900 Watt Conversion Question

[JML54]

How important is it to install a fan with a 900 watt heating element?  I am in the process of changing my Original Bradley Smoker over to a 900 watt finned element.  My reason for doing so is that it is hard to maintain temps over 175 degrees with the box fully loaded.  Great for cheese and salmon but winter is coming.  Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks
Joe 

[beefmann]

i say very important, i have had my 900 watt finned element running for 5 years now with a blower and shroud ... and it has not  failed me  yet and has cut down my  cooking time by 50 %  and maintains box tempt close to what i want even if i loose 50 % of the heat

[muebe]

I ran my 900W finned element for about 80 hours of use before I installed my fan and I had no issues. According to information from Tempco these can be installed in natural convection cabinet ovens and a Bradley falls into that category.

With a PID the element is throttled so it keeps a constant temp. There is less chance of the element overheating and causing thermal damage. But if you left the door open for a long period then the element could possibly overheat. But that could happen with a fan also.

You could e-mail or call Tempco directly and get the answer from the source...

[mikecorn.1]

I run my 2 - 500 watt without the fan most of the time. Never a problem. Now, I do had a PID controlling the temps.

[devo]

So what are the fins used for on the 900W finned element? Are they used to distribute the heat better or do they act like cooling fins so the element will not over heat kind of like a heat sink?

[muebe]

So what are the fins used for on the 900W finned element? Are they used to distribute the heat better or do they act like cooling fins so the element will not over heat kind of like a heat sink?

The fins are to transfer heat to the air. If it did not have fins then it would be a "contact" heating element where it attaches to the metal to transfer heat.