6 RACK

[redster]

Hi all, I am a 2 year rookie at smoking, I am on my 3rd smoker (Different manufacture) due to mechanical problems. I have  the 6 rack Bradley for about a year and the best temp i could get last year was about 220° and this spring is 205°.  All cables are plugged in all the way as i learned that one already the hard way, I am directly plugged into an outlet no extension cord, I have tried with the vent in different opening positions, I have smoked from -10° to +25° with same maximum temp reading.It has being doing this from day one. I'm sorry if there is a topic on this already, if so please direct me to link.

Thanks ;)

[tskeeter]

Redster, I think you are suffering from cold outside temperatures.  And possibly, wind.  I assume that you're using your smoker outside and the temps are F. 

The Bradley was designed as a low and slow smoker, so it doesn't have a very big heating element.  Considering that the heating element in a Bradley is 500 watts (about 1/3 the heating capacity of many hair dryers) and the temps you are reporting, I'd think your smoker will be hard pressed to reach temps much above the 200F range you are seeing. 

Another factor that works against a Bradley is wind.  A stiff breeze just seems to suck the heat out of a Bradley.  Protecting the vent from the breeze helps quite a bit.

There are some ways you can increase the temp in your smoker during cold weather.  Some forum members have made a variety of insulation blankets or foam board wraps for their smokers.  Many folks always use boiling water in their puck bowl.  So that the heat generated by the heating element goes into raising the temp of the cabinet, not raising the temp of cold water in the puck bowl.  Many folks also use a heat sink to help with heat recovery when you open the door, etc..  A common brick or two wrapped in foil tucked into the bottom of the smoker.  In cold, blustery weather, I've preheated my smoking bricks to 400F in the oven and then transferred them to the smoker to help the smoker deal with large amounts of cold meat and the cold outside conditions.  You can also do your smoking in the smoker, and then move the meat to the oven to finish cooking the meat.  Or, you can do a heating element modification.  There are posts about a variety of heating modifications on the forum.  The dual element mod.  The 900 watt, finned element mod.  And recently, a 750 watt finned element mod.  The first two mods require power levels that slightly exceed the design specs of the Bradley wiring, so most of the folks who have done these mods use a PID as a temperature controller.  The 750 watt mod was done to avoid the need for a higher capacity temperature controller.

As the weather warms up a bit, I expect that you'll find your smoker will run warmer.  But, keep in mind that about 270F is the max you can probably expect.  In the mean time, maybe one of the techniques above will help you out a bit.   

[redster]

Thanks for the reply, I will try the brick idea and maybe look at different element, i know of a few guys who have the 4 tray Bradley and they don't have temp issues at all and a guy who has 6 tray but can get his to 275.

[beefmann]

here is my 900 watt heater mod that also help even out the tower temps...

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=17329.msg209917#msg209917

in the temps you are  smoking in .. it is very hard to get higher  temps, my two cents is

1) put your  smoker in a  cabinet of  some kind to aide in wind reduction of heat
2) put a heat type blanket / shield around it to aide in keeping the  heat in
3) do a heater mod with fan mod .. i do recommend  the 900 watt finned element in the 6 rack


also  welcome aboard and enjoy