Occasionaly Bisquette not Advancing

[ajholt7]

Has anyone ever had a problem with the advance not automatically working?  Twice in my last three smokes I have checked my smoker to find that a bisquette has not advanced and is just a smoldering pile of ash.  If I hit the manual button it works and will continue working.  I hope the 20lbs of butt in my smoker don't taste like an ash tree.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

I had that on the DBS.  See this post

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=19461.msg237256#msg237256

[smoker pete]

I am having similar issues with my OBS.  Right now I don't have confidence that the pucks will automatically advance every 20 minutes.  After I initially advance the pucks (push the button 3 times to get a puck at the end of the heating pad) I set a timer for 18 minutes on my microwave.  This gives me time to go outside and wait a few seconds to witness the puck advance.  About 80% of the time it works fine but for that 20% of the time I need to manually advance it.  Sometimes I have had to push the button 2 or 3 times to actually have 1 puck advance.

Going to take some time to insure that the SG is clean, clean heating pad with alcohol and run some test with the 4 bubba pucks that I have.  Will also do the following:  http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?488-Answers-To-Bradley-Smoker-FAQ-s&p=775#post775  just to make sure.  Hopefully it will fix things.

[bears fan]

I had these same issues; however, I think it was all related to the cold 0 degree temperatures I was smoking in.  I brought the OBS in the garage and turned on the heater to warm the garage up to do some testing and seemed to work just fine when it was warmer.  Not sure what the cold would have to do with the bisquettes not advancing, but I imagine it's like everything else in the cold weather......things just don't seem to work as well when it's so cold.

Were you maybe smoking in cold temps?

[Habanero Smoker]

That has happened to me on occasion and it is not always the same cause. Check the bisquette tube and make sure the it is fully seated into the generator and that it is straight. Make sure your bisquettes are not showing any signs that it has been effected by moisture, such as swelling and/or warping. Make sure when you load the bisquettes they are all flat. There has been times when it is early in the morning, and I am rushing that one or two of the bisquettes are not laying completely flat. One other thing, this is not the issue with you since your smoker is fairly new. But I now occasionally clean the inside of the bisquette tube. I find that smoke residue and particles will build up on the inside of the walls. I learned that even with a wide open vent, when you open then close the door, smoke and residue backup into the generator and tube.

Also check out this tip:
Bisquette Advancement

[Chuckman6]

 I had the similar problem of my bisquettes not advancing (manually OR automatically). My Bradley Smoker is brand new (model BS611). I live in Labrador (Northeastern Canada) and the temperature today is -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit). I figured the cold temp would have something to do with it so I simply removed my briquette feeder tube and blew a hair dryer down in the slot/hole for about 3 mins. This warmed up the briquette advancer and whola!! It worked!! Reinstalled the feeder tube and started the process. I waited for twenty mins, then forty, and both times since it advanced properly. Hopefully this was a simple fix and my smoked Lake trout turn out good!!