Problems, problems, problems

bsanders34 · June 17, 2005, 10:14:45 PM

I bought five (5) Bradley Smokers some time ago for my restaurants and resale. I had planned to sell an additional five over the next months and have not sold any others for reasons cited below, all of which were discussed with your distributor in Austin, TX.[V][V]
At the outset they were all fine, did their job admirably, but they do not stand the test of time.
We live in New Mexico where it is very, very dry. The first major issue is with the Bisquettes: they simple crumble and fall apart in the packages before even opened. ( Bought a great deal of various woods and have used only about half, reverting instead to hand inserted bits of Mesquite and Hickory and Pecan.)
The next problem comes as a direct result of the first. The flaking of the bisquettes means the flakes fall inside the mechanism which is intended to move each bisquette forward towards the heat source. Problem is simple: the mechanism is clogged on FOUR OF THE FIVE I BOUGHT. We tried blowing out the slider with air pressure to no avail.
The third problem is one of gaskets. We have all experienced issues with the gaskets which line the smoker front and allow for a good, tight seal. My own, in particular, has become twisted from the heat and simply no longer seals.
The fourth, again universal, is the issue of the thermostat. Because we use the smokers for kitchens in restaurants as well as at home we have a special problem which occurs in both venues. It has to do with the fact we MUST, WHEREVER WE SMOKE, get the meats to the exact temperatures - We all cook by internal temps, not by time, or touch or any other - Because the thermostat is located in the door it is a good distance from the heat source and never, ever is an accurate reflection of interior temperature. That is really an issue because each time you open the door, for whatever reason, and chefs do that sort of thing, you get a rapid reduction in temperature inside the cooker. That measurably increases smoking time.
My experience with smokers for more than 50 years has taught me one thing about Bradley: it is an excellent, inexpensive device for limited use anywhere. However, you don't want to own five of them that have the same problems as ours.

bill sanders

Kummok · June 17, 2005, 11:22:16 PM

Dang, Bill....sorry to hear about your experience[:(] I don't know what the party line is, but I see the Bradley as a recreational smoker and I personally wouldn't use any recreational smoker for commercial purposes.....I pump a lot of salmon though mine and have also had the problem of the sawdust particles gumming up the gears, but mine is easily remedied by regular maintenance inside the smoke generator. I also wipe down the door gaskets with dish soap/water solution after every smoke. Three years of use and, other than the "gumming up" thing that was easily resolved, I've had no problems yet and my two are still pumpin' out some crowd pleasin' salmon!

I think that there's a few guys on the forum that might be using their's commercially, so I'll back out and let them respond.....I also suspect that you might get a few offers from dedicated Bradley users that would like to take yours off your hands, if you've a mind to! [;)]

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

Oldman · June 17, 2005, 11:46:14 PM

Bill,

First greetings. Next, the problem is you took a $300.00 item and tried to make it do what a $4000.00 to $6000.00 commercial unit is designed to do. There is a reason why commercial units cost that much. Seeing how I managed/ owned single and multi level restaurants in my early days and the fact that you own several restaurants and have been smokin' foods for "50" years I'm surprised that this information has not come to your attention before.

You got a problem with the distributor in Austin TX then call Wade Bradley. Here is his number: 1-800-665-4188. Posting something here will not get you anywhere. Mr. Bradley put up these boards for us smokers. His management never comes here.

BTW it is moisture or abuse that causes the bisquettes to come apart. Not dry air and reasonable handling.

Next, the Bradley unit cannot get hot enough to contort the seal. It will shut itself down once its get just past 300 F! Generally a seal becomes contorted due to lack of cleaning the smoke oil off after each smoking. After a period of time those oils became tar like and cause the seal not to turn loose correctly when the door is opened.

In the 48 years I've been smokin' foods I've never seen even temperatures in any box. Temps can vary greatly depending upon the size of the box from the bottom to the top. If you need an exact meat temp may I suggest investing in a 20 dollar probe?

