Help! Too much heat!

[swissy]

Ok... just got the Bradley, and am smoking a couple of chunks of King Salmon to try it out and get used to it. Found one thing that is puzzling... I cannot get the temp below 150F! Help! I smoke my salmon for 8-12 hours with 50% at 100F, and slowly increasing from there. I was attracted to the Bradley due to the 'ambient temp smoking' but it seems I cannot? Outside temp is 68F, sun was on it for a bit then not for hours, vent was wide open (would like to have closed for more smoke!) and the main smoking chamber was not even plugged in- *NO* heat to the element at all.

Don't want to prop the door open as I like a very smokey flavor, I've heard of using ice on the lower shelf but that reduces the space inside and I need lots!

Any ideas? is my smoking element creating too much heat and need to be exchanged? I cannot imagine doing a cold smoke with the way it is right now...

Thanks for any pointers or help...
Jim

[tsquared]

You've got a problem many others have faced, myself included. Cheapest and easiest solution is to go get a chunk of dryer hose and then cut a hole in the cardboard box your bradley came in near the top of it. You will also need to cut a hole on one side near the bottom to slide your smoke generator in. (Make sure you put your water bowl under where the pucks are going to drop.) Jam the other end of the dryer hose into the hole on the side of the Bradley where the smoke generator was and voila, you are in business. Your temp will not go more than 5-10 degrees above ambient. You do have to put your bradley on something so that it is above the cardboard box. I personally use an old Little chief smoker as my remote smoke chamber and others have custom built theirs out of wood but the cardboard box will work fine and won't make a bit of difference to your product. Once you have your box and hose configured, it takes about 2 minutes to switch it back and forth.
Good smoking and welcome to the forum.
Tom

[manxman]

Hi swissy,

This link shows what tsquared explained diagramatically:

http://www.johnwatkins.co.uk/personalpages/coldsmoking.htm

It can be used together with ice in the smoker unit (water bowl) itself if necessary. I have never had to add ice to date but this method does works really well, as tsquared said the temp. never goes more than a couple of degrees (C) above ambient.

Welcome to the forum swissy. [:)]

Manxman.

[swissy]

Thanks guys-
 I'm a little miffed, I guess, that one has to go thru these 'hoops' when it is said the Bradley can smoke at ambient temps... I was under the impression it could be done without modification. I realize the smoke would have some heat to it, but not being able to go under 150f?!? Guess that's a good thing about the 'tightness' of the smoker...

 Regardless, thanks for the info and the link... I'll have to see what I can do about this and try to make it work as best I can. If it works as well as it seems, it seems like smoked cheese is in my future!!! [:D]

I'll post later after I get it done and try it out
Jim

[Habanero Smoker]

If possible, try keeping it completely out of the sun. Also you can time you smoking to the cooler parts of the day, such as begin before dawn, in order to get 50% of you smoking done before the ambient temperature starts begins to effect the smoker's temperature.

[Oldman]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Ok... just got the Bradley, and am smoking a couple of chunks of King Salmon to try it out and get used to it. Found one thing that is puzzling... I cannot get the temp below 150F! Help!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Something is wrong here. You live in Anchorage, Alaska. I live in St. Petersburg, Florida and in the direct sun with just the generator for heat there is no way I can get to 150F even in the middle of summer.

I don't know what you are taking your temp readings with but I would surely check them. It is not possible for a 125 watt smoking element with flowing air to raise your box temp 82 degress F. above the ambient 68 F that you posted. There is just not enough calories of energry to do that.  Maybe in a sealed container after a long enough period of time but not in a smoker that breaths. <blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">is my smoking element creating too much heat and need to be exchanged? I<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">What do your pucks look like when they are in the water bowel.

Olds

[BBQutie]

We had the same problem - called customer service (THEY ARE GREAT) -
and they sent us a new temperature control - it did the same thing (they must have got a bad batch) - so they sent us a third one.
this one seems to be working.


My online gambling blog
http://www.bluenoseblog.com/blog/index.php

[BBQutie]

We also got a new thermometer - it was off about 30 degrees (you can test it by putting another one up by the damper and comparing heat)
 Ask for Brian - he's very helpful - and he gets to work early [8D]


My online gambling blog
http://www.bluenoseblog.com/blog/index.php

[Kummok]

Sheeeesh, Swissy, you're with the world's top FD and you can't figure out how to kill the heat??!? Man, either things have really changed at AFD or you're a paramedic[:D][;)][;)][:D]

35 years of extinguishing smoking stuff and now I'm wondering WHY!
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA