more trouble with heating up

[al_sfbay]

I have tried several smokes since I discovered the plugs weren't in all the way.  I am still having trouble with temps.  Just plugged main power into oven and the element did not get hot. We checked the Ohms to see if the element was bad, 27 Ohms so I guess it is OK.  I am getting very tired of heating problems and falling out of love with my Bradley rather quickly.  Does anybody have any ideas?

[TedEbear]

Hi.  You said in another thread that when you wiggled the SG the temps started to go up.  Have you taken the SG apart and checked the wiring inside it to see if something is loose?  Here's how to take the SG apart so you can check for any loose wires:

How Do I Clean My Generator?

Also, if you're using an extension cord between the Bradley and the outlet it can cause lower temps if the wire gauge is not large enough. 

[al_sfbay]

Thanks tedEbear,
But if it were a loose wire in the SG, when I plug it in directly, bypassing the SG, the heating element should have gotten red.  it didn't, in fact it barely warmed up.  Or at least that is what Bradley said when I called them before and they trouble shot this over the phone with me.

Looks like I won't be smoking the pork butt I had planned to do on Sunday.

Any other ideas???

[Habanero Smoker]

What was Bradley's opinion of what the problem could be?

If the element warms up a little, then it could be a loosely attached wire in the cabinet. You will need to remove the back cover and check all connections. If there is no heat at all, it could be the inline fuse which is located behind the back cover.

[renoman]

Why do we have to wiggle the wires to get the Bradleys to heat up???? I have 2 dozen pieces of electrical equipment and my Bradley is the only one where I have to "wiggle" the wires and look inside to see if the element is warming up. Why does my puck advancer advance pucks when "it" wants to?? My last smoke it just stopped advancing pucks and when I pushed the advance button it started again only to stop after a few more pucks. Why does Bradley bother to sell a "digital" smoker when the temp swings are so bad that we have to go out and buy a 200.00 piece of digital equipment to solve that problem?? Just asking.........

[al_sfbay]

HS, thanks for the suggestion.  I finally figured out what was going on at 3:30 PM PST on Friday, not a time when Bradley is open. 

Is it difficult to take the back cover off. and more importantly is everything exposed once it's off?   The other thing is my puck advancer is acting sporadicly.  It works  I would say 80% of the time. 

I don't have anything else on the circuit, and wiring in my home is good so I think my end is fine.

[TedEbear]

Is it difficult to take the back cover off. and more importantly is everything exposed once it's off?   The other thing is my puck advancer is acting sporadicly.  It works  I would say 80% of the time. 

The dozen or so screws around the back perimeter hold the back cover in place.  Once you remove it you can see the inline fuse and check for any loose connections there.  Check a few of the links below for the puck advance problem.

Why do my bisquettes advance using the Advance Button, but are not properly advancing Automatically every 20 minutes?

Why won't my bisquettes advance when I push the Advance button?

Why are the bisquettes continuously feeding, and just being dumped into the water bowl

[TedEbear]

Why do we have to wiggle the wires to get the Bradleys to heat up???? I have 2 dozen pieces of electrical equipment and my Bradley is the only one where I have to "wiggle" the wires and look inside to see if the element is warming up. Why does my puck advancer advance pucks when "it" wants to?? My last smoke it just stopped advancing pucks and when I pushed the advance button it started again only to stop after a few more pucks. Why does Bradley bother to sell a "digital" smoker when the temp swings are so bad that we have to go out and buy a 200.00 piece of digital equipment to solve that problem?? Just asking.........

The wire wiggling is just a test to see if there's a loose connection.  If that procedure makes something work then further investigation is needed to locate the bad connection and make a permanent fix.

See my previous post on fixing the puck advance problem.

The digital display is not a PID controller, it just displays the temp and has the same temp swings as the non-digital Bradley.  You'll notice that the oven in your kitchen has wide temp swings if you monitor it with something like a Maverick ET-732.  You don't have to spend $200 for a PID controller.  The one I installed in my SG was less than $45.  Total cost will probably run you around $70-$80 with the cost of a K-type TC, SSR and some miscellaneous supplies.

[renoman]

Why do we have to wiggle the wires to get the Bradleys to heat up???? I have 2 dozen pieces of electrical equipment and my Bradley is the only one where I have to "wiggle" the wires and look inside to see if the element is warming up. Why does my puck advancer advance pucks when "it" wants to?? My last smoke it just stopped advancing pucks and when I pushed the advance button it started again only to stop after a few more pucks. Why does Bradley bother to sell a "digital" smoker when the temp swings are so bad that we have to go out and buy a 200.00 piece of digital equipment to solve that problem?? Just asking.........

The wire wiggling is just a test to see if there's a loose connection.  If that procedure makes something work then further investigation is needed to locate the bad connection and make a permanent fix.

See my previous post on fixing the puck advance problem.

The digital display is not a PID controller, it just displays the temp and has the same temp swings as the non-digital Bradley.  You'll notice that the oven in your kitchen has wide temp swings if you monitor it with something like a Maverick ET-732.  You don't have to spend $200 for a PID controller.  The one I installed in my SG was less than $45.  Total cost will probably run you around $70-$80 with the cost of a K-type TC, SSR and some miscellaneous supplies.