FYI a Bradley unit does not have a thermostat.

Let's face it. We both been in the restaurant business many years and we both know how some employees treat equipment... so I do hope you will consider using commercial units in the future.

I'm sorry for your troubles!
Olds

nsxbill · June 17, 2005, 11:49:02 PM

Sorry about the problems Bill, but probably should be discussing with Bradley Smokers. This is just the forum of users. I have two of the SS models. Kummock uses two also. I control both with a Procom4 BBQ Guru which watches cabinet temps and meat temps remotely.

Perhaps BS would address this if used for other than business purposes.

Lots of folks here that would probably take them off your hands if they just aren't working out for you.

Bill

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

Chez Bubba · June 18, 2005, 02:50:45 AM

bsanders34,

If I thought about it for a week, I couldn't have written a better response than what Olds gave. I have nothing to add.

Kirk

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

JJC · June 18, 2005, 04:51:36 AM

Hi Bill,

Welcome and also sorry for your problems. The only thing I might add to what Olds and others have said is that we have several members from AZ and NM who have not reported problems with their units--perhaps one of them might comment on this topic if I'm mistaken.

John
Newton MA

lvigil · June 18, 2005, 06:30:39 PM

Hi Bill,

Sorry for all you problems but I live in New Mexico and have used my BS for at least 50 times in the last 3 months and by just cleaning it after each use- I have had no problems - My bisquettes are always fine and do not crumble and fall apart. Yes- there usually are some bits of "sawdust" but the bisquettes are usable.

I did consider a commercial smoker because I will use it almost daily over the summer but the BS has worked admirably. For the price it is an excellent smoker. Commercial smokers are easily over 1 grand and that convinced me to first try the BS and if it did not do the job then move up to a commerical smoker.

I have yet to regret my purchase.[:D]

bsanders34 · June 18, 2005, 07:09:21 PM

I should tell everyone up front that I was under the impression this was a board monitored by and faciliatated by the Bradley company. I had no idea it was for cheerleaders and grumps like me. When I signed up I sent the same email to Bradley in Canada. They have not chosen to reply. Thereafter I posted.
You wrote an interesting set of defenses but none really apply. You obviously did not read my post or failed to clearly understand it.
1. I did not say we USED THE smoker(s) in our restaurants. We do not. I said we bought five "for our restaurants and resale". The intent was to use a Bradley in one or more of our bar(s)to reheat and/or maintain the heat in cooked meat served as appetizers in that setting for a few hours a day.
None of them has ever seen the inside or outside of a restaurant. It was so utilitarian in a home setting that after two or three uses I gave the other four to our children. Hence, all are used in homes. I have probably used the one in my outdoor kitchen a grand total of 20 times in a year. Others use theirs very infrequently, choosing either to eat here or at one our restaurants.
I have a professional smoker that I use in my restaurant. It can accomodate several hundreds of pounds of meats at a time. It also requires routine maintenance as surely as a $300.00 unit. Certainly we know about those things, espcially after more than fifty years.
(As an aside, I must say that the very reason we acquired five of these units was the assurance of the distributors representatives, who use them day and night at various road shows throughout the year, that they would indeed be useful for hours each day. They have not been.)
2. After reading about the humidity's affect on bisquettes, I went to my patio kitchen and opened a box/bags of dozens of bisquettes, packed 8 to the sleeve. The packages of Hickory, Pecan and Mesquite had never before been opened. FYI: All the bisquettes are crumbling im my hand and the humidity at this moment is on the order of 18%. Therefore, the thesis that was propounded sounds good, but we have very little rain here in New Mexico. Let's see? It rained when? Well, sometime this year, I think.
3. No one seems to recognize that using these units in five indivual homes: three in New Mexico and two in Las Vegas, NV, has led to the same set of problems. Three of the users, ,our kids, are graduate engineers and love 'servicing' everything from A - Z, cleaning, wiping, polishing, servicing. I am a graduate entrepreneur and don't service anything. I had the people from Bradley instuct us on how to service the things and we did those things. We continue to have the problems.
4. One of the three units located in Albuquerque is at this very moment struggling to gain a temperature of 210F as I attempt to smoke chickens. (I want to do this at home, not travel to my restaurant. That's why we bought these things.)
5. The smokers indeed cannot 'get hot enough' to break the seal. I have yet to achieve 175F with my personal unit. That temperatue is/was measured by an internal thermostat and remotely monitored. Perhaps that is because we are at 6,100 feet above sea levele.
6. What is most interesting to me is that I wrote the post hoping to hear about your experiences, hoping to learn what or if you have had the same and what you did to correct the problem(s) if you had them. I really do not need to be told that my maintance was at fault, or that I don't have a clue that the dust in my hand from crumbled bisquettes is a result of mishandling. I am also capable of remotely managing internal temperatures of smokers. We do that with each piece of meat smoked. What I had hoped for was an intelligent set of suggestions, i.e; have you had to repair those things mentioned and if so, how did you go about it with Bradley> I really didn't want or need a lecture. I am grateful for the one piece of good advice: Thanks Olds for suggesting I contact Bradley. I will, and as stated earlier, that's who I thought I was writing yesterday.
While I do appreciate your comments you must know they are at best unhelpful.
Your inidividual love affairs with Bradley is understandble just as our disaffection should be.
FYI: Smoking meats is my business. It has been my family's business since 1902 when it started in my native state of Georgia. We know a little bit about smoking and we know this smoker doesn't cut it, not at home, not for us. Not for even for limited use does it hold up at 6,100 feet and in 20% humidity.
Thanks for your well intended information.

