Which Bradley to buy?

[hvhunter]

I have an original Bradley, controlled with a PID,  with a extra heating element and fan mod. That being said, my best friend wants to get a Bradley, and is asking what he should buy. He doesn't want to play around with any mods, besides adding a PID. Anyone with experience on the different models want to chime in?

I also see a lot of folks replacing the stock heater element with a 750W fin style heater; an easy swap out with no extra wiring as long as it has terminals for the connector.  Do you know if that is possible on all of the Bradley models?   

Thanks in advance for the replies.

[tskeeter]

As far as the wiring is concerned, I would expect that all of the four rack and the six rack smokers can handle the same electrical loads.

For me, the which smoker question was a matter of cabinet size.  The six rack gives enough height so that it is easy to hang summer sausage.  Generally greater smoking capacity.  And enough heat stratification to be helpful when cooking meat of differing thickness.  And I wanted the digital controls of the six rack.

But, I did do a dual element mod to improve recovery time.  That mod also helps heat the larger cabinet better.

[hvhunter]

Tskeeter, does the digital six rack replace the need of a pid?

[tskeeter]

Hv, no.

I think there are two reasons a person would use a PID.  One is to improve temperature control.  The other reason is to allow for heating element mods that exceed the capacity of the Bradley wiring.

Even the digital Bradleys will overshoot your temp set point by about 20 degrees.  If you smoke temperature sensitive products, such as sausage, cheese, or fish, benefit from better temp control.  If you won't smoke these items, or plan to cold smoke, I wouldn't invest in a PID.

A dual element mod (1,000 watts) slightly exceeds the recommended capacity of the stock wiring.  I know that at least one person runs a dual element mod with the stock wiring, but I think that's a little questionable.  That's why folks figured out the 700 watt and 900 watt finned element mods.  They comply with the recommended limits for the stock wiring.

[Roget]

To me, buying a PID is money well spent.

Set it, forget it. Temp control +/- 2 degrees.
Without it you will spend all your time watching (& fooling with) the temp.

Just my two cents.  ;)

[Edward176]

I went with the 6 rack digital smoker and my brother has the 4 rack OBS. Seeing both in operation I would say the 6 rack is preferably, like tskeeter said, the larger cabinet gives you a little more height for sausages and for me this makes it more versatile. The added room is always an asset when you want to smoke several items at once.   

[TedEbear]

A dual element mod (1,000 watts) slightly exceeds the recommended capacity of the stock wiring.  I know that at least one person runs a dual element mod with the stock wiring, but I think that's a little questionable.  That's why folks figured out the 700 watt and 900 watt finned element mods.  They comply with the recommended limits for the stock wiring.

Unless someone builds an entire new cord set between the SG and the tower or the SG and the wall outlet they are still using sections of the stock wiring, which is 18 AWG. Anyone who has done the dual element mod is more than likely using the stock wiring somewhere along the route.  I did my dual element mode 3-4 years ago and no problem from overheated wires.  I've not read about anyone else who has done the dual element reporting any wiring-related problem with theirs, either.