Lots of problems

[dallman]

I purchased a Bradley Smoke generator this summer for my smoke house. The following are the problems I have encountered:

1-The smoker quit feeding/cycling after several days of use.
2-I decided to take it apart to see why.......The first thing I discovered was that all but two of the screws holding the unit together had been stripped in the factory.
3-The unit was so gummed up with smoke residue that the working parts could no longer move.
4-After cleaning the entire unit, which very time consuming, I put it back on my smoke house only to have it quit again after about two to three hours of use. I had to finish my smoking with my hot plate and wood chips.

To say the least I wasn't a very happy camper.  I thought I was getting a great piece of equipment but what I really got was a wasted investment, a waste of time and a headache.

[Chez Bubba]

Dallman,

Simply call Bradley at 800-665-4188 and relay your story to them. They stand behind their product 100% and will more than likely replace your defective unit.

Just curious, how is your smokehouse vented? If the generator gunked up that fast, it seems to me too much smoke & moisture is backfeeding through it instead of going out the vent.

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[dallman]

I did contact Bradley and they are sending me a new unit. Great service.........  There was no information regarding venting when I installed the unit. I do plan on increasing the ventalition though. I have the generator installed in an old fridge which has minimal draft but I did leave the door ajar after I cleaned up the unit. It still, however, seemed to gum up more than it should. How much is enough? Thanks for the feedback

[Chez Bubba]

Dallman,

I think the issue here is how does the {heat--moisture--smoke} vent out during the cooking process. Leaving the door open after cleaning has no effect on what may have really caused the problem in the first place.

If you had no vent, the gasses & moisture had no other escape than through the cutout for the generator. Hence lots of gunk.

Preferably you have a top vent, (Heat rises & so does the moisture & crap encapsulated in it.) and smoke should not be escaping through the generator except for the odd wind gust.

Hope that helps & I'm glad Bradley got you a new one. I'm not so sure they'll do #3 though.

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[dallman]

I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say..... I cleaned the Smoke generator...then... the next time I smoked I left the door open enough to allow air in from the bottom and out the top.. Holes cut in the smoker wouldn't have been any better.  There was no heat, smoke or moisture build-up the second time the unit was operated.  

It would be nice if Bradley had sent a list of do's and don'ts as well as some suggestions rather then just a smoke generator in a box with very limited instructions.

[Chez Bubba]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by dallman</i>
<br />It would be nice if Bradley had sent a list of do's and don'ts as well as some suggestions rather then just a smoke generator in a box with very limited instructions.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">Agreed. And some of their "do's & dont's" are contradictory! I think that might be why this forum is so successful. There's a lot of users searching for answers & the only place to find them is within our own community.[:)]

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?