Running Bradley Without smoke

JakeDatank51 · January 22, 2016, 07:16:10 AM

This may be a crazy question but here it goes. I know you only smoke food for 2-4 hours. I am going to be buying Bradley with a PID mainly for snack sticks (have an offset stick burner for ribs buts extt..) Now for snack sticks i know the first hour is no smoke to dry the casing. Can you run the Bradley original without using bubba pucks or make shift pucks? Can you just run the heating element inside the Bradley without running the smoke generator. Sorry if this is a crazy question :)

TedEbear · January 22, 2016, 07:23:29 AM

Yes, the Bradley can be run with just the chamber heating element and the smoke generator turned off. The SG box has an ON/OFF switch for the smoke generator and an ON/OFF variable thermostat for the cooking chamber. It's a good idea, especially in the cold winter, to leave the SG on for its additional 125W of heat. If you do not want to add smoke just leave the pucks out of it.

Habanero Smoker · January 22, 2016, 01:00:43 PM

I don't have the New Original Bradley (BS611), but from what I've read from members that have them, the bisquette burner will be on when you turn on the heat. Even though the bisquette burner is on, you don't have to load any bisquettes.

JakeDatank51 · January 22, 2016, 01:25:35 PM

Ok so running the smoker without pucks wont hurt it? Why do people buy Bubba pucks then?

Wildcat · January 22, 2016, 06:35:33 PM

To push the remaining wood pucks off the burner plate.

TedEbear · January 22, 2016, 07:31:06 PM

Here's a detailed explanation: What are Bubba pucks?

tskeeter · January 22, 2016, 08:08:33 PM

Quote from: JakeDatank51 on January 22, 2016, 01:25:35 PM
Ok so running the smoker without pucks wont hurt it? Why do people buy Bubba pucks then?

Running the smoke generator without running pucks across the burner plate doesn't seem to be a problem. I've been doing that for three years and I haven't seen any adverse impact on the smoke generator.

Habanero Smoker · January 23, 2016, 01:48:27 AM

Also after applying smoke, many of members keep the bisquette burner on for the full cook for the additional heat. So there is at least one benefit for the burner being on the full time.

JakeDatank51 · January 23, 2016, 09:58:41 AM

So it may be a good idea to get a bubba puck to push last puck into water pan. Or you just have to open cooking chamber after the 20 min of last puck and remove it manual correct?

tskeeter · January 23, 2016, 10:39:09 AM

Quote from: JakeDatank51 on January 23, 2016, 09:58:41 AM
So it may be a good idea to get a bubba puck to push last puck into water pan. Or you just have to open cooking chamber after the 20 min of last puck and remove it manual correct?

That would be three bubba pucks to push the last puck off of the puck burner and into the water pan.