Rat deleteing your postings of an established thread is flat out wrong.

[icerat4]

This is a major wake up call.ICE I love you man. ;D   Very well said young smoker omegaman.I really dont want to go on about this but i really wish they would have picked a few guys out here to .Once again make a GOOD PRODUCT GREAT...I love great products.And ideas. ;D and you guys out here are .Well beside the crazy ness ok.LETS MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD HERE.You guy here have spent along time to figure this stuff out and i applaude this .Now all we need is a big buck guy come to attach all this unheard knowaldge togather.Too make 1 bad ass smoker.I love cooking food and making people happy.LETS make this a nice experince and hopefully someone will take the ideas here and put them to use.Me i am too lazy To mass produce smokers i run a fun bodyshop cars and paint yee eha.Lol ;D  I really wish wade bradley would look and listen to the folks here.We do count dont we. ???

[owrstrich]

rat4...

long posts without some kinda seperation such as paragraphs dont make much sense to me...

but what really dosent make any sense to me is arcs drinking calistoga wine instead of his peoples wine such as steven kent cab...

you gotts to drink...

owrstrich

[icerat4]

yea i am bad with this spelling typing and etc.and crossing my eyes and dotting my teeees. ;D. But i am a good listner and student LOL. ;) A real rookie :) I have to show your post to my guys.I like the bush money.

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

but what really dosent make any sense to me is arcs drinking calistoga wine instead of his peoples wine such as steven kent cab...

Ouch! Actually, most of the wines in my house are from Amador and Eldorado counties (Fairplay and Passport Wine Festivals)

You must be close, not many would know about Steven Kent.

Arcs_n_Sparks

[TomG]

Speaking of cabs, do you guys think this one is oxidized :o ??? ???

[Oldman]

Pat,

Subsequently, since Oldman's great post there have been comments made that neither are constructive nor pertain to the functionality of the digital unit.  That is a shame and I think it reflects poorly on the posters of the site.

I believe there are two reasons as to why the thread has stopped and drifted.
1.) The thread no longer makes any sense now that there are several postings deleted.
2.) My summation as quoted below pretty much says it all.

If I had been asked, this is what I would have suggested for the 6 rack unit:

Element 800 watts
Element's heat is baffled -- note the generator's heat is baffled by the V pan.
Circulation fan -- 60 to 65 CFM.
A simple PID controller.
A better gear motor in the generator.
Directions written by a technical writer who understands the unit and has a command for the English language.

Note a technical writer is one who would not write:
Now check the temperature and see if the item is 180 F.

A technical writer is one who would write: Now check the temperature of the item and see if the item is 180 F by inserting the thermometer's probe into the item.

A technical writer never writes with the assumption that the person reading the instructions has a working knowledge of the subject being written about.

Plus all aspects of the item would be documented.

Next, I stated what is quoted below in hopes that someone at Bradley would read it and say to Wade... we got bigger problems now.

As such this thread instead of being a tool to promote the new unit has had an opposite effect.

Let's face it. Wade has a lot of $$$$$$$$ tide up into this and the only real thread concerning the new 6 rack unit does not speak errrrrrrrr make that did not speak well of the unit--that thread now is broken. If I was him, given what has been stated, I would be in high gear about correcting the concerns of my customers. I believe he will based upon my own past problems and just how fast he addressed them.  I believe customer service has always been #1 with Bradley and many here will attest to this fact.

Further evidence of this is the fact that a 6 rack unit was returned and replaced with a 4 rack unit. A unit that until the post was deleted recieved a great review. Chez in the past has told me about a few things that Bradley did for him and I don't believe Chez will eat the unit.  I firmly believe that Wade will take Chez's findings and address them as soon as possible.

As stated by a few members, there are no cheerleaders here. Those of us who have been around here for a few years know that. If those who have come around as of lately and stay around will also come to know this as well.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe a member here posted that if Bradley did not make your unit right-by-you that he would personally contact Bradley on your behalf. What you don't know is that several of us would raise this issue if not corrected. I guess that is why I'm kind-of-tick-off by this comment of yours:

That is a shame and I think it reflects poorly on the posters of the site.

MallardWacker
owrstrich
begolf25
arcs_n_sparks 
TomG
acords
Chez Bubba

These are the folks that posted after my last reply on the 6 rack thread as referenced in your post this thread.  Being that you are new here I realize that you don't have a foundation of past histories to stand on when addressing these member's postings and as such I am greatly tempering the following statements:  You have no idea of the number of hours many in that list have spent helping this community. The fact that you don't understand, yet, the make up of this community's personality does not justify your statement, and frankly I believe you owe them an apology.

If your name was on that list I would demand a apology for you as you have contributed to this community.

I may have gone over the top with my reply, and for that I must apologize.

Hab, your a good man~~!

Speaking of cabs, do you guys think this one is oxidized

TomG I just went and looked at my box and mine is still white. Is it sticky? Does it smell of smoke?

