can't decide which one to buy

[hillbillysmoker]

You will be happy with whatever you buy.  It was OBS for me and I love it.  I run mine with a Guru Raptor temp controller.

[NePaSmoKer]

You will be happy with whatever you buy.  It was OBS for me and I love it.  I run mine with a Guru Raptor temp controller.

Same for me hillbilly, cant beat the raptor/guru. I sent BBQ Guru a customer today as a matter of fact.


nepas

[Stickbowcrafter]

Good luck in your search for a new smoker. If it ends up being a Bradley, you won't be dissapointed. Of course, we're a little biased here  ;) I love my Original...

-Brian

[Consiglieri]

Ohioan:  I am so pleased by your post cuz that was one of my biggest concerns before I purchased mine.  I was used to a weber water smoker, where I could fit 8 racks of ribs on two shelves using rib racks, and could keep the racks of ribs whole to boot.  I also liked the shape of the weber and the consistent results I learned to get from that equipment.  I admit that I liked the challenge of the time it took to slow smoke a meal through the charcoal/chunks, and I liked the hard work that went into the project too.  Then I remembered that I also like to golf, see movies from time to time, and the whole idea of being able to leave a smoker unattended for hours at a time reared its head.  I started looking into (gasp) electric smokers so that I could accommodate my ADD and engage in my other hobbies.  I learned about the existance of this crazy Bradley machine through some way too expensive yard and garden catalogs, but the description stuck with me.  And then I saw some other articles and another catalog (that I trust) which sung the praises of this machine.  Two huge issues: the price and rib capacity limitations.

I wound up gambling and buying a Bradley before I found this cite.  And then found out that I had made a good decision.  Some of my first inquiries here focused on the "how many racks of ribs" topic and how the ribs might be pushed, pulled, cut, etc. to maximize rib smoking capacity.  I called it Rib Tetris.  I started experimenting.  The advice about 1.5 racks of ribs per shelf is accurate.  With a 6 rack DBS you're smoking  9 racks and have exceeded the typical water smoker limit.  One caveat, though, at that kind of load, its hard to maintain cabinet temp and you may have to crank up the heat source, and on top of that, you may have to rotate the shelves top to bottom and 180 degrees too, from time to time.

I have not tried the inverted rack on top or each shelf trick, but I confess I'm eager to experiment.  That said, a full 9 racks in the dbs took me over 10 hours to cook (although next time I'll adjust the heat up to compensate for the poundage).  If the air flow were further restricted because of the extra load, plus the extra "coolness" from the additional meat, I think your smoking day might wind up like one of those early morning, replace the fuel, baste the meat, get no sleep type of smoking projects.   I still have not heard any lessons from someone who has tried the inverted rack technique, but I am looking forward to that occassion.

Good luck with your decison.  From my point of view, the Bradley is a wonderful machine, that produces a fine finished product, with very little attention required.  Which isn't to say that us obsessive-compulsive types aren't out there frowning, poking, prodding, basting, etc. (which we use as an excuse to avoid chores).  I don't think they're too many weak points to Bradley's design.  I'd like to see some better heat distribution/circulation through the 6R tower without accessories, and more accurate monitoring/maintenance of temp settings, but I'd still buy a DBS again cuz neither of these issues has caused me any problems. 

Cheers.

[West Coast Kansan]

  Then I remembered that I also like to golf, see movies from time to time, and the whole idea of being able to leave a smoker unattended for hours at a time reared its head.  I started looking into (gasp) electric smokers so that I could accommodate my ADD and engage in my other hobbies. 

:D  :D  :D Now THAT is funny -   :'(  and true  ;). Well said and some good real world advise as well.  There was something else i was thinking  ???  but now i forget ;D

[ohioan]

Thanks for the info...Heat circulation would be a big plus i believe but over all I think the BS is a stable and reliable product. Everything I have read and the advice received has made up my mind to go with DBS 6 rack. Thanks to everyone!!!

Fire It Up
Ohioan

[Skipystu]

Well did you go with the OBS or DBS? Curious minds want to know!  ???

I have the OBS 4 shelf and I can fit 6 racks of back ribs when I cut them all in half.


They cooked for 3 hours with smoke then at hour 4 I wraped in foil and cooked for 4 more hours. Then 3 hours FTC and they just fall off the bone!

[ohioan]

Now that is some fine lookin' chow!!! I am probably going to go with the DBS...I havn't purchased anything yet as it is so hot here in Florida, not really a good time to be cookin' outside. I'll have one by the end of the Summer as I believe we have finally sold our house in Ohio. I can't wait to get started...I cooked a leg o' lamb on my offset over the wekend. I think it would have cooked without the lump charcoal as hot as it was.

[Skipystu]

Thank you! They were rather tasty!  ;D

I also just realized I can double my output with a second set of racks turned upside down!  :D I figure I can output at least 24 racks of ribs in a 24 hour period with my 4 rack OBS! How sweet is that!?!  :o

As for the DBS, I keep thinking of getting one as well but the 10-hour reset just won't work for me. Nearly every time I cook I do something that takes 12+ hours. The OBS is so easy to use! I just set it to max temp and it takes hours, once the meat is in, to ready the 210-215 range. Then I play with it every 20 mins or so for an hour and I can forget it from then on.

Example: when I do pulled pork I always get one picnic and cut off all the skin/fat. I put the pork in, picnic on top, butt on bottom. I smoke them for about 3-4 hours and spray with something every hour. I use this time to get the temp right around 200. Then around 11pm I put the skin/fat I cut off earlier on the top tray and go to bed! I wake up in the morning and the skin/fat has dripped on the pork all night so it isn't dry.

With the DBS all you get is a dial to set to 200 but then you have to reset it in the middle of the night when you hit the 10th hour.

It is not an easy choice, I know  :-\ .. but now that I have an OBS I love it. It took me a couple uses to get used to setting the temp but it is really not hard at all. And like others have said if you really want a digital temp control you can build a PID pretty cheaply. Although there is a whole other area just for the DBS folks to chat!  :o

[West Coast Kansan]

skipystu, you dont have to wait for the 9.6 hour timer to go to zero before you reset the cook time.  If your 5 hours into the smoke and it is bedtime, it is time for fresh water in the bowl and reset the timer.  Your good for 9 hours of sleep.  ;)