New to the forum and Bradley smokers

[piercecj]

Hi everyone,

I got my first smoker, DTSDS76P, for my B'day last month and have used it once to smoke a salmon.  Turned out great!  That having been said I decided to smoke a pork loin yesterday and never got past the warm-up of the tower.  Every time I attempted to get the smoke generator started I would get a flashing E and a beeping sound which I assume is a error message of some sort, but I don't see anything in the manual about the meaning of the flashing E or how to fix the problem.  Anyone every seen this before?  I'm kind of anxious to get sitting back and having the beer(s) part while waiting for the smoker to do its thing.

[TedEbear]

First off, welcome aboard.

Here are some things that may fix your error message. I hope they help.

Q. Why does my Digital Bradley Smoker starts OK then beeps and displays an E1 error on the screen?

A. The E1 error is usually an issue with the TC wire (small wire between generator and tower). If you unplug and re-plug it a couple of times or even unplug and reverse it, it will usually help. I found that the problem only happened a couple of times. Once I had unplugged and re-plugged a couple of times it seemed to resolve it. It was almost like it had some rough cast plastic in the pin part of the connector or something.

Additional Information from the Bradley website:
An "E1" message is something to do with the sensor cable. The sensor cable is the short skinny cable that runs from the generator to the tower. Please make sure that it's connected, secondly unplug it and switch the ends around, so plug "A" side into "B" and the "B" side into "A" sometime that makes a better connection. Also make sure that there is nothing blocking that connection ie: loose chips, dust (using a piece of steel wool or super fine sandpaper to clean the ends of your sensor cable works well).

Also; while the generator is on and the "E1" error is displayed and beeping, check the connection by wiggling one side of the connection up and down and left to right, and then the other side. If the "E1" message temporally goes away while you were wiggling one side, you need a new sensor connector. 

If none of the above actions work, the E-1 error may be a bad connection to the temp sensor the connection is located in the back of the smoke tower remove the back of the smoker and check the connection.

Q. What is an "E" message?

A. An "E" message is letting you know that there is something wrong with the advance system. It's the connection between the motor arm and the micro switch. Please open the generator, and take a look at that switch which is going to be a gray rectangle shaped switch; first make sure that it is connected, secondly makes sure nothing is blocking that switch and the arm. If the wires appear to be plugged in, disconnect and reconnect the connections to make sure they are secure.

If the above does not work, check the drive guide for any obstructions; such as a build up of debris in the tracks that will interfere with the movement of the system. Also check the drive guide for any wear and tear. That is an indication the guide track is out of alignment and need to be adjusted.

Another thing that may cause the error, it the micro switch. With your generator plugged in (only do this if you feel comfortable with working with electrical appliances); depress the micro switch. This is to test to see if the micro switch does work. The motor should engage and the motor arm should come around and depress the switch; you should hear a definite click. If it doesn't depress the switch, loosen the two motor nuts, and realign the motor.

If this does not work contact Bradley Technical Support.

[piercecj]

Wow, thanks for the quick response and good advice. I'll give them a try!  Its good to know that there are people out there that have the knowledge and are willing to share!

[Edward176]

Welcome to the Forum piercecj. Yes lots of good people here willing to share their knowledge and expertise. Sounds like TedEbear gave you all the information, good luck and enjoy :)

[cherrybergher]

Welcome to the forum