Smokai Smoke Generator test and install on a bradley,,,

[beefmann]

bit the  bullet on a  Smokai smoke generator and did a  small test and install on my  bradley ,,, here are the  pics....and  information on  install....

first dry  eun of  smokai... 1/3 load of crumbled bradley pucks,, mostly into saw dust,,,






The black hose goes to an air pump that blows the air through a tube and into the smoker,.. you  can  see the smoke exit the tube ,, said tube enters the  smoker... following  pics  show the install on my smoker...


4 13/16 electrical cover plate with 1/2 inch knock out removed the  lines show where to drill holes to mount smokai...


holes drilled for  smokai and to  mount plate


plate mounted and vent holes drilled...


smokai base mounted to base plate


smokai mounted to its base plate


tube between the smokai and bradley tower


smokai smoke tube inside the bradley


black hose is from the air pump


the air pump.. yes it is  nothing  more then a small aquarium air pump...

on my  next smoke .. i will update this post to let all know my  opinion of its operation ... so far i to like the  unit,,, though only  a test  smoke will tell....more to follow,,,

Beefman

[Orion]

Great post and excellent pictures. Thanks. Will be interested in your opinion of the results.

What was your motivation in eliminating the original SG and going with this new set up? I'm guessing this new SG eliminates the need for pucks?

[beefmann]

Great post and excellent pictures. Thanks. Will be interested in your opinion of the results.

What was your motivation in eliminating the original SG and going with this new set up? I'm guessing this new SG eliminates the need for pucks?

biggest motivation is / was the cost of the bradley pucks... a few nice items of this smoker,,, is

1) the smokai is made out of stainless steel except for the top wood cap,,, (  preferred it to be stainless my  self ) does not include the metal plate that I used to support the smokai..
2) can burn sawdust, pellets, and i believe chunks as well... or any  other variances .
3) fairly easy to  use... can be used on any smoker ,... or even a  bbq grill...
4) more flexibility.
5) can be used for a  cold smoker,... only heat that would be generated would be from the  wood,, and i do believe most of the  heat would remain out side of the chamber,... am going   to do a test smoke tomarrow to see how it does on the  smoker....

[Orion]

Great stuff. Let us know how it all works out.

[TMB]

Should be a nice addition to the Bradley.   I bought a Smoke Pistol a few years back, only problem is that sucker is hard to get going.   The cost of the refills ain't cheap either for the Smoke Pistol, but I found I could reload the refills 4 to 6 times with pellets before you had to replace them

[beefmann]

Al right have done a test run,,, used some crumbled up bradley pucks,,, mostly into saw dust with  some chunks,,, smoked for almost two hours and smoke quite,,,used about half of the  dust in the smokai,,, taking a  closer  look  seemed that the chunks that were left hung up and did not flow down wards,,, am going to do another test with pellets and see what happens,.. though the  unit performed well... burnt most of the  dust,, little debris left... also creosote left in the smoke tube that needs to be cleaned,,, along  with the vertical burn tube,,, not  that big of a  deal,... easy disassembly.

also imho this unit would be good for cold smoking,,, today the ambient    air is mid 70's and with the  smoke generator running only .. the  box temp was 99 F after two  hours of  smoking....


lighting the  dust. the  air pump must be on at this point in time and left on at all times during the  smoking  process...


10 seconds after lighting, it generated this amount of  smoke through most of the next two hours,,, it seems that larger chunks will clog the feed chute,,more to follow...if you take a look at the  orange cord near the controller,, you  will see a black plug... that is the power to the heating  element,,,,


61 F at the start of the smokai ...


2 hr 6 minutes later ... 99 F

am gonna do a test  run  with  pellets to see how they  work...will update then

[Wildcat]

Nice! I also like the large banana plant.

[Orion]

Nice job on the addition. I'm curious why you drilled the extra holes in the mounting plate for the support bracket. I'm referring to the 11 holes in the circular pattern. Must be something to do with allowing the smoker to "breathe" ?

[beefmann]

Nice job on the addition. I'm curious why you drilled the extra holes in the mounting plate for the support bracket. I'm referring to the 11 holes in the circular pattern. Must be something to do with allowing the smoker to "breathe" ?

air flow through the bradley as the  plate blocks the hole where the  smoke generator was.. the smoke generator was designed to allow air  flow

[beefmann]

did a test run with  pellets,,, they worked awesome,, no hang ups of any  kind in the  feed tube,,, did a  3 hour run,.. checked a few times,,, as the  pellets were consumed the amount in the  feed tube did lower.. that is to be  expected,, and is good,,, one thing i  did notice is the  build up on creosote from the wood burning,,, this is NOT the fault of the manufacturer.. just the  nature of the  wood,,, especially in the tube between the  smoke generator and the bradley,, currently cleaning it with a wire brush,,, am looking for a better way,,,

over all a  good  unit,, very  well built and easy to  dis assemble and clean,,, i would recommend this unit to the members,, ... in my  opinion a  good product.... one other item .. easy to remove the top to add in more wood for  longer smokes,,, very efficient in generating smoke... 1 cup of pellets is close to 2 hours of smoke...

[Toker]

Good job. Now you need to make one and ship it to me in Canada. I could transform one of my numerous smokers if I were more handy too... ;)

[beefmann]

Good job. Now you need to make one and ship it to me in Canada. I could transform one of my numerous smokers if I were more handy too... ;)

:) its on its way,,,,

[dave01]

 beefmann, did you get this from New Zealand,  if so how long did it take to get it and what was the total price? what about customs? Thanks

[beefmann]

beefmann, did you get this from New Zealand,  if so how long did it take to get it and what was the total price? what about customs? Thanks

from the time the order was processed in new Zealand to the time it was in my hands,,, it was less then a week,,, custom issues was handled through  DHL and smokai  went through customs in a matter of a  few hours,,, though from the time it arrived in customs to the time it left was more like 12 to 16 hours,,( late afternoon to mid morning )

price for the  smokai with pump USD  $ 110.83
with out pump                                          $  97.72 * did not buy this  unit
shipping through DHL                            $   30.00
total                                                            $ 140.83

how ever they had a  glitch in there ordering system and it  took  them a  few days to  fix the  glitch and conform my order... Can not  blame them for the  glitch,, it  could have been a server failure,,,and they  do try to  stand behind there policy of getting orders out as soon as they are  ordered.... they did apology for the  delay and stated why... also they ship to most any  where... just have to there site and choose your currency...



shipping is flat rate,,, they also have accessories that can also be purchased

over all i would say this is a  good company to deal with,, also i do believe they make a  good product...

[beefmann]

Ok ladies and  Gents,,, here is the smoke with the smokai smoke generator....


13 lbs of sirloin roast , trimmed, 1/4 and seasoned.


into the smoker


filled the smokai generator  approx  40 % full and lit


checked to see if it was  creating smoke....


got to love to watch the saw dust burn ,,, the saw dust was made from the bradley pucks....


took the meat to 143 F and pulled,,, did a taste test,,, quite good,,, along with a  good smoky flavor...use a modified version of the gunpowder rub from the recipe site,,,over all a great  little  unit,,, gotta love it,,, it  does the  job and easy  to use,,,


if you  are gonna ask if you  should buy one,,,, the  answer is,,,,,, YES ! ! !  Buy it,,,,