Olds

[OmegaMan]

MallardWacker
owrstrich
begolf25
arcs_n_sparks 
TomG
acords
Chez Bubba

These are the folks that posted after my last reply on the 6 rack thread as referenced in your post this thread.  Being that you are new here I realize that you don't have a foundation of past histories to stand on when addressing these member's postings and as such I am greatly tempering the following statements:  You have no idea of the number of hours many in that list have spent helping this community. The fact that you don't understand, yet, the make up of this community's personality does not justify your statement, and frankly I believe you owe them an apology.

If your name was on that list I would demand a apology for you as you have contributed to this community.

A comment was made that I thought was 'fueling the fire' so to speak in regards to a certain poster who is dissatisfied with the 6 rack unit.  When I first saw that comment I sent a PM to the author of that posting and let him or her know that it is going to lead a certain poster who is dissatisfied with the 6 rack unit into taking the thread further off topic and perhaps lead to more confusion and spats (for lack of a better word).

I have yet to hear back from that poster, which is fine.  Subsequently my initial fears seem to have come true even though I attempted to thwart them in hopes that that thread could still be productive.  Silly me. 

If there are posters who are upset with what I said, I am sorry.  I do know that they contribute greatly to this site as do you, as I have previously mentioned in the aforementioned thread.  I will tell you that I have received phone calls and private messages from a number of 'regular' posters who seem to understand my position and have encouraged me to continue posting.  I'm sorry if you feel I offended anyone, but all I was really attempting to do was to keep the thread from getting further out of hand.

Pat 

[TomG]

TomG I just went and looked at my box and mine is still white. Is it sticky? Does it smell of smoke?

Thanks Olds, I posted the way I did so as not to raise a panic false alarm while still hoping to get feedback. Last month while smoking a chicken at 220*, I noticed that the lower 1/3rd of the oven's rear panel was almost too hot to touch.  The next day removed the panel to find the mess in the picture.  What you see is melted and charred foam insulation not smoke staining.  The affected areas are behind the heating element. Fortunetly the insulation on the blue wire(the only non high temp wire) showed no evidence of heat damage. My smoker has mostly been used for cold smoking fish and when hot smoking has never see temps above 260 .  The unit is 1 1/2 years old and has been used 25-30 times.

I called Bradely, explained the problem and emailed pictures, had an interesting and informative conversation with Tech Support Brian(a helpful knowledgable guy). He voluntered that he had never seen or heard of the problem before and that since insulation on the wires wasn't melting, temps were probably not getting high enough to cause significant harm.  He suggested filling the voids with fireplace calking and keeping an eye on the foam. I was comfortable with that because I was in the process of installing a secondary heater and rewiring with heavier gauge heat resisant silc wire, which if it all worked as it should would decrease the time that the BS element would be on and hopefully decrease heat to the the back wall. So far it seems to be working as planned.

My concern now is whether or not other owners are having the same problem or worse without knowing it. Which at the very least, because of insulation loss, decreases heat retaining efficiency and at its worst could be a serious fire hazard.

I hope the situation with my unit is a onetime combination of manufacturing defects and not the norm.  If that isn't the case, BS may have more problems than just a poorly designed DBS.

[Oldman]

I noticed that the lower 1/3rd of the oven's rear panel was almost too hot to touch.

Mine as well gets hot.  I remember talking with Chez about this, and he said that they all get hot there.  I can understand why when you consider how the element is mounted to the box.  I don't think it is a big deal. I've run my box up to 40 hours hot (testing the fan) and I have no worries about this.

Pat,
Let's move on. You still have a 6 rack unit and you still see problems. I'm asking you to start a new thread and repost your findings. The other thread is toast and if Admin is on the ball they will just delete it.  It is non-sense to even try and read it now.

Thanks.
Olds

[MallardWacker]

Omega and Rat,

First we have ALL complained about things here.  Omega I never took your tone as anything other than being somehow constructive and when I see this type crap going on you are not my type on my list to look out for.  But There are times the dead horse syndrome can come with a stupid fervor and I do not put you in that category.  At this point in my life this can get pretty stinky and really has no value...I don't care what spin you put on.

"I have always wondered whether the beater of the dead horse did so in the misguided understanding that there was still some chance that the horse would get up and continue working or whether the horse, now dead, had angered him so much while living that, frenzied, he couldn't stop himself from continuing to punish it, albeit symbolically."



You new folks, it's not that us old futs "OWN" this board but many of have seen things come and go...It is very irritating to see some of the crap that has gone here in the resent past.  It's (at least for me) just fine to tell the weaknesses of the of products old and new, but when it turns into a mantra for "we need to improve" or "we should expect more" or somehow we are going to tell the Bradley's what to do in production, OK say it once and leave alone then add something that might help the next guy.  I don't mind your bad comments or constructive  words but folks...It's just a smoker.

