? on cleaning the Bradley

[Dr. Evil]

Hey guys - sorry for the noob question...but, Ive used my smoker only a couple of times and I have a buildup of gunk (fat I guess) on the back wall right above the element.  Tried scraping it - doesnt really come off but I didnt want to scrape too hard as the amuminum looks kind of fragile.

Does anyone else have this?  Is it a big deal?

[Hopefull Romantic]

Dr. Evil,

off course it is a big deal. Just dont do it. The more smoke and stuff built in your smoker the better tasting your next smokes will be. Most people here would only clean the racks, the drip tray, the bowl and the tray under it. Nothing else on the inside.

It is also recommended that every so often, you clean the seal on the door and the surface it touches on the tower with alcohol. I clean one more item and the would be the vent on top of the tower. You just unscrew it and clean it and the surface again with alcohol.

HR

[FLBentRider]

Eventually the inside of your smoker will be so dark you will need a flashlight to find where the racks go.

::)

;D ;D ;D

[Dr. Evil]

Eventually the inside of your smoker will be so dark you will need a flashlight to find where the racks go.

::)

;D ;D ;D

Well, I kind of assumed that - just was thinking that anything brown should be from the smoke and not from the meat.  I was just concerned that there "could" be a fire or something.

[FLBentRider]

Did you run the smoker with the vent closed ? If so it could be condensed smoke.

If your meat touches the sides of the smoker, fat could get in the heating element - not a good thing at all.

[Dr. Evil]

Hmmm, I do not recall running it with the vent completely closed.  At least not when I had the smoke rolling.  Meat could have touched it - I will have to look again to see how close the racks are to this spot.  I think Im going to try to clean it again with a scrubby and not a scraper.


Thanks.  This site is so friendly and helpful... ;D

[JGW]

I get this too.  Not sure what causes it, but I am guessing a combo of grease dripping down, and steam from the bowl and smoke building up under the drip pan.  It only seems to form below the drip tray.

Don't bother cleaning it.  I have removed the little tray thing under the element and cleaned that, but normally I just do a quick wipe with a damp rag to get any grease that may have splattered.

That area is the hottest part of the smoker so if were to catch fire, I would think it would do it with wet grease....not the shellac-y build up.

[Tenpoint5]

Hmmm, I do not recall running it with the vent completely closed.  At least not when I had the smoke rolling.  

DR E
NEVER NEVER run your vent completely closed!!!! By running the vent closed you trap the escaping moisture inside of the Bradley. The trapped moisture will do several bad things. 1 it will keep your temps lower than what you want them. 2 it will condensate (collect) in the vent and all that dark black creosote that you have worked so hard to get on the inside of your smoker will drip onto your meat leaving nasty looking black spots on your meat that taste really really nasty!! 3 you will force the heat and moisture that builds pressure to escape from the only available place The smoke generator. Which will eventually cause it to malfunction because of moisture damage and smoke build up.

Just thought I would mention that!! As a heads up. Don't feel bad we try to explain it to all of the new folks, so they dont run into troubles.

[Dr. Evil]

Hmmm, I do not recall running it with the vent completely closed.  At least not when I had the smoke rolling.  

DR E
NEVER NEVER run your vent completely closed!!!! By running the vent closed you trap the escaping moisture inside of the Bradley. The trapped moisture will do several bad things. 1 it will keep your temps lower than what you want them. 2 it will condensate (collect) in the vent and all that dark black creosote that you have worked so hard to get on the inside of your smoker will drip onto your meat leaving nasty looking black spots on your meat that taste really really nasty!! 3 you will force the heat and moisture that builds pressure to escape from the only available place The smoke generator. Which will eventually cause it to malfunction because of moisture damage and smoke build up.

Just thought I would mention that!! As a heads up. Don't feel bad we try to explain it to all of the new folks, so they dont run into troubles.

Thanks.

Ive partially closed the vent because I seem to have trouble maintaining heat.  The time before last I used it it was really windy which caused low temps with the vent all the way open.   Then the other day, I was smoking and the ambient temps were 30-35 deg F or so.  What is the lowest outside temperatures that I should try smoking at?   So the vent should be 100% open all he time?

TIA.

[Hopefull Romantic]

Dr. E.

I have not had the chance to smoke in really cold weather yet with my Bradley but I know of members who did when the temp was in the 20s. I am sure that some of them will be here soon and give you more details.

The vent should be at least 3/4 to fully open at all times. As with regard to the wind, you should keep the smoker sheltered from direct wind at all times.

Good luck and keep on asking questions. That is how I learned from the nice folks on this forum.

HR

[NePaSmoKer]

I use my smoker in the winter while its snowing. Just remember colder outside temps mean a longer smoke time.  I have pics of my smoker going while its snowing somewhere  ;D

As stated by others never close the vent off. Doing so will create moisture and back up into the smoke gen and on the front slide (OBS models) and cause shorts. Vent 1/4 to 3/4 open always.  Doing jerky full open, no water in pan.


ENJOY


nepas

[Tenpoint5]

If your having trouble maintaining heat it might be from the vent be closed to far. You don't have to have it open all the way all the time. Some like myself leave it 2/3-3/4 of the way open all the time. Others open and close from 1/4 to full depending on what they are smoking.  Try the vent if that doesn't help you in maintaining better control of your heat. You might want to get 1 or 2 bricks and wrapping them in foil and placing them under the V tray by the water bowl to act as a heat sink. Someone even said they use a Cast Iron pan or even a larger foil pan with hot water in it. Also Stop peeking in there so much!!!! Every time you open the door you let all the heat out then the unit has to try and regain the heat lost. Don't worry we ALL peeked more than we should have at first. We was just as excited about smoking something as you are. ;D With time you will learn to not even think about opening the door for the first 1-2 hours until the smoke stops rolling. You will also learn to tell your wife that you have to go out to the garage and check on everything in the smoker and spend 15 minutes enjoying an adult beverage in peace and quiet during that time making sure you are standing close to the Bradley just in case she looks ;D ;D Trust your Maverick if you have one it will tell you when you are getting close then you can start looking and peeking into the smoker.

[Habanero Smoker]

Here is a guide to help you start learning how to use the vent. Nothing is set in stone, other then never closing your vent while in use. It's a guide to start from, you will find that you may have to adjust the settings for your particular use.

What is the purpose of the vent?

I find 1/4 - 1/2 fits most of my smoking needs, but other post they need the vent at least 1/2 - 3/4 open.