I hope the new digital smoker works better than my old smoker.

Started by Doctor Woody, January 08, 2009, 10:31:42 AM

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josbocc

Hey All,

The Auber PID plugs into the back of the Bradley, thereby overriding the digital controls on the Bradley for heat only.  It has a sensor that can be placed through the vent, or due to it's small diameter, can be run right through the door.  (Not really through it, but the door will seal against the tower with the sensor in between).

Got my Auber right from them, the Maverick from Amazon.com.  Gotta go, Canadian Bacon should just about be done   ;D ;D ;D

Jeff
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Doctor Woody

Quote from: pensrock on January 08, 2009, 02:25:57 PM
QuotePensrock,

Not a bad idea.  I was thinking about selling it on eBay, as it will become yet another item to find a place to store.  I will look into this though.

Ok Doc it was just a suggestion.

If you do decide to sell your OBS. You may want to ask here first, maybe someone in the forum would be interested?

Good idea.  I wouldn't want to ship it though, so it would have to be someone local enough.  Not having enough storage would be my only reason for getting rid of it.

Doctor Woody

Quote from: josbocc on January 08, 2009, 02:53:52 PM
Hey All,

The Auber PID plugs into the back of the Bradley, thereby overriding the digital controls on the Bradley for heat only.  It has a sensor that can be placed through the vent, or due to it's small diameter, can be run right through the door.  (Not really through it, but the door will seal against the tower with the sensor in between).

Got my Auber right from them, the Maverick from Amazon.com.  Gotta go, Canadian Bacon should just about be done   ;D ;D ;D

Jeff

I thought that's how it would work.  Nice and simple.  I can't wait to put these new gadgets into use!

Wanna toss me some of that BACON?

NePaSmoKer

I must be one of lucky ones, all 3 of my bradleys are keeping temp right there +/- 10* also depends on the outside temp.


Or i am a Bradley Guru  ;D

nepas

Smoking Duck

Doc,

You might want to do what I'm going to do.......I have the original 4 rack and the digital 4 rack......My digital will soon be turned into a cold-smoke only smoker so that I have one dedicated for cold smokes (cheeses, etc) and one for hot smokes.  If you've already got both and can afford to keep them both( I can't really afford to keep both but I am), make it easier on yourself.  After all, the cold smoke is one of the greatest features of the Bradley, IMHO.

SD

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Click here for my blog: La Cosa Smokestra

Doctor Woody

Quote from: Smoking Duck on January 08, 2009, 03:30:20 PM
Doc,

You might want to do what I'm going to do.......I have the original 4 rack and the digital 4 rack......My digital will soon be turned into a cold-smoke only smoker so that I have one dedicated for cold smokes (cheeses, etc) and one for hot smokes.  If you've already got both and can afford to keep them both( I can't really afford to keep both but I am), make it easier on yourself.  After all, the cold smoke is one of the greatest features of the Bradley, IMHO.

SD

Yeah.  The more I think about it the more I think I'll want to keep it.

Cold smoke is cool (pun intended).  Cheese is super easy to smoke.  And quick too.  I would like to try cold smoked salmon (lox), but after reading the recipe, I'm not sure I want to go through all that...

easyridinole

I would say my DBS holds around +/- 15 degrees, but it seems like it is such a roller coaster. Its either way up or its way down. Anyway thanks for the help all.

Ole
Most people hate the taste of beer - to begin with. It is, however, a prejudice that many people have been able to overcome.     -WINSTON CHURCHILL-

mjack1957

Quote from: Doctor Woody on January 08, 2009, 10:31:42 AM
Greetings all,

Just joined the forum.  I joined it because I started reading the posts and found them very educational.  The trusted recipes look great too, and can't wait to try them.

When I started smoking, years ago, I used a Big Chief Smoker.  Then graduated to a Bradley.  I currently have the original black smoker.  From the start, I could not get the temp over 175 degrees or so.  I recently worked with Bradley, replaced the heating element, bypassed the fuse and temp cutoff module, but still can't get the smoker much over 200 degrees.  After pissing off the wife too many times by making her wait to eat so late, I decided to get the 6 rack digital model.  Of course, she'll be pissed when she finds out I bought another one....  But that's a different story.  Upon reading the forum, I also ordered the Maverick and can't wait to use it.

Lately, I've been rubbing a salty, dry spice cure under the skin of a bone-in turkey breast.  It has been out of this world good, and very easy.  I'll post what I've done in another thread.

Cheers!

