Got another puck advance problem

mow_delon · January 12, 2009, 12:00:56 PM

Hello all,
I have read through a bunch of these topics and haven't found quite the problem that I am having. I just got my OBS for Christmas and smoked some deer jerkey the next day (which turned out wonderful ;D). Everything seemed to be OK, but twice during the smoke, the pusher that advances the pucks got stuck and would make a clicking noise like a gear slipping on the advance motor. After the smoke was completed, I took off the cover and completely cleaned the advance unit. about 3 days later I was tring to smoke deer sticks, and had to put the pucks in one at a time because the puck advancer would get stuck and sit and click until I tapped on the box a few times. As soon as I finished the smoke, I again cleaned the puck advancer inside and out, but to no avail, it still gets stuck every time. The manual advance button works proplerly and the automatic advance goes every 19-21 minutes (not sure why there is difference in time here either). If anyone has any advice, I would sure appreciate it. Also, I have checked every trouble-shooting guide and all the advice I can find here.

pensrock · January 12, 2009, 01:05:13 PM

I'm not sure with the original bradley , I have a digital. But others have said if the puck pusher gets out of sequence to push the advance button and when it is half way advanced, unplug the unit. Then plug back in. I guess this gets it back in sequence. I have never tried it but its worth a shot.

Hopefully others will be chiming in with other ideas and clarify what I was trying to explain.

Welcome to the forum.
pens

Mr Walleye · January 12, 2009, 01:37:14 PM

Hi Mow_Delon and welcome to the forum.

Pens pointed out the one problem that sometimes occures. Another problem I have heard of is the Puck tube itself is not seated correctly. You could try checking that.

The other thing is, because it is new and still has warranty don't hesitate to phone Bradley. Their customer service is second to none and will make it right with you.

Congrats on the jerky too! ;)

Also, there is a FAQ over on the recipe site. Here's a link...
http://susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?p=748#post748

And, if you haven't already, click on the smoker in the bottom of my post, tons of tried & true recipes for the Bradley over there from all the great members here on the forum.

Mike

Ed1978 · January 12, 2009, 02:25:55 PM

Try pushing the puck feeder tube all the way down. Don't worry about breaking anything, you will not :) The puck could get stuck if the tube is not all the way down, even if it's only by 1/4 inch.

manxman · January 12, 2009, 02:34:41 PM

Welcome to the forum. :)

I had a couple of faulty generators when i first got my OBS, one of which was similar to what you describe.

In my case it was a fault with the metal rods that drive the advance mechanism that were catching and then freeing up with a clicking noise.

A replacement under warranty was the only option, i am sure Bradley will sort you out with one.

HCT · January 13, 2009, 06:26:39 AM

Hey Mow, welcome to the forum.

mow_delon · January 13, 2009, 10:31:38 AM

Thanks for the Info everyone, but I went ahead and took the whole thing apart and found out that the plastic output shaft on the motor that runs the pusher was not straight or "true". This caused the push arms to bind in the same place in the rotation every time, with or without pucks. I filed it down and made it turn true so the arms no longer were binding when the rotation was made. Then I replaced the washer with a thicker one where the arms attach to the motor, which has kept the push arms flatter during the motor's rotation. I have ran the cycle about 50 times and it never got stuck or clicked at all. Am going to try another jerkey batch this week and see if that fixed the problem completely. If not, it sounds like Bradley has a wonderful customer service department.

One other question I have is if anyone has had problems with the smoker getting warm? I can't seem to get it over 150 degrees F unless it is completely empty, and even then only can get to about 170. Is it not possible to try to smoke in 10 degree temps or do I have something else I am doing wrong?

Caneyscud · January 13, 2009, 12:45:46 PM

Dumb questions, but how are you measuring the temps? Are you using the thermometer on the front of the OBS? They are not always correct. Is the thermometer calibrated correctly? Double check with an oven thermometer sitting on one of the racks or use a remote or any number of ways. Somebody else will have to talk about the 10 degree ambient thingie - I ain't never!

BTW - welcome to the forum Mow!

Shakespeare

pensrock · January 13, 2009, 01:54:00 PM

When you are heating up open the door and see if the heating element is glowing red. You may only be getting heat from the puck burner. Also like was stated earlier, its important to be able to check the actual temp inside and not to rely on the door thermometer.

mow_delon · January 13, 2009, 04:32:18 PM

Thanks again for the info guys. The heating problem seems to have disappeared. I plugged in the tower this morning straight to the wall and it heated the smoker to 230 F in about an hour. This afternoon, I was showing the smoker to my cousin Andy and had it plugged in through the smoke generator as it is supposed to be and in about 40 minutes it was up to 255-260 F ;D. I have no idea why I could not get heat last time, but it seems to be working fine now. I also used the puck advance about 20 more cycles and no problems yet :-\, so we'll see. Thanks again to all you who read my problem and to those who took the time to try and help me out. This forum is awsome.

BTW-had time to check out the recipe forum, Walleye, boy o boy am I excited to get some use out of my new smoker!!!!

Mr Walleye · January 13, 2009, 04:59:50 PM

Glad ya got it sorted out Mow_Delon! ;)

Now get that baby smokin'! :D

Keep us posted on your projects.

Mike

mow_delon · January 17, 2009, 04:03:35 PM

smoked some venison jerkey yesterday and today, and while the meat turned out great, my smoke generator just won't push the pucks. If I have one on the pusher it will advance fine, but if I have the tube on and fill it with pucks, it just sits there and clicks :(. Gonna have to give the Bradley customer service line a try. Oh well.

KyNola · January 17, 2009, 07:44:30 PM

Hey Mow,
Is it possible your tube is out of round so that when you stack the pucks in it, the tube is preventing the pucks from dropping into the position so they will be advanced to the puck burner? The problem pretty much has to be with the tube. You might try taking the tube out of the generator, hold it vertical with the end that was in the generator is on the floor and put some pucks in it. Now slowly raise the tube and see if the pucks slide through. If they hang, there's your problem. Another question, did you try turning the tube over and placing the other end in the generator to see if that fixes the problem? Still another question, if the tube is in place and there are no pucks in the tube and you press the advance button, can you look down in the tube and see the "pusher" slide to the left and then back to the right? I hate to ask this question as it has been asked already, any chance the tube is not seating properly?

Gots to be the tube. Hope this helps.
KyNola

tsquared · January 17, 2009, 10:36:53 PM

Mow, I had the same problem as you--intermittent feeding. After taking the smoke generator apart to clean and grease a few times, i hit on the low tech but very successful solution of putting a piece of 1by 2 under the 2 legs of the smoke chamber on the generator side, thus slanting the burn tray down slightly towards the bowl and easing the pressure on the advance mechanism. Haven't had a problem since. Gravity works!
T2

mow_delon · January 19, 2009, 11:35:34 AM

Just to put this topic to rest,
Called Bradley today and the rep said that the gear in the motor was stripped due to the feeder tube not being pushed all the way in the first time I used the smoker. Oops :-\. Just wanted to let everyone know however, that Bradley customer service is pretty dang good. Not even a hesitation about sending me a new motor. Hopefully everything will be good to go from here on out.

PS...The jerky I made this weekend turned out fantastic!!!!! Could just about pull it apart and eat it as pulled venison!!