Heat issues

poot · January 29, 2012, 11:41:08 AM

Just received my new OBS, preseasoned it and am ready to smoke. I currently have the ribs in but the smoker will not get hot enough. It has been stuck at 175 for the past hour!! any ideas?

smoker pete · January 29, 2012, 11:46:46 AM

What position is your vent in? I always have my vent wide open which you need to do to allow the moisture to escape. I never choke my vent for anything ... always wide open ...

Are you looking at the door temperature gauge? The gauge is notoriously wrong. As much as 20-40º. If you don't have one you should look into a remote temp gauge. Hopefully you're not opening the OBS and peeking.

mikecorn.1 · January 29, 2012, 11:47:47 AM

Open the vent all the way. Make sure all the connections are good and tight. Were the ribs cold when you put them in. Is there alot of wind blowing over the vent. If you load up the Bradley, it can take a while to come up to temp.

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Toker · January 29, 2012, 11:49:01 AM

Hi poot

Your OBS has only 1 element i guess? If so, just remember that it is only 500 watts and with the meat inside, it will take a little while to go higher. It's normal don't worry. Just open your vent to the max and be patient it will rise.

poot · January 29, 2012, 02:19:35 PM

Thanks for the input guys. I just opened the vent, we"ll see if that helps. It's been going now for nearly 4 hours and it hasn't been above 200 degrees yet. I justed turned 5 o'clock dinner into 6.

mikecorn.1 · January 29, 2012, 02:36:48 PM

I cook everything with the vent fully open. I also preheat as high as I can get it and also have two bricks and
Hot water in the bowl to start with. Makes a difference when you are ready to load the meat in. There are other things you can do also.

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Toker · January 29, 2012, 03:36:13 PM

And when your smoker goes out of warranty, just add a 2ND elements.

poot · January 29, 2012, 06:01:02 PM

Very disappointed thus far with this machine. I had a Master Built Smokehouse in the past and loved it. I never had an issue with heat. I guess Bradley gets a call from me tomorrow.

Wildcat · January 29, 2012, 06:09:16 PM

The Bradley was designed to smoke low and slow. If the meat is cold and especially if you have a large load it will take awhile. Patience is a must with the Bradley. The temp will get higher as the meat temp increases. If you are in a hurry, do the smoke portion of the cook in the Bradley then transfer to your house oven.

TedEbear · January 30, 2012, 05:46:43 AM

Quote from: poot on January 29, 2012, 11:41:08 AMI currently have the ribs in but the smoker will not get hot enough. It has been stuck at 175 for the past hour!! any ideas?

You're not using an extension cord with your smoker, are you? There have been low heat issues with these in the past where people were using an extension cord and the current is choked trying to heat the element. I believe it says in the owner's manual to not use an extension cord. Also, make sure all cords are plugged in nice and tight. A loose connection will cause low heat.

What was the outdoor temp? Some people in colder climates have added insulated blankets around their smokers and they say it helped a lot. There are a few threads on this with pics. They turned out pretty well.

Smoker Blanket Thread

Space Age Bradley Insulation

If all of that didn't help there are additional options for more heat. I didn't want to toss too many things out all at once.