Outdoor Temperature

[cvilleDave]

I can use some advice from someone who has used their Bradley Smoker in Summer AND winter.  I have the BTDS108P - the 6 rack digital smoker.  I just got it (February 2024) and REALLY anxious to smoke the prime packer brisker from Costco.  Wife says I should wait until the weather is MUCH warmer, like 70 degrees. - it is generally 40 degrees during the day right now.  My feeling is if I am smoking at 225 degrees, the outdoor temperature will not really matter.  Any advice?

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi cvilleDave,

Welcome to the forum.

The outdoor temperatures do have an effect, but wind has a more harmful effect on how well your Bradley can get up to and maintain your set temperature.

The colder it is, the longer the time it will take for the smoker to get back up to its set temperature. So always plan extra time for your cook. With my Original Bradley, I've smoke/cook while the temperatures were in the low 20F degrees, and had successful cooks, they just take a lot longer.

With overnight lows in the 40's, you should not have any issues, other than more time. When it is colder there are some measures, you should take to minimize the extra time it will take. I generally will preheat the smoker 50 degrees or more higher than the temperature I will be smoking at. This is because, when you open that door to load the brisket, or other foods you will be smoking; you will lose a lot of heat - plus you just place a hunk of meat that will act as a heat sink. With a 500w element it will struggle to get back up to your set temperature. Once loaded reset the temperature to the temperature you want to cook at.

Once the meat is loaded, only open the door when it is necessary. Such as changing the water bowl, rotating the rack etc. Each time that door is opened you will lose a lot of heat. As mentioned above it will struggle to get back up to temperature. And that adds time.

Get yourself a third-party remote thermometer, so that you can monitor the internal meat temperature of the meat without opening the door.

With overnight temperatures in the 40's you do not have to take these precautions, but in colder weather you want to use warm to hot water in the water bowl. A brick wrapped in foil, that is preheated in the kitchen oven then placed inside the Bradley next to the water bowl, helps a lot with maintaining temperature and recovery.

Wind is a whole different challenge, and if you can avoid smoking on windy day; that will be the best choice. Wind just sucks the heat right out of the smoker, and it is almost impossible to get to your set temperature, with a 500w element. If it is windy and you must smoke do your best to protect the smoker from the wind. In windy areas it may be useful to house the Bradley in a cabinet. Several members have done this.

Let us know how you make out.

[impdashiki]

Thank you for your advice, it's really necessary for me right now.

[Habanero Smoker]

Welcome to the forum.

[manxman]

in windy areas it may be useful to house the Bradley in a cabinet. Several members have done this.

I am one of the members that did just that, we frequently get very high winds given I live right on the coast and even though temperatures rarely drop below freezing when you add in wind chill it precluded successful hot smoking.

After housing the Bradley in a purpose built vented wooden shed (there was a picture somewhere on this forum at one point?) smoking in any weather became a breeze if you get the pun. Even helped with cold smoking which I tend to do more of as it helped stabilise temperatures.

Welcome to the forum.

[erikamills]

While outdoor temperature can have an impact on the smoking process, it is possible to achieve good results even in colder weather.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi erikamills;

Welcome to the forum.

Yes! You can still achieve good results, even in colder weather. But it depends on how cold it is. Your cook times may be longer, because the smoker's 500w element takes much longer to get to your set temperature. If it is too cold, it may not reach your set temperature. Colder weather is a good time to cold smoke.

There are ambient cold temperatures that will prevent your smoker from functioning. This is especially true for the digital models. The P10 will not operate if the ambient temperature is below 17F, and I expect that will be similar for the other digitals. The original Bradley's can operate at a slightly lower temperature.