Hi folks
After having THREE replacement smoke generators from Grakka 'cos the advance mechanism didn't work -see my earlier posts I splashed out as advised on a complete OBS which arrived back-end of January. Felt a million dollars and couldn't wait to get into action. Regretably weather, business travel family committments and a dose of good old flu conspired against me getting smoking. Last week asked Manxman for some advice as to how to cook a top cut of beef in readiness for cooking this week-end. Well yesterday the big day arrived the long awaited smoking week-end arrived fish and meat cuts had been rubbed/brined and awaited their fate. But first follow instructions and season OBS. Guess what - my smoke cabinet does not have a heat control slider. There is just a slot with max-min temps marked and about 1 inch into the cavity there is a bit of metal which with a bit of wiggling and poking with a screwdriver I could move slightly - oh what frustration. Have sent a missive off to Grakka and will await their response on Monday, by then I hope I will have cooled down a bit. I am absolutely livid - and I am now at the end of my tether and wonder whether I should just give in and forget smoking altogether.
Has anyone else had the same problem or is mine unique.
It is now Sunday 24 hours later and I am still feeling pretty annoyed but having slept on it (good advice given to me by my late Dad) I still want to tell you all about it and ask you wiser folk than me what I should do.
thanks Boybach (Neil) >:(
I have never had a problem. From what I have read on this forum though, Bradley has a good reputation of taking care of BS owners. I would give them a call or send them an e-mail. I do not know who or what Grakka is. ???
Hi Wildcat
Grakka is the name of Bradley's representative Company here in the UK. They have been very good in immediately resolving my three broken smoke generators and I have no doubt they will be very professional in dealing with this newest problem. I just felt so exasperated that I needed to let off steam and see if any other members of the forum had had the same problem as mine
I think some members have had a problem or two, but as far as I know they were all resolved in short order. Let us know how it turns out. The BS is worth a little frustration.
Hi Boybach, first of all i'm sorry to hear of all the bad luck you've been having, i know it's difficult to be enthusiastic about something when you have these kind of problems :'(
Anyway, my advice to you is give it a last chance, i'm sure Grakka will do their upmost to get you sorted. Bradley customer service is second to none, and i've never heard a bad report regarding Grakka.
I'm also from the u.k., and i was a bit unlucky with my first Bradley, after driving quite a distance to buy one from a shop, i didn't bother checking everything until i returned home. When i arrived home i soon started unpacking everything, all looked ok until i opened the cabinet, and i was quite upset to see the inside was badly dented, and bashed around, even though all the original packing was in place.
Well after seeking some advice from the guys here, i phoned the shop and explained, well two days later i had a replacement Bradley, which was absolutely perfect. It's now seen a lot of action, and has been trouble free all the way through, and i love it to bits ;D
I would say you've just had exeptionaly bad luck, please stick with it, once you're sorted you'll soon forget all the frustration i promise you.
Please post back here and let us know how it goes with Grakka, i'm sure they'll do their best for you ;)
Regards............LilSmoker(http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Tip-Hat.gif)
thanks lil'smoker, I only have high praise for Grakka they have been exemplary in their response and settlement of my previous problems and I have no doubt they will be at pains to put this new problem to rights. My grumbling is purely self satisfaction in being able to vent my feelings - taking deep breaths is presently not easing the pain in having yet another planned and looked forward to week-end shot to bits particularly as tonight we have guests for dinner who were told to expect something out of the ordinary. The intention was to cook a prime piece of beef for the main course and your enthused hot smoked salmon as the starter. Instead my lovely wife who was expecting a leisurely week-end is now i/c cooking with me helping out rather unenthusiastically. I am in the ordinary a very happy chap without any major cares in the world but today I just feel depressed - a feeling not usually associated with my character - amazing that a dumb piece of equipment can cause such anxt. There now thats off my chest I'm already feeling better. Maybe a cocktail in a few hours will improve matters.
Lilsmoker read cocktail for Otail in my last post
LilSmoker definately Not my weekend - my Otail post means i am going to have a rum based punch
>:( A mans smoker is a kind of personal thing. When you look forward to a special time it is disappointing that it gets set back and I can understand your frustration. :(
There have been reports of Out of Box issues with Bradley but not a huge number (always a disappointment however). What has always held true is that eventually all works out and you get a unit that will give you years of service. Hang in thier. ;)
I too would be livid Boyback, to have one or two problems is perhaps just bad luck but to have four on the trot really does suggest Bradley's quality control leaves a lot to be desired! Again, I can perhaps understand if there is a hidden fault but to be missing the heater control slider is definately something that should have been picked up.
