Aftermarket wood discs for Bradley Original?

[arnieminter]

I am assuming that this is an open forum and that you can speak honestly without being edited or censored.  Got my new "Original" a couple of days ago.  Love it, EXCEPT, I can see now that I won't be able to use it as much as I want.  I can't afford the wood discs.  Does anyone know about any aftermarket wood that can be used in the Bradley Original?  Surely there must be something more reasonably priced that will do the job.  I figure the profit from these discs must be upwards of 6oo%.  C'mon, make 100% profit.  That's fine.  Bradley would probably double the sales of their smoker, and continue to make a nice 100% profit on all of the wood they sell.

If there is a vendor that has a product that can be used , please tell me.and where.  Write to my email if you'd like:

[email protected], if you don't feel comfortable using this forum to tell me (and others, I'm sure)

Thanks

[West Coast Kansan]

Welcome Ted, This forum gets as non bradley as they come from time to time.  I agree the wood is the blade of this Razor business.  I have seen estimates that peg operation at about $1. an hour for the Bradley.  That is a pretty good fit for me having driven around to hickory sources in the past. There are members here who also distribute these devices, amazon.com has pretty good deals and once in a while others post deals they come across.

Where have you shopped and what are you paying?

Your question is what this forum is for... hope you don't end up with just a decorative smoker... Let us know what is happening.

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

arnieminter,

Welcome to the forum. Pucks are running about 30 cents apiece. For a three to four hour smoke, that is $3 to $4. I know my adult beverage bill watching the smoker is more than my puck bill. Figuring in what brisket or butts costs, pucks are pretty minimal.

Arcs_n_Sparks

[FLBentRider]

W E L C O M E to the forum arnieminter!

I buy the 120 packs, it gets the cost per puck a little lower, like the others have said. I guess if you weigh the convienence factor against the price of the supplies, for me the Bradley comes out way ahead. I've used other smokers, and this one is hands down the easiest to get it right without alot of futzing.

[aces-n-eights]

I don't know of any alternative wood pucks for the Bradley.  Some guys here have tried to make their own with some success, but ultimately it seemed to be too much work/hassle to make them yourself.

I pay roughly .35 per puck and i knew before i bought the Bradley that the wood was more expensive than the "bag of chips".  Many of my recipes take 2-3 hours of smoke so that costs me $2-3 per smoke.  A bit more, but the ability to set and forget makes up for the small additional cost, IMO.

BTW, welcome to the forum and be assured you won't be flamed for asking this question.

[KyNola]

Ted,
First of all, welcome to the forum and thank you for posting your concern here.  I thought long and hard before I responded as I had several different thought paths I went down.  I finally settled on the fact that once you start turning out the quality of food that the Bradley is capable of turning out, the cost of the pucks will be more than worth it.  Cost is relative.  I just smoked 19 pounds of bacon this weekend.  The cost of the 23 pounds gross weight of pork belly was $46.00.  The cost of the cure was minimal.  I used 9 pucks of apple wood.  Go to your local grocery and price 19 pounds of bacon.  I know I'm money ahead AND the quality is so much better than store bought.  How do I know?  When I mentioned I was doing bacon, 5 different friends asked if they could buy bacon from me because they had tasted my first batch.  I don't smoke foods to sell but it told me I was doing something right.

I know the economy is tough right now but believe me, you will find the cost of the pucks well worth it.  If not, hang around on the forum anyhow.  Lots of good folks here.

KyNola  

[westexasmoker]

Welcome to the forum..am

I too was a bit worried about the cost involved with this new contraption I purchased, and the puck cost was my biggest worry.  With my offset a bag of mesquite (shocking I know) roughly 50 lb cost me right at 12.00, now granted I finished everything in the offset....so I'd get 2 smokes out of that bag, one for saturday and one for sunday so times 4 for a month 48.00 bucks, and ya gotta keep in mind fireing up the grill with charcoal with some wood, so may have been a bit more than that!  Still keep some wood on hand for the grill, but typically I've got some trimmed from trees laying about!  I'm with Ky for the quality of vittles coming out of the BS, and I think my wood bill is a bit lower or if nothing else the same, you won't be disappointed!  I wouldn't mind trying my hand at making my own pucks, to save a buck, but alas I'm usually told to go mow the yard!  So time and the whole set and forget is worth the extra money, if there is that much more expense!  The best way I justify it, is go to my favorite Q shack and a chopped beef sandwich(and they are good) cost me right at 5.00 bucks, then I realize....nope not that expensive for me to make my own, and why the heck I'm not opening my own Q shack!!   ;D  Anywho  Good luck and let us know!

C

[firerescueman]

Welcom to the forum, Ted!

