Newbie

[luke]

Hey guys

I bought a Bradley digital smoker last year and tried to make jerky (I didn't know about this website at the time). The jerky tasted good but it was a little dry. Anyway I found a few problems that I hope you can help me with. I only have time to smoke in the winter and it is always cold in Canada and my smoker never got to temperture, I tried preheating and letting the meat get to room temperture but the smoker never reached temp. When I tried to my pepperoni it took the smoker 7 hrs to cook and dry out the ends, is this normal.  I am an electrician and did current reading on the element and it was working properly and glowing nicely. I believe the cold weather conditions robs my smoker of heat, even when I put it in my garage. Do you guys have any suggestions. Also what does the fan do for your smoker, I see alot of people installing them. I am completely new to smokers and so any suggestion would be an incrediable help. Thanks

[Habanero Smoker]

Luke;
Welcome to the forum.

I'm not sure if I can be of much help. The coldest temperature I've attempted to smoke at was 25°F, with no wind. It took a little longer for the smoker to heat up, but once it heated up there was no problem with it maintaining the set temperature.

If the electrical current problem has been eliminated, these are the only suggestions I can think of. During loading you will often experience a 20% - 35% loss in temperature. Preheat the smoker to 25°F-50°F higher then you are planning to smoke at; before loading the meat. Use hot water in the water bowl. Protect the smoker from wind; wind will drain the temperature out quickly. I know when smoking jerking, you want to let the moisture escape, but try closing the vent more. Reduce the amount of times you open the door to check on the food. Many of us use a brick or two in the cabinet, to help the BS recover after the door has been opened. In the winter time you want to heat these bricks up in an oven prior to placing them in the smoker.

There are a lot of members that live in Canada and Alaska, that I know will be adding to this post.

[Mr Walleye]

Hi Luke and welcome to the forum!

I live in Saskatchewan so I know all about cold winter and lots of wind!  ::)

The wind is definitely a problem especially in winter. Below are a couple of posts with pictures of the installation I have done in my garage to eliminate the weather from the equation. The first post wast my original setup and the second is my current setup. I have also seen some people add an additional heating element to help in this type of situation but I don't have any experience with that.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4142.0

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=4666.0

Mike

[hillbillysmoker]

Welcome to the forum, Luke. Nice to have you with us.

[Artmiester]

Welcome aboard, Luke.
You already have the best working your heat problem out here. I'm down in south Florida so don't have much problem with cold (cold? wutsat?). However, I do use bricks to smooth out temperature swings from opening the door, rotating trays, etc., ala Habanero Smoker. I also wrap them in foil so they don't get funky. Don't know if you have a 4 or 6 rack but you might use an extra rack or two of just preheated bricks besides the space under the drip tray next to the water bowl. Hope this helps. Good Luck! ;D ;D

[Wildcat]

Welcome to the forum.  I now live in Florida and rarely go far enough North in the winter season to know how cold influances the BS.  I do remember that a long time back this white stuff fell out of the clouds in Chicago when I was there one winter, or should I say blew sideways down the streets and alley's.  ;D

[icerat4]

I had my smoker in chicago windy city 25 below running in my smoke house. ;D.No problems lil cold but all worked out ok.

[KyNola]

Luke...use the force Luke ;D  I'm sorry, couldn't resist.  Ah come on, someone had to say it.  ;)

KyNola

[NePaSmoKer]

Luke

I am your father  :D  :D  :D

me too couldnt resist  ;D

Anyways welcome to the force  Uh i mean forum.

Dont use any water in your pan and the top vent all the way open for jerky. start at 160* with 1 hr smoke then ramp up the temp to 185ish no smoke, keep an eye on it. if it bends easy its just about done. if it snaps ya smoked it too long.

nepas

[HCT]

Welcome Luke.