So no need to make excuses for being pi**ed off, I would be! Yes, Grakka are very helpful and I am sure they will sort it out for you.... but it might be worth getting them to thoroughly check out any replacement before they send it to you!! ;)
Good luck!
Quote from: Boybach on March 25, 2007, 07:31:33 AM
LilSmoker definately Not my weekend - my Otail post means i am going to have a rum based punch
Well i really think you deserve that rum punch, and i hope you still have a great evening despite the forced change of plan (http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Beer-Chug.gif)
Hope all goes well for you ;)..............LilSmoker(http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Tip-Hat.gif)
Not having a an OBS, I don't know the answer to this, but is it possible the slider just became dislodged from the front of the unit and could be "clicked" back into place if you can get to it?
Does Grakka still have your old units with the bad smoke gen? Trade them the box out and use the new Gen.
Hope everything works out for you. The BS is a good unit.
Note To Bradley,
You need to improve your packaging. Your units suffer greatly during shipping. Your customer satisfaction is wanning on first purchases. A few extra dollars of quality cardboard reinforced packaging material would do wonders. Suggestion: Buy a new Webber Ranch Grill. With their standard well constructed cardboard packaging material, I think you could drop the box off a 20 foot roof and the unit would not suffer. Your new customers would just appreciate an undamaged unit after shipping. ;)
I "feel your pain", Bach Jr...... I too, having three Bradleys, have to tweak and modify things on them from time to time. But have faith and perserverance.....just like a good 15 year old single malt, some things are just worth waiting for! ;) Like my Bradley brothers and sisters are tellin' ya, you'll be glad you did when you pull your first succesful smoke out and share it!
Boybach , Welcome aboard ! :)..........Look at it this way. With a few set backs , just imagine how
sweet your first OBS victory is gonna be. ;D
Coyote
Boyback,
Welcome to the forum. Hope things work out and you did not delay much on c@cktail hour, as that can help smooth the waters (at least for a bit). Looking forward to your successes and posts.
Arcs_n_Sparks
hi y'all
Spoken with Grakka (Bradleys UK representatives) and they are sending me a complete new sliding control plus a pack of Briquettes as compensation. I have to remove the screws on the bottom of the Cabinet front remove a few wires, insert the new slider control and reconnect :'(. Will let you know how it goes. Perhaps with a change of fortune - and similar to the clocks having gone forward an hour on Saturday - things will now get brighter and besides having a working BS I will also have a normal body temperature as well. Once again thanks to you all for putting up with my rage at the week-end and for your words of support :)
So what did you do with the ready prepared meat and fish, hope it didn't go to waste! :o
Let us know how you get on when you finally get to use your BS...... ;)
Hi Manxman
Cooked the Sirloin asper your instructions 30min blast at high heat followed by about 2 hours on low heat. It was a 8lbs lump from our own herd and it was quite rare after this time. It had been hung for 36 days and had about 6 days in the fridge at home. I t tasted quite divine and melted in the mouth. The fish is still in the fridge but had a chicken liver pate my wife knocks up in about 7mins or so. It is a fantastic Pate and the recipe follows - I really do reccommend it
For 10 people
16 ozs Chicken livers
10 ozs Butter
4 Tablespoons Brandy or Sweet Sherry
4 Tablespoons English dried Mustard Powder
2 Teaspoons dried mixed Herbs (Parsley sage thyme etc)
4/6 cloves fresh Garlic
Salt and pepper
Method
1. Melt 1 oz of the butter in a pan and add chicken livers
Fry on medium heat for 5 mins turning constantly
2. Remove from heat and put into Blender
3. Melt remaining butter and add to blender
4. Add Brandy/Sherry
5. Add herbs, mustard powder and garlic and season well with salt and pepper
6. Blend to coarseness you require.
Put into loaf tin or round basin or bowl and put into fridge for couple of hours until solidified. Eat with hot buttered toast.
It tastes even better the following day and continues to improve with age. My wife reckons it will keep for about 2 weeks but it never lasts that long in our house
Bon Appetit
Neil now ;D
Hi Boybach, glad Grakka are getting you sorted, hopefully now your luck will change for the better, i'm sure it will ;)
Thanks for posting that pate recipe, i'll certainly give that a try, and let us know how things go with the OBS ;)
LilSmoker(http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Tip-Hat.gif)
The smoke is on !! ;D
Smoke on. ;D smoke often then smoke some more. ;D
Quotechicken liver pate my wife knocks up in about 7mins or so.
Thanks for this recipe Boyback, I love chicken liver pate.
