6 rack smoker

[jeepnuts]

Hello... first post so here is goes....

Bought a new 6 rack digital smoker did up a bunch of fish from this past summer. out side temp was near freezing after 12 hours i gave up and put it in the oven to finish it off. i get the hole low and slow thing and yes the vent was open and yes its plugged in properly and I've read a bunch before I made this post. So what can I do to get the inside temp of this thing up for winter smoking? I'm not just a fair weather guy and I'm kinda surprised Bradley has not taken this into account when designing this thing. I'm not going to give up on this thing and I'm sure it will work just fine when things warm up soon but winter time is when i hunker in and have more time on my hands to play around with this kinda stuff.

[tskeeter]

Jeepnuts, many of us use one or more of a variety of approaches to compensate for the Bradley being designed more as a cold/low temperature smoker than as a cooker.

Protect the smoker from some of the cold and wind.

• Use an insulating blanket or enclosure over the smoker (During one of my first smokes, I used the cardboard box the smoker came in.)
• Put the smoker in a smoker shed of some kind

Use boiling water in the puck bowl

Keep the puck burner on after the smoking portion of the process is complete.  This adds about 25% to the heating capacity of the smoker.

Preheat the smoker to a higher temperature than your desired smoking/cooking temperature.  The"excess" heat will be quickly absorbed by the cool/cold meat.

Modify your smoker to give it more heating capacity.

Some notes about adding more heating capacity.  Doing this will void your warranty.  Before making modifications, you may want to use your smoker for a while and get used to what it can and can not do.  If you add heating capacity, you will need to consider purchasing or fabricating a temperature controller, such as a PID.  There is some question as to whether the wiring of a Bradley is designed heavily enough to handle the additional load of a heating element mod.  As far as I know, nobody has been willing to take the risk of burning up the wiring in their smoker by overloading it.  So they use accessory temperature controllers rated for the wattage that their smoker configuration draws.  There are two primary heating element modifications used.  The 900 watt mod and a couple of versions of the dual element mod.  You can find information about how to make these mods, complete with pictures, by using the key work search.

As for me, I live on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas, so we get cold and, almost daily, brisk winds.  I've gone for the boiling water, over temperature preheat, run the puck burner, smoker shed (also means the smoker isn't stored in the garage, it's set up ready to use all the time), dual element modification approach.  And, if I'm in a bit of a hurry or are doing something silly, like smoking 30# of pork shoulder at once, I sometimes pull things from the smoker after the smoke cycle is complete and finish cooking it in the oven.   

[ragweed]

Welcome to the forum from Nebraska.  tskeeter hit the nail on the head.  There are several things you can do to help out the Bradley.  Yesterday, I smoked 6 lbs of Canadian bacon in my original Bradley.  It was -15* F when I got up.  Pre-heated for 1:45 set @220* F w/SG on too.  Pre-warmed a foiled brick in the house oven then put it next to the drip pan in the smoker.  Used nearly boiling water in the drip pan.  The ambient temp had risen to 11* F when I started but the wind was really goin' by then.  The box temp dropped like a rock when I added the meat but it was back up to 206 in an hour.  Two hours in it had reached 214.  Forty minutes later it was 221* F and the IT of the bacon was 140* F.  Time to take it out.

So even with relatively cold weather by Nebraska standards, given some help, the Bradley did its job.  And BTW, it's not the temp that hurts but the wind.  It sucks the heat right out of the box.  So I try to keep it as sheltered as I can.  Hope this helps.   

[NorthShoreMN]

Welcome from N E Minnesota.  The previous posts contained very good information.  I still have not modified my 6 rack and use it year round.  This winter has been a problem. The outdoor shed its in is buried in snow.

[jeepnuts]

hey thanks guys......I'll get this thing figured out, adding a second elem for the cold season sounds like a good idea. on a good note the salmon,trout,lake char and northern pike turned out awesome...yum.

cheers!!!!......



BC CANADA