I'M NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED BUT MY BOS CAUGHT FIRE LAST NIGHT WHILE SMOKING TWO BRISKETS CHECKED THEM AT 3 AM EVERYTHING FINE CAME BACK 4 HRS LATER AND THIS IS WHAT I FOUND
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h463/utahsmokin/115.jpg)
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h463/utahsmokin/116.jpg)
I HAD PLENTY OF WATER IN THE PAN AND EVERYTHING I DONT KNOW IF IT WAS A GREASE FIRE OR A BISKET FIRE
WOW! That really stinks man! Good thing you had it out in the open.
Scary! A good reminder to always place your smoker away from the house or anything else flammable.
That is scary, I hope that the smoker is the only thing that is damaged. incredible picture of the fire.
WOW! That is Ugly!
Is your V tray in the correct position(downward like a V)? Was the meat touching the back of the cabinet? Single or dual element, with or without PID?
That sucks!
Holy Moleeeeee...
That looks like a grease fire to me.
I'm suddenly reminded of some of the "smoking in the basement" discussions we've had around here lately.
That really puntuates why it's a really, really bad idea.
Thank God you had that outside.
It almost looks like the racks collapsed probably from the weight of the meat and the oven temp. It appears that they are on the bottom, not sure if that happened before and started the fire or after the fire already got going.
Sorry to see this. Looks as your smoker was outside? which was a good thing.
One reason the smoker is not a set it and forget it and why i never ever do an overnight smoke.
Sorry to hear of/see your experience. Personally, I would have grabbed the fire extinguisher before the camera.
V tray in the right position brisket fit on the rack no overlap
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Total stock bos only used it twice
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The racks didn't collapse, yes it was out side thank god
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Only other things I can think of is that the V tray hole could of clogged and the grease backed up, or the pucks piled up and grease accumulated on those that were not in the water.
Wow That's not cool. Dang good thing it was outside. I have to agree this is the reason I don't like to do overnight cooks and when I am doing them I go a little sleep deprived.
Still trying to match the two pictures up. In the second one there is a flat try with holes in it that I have never seen before but it isn't in the first pic. That is throwing me off some.
WOW, so happy you had that thing outside. I'm guessing the pucks stacked in the water pan and grease dripped down on the hot pucks and the fire started. As the fire gets hotter the fat from the briskets begins to melt and further fueling the fire.
That first pic should be stickied somewhere to serve as a reminder of why you don't want to leave these things unattended for long periods of time no matter where you have it installed.
Quote from: KyNola on December 19, 2010, 10:14:00 AM
That first pic should be stickied somewhere to serve as a reminder of why you don't want to leave these things unattended for long periods of time no matter where you have it installed.
Good point.
Utah, I snagged your images and uploaded them.
It's a shame what happened to ya, but maybe those pics can be "educational" for someone else one of these days.
http://picasaweb.google.com/hal4uk/BradleyFire# (http://picasaweb.google.com/hal4uk/BradleyFire#)
Quote from: Tenpoint5 on December 19, 2010, 09:56:21 AM
Wow That's not cool. Dang good thing it was outside. I have to agree this is the reason I don't like to do overnight cooks and when I am doing them I go a little sleep deprived.
Still trying to match the two pictures up. In the second one there is a flat try with holes in it that I have never seen before but it isn't in the first pic. That is throwing me off some.
Yep.....I am trying to put my fire fire investigation hat back on and have been comparing the photos and I am a bit confused. Fire pic clearly shows the racks and the after fire pic shows another type of rack on the 2nd from the top. After fire pic shows no V tray at all. Fire pick show fire under the v tray with something burning under it. Thing could have been moved around but the 2 photos are really confusing me.
What happened is after the fire was out I removed the two meat trays and i must have moved the v tray to get it out the way while I was trying to figure out what happened so that is the v tray just a weird angle
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a fire like that takes an accelerant to produce ie it would have to be smothered it a flammable substance,like grease and im talking literally painted on .and with a low o2 invironment such as a closed smoker this looks set up (i speak from experience and training)you got any enemies maybe.sucks about your unit but it looks set up.
I had a peice of foil set over the back half of the grease tray per pachangas suggestion to more evenly distribute heat I wonder if the door temp gauge wasn't accurate and I had more heat then I thought in the box because it never got above 150 I was up with it 8hrs of cook time learn from my mistake never leave unattended or indoors
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I have a pic of it cooking ill post later it was a mix of grease and to much heat I think the smoker was clean before I started only used it twice
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I dont see a v pan and unlike my video which ive watched 1/2 hour at a time ,No v pan and high heat will do this .Ive had it done to me in the past.This plus last smoke grease in the tray will also do this.Best of luck and try to stay safe.After each smoke all grease and chips need to be disregard and renewed all grease and pucks period no questions.Never let old oil pucks regenerate to ingnight a flame,B est of Luck.
