Which Bradley to start with?

[SconnieBoys]

Ok.  Looking for some input Bradley forum.  I've used a Big Green Egg(BGE) and built a Ugly Drum Smoker(UDS) that didn't quite cut it for low and slow. 

Looking at the 6 rack digital.  However, seems like many are modifying OBS with extra elements, fans, and electronics to become more self sufficient than the digitals.  Any input on this would be most appreciated. 

By the way, I'm in WI and smoke all winter long so keeping temp could be an issue.

Thanks

[Saber 4]

I'm in the camp that likes the digital as is, that may change as I get deeper into sausage making. I think any of the 4-6 racks will work for you, if you are thinking you may modify later then some members recommend getting the OBS instead of the digital unless you want the capacity of the 6 rack. You can use heated foil covered bricks and/or boiling water in a cake pan to help with heat recovery if you don't want to do mods. You might want to let people know what you like to smoke and what new things you might want to get into after being on the forum for a while so they can give you better answers to your basic question and welcome to the forum. :)

[beefmann]

all of the bradleys are good units,

the 4 rack can  easily  handle  40 lbs of meat, I have done 45 lbs of tri tip in my 4 rack and it was  very  full,   still a  good  unit.

the 6 rack is great for hanging sausages and  similar type of lunch meats.  also the 6 rack and handle approx 60 lbs of meat if  needed,

as for the electronics... i dont own a digital bradly though i do run a  pid on mine along with timers.

my  advice to you  is  buy the 4 rack unless yo  need the room of the 6 rack quite often meaning that you  will be  doing  50 to 60 lbs of meat or large amounts of sausages on a  monthly basis, get the  4 rack basic model, get use to it with the  money you  saved pt in a  auber pid in the smoke generator and run it.

jst my 2 cents

[SconnieBoys]

Good info.  Thanks.  Here's a little background on me.  I tend to smoke bacon, venison, pork butts, duck, sausages, and fish.  I'd like to add snack sticks to that list so the Bradley looked to be the right tool for that job.  My buddy and I tend to make pretty large portions.  We did bacon last month and cranked out 120#.  That was 2 loads in 2 BGE's.
I've got 3 young boys that eat like grown men so small portions tend not to last very long.   
Another consideration on the 6 rack is that heat recovery will be even harder with that added space.  I don't recall the heating element being larger to compensate for the larger size.  That sound right?

[Saber 4]

The element is the same size on both models.

[beefmann]

agrees with  saber,  the  4 and 6  rack units   have 500 watt main elements, the puck burner is an additional 125 watts which  some people leave on for the additional heat.

if you will be  doing sausages...  get the 6  rack.. also after a  year or so,,,  do a  fan mod to help balance  the  heat from front to back and top to bottom. if you  do want  faster heat recovery do the 900 watt  element  mod or the duel element.

[watchdog56]

I am in Minnesota here and smoke in the winter also although mostly in the garage with the window or door open depending on which way the wind is blowing. I have the 6 rack and have put in the extra element because I do sausage and fish also.  I do not have the fan mod yet. I would suggest getting a PID if you are going to do sausage because the temp swings can be +/- 15 degree with out a PID. A PID will get you down to +/- 2 degree so it will keep you from fatting out by getting the sausage to hot.

[SconnieBoys]

Thanks all.  Watchdog, how long did you last before you modified your 6 rack?  I've always put sausages on a screen for smoking so I'm on the fence about the size as I may not need the hang space.     Also, what's the difference between adding an element and just upgrading the existing element?  I like the idea of being able to turn off the extra element but seems like it might get crowded with that extra element.
Thanks

[Saber 4]

The only thing about doing mods on a new unit is that it voids the warranty, so if that's no big deal then you can plan on doing mods early otherwise you may want to wait a year and try some of the other techniques and get used to your smoker before you do the mods.

There are several posts on here that you can search up on the various mods and how to do them.

[hutcho]

Check out susanminor.org for the mods, and theres some damn good recipes to boot. I have the 6 rack digital with pid and dual elements.   The digital is pointless now.  Take a look on Craigslist too I scored mine with a 100rd box of hickory for around 300, still looked shiny inside.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2