Going with the Bradley!

Cold Smoke · February 20, 2005, 06:44:04 AM

The BS rules! Sure- you might have heard from some here that they have had some issues with this or that but if you've followed this forum long enough and read enough posts -you will also have noticed that this happens to very few and that Bradley DEFINATELY stands behind their product.

I've got the black unit and it's been used a fair bit in the last year and change and in all weather extremes~~~ and I have some minor paint peeling off in some areas after it has smoked 100 lbs of pork butt, 75 lbs of bacon, 75 lbs of chicken, a pile of sausage and a half tonne of other things ....It's flat out a great piece of craftsmanship and if you like smoke you'll love Bradley.

Chez Bubba · February 20, 2005, 05:41:58 PM

I could have either one.[;)]
Mine is black.
No particular reason except that a SS won't cook any better food.

With one exception. John, I take from your name you're in Texas. IF you're going to be trying to do a lot of cold smoking, the SS will reflect the sunlight whereby the black one will absorb it. If you're doing ribs & brisket, I'll stand by my previous statement.

Kirk

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

simmy · February 20, 2005, 05:48:36 PM

I went back and forth over black and SS. I too have a SS grill. But I chose the black one for no real reason. But now I have been looking into the BBQ guru and the extra $$ saved by going with black maybe going towards a guru.

Either choice you make John you are getting a GREAT smoker. [8D][8D][8D]

Steve

humpa · February 20, 2005, 06:15:04 PM

Personally, I like the stainless. Only because it looks the same as the table it sits on.[:)]

Ernie....Weymouth, MA

JJC · February 20, 2005, 11:39:46 PM

Hi John,

You're my kind of guy . . . do all the research beforehand, make sure you know what you're getting in to, then try to make the best choice for your dollars that you can.

If you simply don't have $350 to spend on the BS, then I would not waste $190 on the Great Outdoors smoker. I've had quite a few smokers--Lil Chief, Brinkmann, Meco, Webers with smoking boxes, etc. Whereas the BS is a huge leap for smoker-kind, the GO unit is just a small step for a man [8D]! I would just spend $80 on a Lil Chief and save my money for the BS. You will find the GO just a bit better than your Brinkmann, but not even in the same league as the BS.

The BS offers so many real advantages over the GO or any of the others that it's really the best value, if you can afford it. The temperature control allows you to cold smoke cheese, nuts, lox, etc. The intensity of the smoke allows you to smoke for fewer hours, so the cost of wood is not significantly different than other smokers. The automatic feed mechanism allows you to sleep at night and makes flavor control very consistent and automatic. Workmanship and reliability are very good, and customer service is absolutely superb!

You mentioned your concern about reading of so many problems. In fact, other manufacturers' boards are ten times worse! The thing to remember is that Bradley has sold >20,000 smokers. Becauswe of the nature of a Forum like this, it is likely that a very high proportion of the problems actually show up here. If you actually survey the problems, the number of people with BS issues is well under 200. That's less than 1% of the Bradley owners, and of the problems encountered, virtually every one of them was quickly solved by the company. That's an excellent record in anyone's book.

Two other points: I would recommend a black unit since it is functionally the same as the SS, and I would recommend buying your unit from Chez Bubba. It may be a few dollars more than the prices you stated, but the customer service is well worth it and you'll get 10% off bisquettes for the rest of your life (or Chez' life, but he's just turned 40 and is in apparently good health!). If you do go with someone else, make sure you get an accurate quote on the shipping time. Some of us that did not go through Chez Bubba were sorely disappointed [:(]!

John
Newton MA

johnintx1 · February 21, 2005, 01:06:22 AM

Hello to all. Thank you for all your thoughts.I have a charcole grill for grilling.And Ive decided its the Bradley for me ,nothing else will do it,for me,as far as smoking goes.I hope to be able to contribute something here,after I learn something,LOL.The price was found on Ebay from a guy with great feedback.I emailed some of his customers and all said they received unit fast!
sincerely,johnintx1

Live to smoke,Smoke to live.
Smoke on!!

jaeger · February 21, 2005, 01:54:00 AM

johnintx1,

Buy from Chez. He gives great service, advice and moral support. Did I mention a discount on pucks.

http://www.chezbubba.com

Doug

manxman · February 21, 2005, 10:06:41 AM

Hiya,

I agree about buying from Chez Bubba, I live in the UK and the time and trouble Kirk has gone to to get and ship me a couple of bits for my BS that are not available over here is surely a mark of the man. Not many $'s in it for him at all, but service and help is second to none. That is surely worth a few extra $'s?

