  I sometimes end up having to leave right in the middle of a smoke.   By the time I could get home,  (with other smokers) the temp had been down for a long time and I was scared of the food.  With this smoker....  I can "set it and forget it"!  And since I bought mine a few short months ago,  I have turned out some of the best pulled pork,  ribs,  salmon, brisket,  fatty's,  smoked meatballs,  chicken wrapped in bacon,  turkey,  more ribs.......   well,  you get the picture!


I promise you that it is well worth the extra cost for the pucks......  I tell you what,   buy some and try the smoker a few times.   If you aren't happy with the food,  I will buy your extra pucks....  deal?


Have fun and let us know what you cook!


(and just for the record.....  NO!  I do not get a commission from Bradley for the testimonial.)


Jeff

Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: arnieminter on July 15, 2008, 07:42:12 AM
Thanks to all of you for your warm welcomes.  I guess if I can pop down $6.50 for my favorite margarita, I can accept $6.50 for 20 or 25 pieces of wood that translates into 7, or so, hours of succulent smoking (the margarita doesn't last that long)
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: Lefty_Smoker on July 15, 2008, 12:18:51 PM
I don't find the Bradley espensive to operate at all.  The wood bisquettes work out to be $0.75/hour, if you shop wisely.  Not bad imho, when you compare it to any other smoker out there, they all use charcoal, wood, etc...  At $0.75/hr, I think the Bradley is more than reasonable.

Plus keep in mind that even if you are doing a butt or two in your Bradley, it might take 15 hours in all, but you don't need to apply *smoke* the whole time.  They turn out just as well with 4-5 hours of smoke, then heat only after that until they are done.  You aren't actually burning 15 hours worth of wood pucks.

 

Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: sherlock on July 15, 2008, 12:39:43 PM
Just checked on Amazon. Depending on the "flavor", you can buy three packs of forty-eight for $15.89 each and get the forth one free, ($47.67 for 192 pucks), thats only $0.25 each which equates to $0.75 per hour.

Can't beat that with a stick......................................
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: Oldman on July 17, 2008, 02:26:58 PM
Thanks all for answering this question. The one thing I would like to add is that with the Bradley you always get "clean" smoke. No after-taste that can happen with burnt pellets.

When I started using the Bradley years ago it cost me dime over a dollar per hour. Today it still cost me about the same.

I've always contended that Wade Bradley is not in the business of selling smokers. He is in the business of selling the consumable.  That is just good business.

IMO for what this unit does and the cost of running it is a real deal for us.
Olds

Olds
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: Smokin Soon on July 17, 2008, 06:48:14 PM
I also tried the offset smoker and was never happy with it. Too much work for questionable results, cannot maintain temps for those long haul smokes, the Bradley has cured all of that. I use my Bradley every weekend and budget for it. When a no tax free shipping deal comes up, stock up! Could be I'm just lazy, but if you read the experts on the forum you will have perfect smokes every time and find it is worth every penny! Smoke on!
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: iceman on July 18, 2008, 02:52:10 PM
Quote from: Oldman on July 17, 2008, 02:26:58 PM
Thanks all for answering this question. The one thing I would like to add is that with the Bradley you always get "clean" smoke. No after-taste that can happen with burnt pellets.

When I started using the Bradley years ago it cost me dime over a dollar per hour. Today it still cost me about the same.

I've always contended that Wade Bradley is not in the business of selling smokers. He is in the business of selling the consumable.  That is just good business.

IMO for what this unit does and the cost of running it is a real deal for us.
Olds

Olds

Ditto that Old's  ;D
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: manxman on July 19, 2008, 01:44:18 AM
QuoteThanks all for answering this question. The one thing I would like to add is that with the Bradley you always get "clean" smoke. No after-taste that can happen with burnt pellets.

When I started using the Bradley years ago it cost me dime over a dollar per hour. Today it still cost me about the same.

I've always contended that Wade Bradley is not in the business of selling smokers. He is in the business of selling the consumable.  That is just good business.

IMO for what this unit does and the cost of running it is a real deal for us.
Olds

Olds

I also agree with Olds, it costs us about £1 / $2 per hour here in the UK and I think it is well worth the money for the quality of the product.

Of course I would like to see them cheaper but it ain't going to happen, however got some friends going to the US soon for 3 weeks holiday and I hope to pursuade them to take an extra holdall with them to bring back full of pucks!