Its def a grease fire see how high and hard the flames are...Heat element and grease dont mix in theses units.PERIOD ;D
I hate to say it, but on page 2 of the manual it states the following:
• Do not cover or seal the racks or drip tray with aluminum foil. This can cause severe damage to your smoker
Quote from: utahsmokin on December 19, 2010, 12:26:30 PM
I have a pic of it cooking ill post later it was a mix of grease and to much heat I think the smoker was clean before I started only used it twice
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Post that poicture of everything in there smoking and maybe we can help figure this whole thing out.
That's terrible! I'm sorry to see your smoker go up in flames like that!
That totally bites !! glad your ok :)
(http://184.72.239.143/mu/b8e16540-850e-90d9.jpg)
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(http://184.72.239.143/mu/b8e16540-8591-b44f.jpg)
(http://184.72.239.143/mu/b8e16540-85ae-b892.jpg)
(http://184.72.239.143/mu/b8e16540-85cf-8913.jpg)
It started out good ended bad
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I would say that the foil collected too much grease or prevented the proper flow of the grease. It is hard to tell from the angle but it appears that it partially or fully blocked the hole in the V tray. Even if it didn't, the way the foil looks it appears that the grease accumulated on pockets in the foil.
I can't really tell , but it looks like you had the V-tray below the pan -ie: right on the bottom of the chamber. Is that correct ??
What were you smoking that created that much grease ???
Quote from: utahsmokin on December 19, 2010, 02:20:08 PM
(http://184.72.239.143/mu/b8e16540-850e-90d9.jpg)
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The V tray is not installed correclty in this photo, also the alumimum foil here is not a good idea at all.
Whats wrong with the v tray???
i do not have my glasses on but it looks correct.
I think the tray is installed correctly. It is the foil that would be my concern.
I have to agree with Gusrobin, I think the grease built up on the tray and did not drip into pan. ???
Looks to me like the grease built up on the foil and went over the back onto the heating element, as well as some going under the drip pan in the bottom of the smoker, under the water bowl. Once ignited in the lower portion of the smoker, the flames licked at the grease on the V tray, igniting that, causing higher flames to get to the surface fat/grease on the meat in the tower.
By the way, if you want to even out the front to back heat, I'd close up the louvres on the back half of the V-tray, and open 'em up on the front half of it...don't completely close them off, just most of the way.
There is still something wrong with this besides the foil on the v tray. If you look at the photo with the fire you can see there is something below the v tray. It has flames behind it. I don't know what this object is. Can you offer any information as to what was put below the v tray? I don't know if this is a piece of foil that was put there to guide the grease or what but there is something below the v tray that should not be there. The fire is burning very hot just above the smoke generator and I note that the SG is in the off position.
If a piece of foil was propped up under the V tray as well as on top I think we have found the problem. Just need to know what that object is that is on the right side under the V tray.
Sailor I'm not sure what that is probably shadow or glare but there was no other foil. under the vtray there was nothing but the water pan
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I had a grease fire once. I opened the door and the fire started because of the available oxygen. I just closed the door, turned off the heat and closed the damper to starve the fire. It worked and my Bradley was OK. Was it on fire before you opened the door? I think that the foil on the V tray was the cause.
Brad
I think a contributing factor is the brisket placement on the racks. Take a look at the pics of the briskets before they go in the Bradley. Looks like they are hanging over enough that the grease/fat would run down the side and back walls of the Bradley. Down the back wall puts it straight on the heating element and the fire begins.
The lesson here is clear no matter the cause. We all need to be careful no matter what we're using to smoke meats.
Hello utahsmokin,
Man I feel your pain... I own two Bradley smokers and have caught both on fire at least once. My first fire was due to me apply BBQ sauce while cooking a butt and it dripped on the heating element and the last two were due to my pucks stacking up and catching fire.
The very first time I caught one of the units on fire I had a 2ft flame coming out of the top. The only thing I could think to do at that time was to grab the glass of water that I was drinking and open the door and throw the water inside. Fire went out and about a 1/2 later I was able to finish my cook. I then went out and a fire extinguisher and had it handy for the last two times.
The worst thing is when you open that door the flame will grow and get out of hand quickly.
I have used the foil shield on many smokes when doing large loads of meat. But I always make sure it only covers the back two grates/holes in the shield. I have had meat pushing the outer limits of the racks like in this smoke. Looks to me like the problem is the foil loosely over lapping the center hole in the v-tray.
If you look on the right hand side you can see the Vtray pin. The V tray is in the wrong position at the bottom of the chamber.
