Pucks wouldn't advance; how i fixed it.

[forkliftdriver]

The advancing bar looked like it was getting stuck on the way back.  Sometimes it would break free, but sometimes the servo would give up and return home.  It sounded like metal rubbing. I took it apart, cleaned it well (only used 3 times) and when i was reattaching the rail . . . . surprise!! one of the rear screws didn't line up on it's own.  The hole it met was drilled a millimeter or so too narrow.  I could have forced it, but instead i just left that 4th screw out.  I also noticed wear marks on the metal on that part of the rail and pushing bar.  Needless to say, problem solved and now I have a MUCH better understanding of how my Bradley operates just in case something else ever goes wrong.

I hope this helps out someone else some day, and saves them the heartache of manually feeding pucks into their brand new smoker. ;D

Cheers

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi forkliftdriver;

Sorry to welcome you to the forum in this manner. Thanks for the information.

You definitely have a defective generator that is only going to cause you more problems down the road. I would contact Bradley now while you are still on warranty.

[_Bear_]

Hey forkliftdriver, thanks for the heads up. When my pucks would not advance I took my smoke generator apart and found that the slide just needed some lube. I hit it with some molly lube and no problems since. I would also take HS's advice, contact Bradley and see about getting a new smoke generator.

[beefmann]

welcome to the forum folk lift and contact bradley about your smoke generator

[crestman]

Hey guys, I'm having the same issue of the pucks not advancing. I took it all apart and cleaned/lubed everything up as stated in the many posts such as this. I thought the issue was corrected but then again after about the 4th cycle it did it again. I started manually advancing and watching everything as it moves. So, what I have found is that when the cycle moves in the clockwise direction it never fails, and runs real smooth with no jerking of the slider block. When they cycle moves in the counter clockwise direction it fails 95% of the time. It get's about 1/4 way through and stops then returns. When it does make it on the counter clockwise cycle the slider block jerks real bad. I've also tried to find the cycle pattern and there doesn't seem to be any. I have watched the timed cycle for about 6 moves now and found no pattern. It seems as though about every 3rd or 4th cycle it runs in the counter clockwise pattern. When I use the manual advance button it usually runs in a clockwise pattern but on occasion it will run counter. Now, from all the posts I've read, is sounds as though maybe the motor? I just can't see anything sticking or stopping it from sliding. I've also listened for the "click" when the cycle starts and stops and it doesn't stop the cycle early.

Anyone have any suggestions?

(6 rack digital)

[Habanero Smoker]

That used to be a fairly common problem with the OBS models. The problem is believed to be caused by some type of power interruption; at a time while the drive was cycling the bisquette through.

You can try the fix that is provided in the following link. Many have stated it works, while others have not success. It has worked the few times I needed to fix the problem.
Bisquette Only Cycle When Advance Button Is Pushed

Also if you have a PID or other temperature control device hooked up, make sure you did not plug the generator into the PID, that will also disrupt the cycle.

More FAQ's

[crestman]

That used to be a fairly common problem with the OBS models. The problem is believed to be caused by some type of power interruption; at a time while the drive was cycling the bisquette through.

You can try the fix that is provided in the following link. Many have stated it works, while others have not success. It has worked the few times I needed to fix the problem.
Bisquette Only Cycle When Advance Button Is Pushed

Also if you have a PID or other temperature control device hooked up, make sure you did not plug the generator into the PID, that will also disrupt the cycle.

More FAQ's

Thanks for the tip Habs. I sure wish this would have worked. I tried it a couple times and it's failed twice again. Each time it's when the arm cycles to the counter clockwise. I guess I'll send a note to Bradley.

Thanks,

Keith

[Habanero Smoker]

Sorry it didn't work. Please let us know the outcome of your problem.

