Disapointed/Frustrated

mysmoke50 · November 11, 2013, 03:09:44 PM

I have the 6 rack digital smoker & I must say I am not all that happy with it. First I want to say the staff at Bradley are great and have done very well at there jobs & the the design of the smoker is great so with that said I will get to my disappointment with the unit the heating element is not strong enough to load the smoker up & when it is cold out forget it today it is 35 dergs. outside & I can not get the heat to go over 220 with the unit empty it took over 2hours to get there when I opened it up to put my turkey in the heat went down to 170 & after 2.5 hours it only back to 182 so I will be at this all night I see where someone added a 2nd heating element but that is not how Bradley made it I am posting this in hopes that someone has a reasonable solution if not I will try the modification I guess unless I can sell this unit first this is soooo frustrating.

RedJada · November 11, 2013, 04:25:52 PM

Hi Mysmoke and welcome. First thing I want to say is I am no expert but that advise will come alone soon. With that said, Up grading the heating element basically only helps with heat recovery. First thing you want to check is to make sure the outlet you have your smoker plugged into is only supplying power to the smoker. You don't want the fridge/freezer, heater, and what not running off the same circuit. If your using an extension cord. Its best to use a 12 gauge no more than 10 feet long. I use a 10 foot, 10 gauge cord with mine. I have my Bradley in the garage and when I use it the only other power being drawn if the garage light. I feel this may be your problem. I can pre-heat to 225 in about 20-30 minutes, 15 minutes more on real cold days. And about 15-20 minutes after stocking. Your heat times defiantly don't seem right. Take a look at what else is running on the same circuit and post back. Hope this helps.

aces-n-eights · November 11, 2013, 04:31:01 PM

I'm sorry you are disappointed with your new smoker. Bradley's are designed to be "low and slow" smoker/cookers and in ideal conditions getting a temp of 250 - 260 is going to be about the max. 220 in 35 degree weather is about what you're going to get.

So a couple of reasonable solutions for you to try... Run as much smoke as you want - for a turkey i think 3-4 hours is plenty - and then finish it in your oven. Another idea is to wrap the smoker with an insulating blanket of some sort. Obviously be sure not to cover the top vent. Keep the smoker out of any wind if possible.

Another thought is to make sure the top vent is at least half open. It may sound counterintuitive, but you want the air to move through and out of the smoker for most efficient operation.

I hope you can make friends with your Bradley and thanks for posting here - we want to try to help...

tskeeter · November 11, 2013, 04:41:51 PM

Mysmoke, I feel your pain. Especially if the cold weather is coupled with a stiff breeze.

What some people do to compensate for the limited heating capacity of the Bradley is to use the Bradley to do the smoking, and then move their smoked food to the kitchen oven for cooking. That's what I did with a couple of turkey breasts that I smoked on Saturday (I was a little impatient, so moved the bird to a 325F oven to speed things along).

If you want to use the smoker as a cooker, too, one of the tricks to use is to put a foil wrapped brick or two in the bottom of your smoker. The brick will absorb heat while you preheat the smoker. The heat sink created by the brick will help your smoker get back to temp faster after you open the door and when you put cold food into the smoker.

It also helps to fill you puck bowl with as close to boiling water as you can get. That way, the heat generated by the heating element is not trying to heat the water in addition to the meat you put into the smoker.

It also helps to preheat the smoker to a temp about 25F higher than the temp you want to cook at. And them, reduce the temp setting after you put the meat into the smoker. This process turns the smoker cabinet into a heat sink, with residual heat to transfer to the meat you just put into your smoker.

And, you can run the puck burner even after you are done smoking. Running the puck burner adds about 25% to the heat generating capability of the stock Bradley.

All that said, I went with a dual element mod and PID on my six rack. Why? Because I live in a windy area. A 15 - 20 mph breeze comes up nearly every afternoon. That makes keeping the temp up a bit of a challenge. Especially if it is below 30F outside. And, I put in more heating because I tend to want to pretty well fill the smoker when I do things. So, two 8 pound turkey breasts last Saturday. Four 7 - 8 pound pork shoulders for pulled pork a month ago. Or 15 - 20 pounds of sausage last spring. That's a lot of cold meat for a 500 watt heating element to cook. So, I use two elements and every technique on the book to help things along. Including putting together a "smoker house" to shelter my smoker from the wind, to keep the smoker in a set up/ready to use condition, allow me to store the smoker outside, and to give me space to store other outdoor cooking equipment.

You'll make some great food with your Bradley. Just be a bit patient. You've got a low temperature smoker, so it doesn't have the power of your household oven. But as you learn to use it, I think you'll come to love your smoker. And learn to compensate for it's design limitations and appreciate the flexability and ease of use that the design offers.

To add to Aces' comment about your vent, it is imperative that you keep your vent open. A closed vent traps moisture in your smoker. The moisture can absorb a tremendous amount of heat energy. And, high moisture foods, such as poultry, can compound the problem. Poultry is usually smoked with the vent wide open. Having the vent open allows the moisture to be carried out of your smoker, so the smoker heats up better. This is so important that, after forgetting the vent closed and making a sooty tasting mess out of a batch of sausage, I took the adjustable portion of the vent damper off of my smoker and go commando all of the time.

mysmoke50 · November 11, 2013, 06:20:52 PM

Thanks for the suggestions I have the vent open all the way & my Bradley runs on its own receptacle so my next step is the second heating element but someone said that it will only help with heat recovery is that true ?? I was hoping to raise my heat temperatures as well I really like smoking turkeys at the higher temps between 250-300 I know Bradley is for low and slow but there are times when a little higher temps are needed .
is there a link to support the second element or for installing a higher voltage heat element??
Thanks Again. :-\

Salmonsmoker · November 11, 2013, 07:11:35 PM

mysmoke50,
If I remember correctly, the Bradley has a high temp. cutout sensor that's set @ 280F. If you're looking for higher temps you should probably be looking for a different type of cooker. The Bradley is designed for low and slow and if you're expecting something else from it, you'll only be disappointed. 300F is not low and slow. I also have two drum smokers, a gasser and am hoping to add a pellet smoker soon. Each one of them has their own application in cooking, and they're all different and excel in their own field. The Bradley is a great machine when used for what it's designed. I smoke a ton of salmon every year and it never fails to perform. It's also great for smoking sausage, pork butt, bacon, ham, the list goes on.........
Learn your Bradley, I'm sure you'll become great friends. Ss

Habanero Smoker · November 12, 2013, 02:29:39 AM

Hi mysmoke50;

Welcome to the forum.

A lot of good information has been provided. Also check the link below, it may cover some other areas. When preheating set your vent to 1/2 opening. You may see faster preheat times, and fully open after you place the turkey in. As the turkey looses moisture, you may find you can reposition the vent back to 1/2 open.

Bradley FAQ's

renoman · November 13, 2013, 06:25:22 AM

MySmoke, I also feel your pain. The Bradley's are designed to be "low and slow" but that is no reason for "Too low and Inaccurate". My simple electrical mind tells me that it would cost next to no more to build the smokers with a larger element in the first place (dozens on here have done this with no ill effects) and a more accurate thermostat that would keep the temps closer to the set temp. Mine runs 35* higher at times although I don't know this for sure because the difference between the read out on the Maverick and the Bradley is all over the map. Even a modest increase in cost would be nothing near the cost to add the second element and PID mods.

GusRobin · November 13, 2013, 07:10:28 AM

The temp swings in a Bradley are no greater than most people see in their oven. The inaccuracies in temp has more to do with the placement of the Bradley temp sensor vs the placement of where you put your Maverick, and where you are in the cook cylcle. If you are doing a low and slow cook, such as a roast, butt, brisket, etc, the temp swings do not matter much if at all.
A number of people have made mods to their units to overcome the shortcomings. But while a lot of people have moded their Bradley, there are also many that have not. They have learned how their smoker operates and have made adjustments as to how they go about doing their cook. And they are quite satisfied.

pondee · November 13, 2013, 10:27:07 AM

Per GusRobin:

"But while a lot of people have moded their Bradley, there are also many that have not. They have learned how their smoker operates and have made adjustments as to how they go about doing their cook. And they are quite satisfied."

Has anyone done a poll to determine how many of us have or have not modified their Bradleys? I'd be curious and, perhaps, the manufacturer would be also.

Saber 4 · November 13, 2013, 11:10:34 AM

Quote from: pondee on November 13, 2013, 10:27:07 AM
Per GusRobin:

"But while a lot of people have moded their Bradley, there are also many that have not. They have learned how their smoker operates and have made adjustments as to how they go about doing their cook. And they are quite satisfied."

Has anyone done a poll to determine how many of us have or have not modified their Bradleys? I'd be curious and, perhaps, the manufacturer would be also.

I have not at this time, won't say it's not going to happen down the road but no plans to at this time. I have figured out mine's quirks and will use a water bath to finish sausage after smoking as soon as I get a good deal on a turkey roaster.

GusRobin · November 13, 2013, 12:45:30 PM

Quote from: pondee on November 13, 2013, 10:27:07 AM

Has anyone done a poll to determine how many of us have or have not modified their Bradleys? I'd be curious and, perhaps, the manufacturer would be also.

Not that I know of. Not all did the mod out of necessity. I moded mine the day I got it just because I like to tinker. Don't know if I would have eventually done it later or just learned to work within its limitations and quirks like others have.

pondee · November 13, 2013, 01:16:53 PM

I'm beginning to think that these forum chats are biased towards those who have modified their Bradleys and the modifications. They talk about their modifications and those who haven't have no mods to chat about. This gives the impression to those reading this forum that EVERYONE is modifying their Bradleys and, perhaps, the smoker should be "modified" at the plant, reworked and redone to incorporate those most popular modifications. But now, it seems, that a lot of people, maybe most of us, are not modifying their smokers and like the Bradley as is. I recently did an 8.5* but, took about 16 hours. It was chilly and maybe too breezy. The tower temp, as er the supplied thermometer was low. HOWEVER. It was great. Everyone loved it. All want to have it done again. Low and slow is the Bradley's forte. Perhaps those of us who like our Bradleys as is, out of the box, should say so more often. It too often seems that we buy our Bradleys to change them. If I had read these boards before buying and trying the Bradley, I might not have. (It seems everyone needs to change it.) Using it for a while, getting used to what it does best, and you can fall in love with this "5 100 bulb easy bake oven". Those who like their Bradleys as bought stand up and say YEA!

As for me YEA

Saber 4 · November 13, 2013, 01:22:42 PM

I love mine as is, but I also love to read about the mods others have done. I think it's great that we can use it stock or trick it out like a 57 chevy if we want to.

GusRobin · November 13, 2013, 02:06:50 PM

I have the second element installed and an 8lb butt at 225* has taken me anywhere from 12-20 hrs. The second element helps in temp recovery. If you pre-heat, throw in your butt, and not keep opening the cabinet, the second element won't add that much benefit in the long cook.
I don't think there is a bias to the moded ones, it is if people ask about the mods, they are talked about. No one usually comes on and says" lets talk about the mods you didn't do".