Why my pucks don't completely burn

renoman · January 19, 2015, 07:02:36 AM

I mentioned this in a post awhile back but only now was able to take some pics. This is why my pucks do not completely burn. As you can see they do not get pushed all the way on to the burner. This In my mind is a problem with the diameter with the pucks as well as the puck burner not being level with the puck slider tray. Anyway just thought I would post as many on here are having the same issue.

tskeeter · January 19, 2015, 11:33:17 AM

Renoman, it looks like you've got a couple of things going on. It looks like your pucks are hanging up on the edge of the in-feed chute, so that only the right hand edge of the puck is in contact with the puck burner. And, from your photos, it looks like your puck burner might be bent. (See the small gap below the mounting rail at the in-feed side of the puck burner.) Or, the rails that the puck burner attaches to may be drooping. Or a combination of the two.

What I'd try. Unbolt the puck burner from the in-feed and flatten the flange on the puck burner. (Having the flange tight against the rails may prevent the rails from drooping.) If that didn't do the trick, I'd bend the rails that the puck burner attaches to up slightly. I'd do my best to get the in-feed side of the puck burner aligned with the in-feed chute. Even if it means that the puck burner slopes slightly upward.

A person might also have to bend the outside end of the in-feed chute, the end closest to the puck burner, down a couple of millimeters. So that the outside end of the in-feed chute is even with or slightly lower than the puck burner. This would allow more of the puck surface to contact the puck burner.

Or, you could shorten the in-feed chute just little bit. On my smoke generator, there is a gap of about 3/32 of an inch between the end of the in-feed chute and the edge of the puck burner. A gap like I have would keep the puck from hanging up on the in-feed chute and allow the puck to drop down onto the puck burner. (A puck hanging off the puck burner a bit isn't a problem. I find that even with the air gap between the puck burner and the in-feed chute on my smoke generator, the end of the in-feed chute is hot enough that the puck sitting in that position starts to burn before it is pushed onto the puck burner.)

Another option would be to remount the puck burner on top of the rails. I don't think this would work for you because it looks like the flanges on the puck burner are thick enough that a top mount position would have the puck burner higher than the in-feed chute.

Bottom line is that if you can get the puck more fully in contact with the puck burner plate, I think you'll get a significant improvement in your puck burn.

manfromplaid · January 19, 2015, 12:41:29 PM

after reading this post I thought I would go look at my burner as I have had the same problem as renoman just not all the time. my burner WAS also below the feed slide. as suggested I remounted the burner on top of the rails and its level. I ran a test just feeding pucks thru and they sit flat on the burner with no impediment going on. this might be a nice fix for having a few pucks not burning all the way thru. the change over was less then 5 min.

renoman · January 19, 2015, 02:02:28 PM

Thanks for the info tskeeter. I won't have a problem fixing this when I get around to it. Just thought I would post these pics because so many people are having a puck burning issue and some of the remedies seemed a little lame to me. I knew there had to be another problem besides cleaning the puck burner. As you can see in this pic the side of the puck that is raised above the burner does not burn all the way through.

Maybe Bradley should offer a DYI package and just sell the smoker completely unassembled and we could put them together ourselves ......correctly.

Habanero Smoker · January 20, 2015, 01:50:29 AM

I'm not saying that the misalignment is not causing your problem, but I can say that the misalignment is not always the problem. I had a generator which had a worse alignment, and the bisquettes burnt completely to a char. The only time they didn't was due to the compression of the bisquette, or I was using a cold smoke setup or smoking with the heating element off or turned down really low; such as when smoking sausage, bacon etc..

ragweed · January 20, 2015, 05:52:42 AM

Ok, I've been wondering about this long enough without asking. I have an OBS. The pucks have never burned to completion in 20 minutes. I assumed (I know, not a good thing) that they didn't burn completely in that time so that only "good" smoke was produced, as advertised. Am I wrong? Do others get a complete burn in 20 minutes?

renoman · January 20, 2015, 06:32:06 AM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on January 20, 2015, 01:50:29 AM
I'm not saying that the misalignment is not causing your problem, but I can say that the misalignment is not always the problem. I had a generator which had a worse alignment, and the bisquettes burnt completely to a char. The only time they didn't was due to the compression of the bisquette, or I was using a cold smoke setup or smoking with the heating element off or turned down really low; such as when smoking sausage, bacon etc..

Habs, my pucks burn like this all the time. They have since day one. I only realized the misalignment a couple months ago. I mostly smoke sausage at temps no higher than 150. I have done ribs, whole chicken and roasts at around 200 but the pucks have always burnt just like this. I will align the burner and post back with some more pics.

tailfeathers · January 20, 2015, 06:44:09 AM

My pucks were never burned to a complete char, always had just a tad bit of color left. To be honest it's been a long time since I've used my SG, the tube is way cheaper to feed and far more reliable. Not sure my SG even works anymore. I guess I should try it and use up my supply of pucks.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jim O · January 20, 2015, 08:07:31 AM

I passed my pucks on to a buddy since starting to use the tube.Just use the SG for additional heat.

Habanero Smoker · January 20, 2015, 01:06:44 PM

Quote from: renoman on January 20, 2015, 06:32:06 AM
Habs, my pucks burn like this all the time. They have since day one. I only realized the misalignment a couple months ago. I mostly smoke sausage at temps no higher than 150. I have done ribs, whole chicken and roasts at around 200 but the pucks have always burnt just like this. I will align the burner and post back with some more pics.

I will be interested in your results. If it works, I will add it to the FAQ's

Mine have always burnt to a complete char, except for the times I noted above. I don't fully subscribe to the 20 minutes produces the cleanest smoke. I feel it is the temperature the bisquette burns at produces the cleaner, milder smoke. Wood burning at hotter temperatures will produce more compounds that will produce a more noticeable bitter taste.

mustangmoe · January 21, 2015, 10:53:59 AM

Maybe with the new facility in Phoenix someone there just might get this right. Heres to hoping we get back the quality the bradley name used to represent. Sadly over the last few years it has not lived up to it's name. Just saying >:(

renoman · January 23, 2015, 01:15:14 PM

I have altered my feed chute to see if it fixes this problem. Here is a pick of how high the feed chute was above the puck burner.

I tried putting the burner above the chute but it was higher by a bit and there was a ridge that the pucks would have to be pushed up over so I removed the burner and chute and cleaned them both up.

Placed my dummy puck on the chute in the approximate place where it hangs up.

Marked it with a sharpie and ground away the arc with my Dremel.

This is how it now sits on the burner.

Next smoke I will give it a try and post some pics if it works.

Orion · January 23, 2015, 05:01:27 PM

Nice job Renoman! Look forward to results.

Orion · October 25, 2015, 12:50:20 PM

I had forgotten this thread and TedEbear kindly located and posted it.

I have my feed chute and burner plate all apart and I am dealing with the exact issue as renoman. I will be modifying my chute like he did with a small twist:

The burner plate attachs to the feed rail with two vertical screws. I am placing two washers between the feed rail and burner plate to effectively lower the burner plate about 3/16 ". This will make for a more positive drop of puck onto the burner and also put a little space between the burner and chute which should reduce heat transfer to the chute and eliminate some of the pre-burning of the pucks and fouling of the feed chute.

mustangmoe · October 27, 2015, 10:55:41 AM

Why not just buy a A-MAZE-N-TUBE-SMOKER 6" or 12"
There are just to many mechanical moving parts on the bisquete feeder to work 100% of the time.
Tube smoker ....light it and forget it. Works everytime :)