Well I finally decided it was time to ditch my old charcoal smoker and go with the Bradley. :) Assembled and plugged in last night to season everything - went with a pack of hickory that came with the smoker and ran for 2 hours. I am going to try smoking up a 3 bone ribeye tonight then it will be onto some kummok salmon and albacore.
Still debating if I should have gone with the DBS but so far the temps and puck advance don't see to be too big a deal just a little more babysitting...
Hi Tom & welcome to the forum!
DBS or OBS really is just a question of getting the hang of the sttings while smoking various items. And hey... if you want more control at a later date you can always add a PID or the new DIGIQ from BBQ Guru.
Keep us posted on your success! ;)
Mike
Welcome to the forum. Lots of friendly folks here who are always anxious to help or share.
Welcome to the forum! You really can't go wrong with either model. Enjoy!
Welcome to the forum. You should keep your charcoal unit. I find that doing beef steaks is better on the charcoal/wood smoker/grill. You can do them in the BS but you will need to cold smoke, wrap and fridge overnight, then grill the next day.
Welcome Tom, and enjoy. I'm sure you've seen it on here before, you gotta have the Maverick and Bubba Pucks. They will make the Bradley experience much easier, and cheaper too!
Thanks all for the welcomes:
As for the first smoke it was quite the interesting evening:
Living in So California I almost didn't even need to add smoke we had so much natural smoke in the air :o
I did a rub on the roast which consisted of the following I put together from the pantry:
Kosher Salt
Ground pepper
Mace
Chopped dried onion
Garlic
Sage
Parsley
dry mustard
Some worchester and olive oil
I let that sit overnight, then got a late start after work on the smoker, I didn't have much time to let the roast get to room temp so I set the smoker on max and put the roast in. The smoker never did get above 150 and the power light was only on the small smoker unit, never saw a light on the smoking chamber - not sure what that was about?? After about 3 hours of smoking with hickory I pulled the roast out (internal temp only got to 90) and went to finish off on the grill - here is where things got interesting....
I had the grill temp around 500, bone side down and had some extra foil on the grill to help deflect the heat around. Well apparently I was too busy running around getting the rest of dinner together and drinking too much beer ;D Next thing I know My grill was about 600 and lit up light a candle, (now I know we didn't need another fire in the area) so I quickly shutoff the gas and removed the meat (this was a difficult task even with some heat protection - I still have all my hair though :) The internal temp was only around 105 at this point and since the family and wife's family that was over for dinner didn't want their steak quite that bloody I went ahead and sliced em up and finished them on the stovetop in a skillet. The crust actually turned out very tasty and contrary to my concerns did not get burnt to death. Surprisingly it was very delicious and had a nice smoke finish along with the flavors from the rub.
I currently have a wired temp probe that I use - although I did just order the maverick along with cover, and more briquettes from yard and pool. As for the bubba pucks my father in law has a machine shop and a bunch of aluminium stock so I should have those finished up this weekend.
Thanks...
Tom
The temp of the cabinet kind of concerns me but I don't have an OBS so I have little experience with how the temp slide and light works. Hopefull someone will chime in here on this but it would seem to me the main element in the tower was not on for some reason. Do you know if the element in the back of the cabinet was red hot? You may want to make sure your plugins are securely (push hard and give them a good wiggle) plugged in.
Mike
To expand on Mr Walleye's diagnosis, it has been mentioned here about the slide switch actually being able to be pushed too far to the right to where it disengages with the contacts and does not provide power to the heating element. Check it out before your next project, and make adjustments if you need to.
Agreed The light on the smoke generator is your main power light and the light on your tower is for your heating element try what Tiny Tim and Mike has mentioned. If that don't work check your fuses. On mine with the slider temp adjustment all the way to the right and the smoke generator on my tower temp will reach about 270 degrees fahrenheit I like to smoke around 210.
I checked the connections and I also checked the slider from reading previous posts, neither appeared to make the light come on, I need to check the fuses and will do that shortly. I will also look at the heater element as I did not do that either.
Thanks,
TomsRods;
Welcome to the forum.
It definitely sounds like your heating element is not working. On a sunny day, my cabinet can get up to 185°F with a light load, from the heat of the generator alone.
If none of the above tips work. Try plugging the heating element directly into a wall socket. Also check the screws that hold the element in place. They may have loosen during shipment. When you tighten them, use care as to not crack the porcelain.
Fuse looks good, plugged the chamber directly in and did not get any heat, looks like a bad heater coil. I am surprised just the burner for the briquettes put off that much heat. Anyways looks like I will have to give Bradley a ring....
Just a foot note: Did you check the fuse with an ohm meter? I've had a couple of folks tell me the fuse was good and when I came over and looked at the unit the fuse tested bad. :o :D
Quote from: TomsRods on October 31, 2007, 07:31:19 AM
Fuse looks good, plugged the chamber directly in and did not get any heat, looks like a bad heater coil. I am surprised just the burner for the briquettes put off that much heat. Anyways looks like I will have to give Bradley a ring....
The high temperature is a combination of direct sun and the generator. Without the direct sun, if I do not detach the generator I will generally hit 135°F - 145°F, with an ambient temperature of around 70°F. Again, that is with a light load, such as when I am smoking about 10 pounds of bacon, or a 10 -12 pound ham.
Welcome Toms...where are you in So Cal? There are a few of us out here? :)
If you're far enough south and want to join a few smokers on the 10th let me know. West Coast Kansan, La Quinta, OWRSTRICH and myself are having a smoke out and your more than welcome to join in. Natural smoke flavoring can be added by hanging your dish over the backyard fence (Escondido).
I'm in Murrieta, I hope to have my smoker fixed up so I can do some smokin on the 10th. Where do you guys go for supplies, I couldn't find anything in temecula...??
What are you looking for exactly?
Just wondering if anyone locally stocks any type of the flavored pucks. What your favorite butcher in town?
Well...we're out in the desert near Palm Springs but we prefer Jensens. (you probably have one in Murietta...I would assume) It's a little pricey but the meat is top notch. As for the wood...there are dealers on the forum...I had a great experience with Tiny Tim...he's a good guy and I think he can get you bisquettes...I know there are others too. Or...I've just ordered from Amazon.
Quote from: La Quinta on November 02, 2007, 03:09:48 PM
...I had a great experience with Tiny Tim...he's a good guy
I thought that was our little secret.... ;D Sorry, had to say it...right mood, frame of mind, whatever.
Seriously though, I stock all flavors in the 48 pack, working on building 120 pack stock up, but very willing to order anything I can ship out the day it shows up.
Tiny...you're just still thinkin about the little black dress and Iceman's sauce!!!
Here is a list of our approved vendors... as soon as TT gets a web site I will add him to the list.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110
Quote from: La Quinta on November 03, 2007, 04:49:49 PM
Tiny...you're just still thinkin about the little black dress and Iceman's sauce!!!
Guilty.. :D
Oh, and thanks Olds....not sure if/when I'll have one, but I'll let ya know.
Welcome Toms. And I'm with Wildcat...keep your charcoal unit. My Weber Smoky Mountain Smoker does pulled pork, ribs and brisket perfectly and in less than half the time I see folks taking in the Bradley.
-Brian