How long do bisquette burners last

[Kman916]

First post here, but have read many, especially since my smoker stopped working in the middle of a smoke last weekend.

Read a lot of posts about fuses, smoke generators and bisquette burners. Was able to determine the burner unit was bad, Zero OHMs when unplugged and tested. It's  A nine year old unit, btds76p. I use it maybe 4 times a year, and figure I have about 150 hours or so on it.

In the process of trying to get one during a pandemic. In the meantime, was wondering how long these last on average. I want to order a second one before the new one burn out.

Anybody have any ideas? Is this something I should just order two of, or is this rare?

Thanks this forum has been a great resource.

[cathouse willy]

Welcome to the forum, I can't say what's average but my first element lasted 4 or 5 years and I have 3 years on the second one,I use the smoker weekly or more.They're not expensive so I keep a spare on hand.

[manxman]

Welcome to the forum.

The first Bradley Smoker I had probably achieved around 750 hours without any technical problems including the burner and it is still being used by my son. No issues either on my new one which is a couple of years old and probably has around 80-100 hours on the clock! :)

Not aware of any specific issues with the burner historically here on the forum although obviously some people have had them fail, I do make sure I keep it clean and have a spare "just in case".

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Kman916;

Welcome to the forum.

As  Cathouse willy and Manxman stated they last for a while. Unfortunately I can't even guess how many hour I have on mine. Although I've had my smoker a while, it doesn't have the original generator, and I'm too old to try to remember how many hours I've gotten out of each. :-[ If the first one lasted nine years, one thing you should consider before buying two burners is how much longer do you expect your smoker to last; especially it being a digital model.

[Kman916]

Thanks for the feedback. I am guessing the hours I have based on age, number of times a year i use it and the average time the smoke generator is on. I have had it 9 years, an use it at the most a half dozen times a year. I usually do some duck snack sticks, ham, turkey and prime rib around the holidays. Also have done several leg of lamb on special occasions. Have been using it more this year, mostly since the whole pandemic thing happened.

I am guessing 150 to 200 hours to failure. Seem low compared to others, but again thats just a guess. I ended up buying two, used one last night to do a turkey roast, and doing ribs today. Works fine, tested both units for basic operation. Cheap insurance by my thinking. Also have a spare heating element.

Thanks to everyone that replied. So far this is the only problem I have had, other thanarcvv3 not getting the cabinet plugged in all the way.   ;D

[Habanero Smoker]

You are all set for many years of smoking.

Where did you get the element from? I know a lot of members have been looking for them.

[Kman916]

Got them from Bradley. It took 2 requests via their website to get a response though. Calling the phone numbers gets you a recorded message to contact them on their website.  When someone responded to my requests they wanted my CC info via e-mail. They did leave their name and a different phone number where I ordered them over the phone. Two were $107 with shipping, got them within 5 business days

KM

[Habanero Smoker]

Oh! I misunderstood. I thought you ordered a heating element also, but it looks like you already had a spare element.