Gidday from Canada
I really want to get a Bradley and see the original and digital are both on sale here for $100 off ($299 or $399). Is the digital worth the extra $100? I have friends ho visit the US regularly and I am wondering if there are better deals in Northern New York state?
My father owns a sugar bush with approx 40 acres of land, lots of maple obviously. He also has hickory and oak on his land. Can either of the Bradley's I mentioned use self cut wood or do the pucks have to be used?
I have a lot of reading to do here and I don't think the sale will last that long - nect Thursday night is when it ends.
Hi there Paddinpaul and welcome to the forum.
There are two schools of thought here regarding the OBS and the DBS. I personally have the DBS and I like it. It is easier to control as you can set the desired tower temperature and moreorless forget it. OBS owners rave about it as well and they do say it would require a bit of mastering the slide temp control, but does not take long.
I live in Jordan so I cant help you about any better deals in N. NY State. As for the wood on your father's land, it can not be used on the Bradley and you will have to use the wood brisquettes that Bradley sels. Howver and if you do get the cold smoke attachment from bradley and with the help of a heat source, you could use normal wod chucks and / or chips.
I am sure some more of the OBS / DBS owner will be chiming in soon with more help on the subject.
HR
W E L C O M E to the Forum Paddlinpaul!
I own the Original, and have since added a temp control device called a PID.
It depends on what you want to do. The Original has an analog slide for temp control, it takes a little fiddling with it to get the hang of it at first.
If you are going to me making and smoking your own sausage and/or smoking salmon, then you may need tighter temp control.
If you are going to do pulled pork, brisket, ribs and other BBQ type items, the Original is great for that.
I can't speak to an local sales in NY, I'm in Florida, where most of New York is now this time of year :D :D
You need to use the bisquettes that are designed for the Bradley
Welcome to the Forum Paddlinpaul!
Those both look like some pretty good prices. You may be able to save a little but don't think it would be worth the extra effort.
As FBR has said, depending on what you want to do with your smoker will help you decide which one to get.
If you are wanting to do smoked fish and sausage go with the OBS and take the extra money and buy you a PID for tighter temp controls.
http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=72
Thanks all for the info. Fish and sausage are definitely in the plans along with back ribs. I really want to try cheese also. I have never had anything smoked I didn't like.
I have been doing my ribs on the grill, without any direct heat. They are pushed to one side, hickory (half of it soaked in water, the other half dry) wrapped in foil on the burner on the other side. I maintain a temp around 225F to 250F for about 6 hours. the last 45mins I put the sauce on them. Everyone tells me they are the best they can get around here. A bit of a pain to do, can't leave them alone very long either. It is time to upgrade to a real smoker and leave the grill for the steaks. I think I like the idea of the original and getting the PID.
I would go with the OBS and put the extra money towards a PID if you decide you need/want it. I have the DBS and just added a PID to it for better temperature control.
Hi Paddlinpaul,
Welcome to the forum.
If your father has a mailing address in New York, you can pretty much take advantage of any deals in the U.S.
As for using other woods to smoke food in your smoke, it can be done and I often do it when I want to apply peach wood smoke. You will need a hot plate, a pan, a dryer hose, and a cold smoke box setup. Soak your wood or use green wood. Set the hot plate inside the cold box, adjust the heat and place a pan of chips on the hot plate. Add the more chips if needed.
Cold Smoke Setup (http://www.johnwatkins.co.uk/personalpages/coldsmoking.htm)
Bradley makes a Cold Smoke adapter, but it is too small to fit even the smallest hot plate in it.
Using other woods in the Bradley (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showpost.php?p=819&postcount=36)
Habs I found a hot plate at Walmart that fits inside the cold smoke adaptor.
Model SBS110 Table Stove 120V/1100W with a variable low/medium/high setting.
It does not have a name brand but has a D in upper left hand corner. I still see
them there so I will try to get you a name brand.
(http://i1004.photobucket.com/albums/af165/classicrockgriller/MISC/101_0283.jpg)
CRG if you get the "item#" of the box it makes it so easy for them to find.
Quote from: Quarlow on December 06, 2009, 04:18:16 PM
CRG if you get the "item#" of the box it makes it so easy for them to find.
I'll do that. I have had this one for a while (note the dust) but I got it at Walmart and they haven't changed brands.
Here is a pic of my cold smoker. I will replace the cardboard box when I find the appropriate container or build one.
(http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af233/quarlow/Picture011.jpg)
This works really well.
If you'd like some more details on this set up just ask.
Welcome Paddlinpaul, I've got the 6 rack digital with the cold smoke adapter and love it. It makes life a lot easier with the digital control.
CRG;
Nice find. If you get the information I would appreciate it. I'm heading to Wal-Mart today. While I'm there I'll take a look around.
Now I may not have to make any more cold smoke setups out of cardboard. I was thinking of making one out of wood.
If you don't find one, I have 4. I'll send you one.
Welcome to the fun Paddlinpaul
I chose the DBS 6 rack mainly for the bigger cabnet to hang sausage, the digital controller does pretty good at holding the temp wants it gets there. Mine would over shoot the set temp almost 10 F but would even out when the sausage would get up to temp and I have made many batches of sausage with great success. I now have a PID
If Bradley made an OBS 6 rack I would have gone that way and then got a PID
Just throwing this out there but you only need 3 to 4 hr of smoke and the rest of the time is just cooking at low heat.
Keep us posted on what smoker you get and how your smokes go.
Quote from: classicrockgriller on December 07, 2009, 05:20:00 AM
If you don't find one, I have 4. I'll send you one.
I forgot to look, but I'm going back on Thursday. If I can't find it I'll PM you.
Thanks for all the info folks. I just got home with an original (model BT1S1). Can't wait to try it out. I'll be buying the PID pretty soon I imagine. Got a great deal at $289 canadian.
Yeah Paul smoke on brother.