We are looking after their dogs when they are away so if they want their dogs back !!??   ::) ;D ;)
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: Stargazer on July 19, 2008, 09:50:24 AM
Quote from: KyNola on July 14, 2008, 07:50:38 PM
Ted,
First of all, welcome to the forum and thank you for posting your concern here.  I thought long and hard before I responded as I had several different thought paths I went down.  I finally settled on the fact that once you start turning out the quality of food that the Bradley is capable of turning out, the cost of the pucks will be more than worth it.  Cost is relative.  I just smoked 19 pounds of bacon this weekend.  The cost of the 23 pounds gross weight of pork belly was $46.00.  The cost of the cure was minimal.  I used 9 pucks of apple wood.  Go to your local grocery and price 19 pounds of bacon.  I know I'm money ahead AND the quality is so much better than store bought.  How do I know?  When I mentioned I was doing bacon, 5 different friends asked if they could buy bacon from me because they had tasted my first batch.  I don't smoke foods to sell but it told me I was doing something right.

I know the economy is tough right now but believe me, you will find the cost of the pucks well worth it.  If not, hang around on the forum anyhow.  Lots of good folks here.

KyNola 

I have to agree with KyNola. Ironically we are both Kentuckians and both did up bacon. I did mine this weekend and one pound shy of KyNola.

Everything Ky said has hit the nail on the head. However I wish to add this. Saddly, I am not a proud bradley owner yet but with some saving and work I hope to be in a few months.

The bacon I did last night in my bullet smoker, using wood chips came out real good, however I honestly was thinking how much easier it would be using a bradley instead of constantly lifting the main body of the bullet smoker up to add more smoke. That is one way I can see the pucks paying for themselves real easily. The second being, I quickly went through a bag of hickory chips.

From all I read not just here but other sites is that the Bradley wood pucks burn much more evenly where as the wood chunks and chips just burn pretty quickly unless you have them soaked good first. Which leaves a really nice mess after.

If that is the case, I would find it actually much cheaper to run the Bradley pucks over loose wood any day.

Like I said, Im not yet a Bradley owner, but thats just my 2 cents in is all.
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: KyNola on July 19, 2008, 02:00:09 PM
Stargazer is dead on the money with the smoke time on the Bradley vs. the others.  The smoke generated by the Bradley is pure smoke.  Great example, regular pit pork butt, most guys where I'm from roll the smoke for pretty much 24 hours.  With the Bradley, 4 hours of smoke, then roast to desired temp.

I think we all have agreed, the Bradley is an amazing smoker.

KyNola
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: westexasmoker on July 19, 2008, 02:19:39 PM
You guys both nailed it, BS pure smoke and then roast/cook till done.  You can pull it off with your offset also the biggest thing with that is time, and one thing that people do wrong is keep throwing wood into the box.  When using your offset same rules apply smoke 4-6 hours then you want to burn your wood down in another box and shovel the coals into your wood box not smoking just to keep the temp up.  Again same principal that is applied to the BS.  I wouldn't trade my BS for anything, but by that same token I'm not letting go of my offset either!  Oh yeah and the biggest key here is use mesquite!

C
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: Stargazer on July 19, 2008, 02:41:24 PM
My biggest problem with my bullet smoker was the wood chips kept burning up way to fast. I ended up going through a whole medium bag.

I kept thinking to myself over and over last night that if it was a Bradley, I could just add a few more pucks on the side and be done with it.

Sure would beat lifting the main body of a bullet smoker with a full water pan being on a cane, not to mention loss of alot of heat too.

Keeping all that in mind, the pucks, you couldnt put a price tag on. However, adding up how much a puck smokes, which I belive is around 20 minutes per puck, and the cost per puck greatly outweight buying wood chunks/chips by a large margin. Also keeping in mind the conveniance and ease the puck method of the Bradley smokers offer.

Dont get me wrong, I like my bullet smoker only because it allows me to smoke for the time being. But I know now that I want to constantly smoke foods and get creative with smoking meats, and researching constantly on line, Bradley out shines them all.

Honestly, at first being introduced to Bradley from amazon com doing a search for smokers, I also thought the pucks would cause a disadvantage. But thinking of it, the pucks actually make much more sense, and over all lowers man power 'adding more wood by hand' and puck:wood chip ratio, realistically the pucks are cheaper.