bill sanders

Oldman · June 18, 2005, 10:50:09 PM

Sir at this point I'm beginning to have good faith doubt...concerning your agenda.

Or perhaps the problem is one of the two following:
A.) You don't read your own postings.
B.) You lack the understanding and structure of the written English Language to effectively communicate your thoughts.

I'm not going to get into a long dissertation here; however, I must contrast a few of your own words from your 1st post and your 2nd post.

First Post: The third problem is one of gaskets....My own, in particular, has become twisted from the heat and simply no longer seals.
Second Post: The smokers indeed cannot' get hot enough' to break the seal. I have yet to achieve 175F with my personal unit.

First Post: Because we use the smokers for kitchens in restaurants as well as at home we have a special problem which occurs in both venues... It has to do with the fact we MUST, WHEREVER WE SMOKE, get the meats to the exact temperatures ......and chefs do that sort of thing...
Second Post: None of them has ever seen the inside or outside of a restaurant...Hence, all are used in homes.

First Post: Problem is simple: the mechanism is clogged on FOUR OF THE FIVE I BOUGHT.
Second Post: No one seems to recognize that using these units in five indivual homes: three in New Mexico and two in Las Vegas, NV, has led to the same set of problems

Not for even for limited use does it hold up at 6,100 feet and in 20% humidity.

FYI: Las Vegas Elevation: 2174 feet above sea level-- not 6,100. Point is your apologia concerning sea level has no relevancy here.

BTW I have purchased 3 of these units and I can say my usage is not as much as it was when I was younger, but it is not what I would call limited either. Two of them are here in Florida and one in GA.

After reading your 1st and 2nd postings several times I'm wondering if you have an agenda that you have not yet stated, as your own words have a conflict. They suggest that whatever works at the time is going to be the reply.

Olds

EDIT: They're packed in 12's, are you sure these are Bradley bisquettes? Good point Chez. (from Chez's post below.)

