More Questions for the pro's

[smoken tank]

I seasoned by new bs last night and I have some questions since I'm new to the Bradley.

I put the heat at the middle and came out to check it at 5 min and again at 10 min and the gauge hadn't even hit 100 yet let alone 150. I then moved it almost to the highest and checked it about 10 min later and the temp was almost up to 200. I then started to move the heat selector down and even went as far as turning it all the way to off. I never could get the temp down past 175, so that where I seasoned it. Is this normal or was I just impatient?

Also when I went to empty the waste pot there were briquets that weren't compleatly burned up. Is this normal? Does the smoker unit work by time or weight? If twenty minutes are up does it just go ahead and push the next briquet or does it sense that a briquet is almost burned and then kick the next one in?

Hope I'm not being a bother but I just want to know the ins and outs so I get it right. I love good food.

Thanks for all your help.

Smoken Tank

[Thunder Fish]

The pucks are on a timer to cycle every 20 min,it is designed not to burn them to ash but they should be pretty much black on the outside.As to the pre heating ,it might be because it was empty that your getting such temp swings. oh Ya and welcome to forum......Terry

[curbstop180]

hello
welcome smoken tank i also am new to this but had  a simaler problem as you did i started mine out at the middle and it dident even hit 100f but i figured well its about 30f out side so thats probubley a part of the issue so i to turned mine up all the way up and found that it went extreamly high and would not come back down so what i did was opened the door for a short period of time  backed the nob off to about 3/4 of the way opened the vent 1/4-1/3 of the way open and it maintained a temp of 150f give or take a few and thats when i started my cycle of pucks. as for the pucks not being completley turned to ash mine were not eaither and thunder fish is right it is not desingned to turn them completley to ash but if you take one of the black pucks and break it in half you will find or should find that the puck is black and or chared all the way threw i could be wrong in assumeing this but to me this indacates that you have received all the clean smoke that you are going to get from the puck and in pops anouther one one more thing that i might suggest to you that i found to work well is that when you hit and maintaine your temp dont turn the smoke gen off even if your done with your pucks i found that when i have done this that the temp drops and you have to readjust your heat knob but thats just a suggestion do whatever works for you [:D]

[twolone]

smoken tank, welcome to the world of the BS. Bradley Smoker, that is.

The temperature fluctuations are normal with an empty smoker AND for the short time involved. Always try to preheat your smoker at least an hour beforehand. Preheat both the element and the smoker hotplate.

Maintaining a constant temperature is somewhat of an art, but is not too difficult. Large quantities of meat will lower and stall temperatures, as will colder cuts of meat.

To keep the temperature as stable as possible keep the BS out of the wind and keep the door closed. Bring meats to room temperature before loading (when possible). It should be infrequently that you bring your smoker above 220 degrees Fahrenheit. The lever in the mid to ¾ range should be a good starting point.

The bisquette advance is on a 20 minute timer and that is pretty much perfect for the "good smoke."

The gurus on this site suggest a Maverick ET-73 remote thermometer that monitors meat temp as well as the actual temp of the smoker compartment (the door thermometer is apparently not so accurate). I just ordered one. :)

Good Luck!

Ryan

Longhorns & Cowboys. BBQ of Champions.

[IKnowWood]

Ryan's experience is correct.  An empty cabinet has this wide range of temps.  

He is right on the warming up.  Get it nice and hot for an hour.  I set mine all the way up and warm the puck advance as well for that time.  I also add in some brick pieces arranged in even distribution.  The 1 hour pre-heat gets them to a nominal temp that helps to reduce catch-up returns.  

The outside temps will not affect the cabinet that much, its insulated real good.  The wind however will indeed pull the heat out the vent and fight that insulation.  Protect it from the wind as best as possible.

and yes, the very first puck does not burn all the way most times.  I usually advance a puck 10 to 15 minutes prior to adding my meats, so there is some smoke to start with.  And ensures a consistent smoke.

Have fun.