Hi folks
Need a little help here. The main heat element in the tower on my smoker has gone dead. I checked for power at the plug at the tower base...checks OK. Pulled the back off and checked for continuity through the high limit sensor..again OK. Then checked for continuity through the element...OK. Checked for continuity through the temp control with the slider turned to max...no continuity. Leads me to believe that I need a new board. I also have the infamous crack in the plastic front cover...may have let some moisture get to the board.
All help is appreciated.
Before you change the board, back the switch off from full right. On some switches, there's a dead zone at full right.
You might be experiencing the infamous "dead spot" in the slider switch. Move it all the way to the right an then back it off just a smidge and see if that fixes the problem.
Any word on why Bradley allows this well-known problem to go on without any real resolution? And the cracking front panel... I just replaced mine and it's already starting to crack again. Seems like there ought to be some fixes in the works for these well-documented flaws.
Dang you guys are quick.
they have you pointed in the right direction
OK Thanks for the quick reply guys!
Quote from: gaspr on August 04, 2009, 04:32:25 PM
Hi folks
Need a little help here. The main heat element in the tower on my smoker has gone dead. I checked for power at the plug at the tower base...checks OK. Pulled the back off and checked for continuity through the high limit sensor..again OK. Then checked for continuity through the element...OK. Checked for continuity through the temp control with the slider turned to max...no continuity. Leads me to believe that I need a new board. I also have the infamous crack in the plastic front cover...may have let some moisture get to the board.
All help is appreciated.
Hi Gaspr
You cannot test the the temperature control switch for continuity it is a rheostat type.
You can test it for voltage if you tell me the color of the wires going to the switch i can tell you what you should have for voltage on each.
Brian
Thanks for the reply Brian. I just turned it on a few minutes ago and it now appears that all is well? Perhaps I had tripped the high limit when I was preheating the last time I used it and never waited til it cooled enough to reset??
Hi
Good to hear you are up and working now
Yes if you trip the high limit out it will take some time for it to cool down enough to turn back on
You might want to check the temperature when it does trip off it might be turning off a to low a temp.
Brian
OK I will check out the limit temp...Thanks again
At what approx. temp should the high limit cut power to the heating element?
Quote from: pnw-smoker on August 04, 2009, 05:47:29 PM
At what approx. temp should the high limit cut power to the heating element?
It should be in the neighbourhood of 300 F
Quote from: gaspr on August 04, 2009, 04:32:25 PM
Hi folks
Need a little help here. The main heat element in the tower on my smoker has gone dead. I checked for power at the plug at the tower base...checks OK. Pulled the back off and checked for continuity through the high limit sensor..again OK. Then checked for continuity through the element...OK. Checked for continuity through the temp control with the slider turned to max...no continuity. Leads me to believe that I need a new board. I also have the infamous crack in the plastic front cover...may have let some moisture get to the board.
All help is appreciated.
Here is an easy solution for the cracked face plate. In a couple of days I should have a picture of the added front feet with the washers.
Cracked face plate? (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showpost.php?p=769&postcount=12)
I see that quite a few forum members are reporting problems with getting the heat in the tower to recover after adding their meat...maybe they are experiencing the same problem that I had...preheating just a little too much causes the limit switch to trip and then only the puck burner element is left to do all the work. Best way to tell for sure is to check if the light on the plastic panel is on or off...though it is kinda hard to see in bright daylight. Just a thought...
Just found this forum. Interesting to see that other people are having problems. In my case, the main element is cold as ice no matter where the switch is. The indicator light on the main smoker is not lit up. The indicator light on the puck tower section is lit up and the puck heating element is working fine. Seems like I am not getting power to the main element or the main element is broken. Repair suggestions would be appreciated.
W E L C O M E to the Forum wagonmaster!
Is it a new unit or has it worked for some time ?
If it is a new unit, plug and unplug the tower a few times, firmly.
If it is not, is it less that 1 year old ? Warranty should provide for a new element. If out of warranty, they are not expensive.
thanks for the comeback. smoker is several years old. where does one go to buy a new element. I'm in Victoria.
now that I think about it. if the power was getting to the unit and just the element was done, would the indicator light not still be lit? hate to order a new element if the problem is due to lack of power. can I start removing a few screws to check the power the wires etc.?
If you have the glass element, and the coil inside has broken or burnt apart, that would disrupt the flow of electricity.
You could check for loose wires inside the generator, it's easy to open. To make the task easier click on the link below:
Cleaning the Generator (http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showpost.php?p=987&postcount=41)
Also if the smoker overheated, the high temperature switch may have burnt out, so that it no longer resets.
Also I forgot to welcome you to the forum.