Hi - I'm a "new" 6-rack digital owner from the Atlanta area

[bchalker]

I say new because it was a used unit I just purchased. Look forward to putting it through the wringer :)

Own a bar-b-chef offset and Weber Kettle so electric is new to me. Read up on the best tips and ideas to keep in mind with this smoker, but the temp variations have me a little concerned. Any advice on dealing with that? I may have no issues, as I've not even done my first smoke on it...just going by word of mouth.

Regardless - glad to be here and I've heard many many great things about this forum.

Live in Buford, just north of ATL

[DaveT261]

Hi bchalker welcome to this forum. 

Like you, I have an offset and a Weber too and have been smoking for many years.  You will not have any problems using an electric smoker, you will find out you have better control of the Bradley than you do an offset or a Weber.  This site is a blessing for first time Bradley users, reading posts before actually using one can give you the first impression it can be overwhelming but trust me after your first smoke you will lose those thought completely.  A good example for me was doing my first chicken, I've attempted chicken on my offset many many times, getting perfect chicken is hard to do, on the Bradley first time making them was the best I ever made hands down. 

As far as controlling the temps, unless your curing meats with tight tolerances you will not have any problems on an unmodified Bradley, I do use the 2 preheated foil wrapped bricks trick, the only mod I done is the fan and half the time I dont even plug it in.  If your an old school smoker like I am no mods are necessary, just prep your meat, put it in the smoker and it runs itself. If you want to branch out and do things like bacon, salmon, etc there are plenty of people here that can guide you from start to finish.

I havent fired up my offset since I bought my Bradley.

[paulsnapp]

I have the 4 rack digital and live very near you in Forsyth county.  Most folks end up buying a PID controller to not only control the poor heat controls of the Bradley but also it automates the temps and smoking cycles and becomes hands off.  One of the most popular is the Dual Probe Auber PID controller which you can view online at Auber http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_28&products_id=151.  They are located right off of hiway 400 here in Alpharetta so you can send them an order and then drop by and pick it up right away if you want.  I added both the double element and the fan mod for my smoker as I do a lot of jerky.  This stabilized the heat and made it the same from top to bottom inside the smoker. I no longer have to rotate and rearrange racks when smoking.  Good luck!

[beefmann]

welcome aboard and congrats on your smoker...

pretty  much you  can use your  smoker as is  and there  will be  temp swings,, the way to get around this  is to put a PID controller in to hold the temps closer to its set  point,,, also add a  fan to  even out box temps... hope this  helps a  bit.

Also  get use to the smoker first before doing any mods