I had to get a better pair of glasses, but the middle pin is supposed to be exposed, the tray sits on the two outer pins with the V pointing down. I stand corrected in that the tray does look like it is in the correct position, but I still am not a big fan of the aluminum foil.
Here is an old shot of mine down near the v-tray... Those pins are indeed exposed.
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/SnR3UePgWJI/AAAAAAAA5Tk/Fo-F1LuuMuA/s800/0801091202-01.jpg)
utahsmokin , thanks for sharing this with all of us. It's very educational and a good reminder.
While it's not totally clear in the before picture, I agree with KevinG - that looks to me like the middle pin and the tray in the correct position.
Sailor, I too was having trouble with the first pics and what was on the bottom that was burning, especially on the right side. But more careful looking I see the original water bowl shows up on the shelf below the smoker in both pics. Just a WAG on my part but, I would guess that original water bowl was replaced with a foil pan (Pachanga style) and that it has become crumpled or distorted and that is what appears to be burning or blocking the flame behind it so it shows as a shadow.
One other thing though that looks weird to me is that the delivery rail that ends with the heating pad on the SG seems to be gone from it's normal position. I wonder if it collapsed into whatever was being used as a water pan?
This makes me have second thoughts about bringing the smoker into the garage. I do have it close enough to the garage that this would still be a big problem for me. I am very interested in what could have caused this
sorry to see a bradley on fire, and like much others have stated clean it clean it clean it, remove all the grease, and am glad it was only the smoker , thanks for posting, this fire could have been from the bisquetts or the heater and i believe it was from the heater. Maybe bradley could redesign there heater cover to help prevent this issue
My 2 cents and rules of safety that I try to do with my Bradley:
1) While you are applying smoke, check to make sure that the pucks aren't stacking up. I have had them stack with either the Bradley supplied bowl or the larger aluminum pan; then I have done the same amount of pucks and they have not stacked. Depends upon how they fall and how much water is left.
2) Always change the water and get rid of the burnt pucks when you are done with the smoking portion of the cook. If it is a long cook, change the water again later. Whether or not the water evaporates, more and more grease is dripping into the pan. At one point it can become mostly grease.
3) Never, ever block the V tray with foil. No matter how many people think they have been successful doing it, it wasn't designed for that. If you feel you must block something, do it on the lowest rack.(I still wouldn't do it as all it does is collect a bunch of grease waiiting for a source of ignition.
4) Make sure meat is not touching the rear of the cabinet. If it is, reposition or cut to fit.
5) Make sure that the V tray hole doesn't clog. Be preventive , whenever you open the cabinet for whatever reason, clear out not only the hole but the channel at the bottom of the "V". Clumps of fat can accumulate and eventually block the hole.
6) Have a fire extinguisher nearby
7) If you do an overnight cook, do 1,2,and 4 before you go to bed. Have a remote thermometer with alarm so you may (or may not) get some type of warning before the heat burns it out.
Ok first I'd like to say thanks to Bradley who actually contacted me via email and followed up with a phone call today, I have gathered that the fire was obviously a grease fire, caused by a number of rookie mistakes;
1. the brisket was two big it was blocking to much air circulation causing the top of the box where the temp gadge and heat sensor is to stay cooler and the bottom to over heat catching the grease on fire
2. The foil on the vtray not only catches grease but also blocks air circulation causing to much heat bellow the vtray.
3. And this is most important! I left it unattended for way to long allowing the fire to melt the door gasket and gain oxygen.
4. And make sure your vtray is clean and don't let the bisketts pile up above the water.
Thanks for the positive comments and I will be getting a new Bradley and trying it again. I've always learned by trial and error and this was a HELL of a learning expeirance. :)
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utahsmokin, you have a positive attitude and I think the entire forum learned or got a refresher course from your mishap. The main thing is that you are safe and your house is safe. We can always buy more meat and get another Bradely. Every time I look at that photo of the fire it gives me the shakes. May be just the DT's ;D
Ok, this totally scares me about leaving it overnight even though mine is well away from my house.
Nothing like a picture to leave an impression....
HOLY CRAP!!!!
That sucks, good thing nothing else was damaged.
UtahSmokin, your bad experience with your pics and post has tought us all a leson, as some portion of all this discission has touched us all. THANKS- GR your 2 cents and rules of safety are great- THANKS.
Glad everyone is safe Utah. I do have my smoker in the garage but I only smoke in the garage for a few hours then I move it inside to the oven. What I did learn from this that I either forgot or didn't know is to ensure the meat isn't touching the walls. I normally keep it on the tray just for sanitary purposes but now I have an even better reason.
Feel your pain,
I have also lost a BOS to fire.