Long time smoker first time Bradley owner

[DaveT261]

First of all I'd like to introduce myself, my name is Dave.  I've been using a smoker for a long time but this is my first time owning a Bradley smoker.  After a while lurking here the Bradley has me a bit scared, seems like quite a few mods and quite a bit of dollars are needed to make it work properly, that was the last thing I needed to hear about them.  I sure was hoping to cut down on labor time over a smoker, not that I dont enjoy it but it would be nice to be able to prepare the meat, put it in, turn it on and forget about it until its done (I realize there is no such thing as "the forget about it" theory,especially on 24 hour smokes).  I hope someone can change my first impression before I even get my initial  seasoning done to it. 

I bought a 6 rack digital.

[beefmann]

welcome aboard Dave,

Bradley smokers are pretty good as a stand alone,  several people have made mods , myself included, Also am a proud owner of an original Bradly with mods  which have made me  lazy when it comes to smoking / cooking.. do not let the mods scare you away it is a  personal preference all bradleys do the job well as a stand along unit

With just the 500 watt element you can have cook times between 20 and 28 hours depending on load. typical smoke is less then 4 hours. If you  need to cook faster you  can always move the meat to your regular oven to finish

the digital bradley comes close to set it and forget it as you  can get, unless Bradley has changed there box timer it has a 10 hour cook time on it ( i may get corrected on this issue  as i do not own a digital )

[Grouperman941]

Dave,

The only mod I've done is stick a brick in the bottom to hold heat. I crank out all kinds of stuff.

Try it. You'll like it.

[Consooger]

I have a Digital 6 rack. One of the best purchases I have ever made. The time allotted is 9 hours and 20 minutes. It is as set and forget as you can find. I do not have any mod's to mine at all. Mine is stand alone and works amazingly. One thing I would purchase if getting this or ANY Bradley is the Maverick ET-732 wireless thermometer. Other than that, you should be fine. I was thinking about doing the fan mod on my unit, if I do I will wait til after the year is over, I still have about 2 months left on my warranty.

John

[DaveT261]

Dave,

The only mod I've done is stick a brick in the bottom to hold heat. I crank out all kinds of stuff.

Try it. You'll like it.

I had an old timer tell me once back in slave times BBQ was done in a dug pit so if you want true BBQ you must incorporate earth in your BBQ, so a brick is made from the earth so you have that covered.  I always put about 3 or 4 inches of sand over the whole length of my offset smoker.  What I will try will be putting white sand in a bread loaf pan and see if that fits and holds enough heat.  I want to try to keep that tradition going in my BS.

I think I may have lurked too long and got feeling negative before I asked any questions.  I am feeling more positive now. 

I am hoping it works well enough as stand alone, at least until the warranty runs out, I am sure then I will do some modifications too, I had to do quite a bit of modifications on my offset to get even heat so I guess a Bradley would not be any different. 

[KyNola]

Dave,
Welcome to the Forum.  I have the digital 4 rack.  The only mod mine has is I converted it to an 8 rack with extra rails and racks so I can double the amount of thin items such as jerky.  The Bradley works just fine "as is".  There is a learning curve just like with anything new but we're all here to help.

Get that thing seasoned and let's get to smoking something!

[mikecorn.1]

Welcome to the forum.

[RedJada]

 Welcome Dave. I did my first smoke in my Bradley last weekend. Did 2 slabs of BB's. Did the 2-2-1 method and they came out out awesome! http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=30652.0 This thing works great right out of the box. The only down fall I see is it does take a while to preheat, then recover. But I'm in NE Ohio and its like 40 degrees. So I am going to add a second 500w element. Just to be able to recoup a little better. Great people here and lots of help if you need it.

[DaveT261]

Welcome Dave. I did my first smoke in my Bradley last weekend. Did 2 slabs of BB's. Did the 2-2-1 method and they came out out awesome! http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=30652.0 This thing works great right out of the box. The only down fall I see is it does take a while to preheat, then recover. But I'm in NE Ohio and its like 40 degrees. So I am going to add a second 500w element. Just to be able to recoup a little better. Great people here and lots of help if you need it.

