Smoker seems to take forever to hit oven temp - is that normal?

[DQuade]

I am new to smoking.  Trying out my smoker for the second time.  First time was an utter failure.  I have a BTDS76P unit.  Just trying to smoke some simple chicken and need the oven temp to warm up to 250.  After running for 2 hours, it was only at 54.  (outside temperature is 60 today).  I have the smoker in the garage so it is totally out of the wind.  After 2 hours, I decided to turn on the heating element to help add some heat to the unit.  After about 30 minutes with the heating element running, it is now at 70 degrees.  Is this normal to take so long to warm it to the correct oven temperature?

Would be good if instruction manuals would at least give you a guide as to how long you should expect the smoker to "warm up" before you even start your meat.  So far I'm a bit frustrated with the entire thing and wondering if I shouldn't have just gone with propane instead of electric.  Really didn't expect i would spend so much time just waiting for the oven to get to a point where I could add the meat. 

Any suggestions?  I attributed my first failure to the fact that I was using it with outdoor temps around 30.  Figured with a nice 60 degree day, I should be able to smoke some meat.  In my first attempt, after about 10 hours, I gave up when the temp of the meat never got above 95.  Ended up finishing the chicken in the oven.  Still tasted nice and smoky but would like to actually do it all in the smoker and would assume I shouldn't need 10 hours to smoke 8 chicken breasts!

[Saber 4]

Check all your connections and make sure they are fully seated, then look at your element and see if it is glowing red after pushing in all the connections. If that doesn't help there are instructions in several posts on how to check for a bad element and other possible problems.

[RedJada]

Saber 4 beat me to the most common problem. On top of that, make sure you are running off a dedicated outlet, not heaters, fridge/freezers, etc... One thing I noticed in your post is that you said  "After 2 hours, I decided to turn on the heating element to help add some heat to the unit" Something don't seem right there. I have an OBS so cant really tell you how to run a digital. But someone will be along and point you in the right direction. Were all here to help and welcome aboard.

[beefmann]

it sounds like you  did not have the heater turned on,

few things to remember

1) top vent  wide  open all the  time especially with poultry 
2) if you are  running the digital  model.. be sure to set the heater timer to its max  setting for time.
3) be sure to turn on the smoke generator to generate  smoke
4) be sure all connections between the  smoke generator and cabinet are  good and  tight

hope this  helps

[DQuade]

Saber, I'll have to check the element.  Didn't seem like it was getting warm.  I'll look for some other troubleshooting posts.

Redjada, it isn't a dedicated outlet but I didnt have anything else using the juice on the circuit so imagine I'm okay there. 

Beefman, perhaps I don't have all the terminology down.  On the digital display, it looks like there is an oven and a smoker.  I set the oven temp, which I assume means that once that is set, the oven should be warming up off the heating element.  I did keep the chimney mostly closed since I didn't figure it made sense to burn biskets and smoke in the smoker until I add the meat, which wouldn't happen until the oven reached temperature.  I left the top mostly closed as to not lose heat out the top of cabinet.  I eventually did turn the smoke element heater on once I was ready to put the meat into the cabinet.

Ended up putting meat in the cabinet when the cabinet temp was around 90.  Cabinet temp didn't get much above 100 (outdoor temp was around 40 and it was windy but I had smoker generally out of the wind).  Ended up pulling the meat out to finish in the oven when the meat temp was about 106.  Still tasted good but I know this is not how this is to work. 

Certainly I wouldn't get a bad heating element right out of the box?  I know outdoor temp and wind can be a big factor but does it seriously have to be above 80 degrees outside for the smoker to reach oven temp?  Few more months until spring.  Don't expect another 60 degree day until sometime in March so I'll have to wait until then to give it another try. 

[Saber 4]

It's usually best to turn on your oven and smoke generator at the same time to pre-heat the cabinet, it takes about 20 minutes for the SG to get hot enough to burn the bisquettes. Also when you put cold meat in the unit if acts as a giant heat sink keeping the heat down, I use boiling water in my bowl to help offset this and others use heated foil wrapped bricks as well. when you keep the vent closed or mostly closed moisture collects in the cabinet and keeps the temperature down and can result in black rain on your food.

[ragweed]

It sounds to me like your heating element ( for the cabinet, oven, box) is not on at all.  Check all the connections making sure they're in all the way.  As Saber said the element should glow red.  Keep the top vent open!  It lets the moisture out.  Moisture keeps the temp down.  Your ambient temps are not too cold to run your Bradley.  I just cooked a turkey breast with a single digit ambient temp and wind chill below zero.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi DQuade;

Sorry to welcome you to the forum in this manner.

I don't know how long you had that chicken in the danger zone; 40 - 140°F, but you don't want poultry in that environment where bacteria can multiply rapidly for two long.

If the element is not heating up, and you are not getting an "E" or E1" error, the problem is most likely located in your cabinet. Have you tried plugging the cabinet directly into a wall outlet. In order to plug the cabinet into the wall socket you will need to use a desktop computer power cord. Or if the generator cord detaches from the generator you can use that. Just plug it in long enough to see if the element will heat up and glow.

If after plugging the cabinet into the wall outlet and the element still doesn't work, check the wiring on each end of the element. Sometimes during shipping a wire can come loose and/or detached. If you have a multimeter you can test the OHM resistant of the element. Just remove one wire before testing; and you should get a reading of 27 - 32 OHMs, if the element is good. If the element is good, you may have a loose wire in the back of the smoker, or the in-line fuse may be bad.

If the element works after plugging it into the outlet, then you may have a loose wire in the generator. Specifically the wiring that goes to the outlet for the cabinet.

You can find many trouble shooting techniques and tips on how to operate your smoker in one location:
Bradley FAQ's

[dcw1]

I had a similar issue when I first started mine.  The heating element would not start.  Make sure all the cords/plugs are pushed fully in.  They may seem like they are plugged in all the way but you really have to push them in to seat them correctly.  Good luck!

[DQuade]

Great advice guys!  Sorry I didn't update until now, was out trying to bag a deer.  I'll be processing her this morning and will try to look at the smoker later today. 

Haven't got sick from the chicken yet but I'll be sure to pay better attention to the danger zone next time!  Good to know that I should keep the vent open to prevent the rain and I like the idea of the boiling water.

Hopefully I'll get this thing figured out.  Glad to know I should be able to still smoke with low ambient temps.  I'd love to try and smoke some of my fresh venison up!

[DQuade]

Ok, something must not have been plugged in tight enough at the cabinet!  Holy smokes, that thing is heating up REAL FAST now!  Only been running for 10 minutes and it is up to 120.  Previously ran for 3 hours and never got the cabinet that hot.  BTW, it's 9 degrees outside.  Venison is all processed and I'm itching to try and smoke some backstrap... 

Thanks again all!

[RedJada]

 Not seating the cords seems to be most peoples problems. Glad to see you got things working and congrats on the deer. My neighbor is going for his 4th here this coming weekend. Don't forget to post photos and your recipes...