New to this form, I had my original Bradley smoker for over a year and I have been reading up on this form and on the net where people either installed a second element or change the existing element to a 900 watts. I know either way I still require a PID controller but I was hoping to find out which route should I take? Mainly the mod will be use to recover faster, I do have couple of questions.
This site does explain pretty good in how to install another element http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?572-Additional-Heating-Element-Modification (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?572-Additional-Heating-Element-Modification) however I know the PID connects to the back of the bradley but would you need to disable the slider temp in the front? Is it recommended to change to a higher gauge wire for the existing element if adding a second element?
Is it useful to had a switch to turn off the second element when temp reaches?
If replacing the existing element with a 900 one, would I need to change the existing wiring to handle the load?
Thanks
Hi ghosttown;
Welcome to the forum.
There is no need to use higher gauge wiring for either modification. It is highly recommended to bypass the slider control when you do this modification. Bypassing the slider is just a simple matter of taking off the face plate, disconnecting the wires from the circuit board, then connecting those wires together. Waterproof the connection with electrical tape or liquid electrical tape, and reattach the face plate.
Thank you, I was wondering if I needed to complete the circuit if I disconnect the wires to the slider. In step 3 of the URL listed below, would this be the same step I would need to do for the OBS?
Follow up question to the original one....
Is adding a second 500w element a better option than changing out the original 500w and installing a 900w element or does it make a difference?
I think I am leading towards adding a 900 watts, is there any instructions on how to do this for a OBS? I guess in theory removing the original element, upgrade the existing wiring if you wish and then install the new element and bypassing the slider. Would anybody know what is the white block that is used this post? http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=23239.15 (http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=23239.15) See page 2 very top post.
i have been running the 900 watt element since 2008 with no problems except with large loads,, that it takes time to recover.. though it is to be expected.. so it is a great mod, just be sure that the top vent is wide open at all times
X2 what Beefmann said
Thought changing it to a 900 watts would allow you to recover faster? Is adding a second element of 500 better then having one 900? Why do I need to leave the vent wide open?
he means with large loads it still take time but not as much..vent open allows heat and moisture do rise and escape. to much moisture trapped in the smoker will keep temps. down
Okay thanks, is there any benefits between the two? Changing it to a 900 or adding another 500?
The thought process of the folks who started the 900 watt mod was that the finned heating element would transfer heat more effectively than the rod style dual element mod. Don't know that anyone has ever done a side by side comparison to see if one is significantly better than the other, but the logic makes sense to me.
The are some other considerations to which mod you select. A rod element is about half, or less, the cost of a finned element. The finned element mod requires that you fabricate mounting brackets to attach the element to the smoker. The dual element mod requires that you make up some short jumper wires to connect the new element to the old one, that you notch the ceramic holders to allow the jumper wire to connect to the new element, and that you drill a couple of holes in the heat reflector so the reflector will act as the holder for the new element. Kind of depends what fabrication work you're most comfortable with.
I've found that a carbide coated rod saw blade ($5) for a hacksaw worked best for me when it came to notching the ceramic holders for the heating element, and that a step drill ($30) worked much better than twist drills and hole punches to make holes in the heat reflector. (Need I tell you that I'm on reflector number three, now?)
I guess it all depends what I want to go with. Any special screws I need to hold the 900 watts element?
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Quote from: ghosttown on July 08, 2015, 04:25:06 PM
I guess it all depends what I want to go with. Any special screws I need to hold the 900 watts element?
