temp slow to recover

[SmokinHotPapa]

seem's like it takes the bds along time to recover after you open the door and load her up, do you guys have same problem?

[Ontrack]

Yeah, papa, that's pretty much the norm. The more or bigger pieces of meat you put in the longer it takes to recover. I had my 4 rack full of ribs yesterday and it took over an hour to come back up to my target temp. Some people will cover a rock or brick with aluminum foil and put it in the smoker to help recovery times, but I haven't tried it.

[armpower]

i am new at this, however i have read about putting a brick in the bottom to help maintan heat.   i have noticed with mine that the temp on the bds takes alot longer to come back than the temp on my maverick

so i have not worried to much about it.

hope that helps

good luck

[SmokinHotPapa]

any info much appreciated. I did crank the temp of the bds up and that did'ent make much diff either , I will  try a piece of fire brick thanx guys

[KyNola]

Papa,
You are absolutely correct.  It takes a long while for it to recover.  That's the nature of the beast.  As your meat comes up to temp, it won't take as long but in the early going, it is part of the deal.  Other than to refill the water pan as needed, try not to open the tower any longer than absolutely necessary.  Hang in there and don't panic or get discouraged.  Learning the quirks of the Bradley is part of the fun.

Keep rollin' smoke.
KyNola

[SmokinHotPapa]

I agree learing is everything, how often do you change water bowl?

[Smoking Duck]

I change it once, usually after the smoke is finished.  Other than that, no real need to change it.  It also helps if you put in the hottest water you can when changing.  This helps with the recovery time immensely, IMO.

[SmokinHotPapa]

I just changed half way through the cook put super hot water in it, i'll wait and see what happens. Let me toy with some ideas on temp recovery! this is way fun for me and all you guys im sure.

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

SmokinHotPapa,

The BS is heated by essentially a 500 watt light bulb (throw in another 100 for the puck burner). Not a whole lot of heat (just a bit more than 1/3 of your wife's hairdryer). Gotta avoid the temptation of peeking and losing your heat.  :o

Arcs_n_Sparks

[Gizmo]

SmokinHot,
You mentioned the loss of temp when you first load the BS.  Set the temp on high and preheat the BS to 260 or more.  The brick will also help from what has been mentioned here but I have not had to do that.  I keep the temp on high after loading until the box temp starts to recover.  The only problem with this is if you have food on the lower rack positions, the heat will be higher down there so if that is the case, you may want to drop the temp down shortly after loading to prevent uneven heating.  With the high heat preheat, the inside of the box will have a higher temp and help with recovery.  As the box temp recovers, adjust the set point down until you stabilize at the desired box temp.

[Consiglieri]

A couple of thoughts:

1.  I use the brick.  its on the bottom pan underneath the puck burner, to the left of the water bowl. 

2.  Like Giz says, preheat way above your target cooking temp.  When the box hits your target temp, you can adjust your temp setting.

3.  Make sure to allow time for the meat to get up to room temp.

4.  Avoid the temptation to check the meat during the first few hours of a smoke (several jokes posted about adding double paned windows to the door so that we can avoid the temptation).  Open to baste or rotate racks and do so as quickly as possible.  You might have to set down your beer for a bit, ;)

5.  Most here will swap out water after four hours.  Using hot water helps. 

Hope the food turns out great!

[KyNola]

Papa,
I can add nothing more.  These guys have you wrapped up.  They know of which they speak.

KyNola

[Lefty_Smoker]

When using a Bradley it is important to keep the following in mind.....
 
"If yer lookin', you ain't cookin!" ;D

[SmokinHotMama]

Thanks guys!  Slow but sure!  I think next time we will try the brick and see what happens.  Not bad for the first one, that is for sure!  Lefty, I like that theory...  "If you are lookin' you aint cookin'!"