New Member

[Highland Haggis]

Hi all.
Decided to give this smoking malarkey  a go as all I heard for years from my American buddies is smoke this, smoke that so got hold of a digital Bradley 4 rack. Let the smoking begin.

[Edward176]

Congratulations Highland Haggis and Welcome to the Forum. Most of us started out the same way and are hooked on it :)
I love my Bradley 6 rack digital and my wife keeps asking what I'm smoking next. Looks like she's enjoying the "fruits of my labour" more so than I.

[Orion]

Hey Highland Haggis. There are lots of us using the 4 rack digital model so there's lots of experience and help available to you.

Is it new or used? Any modifications already done or planned ?
Maybe you should try smoking a giant haggis to get started.

[rnmac]

Hello Highland Haggis & welcome to the forum.
Hope this is going to be a great adventure for you.

[Highland Haggis]

Hi, it's a new smoker. No mods yet, will get used to it first but the weather over here isn't exactly a sunshine location so I can see the heat element mod probably in the future or fitting the unit in some form of box for insulation. Only time we see the sun is on tv. Feels like we only have 3 seasons, spring, autumn and winter with rain, rain and rain although last year was strangely sunny for 10weeks.yes I said 10 weeks. Looking forward to having a go with smoking everything and taking lots of info from here from your shared experience.

[Orion]

New is good. While they are a great smoker and make smoking food easy I can tell you that the sooner you make an element modification the happier you will be.

Whether you add a second original element or upsize to 900 watts it is a must IMO for even basic smoking, especially in cold wet climates like you described. Smoking with the BDS is meant to be low and slow so anywhere you can save some time is invaluable.

Preheat, recovering heat after door opening and holding temperature in cold windy conditions is all greatly improved with a second element. You might want to gather the few materials needed and make that change as soon as your warranty expires as changes will effect warranty. Having said that, Bradley customer service and product support is about as good as it gets. I upgraded my burner before warranty even expired because the unit struggled with just a 500 watt element. It's worth noting that the newest models come stock with 1000 watt elements.

Really hope you have good success and enjoyment with your new smoker.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Highland Haggis;

Welcome to the forum. Have fun, and learn how your smoker operates.

Depending on what you are planning to smoke the most, a heat upgrade may not be necessary. There is a member on the forum from the Isle of Man, and I don't believe he has ever added an additional element. Though your weather sounds a little dreary to me, it may be the best weather to smoke fish, sausage, and cold smoking ect. If you want to cook the type of barbecue we have here in the Americas; such as pulled pork, brisket, chicken etc. the additional heat will come in handy.

[manxman]

Welcome to the forum Highland Haggis. We share similar weather to you... good for cold smoking though!

I have modified a small wooden shed to protect my Bradley and it can accommodate both hot and cold smoking whatever the weather and IMHO well worth the extra investment.  :)

[manxman]

Habs just beat me to it, I am that person from the IOM!  :)

No I have never bothered adding an additional element because firstly I mainly cold smoke, secondly whilst the 500 watt element is a bit tedious at times it usually copes and thirdly I have learnt when it is going to struggle and cold smoke say a pork butt then cook low and slow in the kitchen oven so all in all I get by.... conversely not always traditional US BBQ but damn good all the same!  For example I always do a Christmas Ham using the 3rd method with no complaints!  8)

I did invest in an Auber PID (I have an original BS) which are very useful when hot smoking.

[Highland Haggis]

I was considering installing in the shed as I live in the countryside out in the open and we get battered by the elements pretty much all the time and retro fitting a small chimney extension to the outside of the shed from the smoker and that way it saves the hassle of moving it around from pillar to post to avoid the wind,rain etc.Wonder if anyone on here has had any success with a flu for the smoker??
I'm determined to replicate our US BBQ'ers buddies pulled pork,ribs & brisket for starters.

[Orion]

Installing in a small shed is an excellent idea and many have done that. Some just use a small inline duct fan and enough ducting to route the smoke overboard . Think little fans from old computers or the like... probably find one at no cost. I recently gave mine a permanent location on my covered deck so no smoke routing is required for me. One thing I find is that having it in plain sight and ready to go inspires me to use it far more often. I used to keep it in the garage in its original packaging and tended not to drag it out that often . Come winter I will probably box it up again and store for occasional use only.

You do realize we will be expecting pictures of your first smoke right?:)

[manxman]

I did exactly that with a small pent shed which has enough space to convert the Bradley from hot to cold smoking. I installed a vent directly above the smoker vent so most of the smoke passes straight out. However the shed is dedicated to the smoker so it doesn't matter if it gets a bit smoky, it does negate the need to lug the smoker around and set it up each time.

Seem to remember that others have managed to install a flue on their smoker or made use of a cooker hood type extractor... maybe try a forum search?

[Highland Haggis]

I've devised my master plan. Rather than cutting holes in shed I'm cutting a hole in glass and fitting a manual fan vent with a simple"u" bend attached with smoker vent sitting directly below "u" bend. Will let you know if it's a success.

[manxman]

Good luck :)

[Habanero Smoker]

Looks like a good plan.