I know ... not really a "new" topic ... Temperature Control for BS611 help?

[dstidham]

I am new to smoking overall, and my first smoker is the BS611.  I have done three cooks/smokes with it now, and it has been a challenge to control the temperature.  Today, I decided to check a few things out and believe I have a defective unit, but wanted to share my observations with the masses here for your seasoned feedback.

1) I appear to have incorrectly assumed that with the SMOKE switch OFF, I could get heat in the cabinet from the rheostat knob, as it has an off click, and should increase the voltage as the knob turns from low to high.  I see 0 volts coming from the pigtail (short power lead from the smoke generator to cabinet) unless the smoke switch is ON also.  Is this correct behavior?

2a) With the rheostat knob in the off position and the smoke switch ON, I have approximately 65 volts coming from the pigtail.  I assumed that with smoke switch ON, and rheostat OFF, I should have 0 volts on the pigtail.  Is this normal to have voltage ALWAYS going through the pigtail when the smoke switch is ON?

2b) With the smoke switch ON, and the rheostat turned on to low, the pigtail voltage drops to approximately 58 volts.  Is this normal?

3) With everything turned on, as I turn the rheostat dial from low to high, the voltage output from the pigtail increases as expected, UNTIL the knob reaches about the divider between the 5/6ths mark and the 6/6ths mark when the voltage drops from the 90's VAC down into the 60's VAC.  The rheostat did not appear to exhibit this behavior with an ohmmeter.  I assume this should not happen, that the voltage output should steadily increase as the knob is turned from LOW to HIGH until it peaks at 110-115 VAC output on the pigtail.  Correct?  A side note here, the "OFF" light at the top of the smoke generator goes out when the rheostat dial is in the spot where the voltage drops off.

4) Assuming that to have heat in the cabinet, the smoke switch must be ON, the puck burner is not temperature controlled.  How does everyone compensate for the puck burner temperature contribution to the overall cabinet temperatures?  Especially when attempting to smoke at "low" on the temperature dial?

Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer these questions or share your comments, on what I'm sure aren't actually "new topic" items, even though I couldn't find old posts that touch on these.

David

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi David;

Just wanted to welcome you to the forum.

I have the Old Original Bradley, so I can't answer your questions. Hopefully someone will be along that can provide the answers.

[dstidham]

Thank you for the welcome ... what is the difference between the old and the new Original Bradley Smoker?  Is that anything like the "New Adventures of Old Christine"? 

[Habanero Smoker]

I not that familiar with that show. I kind of get stuck just watching a few channels. I need to expand my horizons. 

The Old Original Bradley had a slider control rheostat located underneath the door of the cabinet. So it was separate from the generator, and turning off the smoker switch on the generator had no effect on the rheostat. The reason for the redesign was that with the rheostat beneath the door it could short out from drippings that could flow out of the door. With the rheostat now integrated within the generator I don't know how everything is wired.

You can send your post to Bradley, for an answer. I would be interested in their answer.

support@bradleysmoker.com

[dstidham]

Thanks ... I may just do that - reach out to Bradley directly (although, I assumed they kind of monitored their own forum).

[Habanero Smoker]

I'm not sure how they monitor, or what they monitor for. Most monitoring seems to be for following forum policies.

There are times when someone from the support team will respond to a technical problem that is posted, but that is rare.