Grease Fire

Maximus1959 · February 04, 2014, 11:02:17 PM

So I had my first grease fire and ruined my beef tenderloin on super bowl. At least the hawks won! I burned up the inside of my smoker and melted the seal on the door. Any suggestions on how to clean the smell out and replace the rubber seal?

Habanero Smoker · February 05, 2014, 02:08:01 AM

Sorry to hear about your grease fire, but it appears it was maintained inside the cabinet and there was no major damage. You can purchase a new door seal from Yard & Pool.

As for the cabinet any dish detergent and a scouring pad will work to clean the inside. If you want a stronger cleaner Grease Lightning GL works well for this type of cleaning. You can usually find it in Ace Hardware stores and auto parts stores; or any other cleaner for cleaning grills will work. After cleaning rinse well, dry, and do a "burn off" (run the smoker empty at 250°F for a few hours, then re-season it.

Since a beef tenderloin is so lean, can you give more information on how the grease fire occurred?

Saber 4 · February 05, 2014, 07:43:04 AM

Sorry to hear about your fire, Habs has you lined out on the fix and like him, I will ask you for the details so others can prevent it from happening to them.

zueth · February 05, 2014, 09:19:43 AM

I personally have never had a grease fire and the only time I have heard of it happening is when people do not empty there pucks from the bowl and typically when smoking meats with more fat like a pork shoulder or brisket.

Interested to hear how this happened with a tenderloin.

Maximus1959 · February 13, 2014, 07:30:48 PM

Vent 1/2 open
Meat placed in center rack
Temp 225 degrees, but ramped it up to 280 degrees to try and get the meat finished by halftime.
Smoker was not on

TNRockyraccoon · February 13, 2014, 07:57:11 PM

What condition was your V tray in before the fire? Was there a build up of grease? What condition was your smoker in before the fire?

Just asking to see if persistent and thorough cleaning after every smoke could prevent grease fires. I wonder what the flash point is for grease? Maybe smoking and cooking below that temperature could help prevent fires.

It spooks me thinking about a fire.

GusRobin · February 13, 2014, 08:47:53 PM

How much meat did you have in there. Was the meat touching the back of the cabinet?

Smokesmore · February 14, 2014, 10:38:20 AM

There really is only a couple ways to start a grease fire in the Bradley. 1. grease is somehow making it to the element which will pretty much instantly ignite it (hence why a properly positioned and clean v tray is critical. 2. Forgot to put water in puck tray and you have a smoldering pile of bisquettes that may ignite the grease as it trickles down.

Number 2 is an easy fix. Number 1 could have other variables like the guy above said. If your meat was touching the back wall it can trickle down to the element and actually build up there and ignite.

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STLstyle · February 14, 2014, 10:47:05 AM

That's my biggest fear (grease fire). Especially since he said he wasn't running the SG. I'm hoping there was meat touching the back wall or some issue with the v tray. Scary stuff. More details would be appreciated. I run mine in the detach garage so I'm pretty anal about avoiding any potential issues already identified.

zueth · February 14, 2014, 12:49:53 PM

Maybe the V-tray was not installed at all or installed incorrectly, would be my guess.

Habanero Smoker · February 15, 2014, 01:40:01 AM

A plugged drain hole in the drip tray can be another cause. Grease builds up in the tray and will ignite. That is why many of us keep a 1" - 2" metal putty knife handy to scrape the build up off during long cooks where you may have more then on butts, or a particularly fatty butt. Another possibility which I caught in time is grease dripping on the bisquette burner. This happened when my smoker was not level, and instead of all the grease and drippings dropping directly into the water bowl, some of the grease would flow along the bottom of the drip tray and fall on the burner. So also make sure your smoker is level.

Maximus1959 · February 22, 2014, 12:17:40 AM

The meat was placed in the middle rack, directly in the center of the rack. The meat type was a whole beef tenderloin from Costco. Not a lot of fat on a beef tenderloin. My smoker is brand new. This was only the third time using it. Previously I smoked 1 brisket and 2 batches of elk jerky. My bowl was full of water. I am guessing some juices hit the heating element, which caused the fire.

Now I would like to talk about how impressed I am with Bradley customer service. The Product Manager from Bradley read this topic and sent me a an email. They are sending me a new smoker free of charge. This was their idea. They could have easily read this and not done a thing about it. The fact that they took the time to contact me and proceed to send me a new smoker is impressive. I have not received it yet, but I imagine it will show up by mid next week. Great customer service!!!!

Thank you Bradley....

I WILL BE TYPING a letter of appreciation and sending it to the CEO when I get some time. Thanks Mark Pyle

tailfeathers · February 22, 2014, 01:50:24 AM

Bradley customer service CANNOT be beat, that's for sure! I for one would never hesitate their products to anyone.

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Saber 4 · February 22, 2014, 09:01:53 AM

Quote from: tailfeathers on February 22, 2014, 01:50:24 AM
Bradley customer service CANNOT be beat, that's for sure! I for one would never hesitate their products to anyone.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

X2 they are the best at customer service anywhere.

Smokesmore · February 24, 2014, 12:03:51 PM

Quote from: Maximus1959 on February 22, 2014, 12:17:40 AM
The meat was placed in the middle rack, directly in the center of the rack. The meat type was a whole beef tenderloin from Costco. Not a lot of fat on a beef tenderloin. My smoker is brand new. This was only the third time using it. Previously I smoked 1 brisket and 2 batches of elk jerky. My bowl was full of water. I am guessing some juices hit the heating element, which caused the fire.

Now I would like to talk about how impressed I am with Bradley customer service. The Product Manager from Bradley read this topic and sent me a an email. They are sending me a new smoker free of charge. This was their idea. They could have easily read this and not done a thing about it. The fact that they took the time to contact me and proceed to send me a new smoker is impressive. I have not received it yet, but I imagine it will show up by mid next week. Great customer service!!!!

Thank you Bradley....

I WILL BE TYPING a letter of appreciation and sending it to the CEO when I get some time. Thanks Mark Pyle

Awesome... Just plain awesome.

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