Puck advancement, different issue

Narclax · August 03, 2013, 06:48:13 PM

I've searched the forum and so far cannot find an answer. I planned on smoking a picnic roast in tonight and let the bradley preheat for 30. After that my auber turned on my smoke generator and I let that warm up for about 5 minutes. I then put the meat in, and pressed the button to advance the first puck. I heard a different noise from the generator motor, and didn't see anything move. So i hit the button again and nothing happened again, no noise this time. I have power to the smoke generator as the lights are on and the heater is still working.

I have taken apart the generator before to clean it out, and loosen the screws so that the arm can push without rubbing. I have had about 10+ smokes since I did that with no issues. Is there something specific I can check before having to order a new generator? Im thinking maybe the motor died? Can't check it right now since im using it (running outside every 20 mins to manually put a puck in is NOT fun) I did see the forum post about the fuse on the back of the generator, but since I have power still I can't imagine that's the issue.

Any help would be appreciated, it looks like i'm going to be awake for awhile moving pucks. Thanks!

TedEbear · August 03, 2013, 07:17:13 PM

Since you cannot take it apart right now it looks like you're stuck manually moving pucks for 3-4 hours. Otherwise, I would suggest taking it apart and making sure that every connection is seated tightly. If no wires were found to be loose I'd say to connect a multimeter to the two leads that go to the puck advance motor, press the advance button and see if there's any voltage.

Narclax · August 03, 2013, 09:10:50 PM

Sounds good and thanks for the reply. Of course this happens on a Saturday night before a booked Sunday lol. Will update if I figure anything out.

Narclax · August 04, 2013, 12:34:56 PM

Update: finished the meat in the oven this afternoon so I could look at the generator. Wiggled some cords around inside and it magically started working again so who knows. Did a good clean on it while open so let's hope it lasts.

Here's the final product. :) picnic roast with jans rub

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Saber 4 · August 04, 2013, 12:46:08 PM

Looks like you'll be eating good tonight

Habanero Smoker · August 05, 2013, 12:27:19 AM

Glad to read you got your generator working. If you just giggled them, that same problem may reoccur. You should reopen the generator, and make sure that all the connections are tight. Even if wires may appear to be connected, it may not be a secure connection.

Narclax · August 06, 2013, 06:58:10 AM

Good call. I checked but I can't honestly say I went through with a fine tooth comb.

I'm hoping the rule of 3 doesn't come into play because first this happened, Then the bottom of my door fell to pieces. About to fix utilizing the angle aluminum mod, just hoping that's the end of problems for the summer smoking season lol.

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bradkf69 · August 28, 2013, 05:34:31 PM

well mine just started doing the same thing. took everything apart and checked voltage no luck for me. I was having the problem awhile back where the puck advancement would not stop moving now it wont move at all. guess its time to call customer service. I have only owned new since may and I am already having problems with it. not very happy at the moment.

Narclax · September 27, 2013, 07:47:38 AM

The normal issue is that the moving "arm" gets stuck with dust and grime, loosening the screws on either side of the arm fixed that issue for me.

The above issue I had is still a mystery unfortunately, and even though taking it apart and cleaning out some dust fixed it, I don't know what the underlying issue was.