Bubba puck too heavy????

[Ed1978]

I recently purchased 3 bubba pucks from yard and pool on ebay. So I loaded the bisquette and then 3 bubba pucks as the last pucks. All went well until the smoke generator tries to push the last bisquette before the first bubba puck. Somehow the bisquettes got stuck. I can see that the bubba puck and the bisquette are out of position. It's kinda hard to explain, but basically the puck advancer is trying to push the bisquette but unable to because the bisquettes are not aligned properly. I had to take out the bubba pucks and reposition the bisquette to advance the bisquette. This has happened twice and it's a non issue if I don't use the bubba pucks.

Is it possible this problem is because the weight of three bubba pucks are just too heavy for the puck advancer to work properly? Has anyone else experience this problem?

[West Coast Kansan]

With everything else being the same I have had the issue.  I call it my clean the smoke generator indicator.  :-\ I drilled out my pucks to make them lighter using the same thinking.  :-X  It still boils down to clean up the SG and all is well.  The worst occurs if the vent is not kept open enough to allow air to draw thru the SG and out the tower.  Smoke is not always a good thing  :-[ If I do my part even the wimpy little motors will do thier thing  :D

From the position description it would be worth verifing the push plate is drawing back completely  and allowing the back part of the puck to drop down onto the slide ???

[Ed1978]

I don't think it's the smoke generator fault.
The bradley is pretty new, about 2.5 months. I've used it maybe about 10 times.
The vent was half opened the first time I tried the bubba pucks, and fully opened the second time. Both time, the bubba puck stucked.
If I don't use the bubba puck, I don't experience the issue at all. All bisquettes are pushed without any failure.

Do you really think that the smoke generator need to be cleaned already after only 10 usages? How do I clean the smoke generator? I'm worried that I will screw up the smoke generator if I tried to open it up.

[West Coast Kansan]

Not sure, has just been my experience with the pucks and what is happening when I have had this experience.  There are whopping gobs of pucks being used without fail. I dont think the pucks are the issue.

From what your saying I am missing something else as being the problem.  10 is not a lot of use but depending on conditions smoke can be magical backing up.  Wind, size of the load restricting flow, position of the generator against something (gotta keep the SG louvers clear) no wind,  all of that.

If it cycles fine without them but miss fires with them my experience is goo film in the SG.

Lots of smart folks here maybe someone else has other experiences.

[beefmann]

Ed

i have experianced a simular situration with the puck advance .. sometimes it  would work while other times it  wouldent... my  cure is to buy a steam cleaner and use it to remove all the grease build up some of which may not be seen in the mechinism in the smoke generator.

I steam the puck tongue and any heavy grease build up every 6 to 10 uses and have not had a problem sence..

I will admit that i dont have bubba pucks though i have made my own version out of 2 inch copper pipe that was cut then filed smothe.. and washed throughly ..saving pucks and now the steamer is apart of my  smoke house and kept there..

you  are on the right track by keeping the vent open during the  smoking process.. though i do close mine 95 % when cooking.

just my  two cents

beefmann

[Ed1978]

I have steam cleaner, I'll try that route. If that doesn't help, I guess I'll just use the bubba puck as paper weight instead  >:(

[Habanero Smoker]

It's not the Bubba Pucks. I've been using Bubba Pucks for over 4 years. When I have this problem it is generally because a bisquette or two was not loaded properly. I have had bisquettes in the middle of the load be at a very slight angle (not even noticeable). Every thing will work fine until that misaligned bisquettes gets to the advance mechanisms and get jammed.

Other times it a bisquette that is swollen or misshaped.

[Wildcat]

I bought my bubba pucks from Chez when he was still in business.  He sold them in packs of 2.  I use 2 with 1 wood bisquett on top and have never had a problem.  I shake and blow out the wood chips after every use and have never taken the generator apart.  Still going strong after almost 2 years.

[Gizmo]

Based on my experiences, the bubba pucks have never caused a hang up issue but bisquettes not correctly loaded (as Hab mentioned) has caused a hangup as has the feeder tube not being positioned correctly.  One possible cause for what you are seeing with the pucks maybe the top bisquette or two may be slightly tilted and the weight of the pucks on top does not allow the pucks to bounce around and flatten out.  On your next attempt, verify the pucks are flat on top of each other.  I also slide them back against the back side of the tube so they are lined up vertically as well.  Hope this helps.

[lvigil]

Gizmo.... Right on the money...   The feeder tube must be aligned....  I also have the bubba pucks and every time I used them the pucks got hung up.  Once I aligned the feeder tube- no more problems.

[Ed1978]

I think I need to open the smoke generator and clean up the inside. I just got the problem again, and this time I'm not even using the bubba puck. I think whatever wood debris left inside the generator is making the feeder arm not working properly. I've noticed that the feeder arm pushes the bisquette twice to completely push it into the next cycle. First push is only halfway push, second is all the way. The bisquette get stuck after the first push, somehow the top bisquette drop halfway and block the feeder arm from pushing the bottom bisquette. I'm only getting this problem when there's only 2-3 bisquettes left in the feeder tube, not when there're still a lot. And I've made sure all the bisquettes are flat on top of each other. Is it normal for the feeder arm to push twice, not just once?

I read another posting from Gizmo.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=7364.0;topicseen

I'm thinking maybe I should clean inside of the generator. Gizmo, how do you open the smoke generator? Is it just simply unscrew all the screws? I've tried it one time when I've just purchased and received a defective smoke generator. I tried unscrewing the screws, thinking I could fix it, turned out once I unscrew the screws, something went loose inside and I couldn't tighten the screw anymore. Needless to say, I returned it and asked for replacement. I'm afraid I'm gonna do the same again this time and break the generator :(

[Habanero Smoker]

The bisquettes should completely feed in one cycle. It may be some debris in the drive guide, the tracks the "shuttle" rides on. If you haven't had your smoker too long try cleaning the drive guide first, that will save you form taking the cover off the generator.

You also may want to read this. This may be a possible problem.

Why do my bisquettes advance....

[Ed1978]

The puck advances every 20 minutes, so I don't think there's an issue with the cycle synchronization. I think the problem is more of wood debris. What do you mean by drive guide? Which part is that? and how do I clean it? Thanks.

[Habanero Smoker]

When the bisquette drop down and then get pushed to the burn, they are dropping down on is the drive guide. So if there is build up of debris where the shuttle has to move then you may have the problem you are describing.

[Ed1978]

If that's the drive guide then I don't see any debris on it. It does seems that the feeder arm is somewhat stuck by something though as it is not pushing the bisquette all the way out. The funny thing is that if I have the drive guide facing down while the feeder arm is pushing, it would push all the way out right away, it doesn't take two pushes. Something must have making the feeder arm stuck.

I think I'm gonna call Bradley customer service before trying to open the smoke generator.   :(