I am fairly new here myself.  But let me tell you,   go to Amazon and watch for their specials.  They will often run Buy 3,  get 1 box free and sometimes they offer free freight on top of that!   Also,  it does in fact cut the cost per puck WAY down if you buy them in larger quantities.   I would suggest buying a sampler box off of ebay or Amazon and see what types of wood you like.  Once you cook a few times and figure out your favorite woods.......   STOCK UP!!!   Buy them in boxes of 120 and you will save.   The Bradley Store has them right now on Ebay for buy 3 get 1 free in lots of 120.

The quality of the food that comes out of this little smoker is beyond what can be described in common words.   I have tried for years to smoke many different kinds of food,  but because my job requires that I be subject to callout 24/7/365...  I sometimes end up having to leave right in the middle of a smoke.   By the time I could get home,  (with other smokers) the temp had been down for a long time and I was scared of the food.  With this smoker....  I can "set it and forget it"!  And since I bought mine a few short months ago,  I have turned out some of the best pulled pork,  ribs,  salmon, brisket,  fatty's,  smoked meatballs,  chicken wrapped in bacon,  turkey,  more ribs.......   well,  you get the picture!


I promise you that it is well worth the extra cost for the pucks......  I tell you what,   buy some and try the smoker a few times.   If you aren't happy with the food,  I will buy your extra pucks....  deal?


Have fun and let us know what you cook!


(and just for the record.....  NO!  I do not get a commission from Bradley for the testimonial.)


Jeff

[arnieminter]

Thanks to all of you for your warm welcomes.  I guess if I can pop down $6.50 for my favorite margarita, I can accept $6.50 for 20 or 25 pieces of wood that translates into 7, or so, hours of succulent smoking (the margarita doesn't last that long)

[Lefty_Smoker]

I don't find the Bradley espensive to operate at all.  The wood bisquettes work out to be $0.75/hour, if you shop wisely.  Not bad imho, when you compare it to any other smoker out there, they all use charcoal, wood, etc...  At $0.75/hr, I think the Bradley is more than reasonable.

Plus keep in mind that even if you are doing a butt or two in your Bradley, it might take 15 hours in all, but you don't need to apply *smoke* the whole time.  They turn out just as well with 4-5 hours of smoke, then heat only after that until they are done.  You aren't actually burning 15 hours worth of wood pucks.

 

[sherlock]

Just checked on Amazon. Depending on the "flavor", you can buy three packs of forty-eight for $15.89 each and get the forth one free, ($47.67 for 192 pucks), thats only $0.25 each which equates to $0.75 per hour.

Can't beat that with a stick......................................

[Oldman]

Thanks all for answering this question. The one thing I would like to add is that with the Bradley you always get "clean" smoke. No after-taste that can happen with burnt pellets.

When I started using the Bradley years ago it cost me dime over a dollar per hour. Today it still cost me about the same.

I've always contended that Wade Bradley is not in the business of selling smokers. He is in the business of selling the consumable.  That is just good business.

IMO for what this unit does and the cost of running it is a real deal for us.
Olds

Olds

[Smokin Soon]

I also tried the offset smoker and was never happy with it. Too much work for questionable results, cannot maintain temps for those long haul smokes, the Bradley has cured all of that. I use my Bradley every weekend and budget for it. When a no tax free shipping deal comes up, stock up! Could be I'm just lazy, but if you read the experts on the forum you will have perfect smokes every time and find it is worth every penny! Smoke on!

[iceman]

Thanks all for answering this question. The one thing I would like to add is that with the Bradley you always get "clean" smoke. No after-taste that can happen with burnt pellets.

When I started using the Bradley years ago it cost me dime over a dollar per hour. Today it still cost me about the same.

I've always contended that Wade Bradley is not in the business of selling smokers. He is in the business of selling the consumable.  That is just good business.

IMO for what this unit does and the cost of running it is a real deal for us.
Olds

Olds

Ditto that Old's  ;D

[manxman]

Thanks all for answering this question. The one thing I would like to add is that with the Bradley you always get "clean" smoke. No after-taste that can happen with burnt pellets.

When I started using the Bradley years ago it cost me dime over a dollar per hour. Today it still cost me about the same.

I've always contended that Wade Bradley is not in the business of selling smokers. He is in the business of selling the consumable.  That is just good business.

IMO for what this unit does and the cost of running it is a real deal for us.
Olds

Olds

I also agree with Olds, it costs us about £1 / $2 per hour here in the UK and I think it is well worth the money for the quality of the product.

Of course I would like to see them cheaper but it ain't going to happen, however got some friends going to the US soon for 3 weeks holiday and I hope to pursuade them to take an extra holdall with them to bring back full of pucks!

We are looking after their dogs when they are away so if they want their dogs back !!??   ::) ;D ;)