Electronic Big bradley almost burned my house down under my porch! Warning!

[wahoo]

Hi Guys ---BEWARE_---- was smoking a Pork Shoulder all night next morning everything Ok...kept smoking.... water went low in bowl and grease accumilated, and caught fire....when i got to the Bradley it was an inferno! flames were touching the ceiling of my porch. door melted off hinges..That Hot! be careful under your porches this unit will catch fire, with the right situation.

The Bradley was completely Toast! :(

Best Wishes
Wahoo

[FLBentRider]

Yikes!

How often did you empty and refill the water bowl ?

[wahoo]

Only filled the bowl once.

Wahoo

[westexasmoker]

Karumba!!!  Thats some scary poop!  At least it didn't happen in the middle of the night! :o  :o

C

[FLBentRider]

I empty and refill the bowl at least once every four hours.

[manxman]

Sorry to hear about the BS being toast wahoo, just glad no-one was hurt.

[Buck36]

That is horrible! Thank you for the warning. I generally start mine before bed and let it smoke overnight without changing the water. It looks like I won't be doing that anymore!

[NePaSmoKer]

Sorry to hear that. Atleast you are all ok is the main thing.

I never do an overnite smoke, and i use a larger foil rectangle pan.

nepas

[car54]

Wahoo,

I am extremely glad that nothing worse had happened! It could have been very bad. I wonder if Bradley will send you a free replacement.
I do over night smokes and what happened to you is a big wake up call. Next time I do an over nighter I will use a larger throw away pan,

Brad

[FLBentRider]

I had a "spent puck stack" incident. It didn't cause a fire, but it could have if left unchecked. The spent pucks stacked up in a tower, and were not exstinguished. They were still smoldering, and the box temp was over 275.

I like the big pan idea, but it does not prevent spent puck stack.

[westexasmoker]

I think the big pan idea is excellent, and it might actually help with spent stack  since you have more surface area....don't know for sure but I like the plan!  I too don't do the overnight smokes anymore for this same fear, I'd rather pop it into the oven inside, a little more peace of mind!

C

[car54]

Thinking back, I do believe that there had been an other fire because the dip pan was put in up side down.

Brad

[HCT]

Glad to hear the only thing that was toast was the BS box.

[wahoo]

Thank all you guys for the support, as i go through this time of grieving for my smokey friend,  who now lives in Brisket Heaven.

Best Wishes
Wahoo

[Chez Bubba]

Wahoo,

Glad you're OK.

Anything like a butt or brisket requires at least one changing of the water bowl, maybe two. Not just an addition of water, but a complete dump & re-fill. The water evaporates, the fat soaks into the bisquette ash, and pretty soon you're making StarterLoggs.

I smoke butts overnight all the time and have never had a remote issue. I start them about 4-5 hours before I want to go to bed and switch out the water bowl just before I retire. However, I would never put any smoker under any part of my house. As you well know, anything could happen.

Thinking back, I do believe that there had been an other fire because the dip pan was put in up side down.

Brad

Brad, I'm assuming you're talking about the V-shaped pan. Yes, you are correct, improper installation of this component has made for nasty results. It's called a V-shaped pan, not an A-shaped pan for a reason!

Kirk