Heat Elements

[Bradley (Head Office)]

Hello Members & Guests

With regards to all your questions about the Bradley Smoker Main Heat Elements .  We have used the same type of metal heating element for the past 8  years.  In this time we have found it to be superior to the previous glass heat element that was previously used.

All component parts of the Bradley Smoker undergo rigorous testing and tracking of results.  Our research and development department is constantly monitoring the quality of our products.  As happens from time to time a component may break down.  Bradley Smoker stands behind our products with a full one year warranty.  Other smokers on the market either have no warranty or a 90 day limited warrantee.

While it may seem that the heat element is malfunctioning more than usual we have found that during the fall and early winter a high amount of people are using their Bradley Smoker and so we get a cluster of warranty at this time.  In actual fact that repair is less than 0.7% of smokers sold.  Considering the amount of shipping and handling the smoker goes through to arrive at the customers house we believe this is a really low number of repairs.  We have spent many years improving our packaging and product we believe this has certainly helped with the low defect rate of our products.

Brian.

[Waltz]

Thanks for your response.  There does seem to be a lot of posts regarding element failures at the moment but your point about increased use at this time and that it represents a small percentage of the number sold is taken, although if it is your element that is little consolation.  Keep up the excellent customer support and I am sure all will be forgiven.

[beefmann]

Brian,

thank you for your response and excellent customer service with the bradley smokers

Dale

[smoker pete]

Brian,

Thank you for the clarification.

[DTAggie]

Brian,

Great job addressing this head on.  Very glad to hear such an extremely low percentage on replacement to orders.  I received my OBS at Christmas last year so it does make sense repair issues really pop up this month and next.

You guys are top notch and I know I speak for many on here.  THANK YOU for a great product.

[JT-MO]

I like my bradley smoker and wouldn't trade it for any other in the same market (home consumer).

With that said, I am not buying into this, seems to be nothing but blowing smoke to cover up issues. I have seen way to many broken plastic and now the recent reports of elements going out fairly quick, to assume anything other than a defect. I still think the plastic is defective, regardless if bradley front office don't see it that way. I have worked with plastic for years, and I can tell you it shouldn't be brittle (crumbles) like this on the OBS.

I just figured I will get my money worth out of this OBS either way. If my cabinet completely falls apart then I will just put the smoke generator on a custom cabinet.
I still like the concept of the smoke generator, puck feeding, etc.. It makes it so much easier than doing wood chips, etc..
Keep up the good work bradley, hopefully you get these defects taken care of and get a higher quality product on the market.

[TedEbear]

I don't know if we can determine the # of defective elements from what people have posted here on the forum.  I'm sure not everyone who experiences a failure will post about it or even call for a replacement.  Perhaps some think their unit only has a 90-day warranty or whatever.

In my case my OBS would not get up above 165*F the other week, even after several hours.  I bought it about 8 months ago.  Instead of calling for a warranty repair I just ordered two new elements and related hardware and did the dual element mod.  Everything is fine now and it gets up to temp real quick.

I guess one way to see if this is a case of a batch of bad elements or just something that happens every winter is to ask those who have been on here for a few years whether or not this element problem was this high this time last year.  I know I'm not using my smoker more in the cold weather, in fact I'm using it a bit less.  There's something about sub freezing temps and staying indoors that relate to my outdoor activities.

[TonyL222]

Brian, thanks for the feedback.  I do love my OBS, and customer service has been outstanding.  But the increased number of users and thus increased number of failures just doesn't seem like a good answer to me.

I bought my OBS in late Oct '10, and have had two element failures since.  There are two things I've notice from the element failure reports from this thread:

1.  The reports come from very recent purchasers.
2.  The failures occur after only 2-3 uses.

I know this is all anecdotal "evidence."  I'm not a statistician.  But I've had two failures in short succession.  I doubt whether an increased number of other users had any affect on my particular failures.  I'd be interested to know the percentage of reported element failures for new registrations over the last 3-4 months.  You don't have to post that here, just suggesting another perspective with which to view the issue.  Of course, not all new purchases get registered and not all failures get reported.

[LoftyNotions]

Add my smoker to the list of recent heating element failures. Mine was purchased on Oct. 8, and I probably got 6 or 7 smokes out of it before it quit over the weekend.

