choice

[mengo210]

Hi guys, I am new here. I am from central Florida and I am trying to make decision to buy a 6 Racks Bradley Smoker from home depot for $464.00 or a Masterbuilt 40 Bluetooth from Bass Pro for $429.99. I like Bradley for bisquette auto feed but I am little concern about the 500 watts heat element. Masterbuilt has 1200 watts. Other thing i like about bradley it is that the heat element that burn the bisquettes is independent from the element that heat the smoker. I heard I few guys complaining about the masterbuilt that after reach the temperature, the heat element stop smoking.
Please guys, help me out make the decision.
I know that I can make changes to my Bradley, but I don't want to spend more money that it already cost...

Thank you in advance...

[tskeeter]

I gave away my Masterbuilt and bought a Bradley.  I wanted the auto puck feeder so I would have more of a set it and forget it process.  And yes, the cycling of the Masterbuilt heating element does affect smoke generation.  I've had my Bradley longer than I had the Masterbuilt, so that shows how I'm thinking.

There is no doubt that the Bradley was designed as a low and slow smoker.  Patience is a virtue.  Some forum members has been using their stock Bradley for years and years without complaint.  Other forum members are the more impatient, Tim Taylor types who have modified the heating system on their Bradley to improve heat recovery times and add more power.  If you search on dual element mod or 900 watt mod you will find how the more power members have performed their modifications.

[mengo210]

tskeeter,
Thank you for have replied to my post.
Have you done any mods?

[mengo210]

It is look like non one can help me out with my decision.
Only one person replied to it....
Come on guys. Please I need help here to decide which one to buy.

[beefmann]

after taking a  look at the master built 40, and its built in controls it  seems to me the master built may be a better  way to go, Grant you the bradley automatically advances the smoking  bisquits   for you and this can be an advantage, how ever you  can buy a amazein smoker that will take care of the  smoking  issue for you as well in the  master built.

both units do have there advantages and dis advantages, I am one that  feels the  bradley are a bit  under  powered and  love it  with a  900 watt element and digital  controls, i have  looked at the  master build when i was  looking to  get a  smoker and bought the  bradley because of the automatic bissuette advance,

also of you   go  with the master built and amazen  smoker and  use pellets the smoking process will be at a  lower  cost because of the cost of the  pellets.

my  advice to you  is consider everything, ease of  use on both units, cost of smoking bisquets vs a amaze in smoker tray  smoker and pellets. and make the  decision that  is best for you

[KyNola]

If you want an unbiased answer I would suggest you might try posting your question on a website or Forum that is not a manufacturer's owned Forum.  You are not going to find a lot of MES owners on a Bradley forum and vice versa so being able to compare the two is not likely to happen.

You might post your question on www.letstalkbbq.com They cover pretty much every type and brand of smoker on the market.

Regardless of your choice, happy smoking!

[mengo210]

I just post here as I am new to smoker and I am sure there are people here that had both of them and with that kind of experience would be able to answer my questions.
Thank you all for try to show me the adv and cons from both smoker.

[NorthShoreMN]

Welcome to the forum,  I have had my Bradley 6 rack digital for over4 years and it has worked very well for what I want, low & slow with a smoke delivery that can be set for hours without constant tending. Used it yesterday for ribs. It is original unmodified. I do have other smokers and they have their specific uses.


Paul
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

[NePaSmoKer]

After many many years with a Bradley i recently went to a MES 40 and not looked back.

[piratey]

I started using a Bradley smoker in February.  My brother has an MES.  They are similar in some ways and different in some ways.  I liked the auto feed feature because I didn't want to have to keep putting chips into chip draw in an MES.  However, the briquettes are sort of pricey.  Recently, I got an A-MAZE-N pellet smoker tube which I use for cold smoking, and that has worked fine.  I also used it for hot smoking because I can buy pellets a lot cheaper than briquettes. 

Your question is pretty vague, so it is hard to answer.  in the MES, you have a concern that the heating element stops smoking?  Heating element shouldn't smoke, the chips smoke as they get heated.  In my brother's MES, the chips smoke until they are burned through, and then need to be replaced.  I think it takes about an hour, which means he has to go out each hour and check the smoke status and replace the chips.  That makes it a little more work.  The autofeed in the Bradley removes that concern, and if you do get an a-maze-n pellet smoker, they smoke for a long time, so that removes the concern. 

Give us some more questions, specific questions and we may be able to help you some more.

[piratey]

Also, I use the stock bradley with 500 watts heating element and temperature has not been an issue, however, I am in California, where it doesn't get that cold.  In other parts of the country, it may be an issue.

[tailfeathers]

I've got a 6 rack digital Bradley. I installed a 900 watt element. I control it with an Auber pid and almost invariably generate my smoke with a tube or tray using pellets. Haven't used the SG in a very long time. I love the setup I have but essentially the only thing "Bradley" about it is the cabinet itself. I highly recommend A-maze-n's tubes and Qmatz.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dave01]

Have the same setup as Tailfeathers and it works great

[TedEbear]

I have a 4-rack Bradley OBS.  I added a second 500W element to make it 1000W total, added a PID controller that's installed in the SG and I use a 12" A-MAZE-N pellet tube instead of pucks.  A #20 bag of pellets has lasted me well over a year, although I do not smoke things as often as a lot of people on here.  I think they were on sale for $15.

About the only stock Bradley thing left about my smoker is the structure itself and the name on the door.  The modified setup works well for my needs.

[tskeeter]

Sorry for the delay in responding, Mengo.  Been on the road.

Yes, I'm one of the Tim Taylor types.  I've got a dual element mod with an Auber PID controller.

The second element helps with smoking during the winter and with the winds that come off the Sierras.  And when I do things like smoke 30 pounds of pork shoulder for pulled pork.

The PID helps with the tight temperature control you want when smoking sausage and fish, as well as providing a power supply system that is rated for the demands of a dual element heating system.

Note that within the last few months a forum member wrote about replacing the stock heating element with a 750 watt finned element.  An element that size would keep the power requirements within the range that it appears a Bradley is designed for.