New member from Texas

[Wharfrat71]

Just thought I would introduce myself.  New member to the forum. I have an original Bradley smoker that I have had for about 6 months.
Hoping to get some information and tips on getting the most from the smoker.

I have smoked about three chickens, a couple of butts, and a few racks of ribs.  Most have come out very good but my last two go arounds have been frustrating.

Yesterday was a cool and windy day here.
I put in two 4 pound chickens spatchcocked in the two middle racks.
Two hours into the cooking I added a tray of ABT's and my temperature dropped and took at least an hour to get back up above 200.
So frustrating waiting for the Bradley to recover.  Eventually pulled the ABT's out and finished in the oven.
The birds made it up to 165 and was moist and tasty.

Any tricks on getting the Bradley to recover faster?

[ragweed]

I put a brick in the bottom.  Acts as a heat sink.  I also use hot, hot water in the drip pan, near boiling.  And change it out every so often.  Keep your top vent wide open.  And keep the door closed.  They say, "If you're lookin', you ain't cookin'".  I also preheat a little higher than my planned cook temp to give the smoker a head start.  The more meat you have in there, the longer the recovery time will be.  Be patient.  Hope this helps.  I'm sure others will be along with more help.  Oh, and BTW, welcome to the forum from Nebraska!

[mwilliams7967]

I made a "blanket" for mine out of a hot water insulator!! I'll take a picture of it for you! Give me a few minutes. It seems to help along with the other tips mentioned. I smoke year round in Pennsylvania! And welcome to the site!


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[beefmann]

welcome aboard, we can understand your frustration, Along  with the other two suggestions you may also want to consider adding in a  fan to aide in heat recovery under the v tray, also  put the  smoker into a  shed like this one ( follow the  link )

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17581.msg213170#msg213170

it  will help cut  down on the wind,  help with keeping  the  heat in... hope this  helps

[rexster]

You've had the Bradley for some time now and finding some of it's "failings". A second Bradley element or the 900W element (and a PID) will do wonders for your slow heat recovery. It's one of the best mods I've done and don't regret the extra expense one bit

[beefmann]

my 900 watt heater  mod.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17329.msg209917#msg209917

[NorthShoreMN]

Welcome from Minnesota

[Wharfrat71]

Thanks everyone. I do believe that a second heating element will be needed in order to smoke throughout the winter?  This past summer when it was 102 degrees outside I had to keep the temperature control at the halfway point. Yesterday I had it set as high as it could go.

I will also look into getting the hot water blanket as mentioned above. Too bad Bradley put such a whimsy element in this thing because I do really love the smoker.

Thanks for everyone's input!

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[Saber 4]

Welcome from NE Texas, you got some good advice above, you might also check how much is on the circuit running your smoker. It wouldn't be a problem during our normal 100+ summers but could become an issue in cooler weather, I have been using mine in the cooler weather and haven't had any recovery issues yet.

[dman4505]

Just thought I would introduce myself.  New member to the forum. I have an original Bradley smoker that I have had for about 6 months.
Hoping to get some information and tips on getting the most from the smoker.

I have smoked about three chickens, a couple of butts, and a few racks of ribs.  Most have come out very good but my last two go arounds have been frustrating.

Yesterday was a cool and windy day here.
I put in two 4 pound chickens spatchcocked in the two middle racks.
Two hours into the cooking I added a tray of ABT's and my temperature dropped and took at least an hour to get back up above 200.
So frustrating waiting for the Bradley to recover.  Eventually pulled the ABT's out and finished in the oven.
The birds made it up to 165 and was moist and tasty.

Any tricks on getting the Bradley to recover faster?

Highlighted one issue the Bradley has.....she don't like wind
You've got to keep the wind off her and she'll be fine
I have mine in my garage out of the wind and temp recovery is fine
Just have to have a little something to keep me occupied at the same time in case of an accident, i.e. a cigar and a beverage
I've used mine in the dead of winter here in Iowa

Don

[ragweed]

Dman's right.  I have no trouble with my Bradley in cold weather here in Nebraska.  Did fine at 2 F last winter.  But if it's windy...things get tough.