Thanks to all the great information on this site I was able to troubleshoot it down to the element. Bradley is sending a replacement element, so no concerns there.

Thanks to all of you who put in so much time and effort making this a wonderful website.

Larry

[mjdeez]

Brian,
Does Bradley use a burn-in mechanism to reduce early life failures?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burn-in


Thanks,
Mike

[Bradley (Head Office)]

Brian,
Does Bradley use a burn-in mechanism to reduce early life failures?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burn-in


Thanks,
Mike

Hi Mike

Thats a good question

The elements are tested however I do not know if they are run through a burn in

I will see what I can find out.

Brian.

[mjdeez]

I work for a semiconductor company. We burn in ICs that we sell for certain grade parts (e.g. military, automotive). It adds a lot of cost but reliability in these cases is much more important than your average consumer part, e.g. computers.

First you'd want to make sure that the burn-in test you implement is causing the early life failures that you hear of from customers. No point in generating a new failure mechanism and losing yield over that.

Then it comes down to economics... Does the cost of implementation outweigh the gains, either directly or indirectly? 500W elements @ xxxx hours in an accelerated (heated?) environment could be expensive!   By directly, how much does Bradley spend on each customer return? By indirectly, for example, how much more business with a lower defect rate? I'm simplifying a lot, and keep in mind... i'm not a business guy.

Just smoked food for thought.

[Rad Rich]

Gotta chime in,
I received my my OBS for Christmas.  Had some minor issues with the obs looked like it was due to shipping.
Temp slide switch was broken off.  Reflector shield was bent.  Customer service sent me out new switch and new shield/drip tray.  I love the smoker.  I have smoked about 9 times since Christmas always had great results. It sucks to have problems with something new, but it is really bad when the company doesn't stand behind their product.  I thank the people at Bradley for standing behind their product 100%.  I have recommended the smoker to all my friends.  Smokin two bone in Pork loins right now.  Can't wait.

[GusRobin]

Brian,
I understand your comments,but it appears that there is an issue with the elements. I have been a Bradley owner since Dec 2009 and was a lurker on the forum for months before that. At no time did the amount of complaints regarding element failure reach the number that are appearing. In fact, I don't remember reading about any. I realize that this is not a scientific statistic. But it would seem that there is a problem with the newer Bradley's going into service recently and since it is a metal element it appears unlikely that it is a shipping /packaging problem.
While the overall failure rate is low, what if it were based upon units sold within the last 6 months or so. I think it may surprise you. While Bradley stands behind its product and provides the best Customer Service I have experienced, you can read the frustration in the people that have plans ruined due to element failures. I have a few acquaintances that have hung around the forum and want to buy a smoker. They are relunctant to do so until they hear a better response regarding a solution other than the failure numbers are low. It is like a recession - it is a small recession if your neighbor loses his job, its a deep depression if you lose your job. Same thing when your plans are ruined because your element failed.

[smoker pete]

Brian,
I understand your comments,but it appears that there is an issue with the elements. I have been a Bradley owner since Dec 2009 and was a lurker on the forum for months before that. At no time did the amount of complaints regarding element failure reach the number that are appearing. In fact, I don't remember reading about any. I realize that this is not a scientific statistic. But it would seem that there is a problem with the newer Bradley's going into service recently and since it is a metal element it appears unlikely that it is a shipping /packaging problem.
While the overall failure rate is low, what if it were based upon units sold within the last 6 months or so. I think it may surprise you. While Bradley stands behind its product and provides the best Customer Service I have experienced, you can read the frustration in the people that have plans ruined due to element failures. I have a few acquaintances that have hung around the forum and want to buy a smoker. They are relunctant to do so until they hear a better response regarding a solution other than the failure numbers are low. It is like a recession - it is a small recession if your neighbor loses his job, its a deep depression if you lose your job. Same thing when your plans are ruined because your element failed.

Well put GusRobin!

I have owned my OBS since 2007 and my original element is still functioning fine.  But when I purchased 2 new elements (and fortunately kept my original element) they both died within a few smokes.  Now I have 2 new elements again which I have procured from Bradley and will be installing them.  Although it's relatively easy to replace it's still not like changing a light bulb.

Have all the Bradley smokers, elements, front plates, etc always been manufactured/assembled at the same place?  Canada, USA, Mexico, China?  Has there been a change in said manufacturing/assembly and/or components?