I have done less than 10 smokes with my Bradley and have these issues. There are MANY posts with people having the same issues over and over again. Bradley DOES monitor this forum and I am just wondering why they don't do something about the few issues that people are having over and over again. I can take my Bradley apart and look for the problems but why? I spent 400.00 on it and that was a good buy in these parts.

[RedJada]

I have an OBS that I bought off the shelf, display model, no box. Haven't ever had an issue. A couple of the common things I see here. You really need a dedicated out let. Meaning, nothing else is running off of that circuit. i.e. Fridge/freezer, heater, etc... I use by OBS in my garage and the only thing running besides the smoker is the light if I need it. Also, if you are using and extecion cord. Keep in short as possible, 12 feet max. 12 gauge is recommended, I use a 10 foot 10 gauge. Just some things to think about/look at.

[renoman]

The digital display is not a PID controller, it just displays the temp and has the same temp swings as the non-digital Bradley. 

No but it very well could be. Why go digital and not PID? What good is the digital feature if it can't keep the temps steady? The sausage guys on here would love that feature.

[GusRobin]

Well, if a plug and play PID costs $200 or a do it yourself PID costs about $80 total, then an installed PID would add at least $120 -$125 at the retail level. That puts the Bradley at a very expensive end for its class of smokers. You don't need a tight temp control for most things that you do in a Bradley. Butts, brisket, chicken, etc, etc. Many folks have never made a mod or bought a PID and cook just fine in a Bradley, including sauasage. The PID just makes it easier.

As far as all the people listing problems, you need to put it in perspective. The number of folks having issues as expressed on this forum is miniscule compared to the number of Bradley owners. I have been on this forum for about 5 years and a majority of the problems (except for the rash of bad elements) have to do with not seating the plugs properly.  But Bradley Customer Service has been excellent ( at least as far as I can see) in satisfactory resolving most if not all issues.

Yes Bradley monitors this forum. But Bradley runs this forum as a member's forum. By that I mean a place where members can discuss various smoker related things. They do not censor complaints as some other forums run by the manufacturer. On this forum you will just get advice from folks that have been using for a while. But this forum is not meant as a Customer Service or manufacturer's tech support. For that an owner should call Bradley direct and work with their customer service and/or tech support people directly.

[Habanero Smoker]

HS, thanks for the suggestion.  I finally figured out what was going on at 3:30 PM PST on Friday, not a time when Bradley is open. 

Is it difficult to take the back cover off. and more importantly is everything exposed once it's off?   The other thing is my puck advancer is acting sporadicly.  It works  I would say 80% of the time. 

I don't have anything else on the circuit, and wiring in my home is good so I think my end is fine.

The only thing I can add to TedEbears posts is when reassembling do not over tighten the screws or you will strip the sheet metal.

[renoman]

Well, if a plug and play PID costs $200 or a do it yourself PID costs about $80 total, then an installed PID would add at least $120 -$125 at the retail level. That puts the Bradley at a very expensive end for its class of smokers. You don't need a tight temp control for most things that you do in a Bradley. Butts, brisket, chicken, etc, etc. Many folks have never made a mod or bought a PID and cook just fine in a Bradley, including sauasage. The PID just makes it easier.

As far as all the people listing problems, you need to put it in perspective. The number of folks having issues as expressed on this forum is miniscule compared to the number of Bradley owners. I have been on this forum for about 5 years and a majority of the problems (except for the rash of bad elements) have to do with not seating the plugs properly.  But Bradley Customer Service has been excellent ( at least as far as I can see) in satisfactory resolving most if not all issues.

Yes Bradley monitors this forum. But Bradley runs this forum as a member's forum. By that I mean a place where members can discuss various smoker related things. They do not censor complaints as some other forums run by the manufacturer. On this forum you will just get advice from folks that have been using for a while. But this forum is not meant as a Customer Service or manufacturer's tech support. For that an owner should call Bradley direct and work with their customer service and/or tech support people directly.

Well the way I see this is that if some of the long time members of this forum would quit making excuses for the "very few" but repetitive problems with the smokers and "prod" Bradley into some serious fixes for the recurring problems we might get somewhere with them instead of referring new members to how to fix their brand new Bradleys. I personally think the Bradley Digital is a great conception. Set your time, set your temp, set your smoke and go watch TV. Only problem is that the dang thing doesn't work half the time. My oven temp works great. My microwave works great too. Got a crock pot that I don't have to babysit either. Just bought a sous vide cooker that can keep temps to within one tenth of a degree for under 200.00. When I set my alarm clock at night it amazingly goes of when I want to wake up. 550.00 MSRP is a lot of dough for what is really a product that does not meet up to the advertisment on the Bradley website. Seems to me that if Bradley fixed the few BIG concerns of many of us on this forum it would have a really "smokin" product.

[GusRobin]

Bradley fixed every problem I had where the smoker didn't do what it was intended to do.