Bisquette shelf life?

[smoker pete]

Bought a variety of bisquettes back in 2007 and used some of them for about 6 months but haven't smoked anything until last week.  Noticed last week when I smoked some chicken halves and right now while smoking some pork loin backribs while using the old bisquettes that the bisquettes are not advancing properly and when I took them out of the container there was an over abundant amount of chips falling from them.

Am using 2 Bubba Pucks.  Should I be using 3?  With 2 bubba pucks and monitoring the smoke and then manually advancing the bisquettes I still wound up with 2 unused bisquettes which resulted in 40 minutes less of smoke.

Question is ... should I discard the 3 year old bisquettes and buy me a fresh supply?  With fresh bisquettes and 3 bubba pucks, I should be able to have the proper amount of smoke!?  Now I know why I bought the PID ... can't wait to get it next week and use it.  Gets old walking out to the smoker all the time to tweak my OBS temp.

[Habanero Smoker]

A lot can happen during 3 years of storage, but if they were stored in a dry place they should last almost indefinitely. If they were exposed to high humidity, that will cause them to swell, and not feed properly.

Depending on the type, sometimes with new bisquette you will have a lot of particles. Most likely the problem is being caused by the bisquettes, but I would hold on to them and test your smoker with a new box of bisquettes to see if it is the bisquettes and not the smoker it self.

As for the Bubba pucks you can go with two, and just place a bisquette on top. But even with two Bubba puck all the bisquettes should have advance to the burner, but the last bisquette will not be pushed off.

[smoker pete]

Even with the 2 Bubba pucks Habanero I still had 2 hickory bisquettes that did not advance to the burner.  When I clean up after this smoke I will take the smoke generator off and give it a proper cleaning.  I will keep the old bisquettes as you suggested but will buy some new ones and see if that helps.

[smoker pete]

Here is a photo of my bisquettes.  Like I said, I had to advance them manually near the end of the 3 hour smoke.



After I removed the smoke generator I cleaned everything up and had to manually advance twice to get my Bubba pucks out.  The mechanism worked fine.  Right now I am using an extension cord for my OBS but I think next time I will plug it in directly into my outdoor outlet.

Anyone have any ideas as to why the hickory bisquettes did not advance properly and just sat there and lit up the others?  As I said earlier, these are like 3 year old bisquettes that were stored in a plastic container located in my outdoor shed.

[FLBentRider]

I looks like you might have a puck advance issue.

The bubba pucks should make it onto the ramp.

Maybe there was enough fragments that it jammed up somehow.

[smoker pete]

I looks like you might have a puck advance issue.

The bubba pucks should make it onto the ramp.

Maybe there was enough fragments that it jammed up somehow.

If it was fragments do you think it might have been caused by the bisquettes being 3+ years old?

[Habanero Smoker]

The picture of the remaining bisquette looks like it is in good shape. It appears that it has plenty of top clearance. How about the side clearance, do the bisquettes fit comfortably on the ramp?

There are a few problems that can cause the bisquettes to misfeed. Generally if it is fragments in the track and if there is enough to interfere with the mechanism it will not feed the bisquettes, even when you manually attempt.

When you clean your generator make sure you pay particular attention to the micro switch. Clean it well with Q-Tips soaked in alcohol and make sure it is not sticking. You should be able to depress the switch, and it should pop back out when you release it.

Cleaning the Generator



You may also want to review the following information:
Bradley Smoker FAQ's

[Pachanga]

Smoker Pete,

I have had the same issue with aged pucks.  Shake them off individuality or blow the loose shavings off just before using them.  They should feed fine.

Take an air hose to the generator and blow all of the loose particles from in and around the moving parts.  I will do this procedure while the puck advance mechanism is in action with the generator removed from the smoker.  I have never had to disassemble the generator.

Your photos were a blast form the past.  I had forgotten what a clean generator element looks like.   ;)

Good luck and tight pucks,

Pachanga

[ArnieM]

I always give the pucks a light rub and shake prior to loading.  It gets off most of the loose stuff.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Just saw this.  The pics look exactly like what I see when my digital SG feed fails.  The heat from the forward burning puck is enough to start the one behind it burning.  I don't think the age of your bisquettes is the issue, it's the advance.  Since the pucks aren't advancing the burning just continues backwards up the line.  I have run into that problem steadily for several months on every smoke over 2 hours.  Tried all the cleaning, etc.  The problem appears to be in the control module in the SG (the white box).  If after a good cleaning you have this problem again, call Bradley Support.

[smoker pete]

Thanks guys.  I'll try all the things that were suggested and see what happens on my next smoke.  If all else fails I will contact Bradley support.

[Habanero Smoker]

I was rereading my post. Note: Bradley recommends electric contact cleaner instead of alcohol to clean the micro switch, because the cleaner it will not leave any residue.

[smoker pete]

Took the feeding tube off, powered up the smoke generator (SG), and pressed the advance button.  Noticed that the push pad only retracted half way.

Opened the SG as per instructions found on this Forum and this is what I found

Used some compressed air and blew out everything.


Put everything back together, plugged in and powered up the SG.  Pressed the advance button and the push pad works maybe on an average 2 out of 3 times.  Guess I need to contact Bradley support.  Going to smoke some drumsticks tomorrow and I guess I'll just go out there every 18 minutes or so and observe the pucks.  If they don't move down the feeding tube then I'll do things manually until I can get a resolution.  Any other suggestions/ideas?  Don't have any contact cleaner but I will need to get me some.

[Bradley (Head Office)]

Hi Smoker Pete

When it retracts 1/2 way what does it do, does it turn around and go the other way or does it just stop there?
Do you hear a clicking noise when it stops there?

It could be the guide for the push plate is not centered correctly try removing the 2 screws on the left side and try it again
I have attached a picture to help explain which screws.


Brian

[Habanero Smoker]

Also you may want to review the following link. The problem you describe happens with the OBS generator, and I and others have come across this problem. I have had the generator open and seen what occurs. During the automatic advance the motor moves the arm half way through the cycle, then the motor will reverse and hit the micro switch, but if you use the advance button the bisquettes will cycle normally. There were no obstructions to interfere with any moving parts.

Forum member Thunder fish came up with this fix. It may work in your situation.
Briquettes Not Advancing Properly

Also when cleaning (though your generator looks clean to begin with :) ), you should use some type of solvent, such as alcohol. Even when you take all the precautions to prevent smoke from backing up into the generator, every time you open and close the door smoke and moisture are forced back into the generator, and this residue does build up over time. Compressed air will remove dust particles, but for residue that can build up in the generator and in the feeding tube; and it acts like a glue for practical build up.