There is nothing more rewarding to me when it comes to smoking is to help some nOOb that got their BS.  To me this is the essence of the board, ya I get pretty crabby when the ranting gets like it has.  When things start getting past this point it is always a burnt spot on us all...new and old.  If you find yourself of needing more ranting time about what you just bought...bring it to the ones that made it or sold the thing...

I love smoking...and this community...there isn't a better one.

NOW...Lets make some BACON!

[whitetailfan]

Please read post above and make sure you understand what they are saying no matter how bad the typing is.Isnt there something about not wanting to rant.I believe so.

Yes, there is one line out of the 62 line post that refers to not ranting.  I dont think the follow up on Mallard was called for.  Glad I did not waste time on the digital thread reading this stuff, its bad karma for forum.  Back and forther banter sucks.  I'm going to go find a recipe.

[icerat4]

Omega and Rat,

First we have ALL complained about things here.  Omega I never took your tone as anything other than being somehow constructive and when I see this type crap going on you are not my type on my list to look out for.  But There are times the dead horse syndrome can come with a stupid fervor and I do not put you in that category.  At this point in my life this can get pretty stinky and really has no value...I don't care what spin you put on.

"I have always wondered whether the beater of the dead horse did so in the misguided understanding that there was still some chance that the horse would get up and continue working or whether the horse, now dead, had angered him so much while living that, frenzied, he couldn't stop himself from continuing to punish it, albeit symbolically."



You new folks, it's not that us old futs "OWN" this board but many of have seen things come and go...It is very irritating to see some of the crap that has gone here in the resent past.  It's (at least for me) just fine to tell the weaknesses of the of products old and new, but when it turns into a mantra for "we need to improve" or "we should expect more" or somehow we are going to tell the Bradley's what to do in production, OK say it once and leave alone then add something that might help the next guy.  I don't mind your bad comments or constructive  words but folks...It's just a smoker.

There is nothing more rewarding to me when it comes to smoking is to help some nOOb that got their BS.  To me this is the essence of the board, ya I get pretty crabby when the ranting gets like it has.  When things start getting past this point it is always a burnt spot on us all...new and old.  If you find yourself of needing more ranting time about what you just bought...bring it to the ones that made it or sold the thing...

I love smoking...and this community...there isn't a better one.

NOW...Lets make some BACON!

Hey mallard you have a cookshack right.Whats the comparision of these two machines.Since the ranting is over please share your thought here.You being an active cookshack guy maybe you could share some thoughts on why buy a bradley compared to the other guys machine the cook shack looks nice even has an internal temp probe.What do you suggest sir. :)

[BigSmoker]

Yea ole MW is a long time supporter of the cook shack products.  What do you have MW an 008 or something?  ::) 

[icerat4]

I am a bradley fan as i have 2 of them .So this isnt a shot at anyone.Just trying to help a friend out on making a point .Too buy the right unit.And since ive only been here i have no real info to give him on the 2 unit.I would like a true comparision .Ive looked over on there sight .But everyone how that goes.No bad mouthing the products etc.And i didnt see a comparision here in the search so anyone on this.And there amircue is nice with the probe and stuff but its to high priced for him at 1500.Now me thats another story .If i didnt have 2 bradley i might get one .But my wife would disown me.Lol.And my friend would  think im in the smoking bussiness instead of running a body shop ;D

[MallardWacker]

No I do not have a cookshack but however I spent a heck of lot time dealing with and comparing products.

To me, unless you are a commercial smoker...the only valid one I like is the pellet FEC100 for home use.  Just like the Bradley is uses preformed wood chips but there's is pellets.  The only problem with this is I think it sells for 28 or 2900 dollars.  Please forgive me folks, if cost was not an issue, plus a couple of considerations I would be getting one of these. 

Rat, check their forums, they have some of same problems as we do, some different and some the same, especially on the smaller units ...things like temp control...BS or a cookshack are not ovens, they are small smokers that have to live off 120v 15amp circuits and there is only so much you can do with that.  I will tell you they are built like a tank, but having a tank doesn't equate to taste or ease of use.  Remember Rat they hold there unit in high regard also and everything will sound fun and peachy when you talk to them AND they have a fairly large disdain for us here.

The big thing why a BS is a better unit is for two reasons, I comparing the two smaller units, is the fact that you can especially have a high amount of consistency...due to the fact of the pucks (Like the FTC100 which actually works great for competition) and secondly is the ease of clean up.  The BS has made smoking easy and fun for me, and just about every time makes me look like what I am doing no matter how brief the moment.  The burning method for measured wood is also a bit of stickler with me...I just like the BS better for this.  ALSO VENT, VENT, VENT!!!!!gots to have one. I encourage you to look at the cookshack, maybe their drawbacks will work better with the way you like to cook.

Don't even look at that cheaper odd ball named digital model in Cabellas, it's freek'n a mess!  IF you didn't like the BS this will give you chills.

Rat what ever you do, at the end of the day it not how much or how good you smoke it's the friends you make, and smoking lends itself to that end very easily.

Peace.