Glad the sirloin turned out well, must be nice to eat meat from your own herd as you know what has gone into the meat from start to finish! Do you farm full time? :)
I think you'll enjoy the Pate Manxman. No I'm not a full time farmer although I own a farm.
Hi y'all
Great news just had courier delivery from Grakka UK with new Temperature Control PCB complete with slider knob. Thank you Grakka for such prompt Customer Service and for the large pack of Briquettes. It has taken less than 10 mins to fit and am presently sitting in the sunshine 1445BST with an indicated temperature here in London of 18 C with an OBS just starting its seasoning cycle and yes whoopee the temp in the cabinet is rising, the smoke generator is generating and all here is well. I will not be cooking today but now going to plan for next week-end. I think I'm at last on my way. Cheers everybody from a very very happy novice ;D ;D ;D
That's great news Boybach, finally you're back on track!
Bet you can't wait to get that BS christened! ;)
Great news Boybach, and a large pack of pucks to play with!! Life IS good! ;)
Well what can I say - Grakka/Bradley Customer Service is second to none. Today I am told there is a complimentary Bradley DVD on its way to me which they hope will help me get useful knowledge on the OBS. Thanks Grakka/Bradley you have more than a very satisfied customer ;D ;D
Quotecomplimentary Bradley DVD on its way
Wow, a DVD and free pucks...... excellent news! I have always been impressed with Grakka but that seems to take customer service to new levels. Good news for all potential customers here in the UK. :)
This is great news! Now you can sit back with a cold one and enjoy.
Great news! Break out the punch and rum again....Enjoy your smoker the way it is supposed to be enjoyed-----Full of smokes Cajun
hi Cajun
Well the rum punch is flowing again had a great bbq on Saturday last and Sunday. Smoked 3 racks of ribs, 4kgs of chicken wings, and 2 doz. quails eggs (asper Bradleys Book recipe see Manxmans link for details) on Saturday, and on Sunday smoked mushrooms, steaks (rump) onions and cheese. We were out for Monday at some friends and had an old fashioned English bbq burnt sausages and beefburgers. Glad I found the OBS and am now crowing like an old bird
Bit of smoked bacon next on agenda have a piece curing ready to do some back. Oh life is grand ;D ;D ;D
;)
Quotehi Cajun
Well the rum punch is flowing again had a great bbq on Saturday last and Sunday. Smoked 3 racks of ribs, 4kgs of chicken wings, and 2 doz. quails eggs (asper Bradleys Book recipe see Manxmans link for details) on Saturday, and on Sunday smoked mushrooms, steaks (rump) onions and cheese. We were out for Monday at some friends and had an old fashioned English bbq burnt sausages and beefburgers. Glad I found the OBS and am now crowing like an old bird
Bit of smoked bacon next on agenda have a piece curing ready to do some back. Oh life is grand
Sooo pleased to see that everything is working out well Neil, particularly after all the hassle you had to get going with your BS..... excellent news. :D :D
Ah, the traditional English (Manx) BBQ! Our friends across the pond must be shuddering at the thought!! ;D ;D ;)
If anyone deserves a break, you do after the troubles you have encountered. Glad to know that their is smoke again in your neighborhood.
That's good to hear Neil, finally reaping the rewards of your perseverance, i'm pleased for you ;)
Haha! yeah good old English bbq! been to a few of those, you know the script, burnt sausages, chewy ribs, shrivled burgers, cremated steaks!.
It's amazing in England how once the weather turns hot all the would be master chefs come out in droves, and masacre the entire contents of their fridge, and call it bbq!
Everybody is too polite to say the food is burnt, and taste awfull!, and there sitting at the table with a beer in his hand is the host, saying to everybody come on eat up there's plenty to go round! :o ;D
All i can say is...........(http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Gitster59/bs.gif)
;D(http://www.emotipad.com/newemoticons/Tip-Hat.gif)
Hi Guys
Life like the weather here in London is warming up nicely. LilSmoker you are so on the ball, Monday's host a really good friend was exactly as you describe. In winter time he is a very accomplished home chef and we love having the invite to eat with him and his wife but come the first signs of al-fresco eating and something happens to him. We are planning a surprise for a few of our friends him included for the next bank-holiday week-end May-Day (please please make it be dry and sunny) by introducing them to the food cooked OBS style. Grakka/Arden can expect a few more sales if I know my mates 'cos they wont let me get away with the reputation of being able to turn out real food cooked outside. Roll on May ;) ;) ;D
Go get 'em Boybach! ;D
Let The Smoke Roll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 8)