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the bolts i have used are 5/16 by 1 1/2 which is just big enough to fit through the holes of the heater and long enough to be fed through the back of the smoker, add a bolt to secure the bolts to the smoker... then a all thread nut is put in place as a spacing bolt, then the heating element finally a bold to secure the heater.. and this is on each end.. also gives you approx 1/3 to 1/2 inch spacing between the element and the back of the smoker to aid in circulation...
though i do run a blower on mine continuously to provide as much heat transfer into the smoker... Hope this helps
Did not notice that the bolt went all the way through to the back and out the other side. I assumed you drilled a whole to the back of the smoker then insert the bolts? Would this be possible, remove the back panel of the smoker and remove the Neutral, Ground and Power from the AC adapter, rerun 14 gauge heat wire both the neutral and the hot running to the 900 watts element and then ground the ground wire to some sort of bolt/metal on the smoker. This way I bypass the slider, the inline fuse and anything that is original, if I ever want to go back to stock I can. I guess I can add some sort of rocket switch with a light or just a light source so I can tell there is power going to the smoker. By any chance would I need a inline fuse with the new element or any other protection in case the PID fails to prevent over heating the smoker? Would you have any pictures of your install by any chance.
Quote from: ghosttown on July 09, 2015, 05:26:37 PM
Did not notice that the bolt went all the way through to the back and out the other side. I assumed you drilled a whole to the back of the smoker then insert the bolts? Would this be possible, remove the back panel of the smoker and remove the Neutral, Ground and Power from the AC adapter, rerun 14 gauge heat wire both the neutral and the hot running to the 900 watts element and then ground the ground wire to some sort of bolt/metal on the smoker. This way I bypass the slider, the inline fuse and anything that is original, if I ever want to go back to stock I can. I guess I can add some sort of rocket switch with a light or just a light source so I can tell there is power going to the smoker. By any chance would I need a inline fuse with the new element or any other protection in case the PID fails to prevent over heating the smoker? Would you have any pictures of your install by any chance.
just to be clear, the heater is mounted on the back interior wall of the smoker,, you would have to remove the back cover to drill the holes,
as for the wires, leave the ground in place ( unless you want to upgrade to heavier gage though keep it connected to the tower ) and yes it would be a good idea to run 14 gage high temp wire to the element, also use the high temp crimp on connector on all connections,
there is an over temp sensor built into the bradley you may want to run the heater through it , though i dont .. i run mine through the pid only.....
here is the link for my heater mod,
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17329.msg209917#msg209917
in picture #2 you see the bolts for the heater which has a washer on the inside wall of the smoker and a all thread bolt which is approx an inch long.
picture # 4 is how the heater is mounted and wired inside the smoker
picture #5 if you look close just above the black panel you will notice a couple inches in from the sides the silver bolt heads with washers , these are the bolts for the heating element,
you do not have to mount the heating element as high as i have, the only reason i did is to use the blower for maximum heat transfer into the smoker. To the best of my knowledge i am the only one running this exact configuration, blower runs full time heater is ran through the pid
hope this gives you some visual help
Good install, instead of using the temp sensor built in to Bradley, do you know what they use I rather buy a replacement and put that in and keep everything in place and run everything parallel.
you can always purchase the over heat temp sensor from bradley or yard and pool install it along with the new heater while leaving the original in place, this way it is a simple install.
how ever i no longer have the original badley wiring in mine , It was removed when i did the mod to the 900 watt element along with the blower hence i no longer need the temp protection. even if the pid fails and the top vent is open it wont get much over 300 F.
stupid question but your saying if the pid fails and if you dont have the heat temp installed even with the vent open your saying with the 900 watts will not produce 300F?
Unless you mean it won't reach that high because of the blower you installed.
the element will produce over 300 f, though in my experience with my pid set at 350 for 6 hours the smoking chamber hard a hard time getting to the low 300 f maybe 325 and this was on a 75 f day, and the top vent was wide open so excessive temp i dont think is an issue, the only concern would be a fire,. if proper installation is done and no grease gets on the element you should be fine.
if your pid fails most likely it would fail to the off position, meaning that the heater would be turned off when the pid fails.
Would I be able to use the heat temp sensor that is already there? Planning to install a new inline fuse but use thr existing heat sensor. Do you know how high thr heat sensor is rated for
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i do not know what it is rated at, give it a try with the new element and see hat happins, it is my understanding that people do run 1000 watts through the high temp sensor with no problems, So i would say yes you can use it