New BDS on the way

Riblet1 · June 23, 2011, 12:54:59 PM

Hi Everybody I am new to the Bradley smoker, My smoking has been in a weber kettle till now. I came across Bradley smokers as searched for a overnight way to smoke, so after checking out the Bradley website I place an order for a Jim beam BDS which will be delivered tomorrow. So I started reading the Bradley forum for cooking info and I see alot of people prefer the OBS with an PID. So my dilemma is should I refuse the BDS when ups comes by and reorder An OBS and a PID or just keep the DBS? What do you Guys think?

KyNola · June 23, 2011, 01:03:16 PM

Welcome to the forum Riblet1!
I have the BDS and only recently bought a PID for it as I intend to begin smoking my own sausages soon and stable temps are critical for that. I have owned by BDS for 4 years and have been pleased with the performance with it. Unless you are going to be doing some smoking where stable temps are critical, you should be fine. A couple of things I would recommend to you are Bubba pucks, disk that go on top of your bisquettes in order to push the last bisquette off of the puck burner. Also, I would recommend a Maverick ET-732 digital temp. It has 2 probes. One is to read the temp in the tower and the other is to read the IT of the meat. It transmits the info wirelessly to a remote receiver. The temp sensor inside the BDS is on the back wall about halfway up and directly above the heating element so the temp readings are rather inaccurate.

Others will be along with their opinion to your question as well.

Riblet1 · June 23, 2011, 01:09:44 PM

Quote from: KyNola on June 23, 2011, 01:03:16 PMWelcome to the forum Riblet1!
I have the BDS and only recently bought a PID for it as I intend to begin smoking my own sausages soon and stable temps are critical for that. I have owned by BDS for 4 years and have been pleased with the performance with it. Unless you are going to be doing some smoking where stable temps are critical, you should be fine. A couple of things I would recommend to you are Bubba pucks, disk that go on top of your bisquettes in order to push the last bisquette off of the puck burner. Also, I would recommend a Maverick ET-732 digital temp. It has 2 probes. One is to read the temp in the tower and the other is to read the IT of the meat. It transmits the info wirelessly to a remote receiver. The temp sensor inside the BDS is on the back wall about halfway up and directly above the heating element so the temp readings are rather inaccurate.

I will order some bubba pucks!

Others will be along with their opinion to your question as well.

Thanks for the info, I don't think I would be doing much sausage or fish. I will order some bubba pucks thanks!

ghost9mm · June 23, 2011, 01:32:24 PM

Welcome to the forum, what Larry said pretty much covers anything that I had to say, and the only other thing that I will add is a really good link to alot of questions you may have...Bradley faqs...
Again welcome to the forum...

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?481-Bradley-Smoker-FAQ-s&p=748#post748

Riblet1 · June 23, 2011, 01:33:50 PM

Quote from: ghost9mm on June 23, 2011, 01:32:24 PM
Welcome to the forum, what Larry said pretty much covers anything that I had to say, and the only other thing that I will add is a really good link to alot of questions you may have...Bradley faqs...
Again welcome to the forum...

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?481-Bradley-Smoker-FAQ-s&p=748#post748

Thanks!

beefmann · June 23, 2011, 03:05:14 PM

obs with pid is the way to go, have had mine for many years with a pid and cant go wrong with that set up

Riblet1 · June 24, 2011, 11:14:13 AM

Well I got my BDS in, and I think I will keep it and i can always add a PID later.

ghost9mm · June 24, 2011, 11:35:02 AM

Way to go !!! Now you can join the ranks and smoke some butt...lol

OU812 · June 24, 2011, 11:57:40 AM

Your gonna have so much fun with that,,,,,,, after a little learning curve. ;)

Now get that baby seasoned and smoke something,,,,,,,,,,, like maybe riblets. :D

Riblet1 · June 25, 2011, 02:57:40 PM

Well I unpacked the smoker today to find it in mostly in good shape, it looks like the bottom trim got crack in transit. I will have to call bradley Monday and see if they will send me a new one.

Riblet1 · June 25, 2011, 03:24:44 PM

And she's seasoning, I think we will have ribs for dinner.

Riblet1 · June 25, 2011, 03:25:20 PM

Arr. Tap Tap

Riblet1 · June 26, 2011, 08:30:39 PM

First bbr's!

Meat tooth · June 26, 2011, 08:41:35 PM

Those BBR's look awesome! Call Bradley and explain your situation, and they will fix it! I have had two warranty issuses so far and they are great! Sent new parts to Ontario in about a week! BTW, the issues didn't prevent me from smokin some great stuff! I have the OBS, and so far I'm thinking about adding a second heating element, but no plans to get a PID. The second element is going to be there to help when it gets cold, no need for it now!

Dan

Riblet1 · June 26, 2011, 09:55:33 PM

Quote from: Meat tooth on June 26, 2011, 08:41:35 PM
Those BBR's look awesome! Call Bradley and explain your situation, and they will fix it! I have had two warranty issuses so far and they are great! Sent new parts to Ontario in about a week! BTW, the issues didn't prevent me from smokin some great stuff! I have the OBS, and so far I'm thinking about adding a second heating element, but no plans to get a PID. The second element is going to be there to help when it gets cold, no need for it now!

Dan

Thanks! They came out tender and tasty. And the digital control kept everything right on, I don't think I need the PID for what I am going to cook. Luckily I am in So. California so I don't think I will need to upgrade my element.

New BDS on the way

beefmann