Recent Posts

1

The Digital Smokers (BTDS76P & BTDS108P) / Re: 2nd Element, Fan and Burner Mod

« Last post by gorillamotors on Today at 11:41:22 am »

The clamps I used are: two 3/4" with the rubber sleeves removed. These I positioned and centered over the ceramic end caps on the 2nd element to more or less locate it correctly. These two are a loose fit to allow the ceramic ends to expand with heat and not crack.

The 3rd clamp is 3/8" and it is a snug fit on the element itself to ensure it does not shift. The attach hardware and standoffs are all 3/16" .
You should put an second fusible link inline with the second element to ensure it's current is disrupted in the event of an overheat or fire.

What wires do you use at each end of the second element to the first element? Where do you get them? Also, do you remove some of the ceramic material that holds the heating element in place (not on the heating element itself) to make way for the wiring?

Jim

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The Digital Smokers (BTDS76P & BTDS108P) / Re: 2 element modification and in line fuse - to fuse or not to fuse? and how ?

« Last post by Habanero Smoker on June 15, 2018, 01:58:24 am »

I'm one that would be reluctant to replace it with a larger fuse. Member TedEbear wired his second element the same as you did, and he hasn't posted having any electrical problems such as yours. I would try to troubleshoot more to find out what caused the fuse to fail.

There are no sensitive components on that circuit, so as long as the amperage of the fuse doesn't exceed what the 14ga wires can carry, it should be safe to replace with a larger fuse. A quick google found that a 14ga wire can carry 20 amps, but to be on the safe side most recommend not going over 15 amps.

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Fish / Re: Timing on smoking some fish

« Last post by zueth on June 14, 2018, 11:16:42 pm »

Fridge, wrap with paper towels and in zip loc, change paper towels and every two days and will stay good for 2 weeks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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The Digital Smokers (BTDS76P & BTDS108P) / Re: 2 element modification and in line fuse - to fuse or not to fuse? and how ?

« Last post by Webbsolution on June 14, 2018, 04:32:33 pm »

Thank you for the fast reply   -

I wired them both with a short wire from the first tot he second element - the wire in both cases is about 2 inches long.

So given that I have two elements now should I not be considering a larger fuse ?

5

Fish / Timing on smoking some fish

« Last post by Xtrema312 on June 14, 2018, 03:30:29 pm »

I got about 12 lb of salmon that came out of the lake today.  I want to throw it in the smoker on Sunday morning. I usually do Kummok brine reduce volume recipe to match how much fish I'm doing. I've come to like brining it for about 16 hours. Here's my issue. I need to leave town tomorrow early in the afternoon. I can't be back until Saturday night. Trying to decide how to time things. 

I could throw in a brine tonight and pull it tomorrow before I take off. Then rack it up to form a pellicle, but it would be in the frigerator on racks for 40+ hours.

Another option is to throw it in the brine tonight, pull it tomorrow and bag it in the fridge until Saturday night. Then toss it on racks to dry in the fridge overnight.

I guess I could always just leave it in the fridge for a couple of days before starting the process, but I've always liked to get in the brine as fresh as possible.

I guess I'm just looking for some input from people to see what others have done when they had two to three days between when they want to start fish smoking project and finish it. I'm trying to think if there's any downside to longer-term rack time in the fridge or having brined fish not smoked right away.

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The Digital Smokers (BTDS76P & BTDS108P) / Re: 2 element modification and in line fuse - to fuse or not to fuse? and how ?

« Last post by Habanero Smoker on June 14, 2018, 01:23:59 pm »

Hi Webbsolution;

Welcome to the forum.

How did you wire the second element? Did you wire the second element to the first with short wire to the second element, or did you wire the second element directly to the power source at the plug? If you did the later, that should not have placed any additional load on the inline fuse. We have a member who wired his second element to the first, by attaching them together with short wires. He has run his for many years without any problems.

This fuse burning out may just be an uncommon failure.

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The Digital Smokers (BTDS76P & BTDS108P) / 2 element modification and in line fuse - to fuse or not to fuse? and how ?

« Last post by Webbsolution on June 14, 2018, 01:03:34 pm »

a few years ago I added a second element to my digital smoker as well as an auberins PID WDS1200. I diod not replace the in line fuse though.

 LIfe was good and I have lost count on how many racks of ribs, pulled pork shoulders and even a slow smoked Barron of beef I have done in this smoker.

My heat temps empty came up in about 16 minutes and I never had any issues at all.

Yesterday I was attempting 6 racks of ribs and I preheated my smoker as per usual - temp came up to 225 in 15 minutes or so.

Then I loaded my smoker with my racks and checked the temp 30 minutes later - it was still at 135 and slowly climbed to 150 but didnt go any higher.  The internal temp gauge said the unit was at 250...but it didnt feel like it was anywhere near that. I swapped probes on the auberins unit - same result (so not a dead sensor). Then  I reached in and got my fingers close to the elements - not hot...hrm dead fuse I suspected.

I unplugged the unit and pulled off the back and then used a insulation probe to try and test for continuity between the fuse joint and a section of the line further down, nothing - nothing , nothing - ok no continuity on the fuse - fuse is blown after two maybe 3 years of use... So now I need to know why ? 

I unloaded the ribs - foiled them and put them in my BBQ to keep cooking while I sorted this out ( I have 2 people coming for dinner to feed)

Then I inspected the elements for any sign of a short possibly from sauce or carbon deposits etc - While it didnt look super clean I could not see any indication of a short.   

So, with the back off I called around to see if I could find a new fuse - nothing was available.  I really wanted to finish these ribs in my smoker so I cut out the old fuse and soldered the wire together to test the unit and see if it came back without causing a short or a fire. The joint was well insulated and then I plugged the unit it while checking for signs of a short. I saw nothing bad - actually felt the + wire for heat - nothing out of the ordinary...then I did a test set to heat up to 250 again - it was perfect. I loaded my ribs back in and finished  them off for the next 3 hours.

Ok so it is my opinion that I had a standard blown fuse scenario as this fuse was installed by the factory for a single burner and my two burner mod just slowly but surely was enough to blow the fuse. IF I had a short I would have expected some kind of issue but the unit was perfect for the rest of the night.

Now - what do I replace that fuse with ? Surely not another  standard fuse ? 

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The Digital Smokers (BTDS76P & BTDS108P) / Re: Bisquette Advancement

« Last post by gorillamotors on June 14, 2018, 07:15:08 am »

Corey. It's not that. It is that I have access to quite a bit of hickory sawdust and I make my own bisquettes. Mine weigh 1.5-2 times that of a genuine bradley bisquette but burns fine. Just curious.

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The Digital Smokers (BTDS76P & BTDS108P) / Re: Second Element, and PID

« Last post by tskeeter on June 13, 2018, 12:11:06 pm »

Do you really need a PID for the digital smoker? I would assume it will keep the temps +- 5 degrees.

Jim

Jim, temp swings of +- 20 degrees are common with a Bradley when starting a smoke.  Temp swings tend to moderate as the meat temp increases.  For product such as sausage, where a 10 degree temp swing can cause the fat in the sausage to melt and result in dry, sandy sausage, a PID is a good investment.  My PID delivers +-2 degree temp control all during a smoke.

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The Digital Smokers (BTDS76P & BTDS108P) / Re: Second Element, and PID

« Last post by Gafala on June 13, 2018, 09:34:07 am »

I have the 900watt with a PID but I do sausages + - 1deg of temps control but I do ribs and chicken, bacon also, I also have the cold smoker for doing cheese and a curing cabinet.