[crestman]

Just thought I'd shoot an update on my issue. I received an email from Brian at Bradley on Sunday (talk about a great response time, and on a Sunday yet!) that gave me a couple things to try. Below are the suggestions copied directly from the email reply from Brian (I trust it's ok to pass this on to everyone?). After trying/inspecting based on these suggestions it's my feeling that it may be the motor. The guide that gets screwed on over top of the slider was also slightly misaligned due to two screws, one on either side, not being lined up. When I installed the "guide" I left these two screws out however it made no difference in the issue. It is my opinion that this may have contributed to the motors failure. My theory would be that if the motor was having to struggle pushing the slider it would eventually fail. It's also my opinion that this failure, in my case based on usage, is a bit premature. Not that it's a big deal, I only point that out so that others may check there units before anything like this happens. I have noticed in allot of posts regarding this slider issue that this screw misalignment is a common factor. As soon as I receive the new motor, I'll post my results.

The following is from the email I received from Brian.

This could be caused by a couple of different things.

1) Your motor could be worn out or wearing out try this quick test to tell.

o   Remove the bisquettes feeder tube turn the smoker on and place a finger down the feeder tube hole in front of the bisquette push plate press the advance button and let the push plate hit your finger, If the plate stops instantly or turns around with very little pressure against your finger then the motor is worn out and should be replaced.

o   The motor should put enough pressure on your finger to give you the impression of its going to squish my finger ( It won't I have done this many times and still have all my fingers.)

2) It could be an alignment issue try loosening the two screws that hold the motor mounting bracket to the black plate then with the screws loose push your wood advance button several times, let the unit cycle between each push of the button this will let the motor find its own center line after re-tighten the screws and try it again.

3) It could also be that the linkage on the motor is worn out check the brass colored arms and pin on the motor make sure they do not have excessive play in them.

[crestman]

I should also make note that I've had my directions mixed up. So in my initial post were I'm describing my issue just reverse these. :-[

O, and I'm sorry I hijacked your thread forkliftdriver!

[Habanero Smoker]

Thanks for the update.

[forkliftdriver]

Hey Crestman, I come from a family of engineers. My father used to design machines to clean nuclear reactors for a living. I you have any more technical information about the smoke generator, PLEASE post it. I read this stuff for breakfast.  :)

Also, I was wondering if anyone knows if letting the slider squish your finger is bad for the motor in any way.  If not, I would do it every time I use my Bradley just to be assured that all the pucks will advance for that particular smoke.

P.S. My father is now retired, but works on machines that pressurize food at 75K psi for preservation purposes.  If only we could afford those, our smoked salmon would last for weeks at room temp in the bag or a year refrigerated.

[crestman]

I received all my parts from Bradley (I ordered a bunch of extra stuff). I installed the motor along with arm assembly. It does seem stronger and did not fail during my 20 cycle (manual advance) test. I then let it run for two hours on it's own internal timer and again had no failures. I tell ya though, it runs smooth for the most part but every few cycles it jerks quite bad. I can't seem to find anything binding or rubbing, and everything looks to be lined up. I have to believe that whatever is causing this "jerking" is also causing the motor to wear out prematurely. I've only had my smoker for a couple of years and really don't use it much as compared to others on this forum. Another weird thing is that I can't determine any patter for the cycle directions it takes. Does anyone know what causes the cycle to go in a given direction? Is it the circuit board that would control the direction? As before, there does seem to be one direction that it does the "jerk" on. 

[Habanero Smoker]

When I had my generator open and running, mine seem to run smooth counter clockwise. If it ran clockwise I would tend to have problems.

The motor that is use in the Bradley is the same type of motor used microwaves. So that may have something to do with the motor changing directions. As with a microwave, when the power is interrupted the motor reverses.

[Daranator]

Same problem I have the generator cleaned and partially assembled ....dumb question how do you advance the pucks when the smoker is not connected.  I get E (bbep...beep..beep) and no advancement.  Do I need to hook up the smmoker to run the advance so I can see if the cleaning worked.  I want to let it self aligna and then tighten the screws on the slide rail
.