OBS cuts off at about 230 degrees..... is this normal?

[firerescueman]

Hey all,

I have noticed that my OBS will cut off from time to time.  It is usually when the temp is around 230 degrees.  Is this a high temp cutoff?  is this normal?  I can unplug the unit and plug it back in and it will usually come back on.

just curious.....  thanks in advance for the replies...

Jeff

[manxman]

The high temp cut off should be higher than 230, seem to remember mine cuts out somewhere between 300 and 320F / 160C (max temp quoted in Bradley literature) and it takes around 15 - 20 mins for the heater to cut in again.

IMHO if the heater is cutting out at 230F that is too low.

[Oldman]

Jeff,
The cut off as manxman said is around 300 F. Call Bradley and if your unit is under warrenty they will replace it.

Here is an image of the switch in the back of the unit.


Good Luck!
Olds

[firerescueman]

Kudos to Bradley customer service!!!


After looking my smoker over and finding a hairline crack in the plastic directly above the slide control,  I called customer service today.  They are WONDERFUL to deal with.....   No hassle whatsoever....

We discussed my problem,  couldn't determine for certain whether it was the high limit switch or possibly grease getting to the circuit board....  so she is sending BOTH parts out today!

Their customer service is TOPS!!!

Thanks Bradley!


Jeff

[manxman]

Good news Jeff.  :)

[HCT]

That's good to hear. I've never read that Bradley ever gave anyone hear a hard time. That's great customer service. :)

[Lefty_Smoker]

The crack in the slide control face plate is due to a design flaw in the Bradley, imho.  It happens to just about every Bradley that I have seen at some point.  Mine has it too, but up until recently it didn't seem to affect anything, just cosmetic, but recently my unit has also started to exhibit the same sympton as yours, except mine seems to cut out closer to 240F than 230F.

Luckily, I knew this was going to be an issue eventually, so I called Bradley customer service up before my warranty expired and told them that my faceplate was cracked.  They sent me a new one with the slide control.  I haven't installed it yet, because like I said, my unit seemed to work fine even with the crack.  It wasn't until just a couple weeks ago that it started shutting down around 240F, only to turn right back on once the unit was unplugged and plugged back in.  If it was the hi-temp shut off shutting it down, I would assume it would take 15-20 minutes to cool down before it would turn back on.  My unit shuts down, but will turn right back on after unplugging it breifly which points to the crack causing it to short out temporarily. 

I'd love to see some type of update or fix issued by Bradley to fix this obvious design flaw.  Seems like just adding a middle support or even a third leg in the middle might be all that is necessary to fix this issue.  Seems like that would be cheaper for Bradley than constantly sending out hundreds or thousands of face plate and slider control boards because they continue to fail.   ???

Has anybody else come up with a fix of their own to stop these faceplates from cracking over and over?  Before I install my new faceplate, I might try to add some additional support some how. 

[Mr Walleye]

Left

I don't have an OBS but as I understand it the front legs on the OBS are integrated into this face plate. I think in a lot of peoples opinion it is this that is the cause. The DBS does not have a face plate so therefore it has 4 rubber feet under it. A few people have talked about adding 2 more rubber feet under the front of the OBS, just back far enough to not be mounted through the bottom lip of the face plate. Here is a link to replacement rubber feet that Bryan at Yard and Pool has in stock.

http://www.yardandpool.com/Bradley-Smoker-Replacement-Small-Rubber-Foot-p1907.html

As I said, I don't' have the OBS so I am making a number of assumptions here but it might be worth checking out.

Mike

[Habanero Smoker]

I had the same problem with the cracked face plate. After reading a member's post about it being caused by weight stress, I ripe cut a piece of 1 1/2 inch pine so that I had a piece of wood 1 1/4 x 1 x 19 inch. I placed this board directly behind the front feet of the smoker, using the 1 1/4" side as the height. This does two things, it takes the weight of the plastic housing, and places the weight directly on the metal frame of the unit, and secondly it raises the front up 1/4", so if too much moisture collects within the cabinet it will flow towards the back and not out the door.

I had to replace my face plate and circuit board, and since placing that board underneath, I have not had any problems with the face plate. I'm convinced it is a design flaw, and the only thing Bradley has to do redesign it so the feet are attached to the cabinet and not the face plate. I like the idea of the rubber feet.

[SmokeDogg]

Same problem here!  I have a crack in the bottom of my OBS right above the temp slider.  Its worked fine for a while but its been cutting out on me my last few smokes. I also unlpug it for a minute or two and it fires right back up. I called customer service and got a new face plate and the temp controller. Hopefully this works for me as well.

As usual...awesome customer service there.  Ask for Julie!

SmokeDogg

[Oldman]

Ask for Julie

You newer folks have not see a picture of her.  What a knock-out~~!

[firerescueman]

Hey all,

I got my new faceplate installed today.  Gave the smoker a test run and it worked fine.  I guess I will just keep the high limit cutoff switch for a future emergency.

Kudos to Bradley customer service...  they are the greatest!


Jeff

[SmokeDogg]

Well, it didn't work for me.  I replaced the temp slider and the cracked face plate and it was still cutting out on me all the time around 240-250ish.  I called Bradley and got the High Limit switch sent to me.  I installed that and viola! :o  It works now.  Hopefully it lasts.

Smoke Dogg

[Habanero Smoker]

To prevent the faceplate from cracking again, and/or damage to the circuit board you may want to follow this tip.

There is a crack in the plastic face plate that houses the temperature slider.