In a different vein, I have a SS BS, a quick wipe over with a slightly oiled cloth keeps it looking good and well protected from the elements. However, in my case I ended up with the SS version by default, not sure I would pay the extra £/$'s if on a tight budget, perhaps better to spend the money on accessories!?

Whatever version you buy you will not be disappointed with the food it produces!!!!!

Manxman.

Oldman · February 21, 2005, 05:05:48 PM

johnintx1,

No matter who you get this from, welcome to the boards. I have never purchase something from Ebay, but are not charges you incur with Ebay/ PayPal?

Now the one thing I do not like about PayPal is they maintain a data base of credit card numbers. It almost took an act of God to get them to remove my information.

I know you can purchase directly from Chez by calling the number on his site and thus save the PayPal charges.

I did look over the sellers history and it certainly is a good one. If all is on the up and up then that price is a good one. I got a feeling that this person is a business man who purchases stock from liquidations. It looks like he got into the Bradley business as of January this year.

Either way welcome to the forums!
Olds

http://rminor.com

Kummok · February 21, 2005, 06:22:56 PM

Welcome John! LOTs of smoking talent on this forum.....I ain't one of them, but I know it when I see it!![;)][:D]

I buy from eBay frequently and so far haven't had a serious problem. Some lazy shippers and some folks that pretend to be ignorant about what they're selling when they KNOW that the picture/description isn't telling the whole story, but this buyer being aware, I'll continue to buy stuff via eBay.

On ANY/ALL Bradley purchases however, my money and trust goes to a proven retailer. Living in the "remote" town I live in, things like shipping misqoutes, wrong parts, and other customer support related problems can translate into weeks and months of downtime and high shipping dollar losses...To avoid those problems, I stay with the proven businesses with the loyal return customer base and I recommend the same to all who ask me...Chez Bubba has that kind of PROVEN service for me. I'm not saying that there aren't others out there that aren't as customer service oriented, but I don't know who they are and I lucked out and found one who is. I would gladly pay a few coins more for THAT kind of service....what's the old saying?...."the pain[xx(] of inferior quality/service is felt long after the thrill[:)] of a penny saved", or something like that[:D]

35 years of extinguishing smoking stuff and now I'm wondering WHY!
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA

Crazy Canuck · February 21, 2005, 06:43:29 PM

After all my research i found that if you want propane you are better off owning a BBQ. If you want a smoker, Bradley is the best on the market. Sounds like a commercial.

nsxbill · February 22, 2005, 03:00:01 AM

I had an opportunity to test the Bradley Warranty. My heat plate on the generator died... Sent msg to Bradley via email, part arrived to repair and was smoking the next day.

Great customer service...

Bill

There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.

JJC · February 22, 2005, 03:50:21 AM

Hi John,

Rest assured that no matter where you buy your BS, you are welcome on this Forum . . . I'm sure Chez would second that! [;)][8D]

John
Newton MA

Chez Bubba · February 22, 2005, 03:59:08 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by johnintx1
 The price was found on Ebay from a guy with great feedback.I emailed some of his customers and all said they received unit fast!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">John, you're gonna love your new smoker. Many happy meals to come for you & your family.[8D]

Make sure to email or call the Ebay guy with any questions, I'm sure he'll get right back to you.[;)]

Kirk

[EDIT]I'm sorry, that sounded pretty rude on re-reading. Welcome to the forum & I'll be happy to answer any questions you have. We all share a love of smoking, and part of the love is sharing knowledge.

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

johnintx1 · February 22, 2005, 04:00:55 AM

THANK YOU

Howdy Yall
Live to smoke,Smoke to live.
Smoke on!!
John Welch
Amarillo Texas