Chez Bubba · June 19, 2005, 12:15:10 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 1. I did not say we USED THE smoker(s) in our restaurants.....None of them has ever seen the inside or outside of a restaurant......As an aside, I must say that the very reason we acquired five of these units was the assurance of the distributors representatives, who use them day and night at various road shows throughout the year, that they would indeed be useful for hours each day. They have not been.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
First of all, we might have gotten that idea from your first post stating:
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 Because we use the smokers for kitchens in restaurants as well as at home we have a special problem which occurs in both venues.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 2. After reading about the humidity's affect on bisquettes, I went to my patio kitchen and opened a box/bags of dozens of bisquettes, packed 8 to the sleeve.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
They're packed in 12's, are you sure these are Bradley bisquettes?

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 3. No one seems to recognize that using these units in five indivual homes: three in New Mexico and two in Las Vegas, NV, has led to the same set of problems.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Yet you won't recognize that there are tens of thousands of perfectly satisfied users and question yourself?

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 5. The smokers indeed cannot 'get hot enough' to break the seal. I have yet to achieve 175F with my personal unit. That temperatue is/was measured by an internal thermostat and remotely monitored. Perhaps that is because we are at 6,100 feet above sea levele.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I won't address the elevation level because I don't have the time to look up the figures but, going back to your original post: <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 My own, in particular, has become twisted from the heat and simply no longer seals.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
It seems to contradict a bit.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 6. What is most interesting to me is that I wrote the post hoping to hear about your experiences, hoping to learn what or if you have had the same and what you did to correct the problem(s) if you had them. I really do not need to be told that my maintance was at fault, or that I don't have a clue that the dust in my hand from crumbled bisquettes is a result of mishandling. I am also capable of remotely managing internal temperatures of smokers. We do that with each piece of meat smoked. What I had hoped for was an intelligent set of suggestions, i.e; have you had to repair those things mentioned and if so, how did you go about it with Bradley> I really didn't want or need a lecture.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

The condescending attitude to the people who participate here out of their love of smoking & sharing their experiences with others is not condusive to a good forum relationship.

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 I am grateful for the one piece of good advice: Thanks Olds for suggesting I contact Bradley.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
A redeeming factor, that comment is truly appreciated.

My biggest problem is with these:

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 I had no idea it was for cheerleaders and grumps like me.

You obviously did not read my post or failed to clearly understand it.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by bsanders34
 Your inidividual love affairs with Bradley is understandble just as our disaffection should be.
FYI: Smoking meats is my business. It has been my family's business since 1902 when it started in my native state of Georgia. We know a little bit about smoking and we know this smoker doesn't cut it, not at home, not for us. Not for even for limited use does it hold up at 6,100 feet and in 20% humidity.
Thanks for your well intended information.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Please don't talk down to a community that has thousands of years accumulated experience. I don't doubt your experience in smoking, please don't question ours' if you don't have facts to back it up.

Regarding being a "cheerleader", when you talk to Wade, ask him if he thinks I'm a "cheerleader". I'm probably his biggest sane critic & he will tell you so.

Bill, we hope you will join us & share your experiences, but you have to understand that we are a group of people that have been doing this forum thing for a long time & to just jump in with so much negativity just sets us aback a bit.

Kirk[:)]

(Olds, you type too dang fast!)

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

Habanero Smoker · June 19, 2005, 02:55:04 AM

I could add more to what Chez and Olds have stated, but their replies are adequate.

jaeger · June 19, 2005, 05:52:43 AM

bs 34,
If you don't like the Bradley, why did you buy 5 of them?

Doug

Kummok · June 19, 2005, 07:07:23 AM

Bill....It doesn't sound like any of the facts volunteered from experienced Bradley smokers on this forum are going to be accepted as such by you. Initial genuine and well intended solutions given to you are met with your disrespect and situational ping pong. This thread appears to be a waste of time for me[V]....I'm back to fishin' (5 halibut/4 salmon this morning!)[:p]

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

Chez Bubba · June 19, 2005, 09:09:47 PM

Kummok finishes this dismal thread on a positive & I'm making sure it stays that way![8D]

Kirk

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