I know I will be intrested in making my own pucks shortly after I get my Bradley, not for cost efficantcy but for fun. I can get Kentucky bourbon barrles pretty cheap depending on the season. Chop them up and make some Jim Beam or Wild Turkey pucks :)

Added: Just to note, if anyone who is still skeptical about the pucks, check out any decent sausage supply catalouge and see their smokers. Usually with a starting price tag of $999.99 for a most basic small 2 rack size. Most of them are also on an auto feed as well. The thing is, Bradley made a beautiful well made auto feed that is very affordable for the common house hold. The bigger ones like FatBoyz ProSmoker and Treager are auto feed as well, but the price tag is so high on them, they pretty much only stick to selling to big commercial out fits.

This is just one more huge plus in my book for Bradley, keping the regular dudes at home in mind designing a smoker.
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: KyNola on July 19, 2008, 03:21:33 PM
Stargazer,
I have owned pretty much every type of smoker you can own, from the Brinkman bullet to an Oklahoma Joe's offset that was so heavy the folks at Sam's had to put it in my truck with a forklift.  I can absolutely with all honesty state that the Bradley is the absolute best smoker I have ever had the pleasure to own.  It is so simple and so perfect every single time that I will never have anything but a Bradley.  Save as fast as you can and choose your Bradley.  You will never look back.

KyNola
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: Oldman on July 19, 2008, 03:56:50 PM
QuoteWe are looking after their dogs when they are away so if they want their dogs back !!??   
You Arse....now that is funny!
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: SNAGGS on July 31, 2008, 07:46:26 AM
Greetings to the smooooooookers of the world.  New to site but smooooooookin for years.  Question for you PRO'S.  Wood chips vs. sawdust.........Electric using sawdust?........Electric using pucks without a feeder?......Electric using combo of sawdust and pellets?.......Electric using soaked chips?soaked sawdust? soaked pellets?   I crapped out my propane smoker.  Bought a standard 4 shelf electric.  Now recipies suggest a 90 deg. heat for fish for anywhere from 1-3 hours  and a smoke at 150 deg for prox 2-4 hours.  Now hear this!!!! How can you get smoke at 90 deg?.  How can you get smoke with an electric smoker single element 1500 watt at 150 deg spacing the racks equally without the smoker burning the bottom racks and leaving the top racks raw?  Who has a good answere of what to use in a standard electric smoker with a chip tray and water tray 1500 watt single wrap around heating element?  My problem?  either too cold for smoke---too hot for proper length of required smoking---no smoke from chips---sawdust burns too fast---.  Oh! I manage to get my smoooookin done but it's a pain to get it all right with little effort.  Thanks
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: Mr Walleye on July 31, 2008, 08:28:48 AM
Hi Snaggs and welcome to the forum.

I don't know what type of smoker you have but here is a link to my setup which may give you some ideas to modify your setup to cold smoke a little easier.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=6075.0

Mike
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: westexasmoker on July 31, 2008, 11:14:15 AM
Welcome to the forum SNAGGS!

No cold smoking for me until winter time down here, my box turned off is at 95 right now and we've yet to hit our high temp for the day!  Mike has a killer setup for cold smoking, and others like myself, just the basic cardboard box setup.  Rotating your racks will keep things smoking/cooking a bit more even!

C
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: yul on August 03, 2008, 04:25:03 PM
Welcome Ted, Give the Bradley a few more tries and by then I am sure you will love the flavour it gives to the food. The Amazon deal is the way to go. Up here north of the border we never seem to get the pucks on sale, so on a recent visit to relatives in Detroit I stocked up with enough pucks from Amazon to keep me going untill next year.
I had tried all the other methods of smoking too, (sawdust, pellets etc.) with very mixed results. The Bradley is consistant time after time due mainly to the use of pucks and as mentioned in the other posts it is "clean" smoke so you get no bitter taste.
You can mess up an awful lot of expensive meat with the other methods, with Bradley you increase your odds for sucess many times over. :)
Title: Re: Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?
Post by: Habanero Smoker on August 04, 2008, 03:59:13 AM
SNAGGS;

Welcome to the forum. One of the better features of the Bradley is that you can detach the smoke generator and use the cold setup (http://www.johnwatkins.co.uk/personalpages/coldsmoking.htm) method of smoking. Using this type of setup, a hot plate and a pan you can use chips, pellets, sawdust etc. I have used this type of setup when I want to use a wood flavor that Bradley does not provide, such as peach.