HELP!! Another, NEWBIE

[Smokey lady]

//I bought a new OBS from Amazon, good price. But, after 4 tries the temperature does not pick up after 170 degrees. I smoke it outside of the covered patio, so it is in full sun. I live in Missouri and it has been an unbelievably hot summer. Today was over 102 degrees. So I did additional time in the smoker, then I brought it in to the oven at 325 degrees. I finished up the smoking on the OBS for 1 hour for smoke. I did the 221 that I had seen on Youtube.com. Like I said the first 4 times excellent, excellent. This time was dried out. Do you think it is the thermostat, the full sun, or what?? I am really obsessed with smoking I am always on the internet looking up recipes and directions. I am going to try to just heat it up under the enclosed patio to see if the temperature makes a difference. I really don't know what else to do. Is there a dealer or someone that can look at it in Missouri?? My husband has the Green Egg and my meats have come out better than his, till now. PLEASE SEND HELP
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[Tenpoint5]

Alright slow down and take a deep breath. If your unit isn't heating up above 170 it might be one of the units that had some issues with heating elements. When you turn the unit on does the element glow red?

Pop back into the chatroom for instant replies tonight

[Caribou]

Welcome to the forum :)
Ditto on what 10.5 is saying.
Also, do you have the plugs in the back of the smoker in all the way?
And do you have the smoker plugged into an extension cord? If you do, try plugging it in directly to an outlet.
Carolyn

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Smokey Lady;

Welcome to the forum.

There are a few other things that can give you a low temperature reading. What are you using to monitor the cabinet temperature, and what is your vent opening. Once you have a load in the smoker the Bradley door thermometer is not very accurate. Also if the vent is not open wide enough, that can cause the temperature to stay low. Many of us use a temperature probe and place that underneath the bottom rack for a more accurate reading. Most of us have the dual probe Maverick ET-73, but the newer model ET-732 is a better model.

Also for recipes:
Recipes

For tips and trouble shooting information:
FAQ's

[beefmann]

welcome to the forum,

there has been a lot of heating  elements that have went bad lately, yours might be one of  them, Call bradley and talk to them.

also be sure that all plugs are  pushed in snugly

[ghost9mm]

Welcome to a really great forum, hope some of the advice you already received has helped if not please ask and someone will try to help you...

[Smokey lady]

I just wanted to say, thank you to all that responded. This is really a great place for help. I called Bradley and they are sending me a new heating element. They said who they had making them before, they were getting a lot of calls, like me. Just wanted to say I am reallly, new to this. You have all been really kind, and I do appreciate it. I look on here all the time for different ideas. Anyway, they are sending me a brand new one. The call took like 30 seconds. Thank you Bradley. smoky lady ;D