Whole new Bradley DBS after replacing heating element

[thepro8]

My 4-rack DBS is 10 years old and gets a lot of use. Was working great up to a month ago. Temps started going all over the place, taking forever to warm up, performing at a lot lower temp than what was show, and finally blowing my GFI.

I replaced the heating event today and it's back to acting like new! Holding temps within 10 degrees of what is show for actuals.

Might be a good lesson to others experiencing problems. Soo pumped I don't have to buy a new smoker.

[KyNola]

Thanks for posting what can only be considered a success story.  Those come along on this Forum way too infrequently. 8)

[Wildcat]

Thanks for posting what can only be considered a success story.  Those come along on this Forum way too infrequently. 8)

Ditto.

[Saber 4]

Thanks for posting what can only be considered a success story.  Those come along on this Forum way too infrequently. 8)

Ditto.

Nice to see a success story!

[kayes]

I recently replaced the element and its never worked so good!

[beefmann]

my  kinda story,,,  only issue i have had  so far  is that i had to  replace the  smoke generator micro switch and motor,,, and today i  noticed that soon im gonna  have to  replace the door gasket,, after 8 years of use,,, so no  complaints really

[renoman]

my  kinda story,,,  only issue i have had  so far  is that i had to  replace the  smoke generator micro switch and motor,,, and today i  noticed that soon im gonna  have to  replace the door gasket,, after 8 years of use,,, so no  complaints really

After 8 "months" of use my door gasket fell off. Also replaced the micro switch and motor after about 5 smokes.

[celica454]

My Bradley is only a year old but I cannot get temp anywhere near what I set. Set at 280 I'm lucky to get to 200 on a nice day. I replaced the element but didn't make much difference. I'm adding a second element but am confused about the auto Tune. I cannot find any info on running the Auto Tune on my digital Bradley. Any help would be appreciated

[Jim O]

My BDS 4 is going on 4 years old,and has no mods etc. and still works great (touch wood ) !!

[tskeeter]

My Bradley is only a year old but I cannot get temp anywhere near what I set. Set at 280 I'm lucky to get to 200 on a nice day. I replaced the element but didn't make much difference. I'm adding a second element but am confused about the auto Tune. I cannot find any info on running the Auto Tune on my digital Bradley. Any help would be appreciated

Celica, the auto tune you see people talking about isn't a feature of your smoker.  Auto tune is a function of the after market Auber PID temperature controller that many forum members use. 

Members use a PID primarily for two reasons.  They have added additional/different heating elements to their smoker and need to bypass the stock wiring, which is slightly under sized for the heating capacity modifications people have done.  Or, people use a PID to improve temperature control in their smoker.  The stock temperature control system of a Bradley is such that it allows over run of the temperature set point when the smoker is heating, and allows the smoker to cool below the temperature set point before it starts to introduce heat again.  Temperature swings of 10 degrees or more +/- your temperature set point are normal.  This isn't a problem for most of what we smoke.  Many (probably most) people have been using their Bradleys for years without feeling a need to improve the temperature control.  But, as a bunch, forum members suffer from a bit of the Tim Taylor complex.  We can't resist an opportunity to make something even better.  And there are some foods (specifically cheese, fish, and sausage) that benefit from the tighter temperature control that a PID can deliver.  (Because of the way it operates, a PID can run about 2 degrees +/- your temperature set point.)

Hope this is helpful for you.  If you want to learn more about PID's, use the search box in the upper right hand corner of the page to search for threads about PID's.  There are a bunch.  And you'll learn more about PID's and heating system modifications than you ever felt a need to know.  ;D   

[tskeeter]

My Bradley is only a year old but I cannot get temp anywhere near what I set. Set at 280 I'm lucky to get to 200 on a nice day. I replaced the element but didn't make much difference. I'm adding a second element but am confused about the auto Tune. I cannot find any info on running the Auto Tune on my digital Bradley. Any help would be appreciated

Had a couple of thoughts about your temperature issue.  How open do you normally have the vent on your smoker?  If your vent is closed too far, moisture, which can absorb a lot of heat, gets trapped inside your smoker.  In some cases, you can actually achieve higher temps by opening the vent further.  Most forum members keep their vent at least half way open.  And when they are smoking something that contains a lot of moisture, such as poultry, fish, or some sausage, they will open the vent all the way for the first couple of hours to let moisture escape.  Once the heaviest part of the moisture has evaporated, they'll close the vent damper to about half way to complete their smoke.

Another thought is to wonder if you have a wind problem.  A breeze seems to just suck the heat out of a Bradley.  So, sheltering the vent from the wind can sometimes help achieve higher temps.  As can closing the vent damper a little further than is usually recommended.  If you suspect wind is a problem for you, you might try allowing the heavy moisture to evaporate for a couple of hours, then closing the vent damper to about 1/4 open to reduce the vacuuming effect of a breeze moving over the vent.