All,
I've had my smoker for almost a year now and have used it many a times and it's showing some signs of wear:
1. On the smoke generator housing where the heating plate/track connects I am noticing some peeling going on. Is this a fire hazard? Should I just peel off whatever is loose?
2. On the inside I am noticing some flaking of the patina as well. I understand that this is normal however. Do any of you fully clean out the inside? aka, scrape off any loose flakes?
3. Some peeling also noticed on the top of the smoker box, specifically in the vent area. Is this normal?
Now I have to admit, I'm not the best at fully cleaning this thing after every smoke. I've read some of the posts here regarding fires and such. Should I be worried?
But overall, this thing is great and I receive accolades all the time about how great my ribs/pulled pork/briskets are. :)
Have a great weekend all!
V
Just knock the peeling/flakes off with some crushed up tinfoil. That's all you really need to do to the cabinet.
I am with Squirt only I just crumple up a sheet of newspaper and give it a light rub. As for the peeling around the vent, just unscrew the vent and give it a good cleaning on the outside and a light rub with the newspaper on the inside. The same goes for around the smoke generator. All it is is dry smoke, shouldn't be a fire hazard at all. Glad you are enjoying your smoker.
Heck no
The crustier it is the better it smokes.
Get you a tooth brush that is brass or stainless steel. That will work real good at cleaning the slide plate and the puck burner surface. You will get better smoke if you keep the puck burner clean and free of burnt on ash residue.
Quote from: Tenpoint5 on September 17, 2011, 09:07:39 AM
Get you a tooth brush that is brass or stainless steel.
Must raise them tough in your area that they brush their teeth with brass or stainless steel>
If you are getting some peeling in the smoke generator, you
may want to check your vent setting.
It should be 3/4 to full open and full open for chicken, jerky, etc.
You can try to use an air jose and
Blow the loose stuff off. (gently).
---
- Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Has any one covered the v tray with aluminum foil. It seams like this would make clean up a lot easier.
The vents in the V-tray allow the heat to go up to the top of the smoker, the hole in the center of the V-tray allows grease to drop into the water bowl. If you put tin foil on it make sure you cut all the slites and hole open. I would just spray some pam on it instead. i take mine to the car wash and use their high presure sprayer. Works real fast. ;)
It is highly suggested that you DO NOT use foil on your V-tray and in the owners manual it says NOT to use foil in the Bradley
Thanks I was just thinking about clean up. I use spam but still have a lot scrubbing.
Quote from: macsfire on September 18, 2011, 06:50:58 AM
Thanks I was just thinking about clean up. I use spam but still have a lot scrubbing.
I spray mine with a HI-Temp grill spray.
For clean up, if you scrape it while it is warm most will come off.
If I forget then I use Dawn Power Dissolver. Spray it down and let it sit
and "Most" of the stuff will rinse off.
Quote from: classicrockgriller on September 18, 2011, 08:09:21 AM
If I forget then I use Dawn Power Dissolver. Spray it down and let it sit
and "Most" of the stuff will rinse off.
Ditto! Then a couple rinses and into the dishwasher it goes.. As long as the holes don't get plugged up, I don't lose any sleep over any burned on gunk.
hey guys... another canadian (but not in the warmer west-coast).
i am interested in getting an OBS, as the PBS just proves to be too difficult to maintain and use. a lot of issues i have had for so-so results.
but... i have a couple of slipped discs and a back deck - no shed, garage or basement.
can this mama be stored outside?
what's the best between-use state?
also, how do you winter it?
It doesn't have to be stored inside, but I would at least take the smoke generator in
and cover the smoker with a Bradley cover.
Mine stays outside covered but the generator stays in garage ways from the humidity down here by the
Gulf of Mexico.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
cover it up same as the barbeque, eh?
sounds good.
trying to talk myself out of buying one. sorta. sorta not... :)
have to think about the half-year it'll be in snow.
not that the texans don't know what they're talking about when it comes to smoking, but any northerners out there with OBS vs snow stories?
it gets 2' deep and minus 15 here in toronto (C... not sure what that is at F, lol)
No sweat Mr.phil, we gots guys on here that leave theirs out all year with as much or more snow as you get in your neck of the woods. You should be fine. But we do need to be careful when we cold smoke cheese in december. It tends to get real hard after a few hours.v ;D ;D ;D
aw, man!
now i'm gonna have to buy one... ;)
(and leave the BPS at the cottage, criminy, it's a lot of work)
Congrats on your new smoker Mr.phil ;D ;D You are going to love it. LOL
If it is the OBS you can store it outside with the generator 24/7 with only the cover. As far as snow, after each snow storm, I brush the snow off. You don't want snow to build up at the base of the smoker. If you don't clear the snow away from the base it tends to work it's way under the cover, and on a sunny day will begin to melt, and there is a possibility of water working it's way inside the temperature controller. Also in the winter you don't want to place the smoker where it will be under hanging ice.
One thing that I do in the winter that I don't during warming months; before turning on the smoker I make sure that the generator is off. I allow the cabinet warm up, thus warming up the generator a bit before I turn the generator on.
If it were mine, I'd bring the generator inside.
Quote from: classicrockgriller on October 07, 2011, 03:39:35 AM
If it were mine, I'd bring the generator inside.
I find there is no reason to, but either way gives the actual user more information so that s/he can determine which way s/he want to choose. I have stored my OBS with the generator outdoors for 7 years on my deck with just the cover and only had minor issues with the generator that had to do with regular maintenance.
well guys, all i can add is by repeating what brian told me himself. yes - THE brian.
a quotes from a seperate email thread from him:
"most covers including ours are NOT WATER PROOF. they do a pretty good job of keeping the rain and snow off the smoker but I would still try and store it out of direct contact with the weather.
It is a good idea to bring the smoke generator inside during the winter the grease in the motor does not like to be frozen."
so add that to the posts, and i see that even those of you who don't baby your unit get at least seven good years, perhaps with a bit more maintenance. i can't say my barbeque fairs much better than that... out all year and maintenance on the internals every year - still having to replace the burner in there every 3 or so.
so it's a rugged thing. bringing the generator inside (which is small enough to be hidden some where inb a closet, i'm sure) is just even more effective.
i'll get a properly fit cover and use it... prop it up on a milk crate to keep it off the ground (or build a frame of wood to go aorund the bottom to stop that buildup of ice which will get undeneath)... maybe utilize garbage bags and duct tape under the cover, or some sort of weather seal for the depth of the season... gonna get home-depot on it's ass. i'll probably play rock music while i do it and wear cool jeans.
then im gonna take all that stuff off and fricken smoke something. it IS saturday.
I'm on my third cover, all were waterproof, and the last cover I purchased, which was in the fall of 2010; the material seemed thicker and better made. When hurricane Irene came through and dumped 6" of rain in less then 24 hours, my smoker remained dry.
Unless they have changed the material the cover is made of, there may be some small leaks at the seams. But with any cover that has sewed seams, you need to seal the seams with with a sealer that you can purchase for any camping supply store. But even if you don't seal the seams, the leaks are minor. Though I do remember my first cover developing small pinholes in various areas.
The reason I'm on my third is that one winter I place the cover over the smoker while it was still warm. That caused condensation to form under the cover. The next time I tried to remove the cover it was frozen to the smoker. Rather then wait and let the smoker warm up a bit, I tried to get the cover off and ripped it. The second, I had the Bradley too close to the house and over hanging ice crashed into the smoker ripping the cover, and some minor damage to the vent.
When you use garbage bags, you need the construction size bags, which are around 33 to 35 gallons, or plastic leaf bags.