Element bad?

RFT · December 12, 2010, 02:29:29 PM

In the middle of smoking Jerky yesterday then temp in my OBS would not recover after opening the door. As I type IT is plugged directly into its own outlet and has been on for four hrs and only able to get a temp of of 100 degree's, I should add that it is just about 50degrees outside here today. Slider is pegged. I moved slider back a little to try and find sweet spot and still nothing.

I went straight from the outlet to the smoker bypassing the smoke generator. Will see what happen in a few minuets.

I have had this about 3 weeks and have to tell ya when it works its great but I am not impressed with the build quality or quality control of Bradley at this point after reading of bad elements and so forth. I may just send it back.

3 weeks in and I have to call Bradley CS and mess with a new smoker! WTF!

TestRocket · December 12, 2010, 02:48:14 PM

RFT, I feel your frustration and it does seem like a few to many elements are going bad lately but Bradley will take care of you and we all may find out in the end that the element supplier, not Bradley is at fault. My guess is they have for awhile now been looking hard at this issue, so as well as the Bradley cooks and if it were me I wouldn't give up on it just yet!

Could be worse! It's 24 degs outside and dropping to 14 degs tonight and my gas pack went out around noon today. I bundled up to troubleshoot the problem and if I can find the part tomorrow I'll bundle up and replace it!

Hang in there!

RFT · December 12, 2010, 02:50:31 PM

Ya. I will hang in there. Its just, like you said, frustrating buying a new product and now have to trouble shoot it.

Going out to eat and will look at the fuses when I get back. Seems to me though that if a fuse is blown temp would not go up at all.

Ok, bypassed the Smoke Generator and now the temp dropped to 50 degrees and still falling..

Tenpoint5 · December 12, 2010, 02:58:11 PM

Sounds like the Smoke generator is all that is heating your cabinet. It will heat it to about 100-110º Give CS a chance to help you out. They are great folks to work with when you have call them.

RFT · December 12, 2010, 03:00:11 PM

Yep. See post above yours. You just beat my "modified" post. Quick fingers ya got there. LOL

BuyLowSellHigh · December 12, 2010, 03:24:47 PM

Lately there seems to have been a rash of bad elements on fairly new smokers. Looks like Bradley got a bad lot. It's unfortunate and frustrating for the folks who are running and have goods in the cabinet. But it happens even to the best. The good news is the Bradley folks will support you 100%, and if you're like everyone else who's ever called, you'll be impressed with their dedication to your satisfaction.

RFT · December 12, 2010, 04:42:31 PM

if they got a bad batch of elements and they are sending out replacements how would they know if it is from the same bad lot?

Habanero Smoker · December 13, 2010, 02:49:17 AM

Sorry to hear about your situation.

The fastest way to tell if the element has burnt out is to check the indicator light. If you have no heat and the power light is on, most likely it is a burnt element, but the best way to check is with a meter; either check it for continuity or a ohm reading. The ohm reading on a good element should be in the range of 27-32 ohms.

If the indicator light is not on, then it could be your high temperature sensor tripped and failed to reset, or you may have burnt out your in-line fuse.

Either way Bradley will fix you up. Bradley is probably tracking the batch by the serial number of your smoker.

RFT · December 13, 2010, 04:57:59 AM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on December 13, 2010, 02:49:17 AM
Sorry to hear about your situation.

The fastest way to tell if the element has burnt out is to check the indicator light. If you have no heat and the power light is on, most likely it is a burnt element, but the best way to check is with a meter; either check it for continuity or a ohm reading. The ohm reading on a good element should be in the range of 27-32 ohms.

If the indicator light is not on, then it could be your high temperature sensor tripped and failed to reset, or you may have burnt out your in-line fuse.

Either way Bradley will fix you up. Bradley is probably tracking the batch by the serial number of your smoker.

both Indicator lights are on. I will do the ohm check tonight.

TonyL222 · December 13, 2010, 08:20:00 AM

I would call Bradley right away. I got my OBS in late OCT and my elemnet died in the middle of my 3rd smoke. I believe they got a bad lot as well given the recent number of element failures in new smokers. The GOOD news is that my warranty replacement arrived very quickly. It also seems to heat up much quicker than the old one.

RFT · December 13, 2010, 09:05:13 AM

Called CS and element is on it's way ;D

dman4505 · December 16, 2010, 10:20:32 AM

Finally got a chance to put my new one in today, installation was a bit tricky, it's 20 degrees and there's not a whole lot of room for someone with large hands to manuver inside the box. Got it done though and it works great, now I can try that turkey like I wanted to.

Don

TestRocket · December 16, 2010, 10:34:48 AM

Glad it worked out. Good Luck on the turkey Don! ;D

RFT · December 16, 2010, 12:05:29 PM

mine should be here today hopefully.

RFT · December 16, 2010, 07:55:43 PM

Element didn't show up today :(. When I called them at 805am on Monday morning they said "it should be here no problem towards the end of the week." I sure hope so cause I am supposed to be smoking Salmon and Jerky for Christmas and if I can't do it this weekend I aint gonna be able to get to it.