I upgraded my Bradley smoker burner to a 900 watt from 500, it reaches 250 in about 20 min's 300 in a half hour my old burner I don't think I ever hit 250. I completely gave up trying to smoke anything after it was 10 below outside.
It turned out to be an easy project, I removed the old burner and used the existing wiring although I changed the burner connections with larger holes. Two pieces of angle bracket bolted to the heat shield. I didn't change or damage the smoker so I could install the original anytime.
$95 for the burner could be cheaper if you buy through a company
https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/en/product/WWG2XEF3
I opted to go with one large burner rather than add a second Bradley burner because I've already had one Bradley go after a short time.
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The burner fits perfectly on the heat deflector, I stuffed some fiberglass insulation in the holes where the old burner was mounted
Bat119, just want to caution you about operating you smoker at temps much above about 275. The power supply wiring contains an in-line fuse that shuts down the smoker in the event that it over heats, such as if you have a fire. I'm not sure what temp activates this one time activation fuse, but I'm guessing that it's about 300 because I've managed to trip mine twice without ever having a fire.
Good to know I was just testing I don't ever intend on using past 225 for smoking
Looks real good bat119, love the idea of having more heat when the temperature starts dropping on those windy days. I just have 1 question, are you using a PID, or just your Digital Smoke Controller unit? I too want to do this mod, just too many concerns about the controller not being able to handle the higher Watts.
there have being a lot of discussions on this subject. the Bradley was set up for the smaller element and it will be at the top end of capacity when using the 900 or second element mods. that being said you risk burning out your smoker and other then faster recovery time and some more heat the Bradley will still fluctuate in temps. if your plan is to do projects that require tighter temp controls you will need a pid. no matter what you decide its a good idea to have the safety margin when using your smoker. I use a pid and like it. sausage and fish do better with lower temp swings. search this site and you can find the numbers on power usage.
I didn't go with a PID for now, the system has been working fine with the original system however as mentioned the temperature fluctuates about 20 deg. I set the smoker for 270 the burner kicks out and restarts at 250 then runs till it hits 275 then drops to 250. I intended to upgrade the PID however with our low dollar and shipping from the US I'll keep using it with the factory equipment for now.
Thanks for the picture & info bat119
Bradley smoker 900 watt burner update
To try out my 900 watt upgrade I decided to smoke a pork shoulder, the smoker works much better reaching and maintaining cooking temperature much more efficiently. The outside temp was 0 degs. When I started warming up to 9 later in the day.
Louisiana pork rub
6lb. pork shoulder
¼ cup molasses mixed with ¼ cup water
The rub
¾ cup brown sugar
¼ cup coarse salt
¼ cup paprika
1 tbs. garlic powder
1 tbs. coarse black pepper
1 tbs. hot chili powder
1 tbs. herbs de provence
Grind mixture in the magic bullet blender (optional)
Coat the shoulder with the molasses mixture then liberally coat with the rub, massage well, put it in the fridge for 24 hours.
Sprinkle more rub mixture over the surface, put the pork in the oven for an hour at 170 Deg while the smoker heats up to preheat the meat. Smoke at 220 degrees. 3 hours, turn off smoke continue in the smoker for another 6-7 hours (or so) turn on smoke for the last hour (internal temp 160). Once the pork reaches 165 internal wrap in tinfoil and a towel for an hour to rest. Lots of buns and Pilsner good to go!
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