900 Watt or Dual Element

[JML54]

Hi all
Looking to tap your expertise.  I am new to the Bradley smoker.  Really happy with it so far.  Most of my problems can be attributed to operator error.  My smoking experience is limited to an old refrigerator and a Weber kettle.  I live in Montana and will be looking to smoke in 20 to 30 degree weather when winter rolls around.  I have seen many references to 90 watt and dual element heaters.  Is there an advantage to one over the other?  Is there a cost consideration?  Is one more reliable?  I did take the time to set my Bradley (original model) up with a PID and cold smoke adapter.
Thanks for your input.
Joe

[GBIceman]

I looked into the 900 watt elements, the ones posted here were pretty exspensive. 200 dollar range if I recall correctly. That is alot of single 500 watt elements. I installed the second element with on/off switch, also have aber dual probe pid. At least if one element goes bad you got the spare already installed. I have been very happy with the dual element and was not exspenive to get.

[Habanero Smoker]

Though I never installed a 900w heater, the dual heater option seems much simpler and you have the additional wattage. I converted mine two years ago and never had any problems.

[beefmann]

I have  done a 900 watt heater mod ,

The heater is $ 48 and change through Grainger.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/TEMPCO-SS-Heater-2XDW1?Pid=search

and love the additional reserve heat  reserves, also added in a blower.  yes adding in another Element from bradley  is a much simpler process in one way, though you  have to pull an additional set of wires to it.

here is  what i did for my heater / blower set up, Pid Timer controller.

heater mod:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17329.0

Timer Pid this set up switches between smoking and cooking... The blower moves too much air and cools the puck heater so the pucks do not burn properly  so i have the 900 watt heater and blower turned off for  smoking  only  then turned  on for  cooking.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17304.0

[smoker pete]

muebe is right.  The 900 watt element is $48.  On travel right now but will install it as soon as I get back.

Did the dual element upgrade and I would not say that it's easier than the 900 watt element upgrade is going to be.  The problem with the dual element upgrade is that you're still using Bradley 500 watt elements.  I have now lost 6 elements and as such want to go the 900 watt route this time.

[muebe]

I found that my 900w element mod was a very simple and easy upgrade. Beefman has a blower incorporated into his element so his appears to be more complicated to do. I did 30 hours of testing on the 900w element only before adding my convection fan and it worked without any issues. Now my element was tested while using a PID so cannot tell you how well it will work if you do not have a PID. I have about 60 hours on the 900w element and it still works great. There are some people who only got 4 hours on a Bradley element before it died. So that is why I decided to go with the 900w element instead because of the bad elements from Bradley.

[beefmann]

if you take into consideration adding a fan, finned heater, timer, pid, support for the blower motor and housing for the blower and heater. yes it is a little more complicated though not severe enough for some one that is  handy.

And a little more complicated  on wiring, Linking the timer and Pid together, The programming of the timer is set up  to run for 4 hours ( 1 hour preheat, 3 hours for  smoking ) then switches to the cooking process for  A 24 hour period ( it can be longer ) At this point the blower is turned on and the Pid Controls the heater.

this is a personal decision for  the  person to make.

I have been running this heater mod for 3 to 4 years now and never have a problem

[TedEbear]

I added a second element to mine last winter.  One of the elements went out recently but it still operated like it originally did when it only had a single element.  Everything just took much longer to get to temp.  New element in 3 days from Yard & Pool and it's back up to full speed.

As far as the cost, it was $17 for a second element from Yard & Pool plus about 3-4 inches of high temp wire on each end from one element to the other and 4 ring terminal wire connectors.  

[muebe]

Here are some pics of the 900w element mod...



And my convection fan mod...



My 900w element was wired directly to the old wiring connections for the original element(no re-wiring done). I did extend the wiring to reach the new element connections with high temp wire. The element was mounted to the original shield using brackets for hanging mini-blinds. Not complicated at all.

My convection fan is from a Fridgidaire convection oven that I bought used off of e-bay. It works great for nice and even cabinet temps. And I also found that it is perfect for making jerky! Quick drying and no need to rotate racks. The fan is controlled by my PID through the "Smoker control" outlet. So I can roll the smoke with the fan off and have it come on after the smoking is done ;D

[Habanero Smoker]

If you haven't seen the instructions for the dual mod I've included them in the below links. The set up is very easy. I haven't had to replace any elements; by this time the faulty elements should be out of the distribution chain.

DBS Additional Heating Element

OBS Additional Heating Element - with ON/OFF Control

[stxhunter]

Which did you end up choosing?  I'm currently contemplating the same thing and really can't decide.  It almost looks like the dual element is more complicated according to the directions I've read.  Why can't you just piggyback the second element to the first?  Is the finned element pretty much plug and play with the addition of extending the wire and adding brackets?

[brogers]

I would love to add a second 500 watt element but not confident that I could do it,  not very handy with wiring.  Any body on the forum who lives in the Dallas or Tyler, TX area who I could pay to modify my smoker?

Brian

[mbauman]

I am not sure why it has to be so hard to add an element. All I did was linked two together stacked them connected with 1 inch wire with round wire connector on each end. I would start out with two new elements save the old one for a spare. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Meat tooth]

Not sure the temp controller MOSFET can handle double the load. It may overheat and or burn out. I looked up the specs on the parts when I replaced the front plastic, and decided it was not a good idea to connect a second element that way. I will likely add a switch to simply turn the second element on or off, as needed. I also thought of adding a second temp controller to the setup, but I don't see much benefit in that, either. Just turn on the second element to get the temp up, them turn it off or turn down the first temp to compensate.

[Habanero Smoker]

Not sure the temp controller MOSFET can handle double the load. It may overheat and or burn out. I looked up the specs on the parts when I replaced the front plastic, and decided it was not a good idea to connect a second element that way. I will likely add a switch to simply turn the second element on or off, as needed. I also thought of adding a second temp controller to the setup, but I don't see much benefit in that, either. Just turn on the second element to get the temp up, them turn it off or turn down the first temp to compensate.

I agree with you on 95% of your post, except for not ordering an external temperature controller such as as PID or DigiQ, or a less expensive Thermistor-style type of controller. Too many distractions can cause one to forget to turn off the second element, especially during the preheat time, or get to the cabinet in time to turn down the original element. During preheating the cabinet comes up to temperature very fast, and during recovery times I find that at the beginning of the recovery time is slow, but then rapidly climbs.