I know this might not ease our frustrations, but I just got the OBS and have had temps at 250. I purchased the Auber PID and it works like a charm.  Holds temps exactly where you set them.  I smoked some mahi mahi and it turned out perfect.  As a matter of fact, I have a brand new in the box DBS downstairs that I'm returning.  I called the company before it shipped and told them to cancel the order.  They shipped it anyway and now want to charge me a re-stocking fee.  But after reading all the posts on the forum, I decided the OBS with a PID would better serve my needs.  Suffice it to say I'm very happy with my decision.  I've come to realize with ever a company manufactures several units, there's a certain percentage that are bound to be defective.  I'm just glad I get a good one.

easyridinole

I ordered my PID this morning and can't wait to get it. I am just wondering if with my roller coaster temps if this is why everything I do tends to take a few hours longer then what is posted on here. Any thoughts??  :-\

Ole
Most people hate the taste of beer - to begin with. It is, however, a prejudice that many people have been able to overcome.     -WINSTON CHURCHILL-

Doctor Woody

Quote from: easyridinole on January 09, 2009, 07:20:29 AM
I ordered my PID this morning and can't wait to get it. I am just wondering if with my roller coaster temps if this is why everything I do tends to take a few hours longer then what is posted on here. Any thoughts??  :-\

Ole

Ole,

I doubt the temperature swings would make things take longer in the smoker, IMO.

My thoughts on the Bradley design.  For the money, there are quite a lot of features in the BS.  A device that continuously needs to switch power on and off to a heating element needs to be of good quality, or it won't last.  I think that this is where Bradley chose to cut corners to keep the smoker more affordable.  I could be wrong, but this makes most sense to me.  The PID is not much more than a quality switching device, and look how much it costs.  To me, paying the price of the PID is worth it and considered an upgrade to a product where most things have been designed quite well.

easyridinole

If I do notice any differences I will let everyone know. Its not because of the outside temp because my smoker is in my heated garage and vented out. Oh well a couple extra hours in the garage having a few cool ones never hurt a guy!  ;D

Ole
Most people hate the taste of beer - to begin with. It is, however, a prejudice that many people have been able to overcome.     -WINSTON CHURCHILL-

Doctor Woody

Quote from: easyridinole on January 09, 2009, 08:45:09 AM
If I do notice any differences I will let everyone know. Its not because of the outside temp because my smoker is in my heated garage and vented out. Oh well a couple extra hours in the garage having a few cool ones never hurt a guy!  ;D

Ole

You've got a good point there...   8)

FLBentRider

I don't think the swings would cause longer cook times.
The swings are a problem, especially with sausage, when you want to make sure that the temp does not exceed a certain temp.

For example, if you have 170F as your set temp, the smoker will often get to 180F before shutting the element off. If you are trying to keep the fat in your sausage from rendering out, that could cause a problem.

The temp cycling +15F or even +20F would not have any ill effect on a pork butt.

On the OBS, it allows you to set a temp and forget it. Sort of like a "digital upgrade"
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easyridinole

Quote from: FLBentRider on January 09, 2009, 08:49:33 AM
I don't think the swings would cause longer cook times.
The swings are a problem, especially with sausage, when you want to make sure that the temp does not exceed a certain temp.

For example, if you have 170F as your set temp, the smoker will often get to 180F before shutting the element off. If you are trying to keep the fat in your sausage from rendering out, that could cause a problem.

The temp cycling +15F or even +20F would not have any ill effect on a pork butt.

On the OBS, it allows you to set a temp and forget it. Sort of like a "digital upgrade"

Actually summer sausage was the last thing I made and I slowly ramped up the temp as said in the instructions. When I set it to my last temp, which was 170F, I did notice that it climbed up higher than I wanted, but it still turned out good. With my new "digital upgrade" maybe this will take the worries off my mind and cut back on the cool ones. No, I will take that back it will be my excuse to have the same amount in celebration!  ;D
Most people hate the taste of beer - to begin with. It is, however, a prejudice that many people have been able to overcome.     -WINSTON CHURCHILL-

Doctor Woody

Quote from: easyridinole on January 09, 2009, 09:00:14 AM
Quote from: FLBentRider on January 09, 2009, 08:49:33 AM
I don't think the swings would cause longer cook times.
The swings are a problem, especially with sausage, when you want to make sure that the temp does not exceed a certain temp.

For example, if you have 170F as your set temp, the smoker will often get to 180F before shutting the element off. If you are trying to keep the fat in your sausage from rendering out, that could cause a problem.

The temp cycling +15F or even +20F would not have any ill effect on a pork butt.

On the OBS, it allows you to set a temp and forget it. Sort of like a "digital upgrade"

Actually summer sausage was the last thing I made and I slowly ramped up the temp as said in the instructions. When I set it to my last temp, which was 170F, I did notice that it climbed up higher than I wanted, but it still turned out good. With my new "digital upgrade" maybe this will take the worries off my mind and cut back on the cool ones. No, I will take that back it will be my excuse to have the same amount in celebration!  ;D

I can always think up an excuse for more cool ones.  Like, hmmmm, it's Thursday.  Good excuse for some cool ones.   ;)