Just got my P10 - pucks getting jammed, and acrid smoke

[SammySmoker]

Hi,

Im new here, I just got my P10. It's my first electric smoker and first smoker from Bradley. I've set it up and im in the process of trying to season it but it just doesnt seem to want to work right. For some reason the pucks of wood just keep getting jammed. I've even tried taking it apart with a screwdriver to see what could be causing it, but nothing I could really see other than having to align the feeder tube absolutely correctly, but even then it still seems to jam.

I noticed this because when I first turned it on with the desired settings, the smell of the wood was acrid. It was not a pleasant sweet smoke smell, it was very bitter, and smelled burnt. I understand seasoning the unit will have chemical-like smells, but this is the wood puck itself. When I took a look at it, the puck was charred black. Is this normal? The 2nd puck got jammed. Again now having reset the smoker, the first puck went in but again the second one has jammed, creating the same acrid smell.

Is anyone else having this issue?

Cook time: 2 hours
Smoke time: 2 hours
Temp: 150F / 66C

[gizy-CA]

Hi...SammySmoker.

Welcome to the forum.
The first what you should do...try manually feed the wood pucks. Turn P10 on and wait for few seconds...till puck feeder stop...then load 3 pucks....do not set any smoke time nor heat temp/time....also remove container with water..to prevent pucks get wet so it let you use them again. Then push the button ( puck and arrow) till feeed shows on...and wait till process end, You will hear it. Do this 3 times (3 pucks) if all 3 pucks go thru it will means the feeder is good.
One more thing....before you turn the back switch on...make sure there is no old puck ..then load new 3 pucks to preform this test.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi SammySmoker;

Welcome to the forum.

Where are the bisquettes getting jammed at? Is it at the feeder tube, or after it travels under the cover? What bisquettes are you using?

The acrid smell could be caused by manufacturer's oils that remain on the parts that are burning off. It will take a few hours for those oils to burn off. You can burn those oils off without using smoke. Just follow the seasoning instructions without loading bisquettes, but turn on the bisquette burner, and set the time. Then you can season with smoke later on, and you will get a better idea of the actual smoke flavor. When fully burnt the bisquettes should be fully charred black.

A few things when you are following the advice that Gizy provided, watch the bisquettes as they load. The first one should seat directly on the turn table. When  that feeds, the turn table will make a half turn, slightly go beyond the feed point, then backup to allow the second bisquette to load directly on the turn table. Make sure the second one loads correctly. If not call Bradley, you may need to replace or align the positioning switch.

[Edward176]

Hello SammySmokere and welcome to the forum!!!

[SammySmoker]

Hi SammySmoker;

Welcome to the forum.

Where are the bisquettes getting jammed at? Is it at the feeder tube, or after it travels under the cover? What bisquettes are you using?

The acrid smell could be caused by manufacturer's oils that remain on the parts that are burning off. It will take a few hours for those oils to burn off. You can burn those oils off without using smoke. Just follow the seasoning instructions without loading bisquettes, but turn on the bisquette burner, and set the time. Then you can season with smoke later on, and you will get a better idea of the actual smoke flavor. When fully burnt the bisquettes should be fully charred black.

A few things when you are following the advice that Gizy provided, watch the bisquettes as they load. The first one should seat directly on the turn table. When  that feeds, the turn table will make a half turn, slightly go beyond the feed point, then backup to allow the second bisquette to load directly on the turn table. Make sure the second one loads correctly. If not call Bradley, you may need to replace or align the positioning switch.

First, thanks Gizy for the advice, it helped me better understand where the issue is stemming from.

I figured that the acrid smell was due to the puck jams. I am using the Bradley Oak pucks. The pucks are getting jammed on the turn table. Sometimes when it feeds a puck into the turn table, it doesnt drop directly into the hole, so it will be slanting downwards with one end slightly poking over the top of the hole in the turn table, as it tries to turn it to the heating element side, it gets jammed as its not sitting flat. When it gets stuck, it seems that it is not able to clear out the previous puck on the burner, so it just continuously burns creating that acrid smoke smell. I have to unjam it and remove the old puck from the burner. I think the issue is the feeder tube, its completely loose, its not attached to anything and I feel if its not directly over the turn table hole the pucks jam. It seems I cant go over 3 pucks without it jamming.

[Habanero Smoker]

It does sound like the problem is at the feeder tube. If the bisquettes got jammed under the cover then it is either your bisquettes got damaged, such as swollen due to moisture (that's what happened when I got a bisquette jam), or there may be damage to your cover.

If your feeder tube is positioned the way your described, you do not have it installed properly. To install the feeder tube correctly you need to squeeze it at the bottom, by hand. You need to squeeze it just enough so that it fits inside the collar of the bisquette dispenser cover. Slide the tube in until it rest on the lip inside the collar. Do not go down too far.

Bradley seems to have two different styles of feeder tube brackets. If you have a small "hook" on the back of your feeder tube, prior to pushing the feeder tube into the cover make sure you align that with the slot that is located on the wall. That helps keep the tube vertical, and also prevents you from pushing the feeder tube to far in to the cover.

Did you check the movement of the turn table? When it rotates, it should make a half turn. The slot for the next bisquette should go slightly past the feeder tube opening, then backup to align with the opening to allow the next bisquette to drop down. According to Bradley this is important to prevent jams. If the turn table does not do this, call Bradley.

As for acrid smoke, I don't subscribe to Bradley's theory of the length of time the bisquettes burn. I feel it is the temperature at which the bisquettes burn that prevents the acrid smoke. Though I have notice that the smoke flavor of the P10 is stronger than the smoke produce by my Original Bradley. That may be due to the Original bisquette burner is 125 watts, the P10 burners produce 200 watts.