Newbie here and have some questions

[dave01]

Hi everyone, about 3 weeks ago I was given a 6 rack digital by a friend that a friend had given to him because they said it didn't work. I cleaned it all up and got it to work so I ordered some biscuits and fired it up. Last week I attempted  to smoke some ribs and they turned out just barely ok. I had a lot of trouble with getting it up to heat. After reading quite a few posts here I think I'm going to just go ahead and add a second element, get a PID and maybe add a fan. I read somewhere here where they added a fan and said it was around 32 cfm into a 4 rack system. How big of fan would I need to even out the temperature in my 6 rack. I'm looking forward to this experience, I've been wanting a smoker for a long time and now it's time to play

[KyNola]

May I suggest that before you go to the added time and expense of a second element, PID and fan that first you find out if your unit works satisfactorily "as is".

[dave01]

Hi KyNola, I'm pretty sure that I want to go to a second element and from what I've read that means I have to have a PID also. When I used the unit last sunday I put in hot water and a couple of bricks like some have suggested but about 3 hours into my smoking it started to rain and my temps dropped off fast. When it was working good just before that I did hit 220 degrees but it took 3 hours to get there. I never got over 116 degrees after that according to the digital read out. I still have to get a good temp probe

[TedEbear]

Hi Dave,

When I added a second element and a PID controller it was like night and day compared to before.  It sounds like this 6 rack isn't a new unit so modifying it wouldn't void any warranty or anything. 

You can save some money on the PID if you like to tinker.  The PID I installed in the pic below was around $45 from Auber Instruments.  With adding a SSR, temp probe and a few odds and ends to make it all work the total cost was still around $70-$80.  There are how-to articles that describe in detail how to do all this if you're interested.

[beefmann]

Hi Dave,

Welcome aboard, look around, get some  information and  experience at  smoking under your  belt before doing any  mod,  a few things to  remember

1) smokers like the bradley are like a  crock pot...  low and  slow... the  more of a  load the  lower temp you  will  have until the meat starts getting  close to being  done
2) keep your  top vent  wide open at all  times..  moisture in the cabinet will  keep the temps  down
3) be aware of ambient conditions, cooler temps, 30's  compared to  70s  winds, 3 mph compared to 30 mph, all will suck the  heat out of the cabinet.
4) be prepared to have  long  smokes /  cooks.. up to  24 hours in some cases
5) realize we cook by  temp of the meat rather  then  by  time... some cuts of  meat take longer even if it  both are a pork shoulder or beef roast.
6) start off with  no more then 2 hours  of smoke and adjust from there ...no more then 4 hours of  smoke in a box of 225 f or higher..  it has been  reported that  meat  stops accepting smoke flavour at around 140 f


enjoy and ask  questions,.,,  we are  here to  help

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi dave01;

Welcome to the forum.

Since the smoker was free, and if you have the money, as TedEBear stated the mode really improves the performance. With the second element you will find your recovery times much faster which will reduce your overall cooking times; and if you don't want to, you don't have to use all the techniques of trying to improve the cabinet temperature. The 1000 watts and PID combination can easily handle acute drops in the ambient temperature, and also do a good job maintain temperatures in somewhat windy conditions.

Here is a link to some helpful tips:
Bradley FAQ's