G'day, eh? (from Canada) Bradley not Heating

[Yo!Adrian]

I was gifted a Bradley this Fathers Day by the teeneagers that claim I'm their father (i admit to nothing). Used it 6-7 times and now the box won't get to temp <ugh> I've smoked some wonderful deer burgers (Hickory & Apple) and some bear roasts. I had to finish them all in the house oven to get the meat to 165. This is a pain.

Called Bradley, got replacement control switch and inner heat temp sensor. Installed and still not reaching temp. Tested empty I got 250 on the temp gauge, methinks it should be higher. I expected to see well over 300.
Called Bradley again, they're sending a new heating element. The tech said they'd also send a replacement power cord, just in case. In the meantime I got an element on Amazon and installed it. Same results.
I'm getting 117v at the plug so that's not an issue.
Power connected directly to the box (bypassing the bricket motor thingy) works, I' get a red glow on the element.

There's no way this will get close to temp in the winter :(  It barely works now.

I've been combing the archives looking at the mods to add a 2nd element, it's tempting but I'm trying to get Bradley to fix this issue as i'm still under warranty. Anyone else have this issue with new smokers..?

Yo!Adrian
Port Dover, ON

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Yo!Adrian;

Welcome to the forum.

What vent opening do you have the vent set to. If it is too closed, and too much moisture builds up it will keep your temperatures down. Try setting it to 1/2 to 3/4 opened.

[Orion]

It sounds like you have put a good effort into resolving your issue.

The question is ... Do you really have an issue ? These smokers are great for smoking however not great for cooking due to the small element. This is why so many people have added a second element.

If your element glows orange and your burner ignites pucks then chances are it is working as designed. Vent opening, product loaded into it, ambient temps and conditions and product temperature can all limit temp rise and temp hold in the cabinet.

I would try bringing it up to temp in a controlled environment (garage or shop) with element and burner with no pucks and with no food and see how it behaves. Time the temp rise from start to max achieved.( vent at 3/4 open). This can be established within 1 hr. Report back and depending on your results you may be need to ask customer service to accept its exchange for a new unit.you haven't mentioned which size and model you have?

You have enough elements to put two good ones in. That would be my choice.