Hello fellow Buckeye

I am from Groveport, just outside Columbus.  One of the reasons I bought a BS is because it is insulated so I can smoke in the colder months, that is something that is pretty much impossible with an uninsulated offset.

[KyNola]

Dave, wind is your biggest enemy, not cold air temps.  A brisk wind blowing across the top of your Bradley will suck the heat right out of it.  Easiest thing?  Figure out a way to block the wind and you're good to go!

[JZ]

Welcome aboard Dave. I think you are gonna love your 6 rack digital. Some people have issues with their smokers but not everyone. So ignore that and focus on the fun and great food you are going to enjoy with your smoker.

I have an old OBS and a 1 yr old DBS (both 4 racks ... wish I got the 6 rack for sausage making). After using the OBS for a while I found that it was a bit of a hassle tinkering with the slider to get the temps right and that is why I got the DBS. I loved this thing. Set a temp and walk away ....... no fiddling involved. One thing you should be aware of is that the temps will swing above and below the set point by as much as 20*. Don't worry though, your oven does the same thing, you just don't know it's happening. I think you will love the 6 rack DBS and the only thing you need to be concerned about right now is getting that sucker seasoned so that you can enjoy the smokey goodness that will come from it.

Your idea of putting some sand in the bottom is a good one, because it will help retain heat when the door is opened and closed. Just remember you are smoking / cooking with 500W (5 light bulbs) so don't expect fast heat up times or recoveries when you open the door. The sand will help with the recovery time though.

Jump in, smoke and enjoy the experience and if after a while you think you would like to improve the smokers performance there is lots of help and advice here. ENJOY :)

[DaveT261]

Dave, wind is your biggest enemy, not cold air temps.  A brisk wind blowing across the top of your Bradley will suck the heat right out of it.  Easiest thing?  Figure out a way to block the wind and you're good to go!

Thanks for your tip.

I'd say I am pretty lucky, I am lucky to find this site and lucky I am a manager at a mechanical contractor company, there is a HVAC side and a pipe fitter side.  I will ask the HVAC side roll me a chimney and a 60 degree chimney cap and mount it low enough to where the smoke will have to travel down to escape, attach it to a chase plate that will cover the top of the smoker with a 4 inch lip so it slides over the top and the wind cant blow it off. 

This should block the wind.

[DaveT261]

Welcome aboard Dave. I think you are gonna love your 6 rack digital. Some people have issues with their smokers but not everyone. So ignore that and focus on the fun and great food you are going to enjoy with your smoker.

I have an old OBS and a 1 yr old DBS (both 4 racks ... wish I got the 6 rack for sausage making). After using the OBS for a while I found that it was a bit of a hassle tinkering with the slider to get the temps right and that is why I got the DBS. I loved this thing. Set a temp and walk away ....... no fiddling involved. One thing you should be aware of is that the temps will swing above and below the set point by as much as 20*. Don't worry though, your oven does the same thing, you just don't know it's happening. I think you will love the 6 rack DBS and the only thing you need to be concerned about right now is getting that sucker seasoned so that you can enjoy the smokey goodness that will come from it.

Your idea of putting some sand in the bottom is a good one, because it will help retain heat when the door is opened and closed. Just remember you are smoking / cooking with 500W (5 light bulbs) so don't expect fast heat up times or recoveries when you open the door. The sand will help with the recovery time though.

Jump in, smoke and enjoy the experience and if after a while you think you would like to improve the smokers performance there is lots of help and advice here. ENJOY :)

Theres an old saying, "if its open it ain't smokin"  I will keep the opening to a bare minimum.

[TedEbear]

Theres an old saying, "if its open it ain't smokin"  I will keep the opening to a bare minimum.

Also, "If you're lookin' you ain't cookin,".   ;)

[Ketch22]

Welcome to the forum.