Overnight fire

[BBQ_Ben]

I think I had a fire in my smoker overnight while doing a brisket... Woke this morning and the seals were totally melted and the brisket is a loss. What did I do wrong???





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[KyNola]

If your brisket was touching the back or side walls of your smoker a likely cause of your fire was fat rendering from the brisket ran down the wall on to the heating element.  Another possible cause is that your water pan went dry allowing fat to drip on to hot smoldering pucks.

Just a couple of educated guesses but it seems most fires in a Bradley occur when smoking fatty meats such as a brisket or pork butt.  Hopefully the only thing you lost was your brisket and your Bradley.

[Smoker John]

 I agree with Kynola as far as the possibility goes. I use a Maverick remote wireless thermometer for overnight smokes so if the box or food exceed a preset temperature it will sound an alarm.

[watchdog56]

When I do butts or brisket, when the smoke time is done I take the water pan out and 1/2 fill a 9x13 foil pan with water and apple juice and place under butt or brisket on a rack then also change that out after 4 hours because sometimes there s enough fat drippings to start a fire.

[Grouperman941]

There is always a chance of a fire, esp with fatty cuts. Unlikely, but possible.

What you did wrong was leave it running overnight without some kind of temp alarm to let you know something was happening.

[BBQ_Ben]

I've used remote thermometers for doneness but not for fire risk. Do you have it in the meat or do you leave one floating for smoker temp?


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[Grouperman941]

I always have one probe hanging to monitor the cabinet temp, with the high temp alarm set to 350. I have only had one fire, and that, plus seeing a ton of odd colored smoke allowed me to catch it before it spread too far.

[watchdog56]

I have the maverick ET73 and it has  2probes. One for the smoker box and one for the meat.

[BBQ_Ben]

Ok. Finally got to assess the damage today. Scorched fat leaked out of the back corners of the unit which supports the idea that the meat touched there back wall when I turned the racks around before going to bed. Smoking unit seems fine but the heating element won't heat. Door seal is a melted mess. Any guesses about melted wiring or blown fuses? How would I even check? Bottom line - should I order some replacement parts and repair or is it time to shop for an upgrade? :)


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[Habanero Smoker]

I always look for an excuse to shop for an upgrade. :)

With a fire you need to worry about damaged wiring and melted insulation. Once you remove the back panel of the cabinet, that will give you a better idea of the extent of the damages. Also make sure you check the wiring connected to the ends of the heating element for damage.

With any fire, the high temperature switch is going to disengage, and stop the power from going to the element, also the inline fuse may have blown, so when ordering parts, it would be best to order both.

You may only need the magnetic seal for the door, but if the insulation inside the door is too damaged you may need to order the door itself. When ordering the door, it comes with the magnetic seal. The only way I can tell if there is damage to the insulation inside the door is to remove the thermometer. Looking at the insulation around where the thermometer is seated will give you an idea if there was any damage.

If you repair, it would be best to do a test run, and after the Bradley has been preheated, feel the sides, back and door for any hot spots. If you feel any hot spots, that is an indication that there may be insulation damage.

[BBQ_Ben]

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm looking at a new unit for Father's day :).  Question to y'all - go digital or smart smoker?


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[gricardsimplycol]

I see a lot of people posting problems with  smart and digital ones. I'm sticking with the old style ones

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[watchdog56]

I like my digital

[Johnny]

Me too!

[Smoker John]

No issues with my digital