CrAzY Bisquette Advance Problem

[johnhardy1]

OK I've been scouring the forums here trying to find someone with the same wacky situation as me but I cant so Ive decided to post my problem:

Today I started my 2nd ever pork shoulder...I decided on a variation of Sauce Bauce's recipe....this time around I decided on a bit more smoke than the first time and use 16 pucks plus 3 dummy pucks.  My calculations tell me thats 5hrs, 20mins of smoke.  Since it wasnt going to be done by dinner time I decided to take the family to a local mexican joint.  A friend of mine came with us and time got away from me.  By the time we returned a total time of 7 1/2 hrs had elapsed since the first puck had hit the outer burning position of the Bradley.  I had set the temp setting to 190 and the internal temp was only at 153....whew....it wasnt overdone. To my astonishment though 4 bisquettes still remained in the hopper and the Bradley was still a-smokin'!!  Nothing had jammed and ultimately, now that the butt has been removed from the smoker, im counting 16 burnt bisquettes......so whaaaat happened?!?!?!?! 

My only conclusion is that the smoker experienced intermittent bisquette advance failures.  Some of the bisquettes do look very burnt, small and grey while others do not.  Has anyone had this type of problem?
I guess I'll have to call Bradley come Monday.  Just hoping someone can shed some light on this problem for me until I talk with the Bradley folks.

Thanks!

[FLBentRider]

W E L C O M E  to the Forum johnhardy1!

It sounds to me like an advance timing issue, or a feed issue. I would be curious to here what Bradley Support has to say.

[Habanero Smoker]

Sometimes there could be up to 22 minutes between cycles, but for twelve bisquettes that would only add about an additional 24 minutes. The only time this has happened to me is when I've had a jam. I've read other reports that members have experienced this problem and have used the following fix.
Advance Problems

When you returned, did you try to advance the next bisquette manually to see if it had jammed at that point?

[iceman]

Hab is pointing you in the right direction john. I run into a jammed puck on some of my smoke generators and the same type of timing issue comes up. The puck does not advance the first time but 20 minutes later when it cycles again it goes on through. This would explain the extra crispy puck because of the extra time on the burn plate. If you happen to be around when it jams, a simple push of the advance button usually fixes the problem. You might also take a careful look at the pucks. Some get swollen a bit more than others and tend to hang up or a piece breaks off one and causes things to hang up. Good luck and BTW Bradley is real good to deal with so don't hesitate to call them with questions. Happy smoking.

[mrphilips]

hey guys,
i realize this is an aged thread, but it's definitly got the right start, so i'm re-heating it.

i have at least two bisquette advance issues:

a) it seems my bisquettes do not always advance every 20. i find ashen puck remains on the burner and half-burnt pucks in the "next-to-burn" position. i've noticed it on and off, but it's always when i'm cooking so until this brisket finishes, i'm just gonna check on it every 20 min or so and auto advance if required.
i've read all the susan minor FAQs and the suggestions and will impliment them if required, but i think it would make sense to run the machine closely watched for a few hours outside of the chamber sometime and gather some data.

b) my auto-advance seems to have OCD. if i hit that button, it will auto advance everytime... but frequently it will repeat and push twice - or more! i watched it push three pucks in a row today when i first turned it on. obviously, unless it's one of the cases above where i have a burnt-to-ash puck on the burner and a half-burnt puck next in line, this is just a waste of pucks if i'm not there to catch it and re-shuffle any extra-pushed pucks back into the feeder tube.
i have yet to see that specific complain anywhere else on the forum... anyone have any thoughts?

[devo]

Sounds like your micro switch is out of wack. I had to bend mine back into position and it solved the same type of problem your experiencing.

[mrphilips]

micro-switch, eh? sounds tiny... (the only switch i see is the one on the front of the box!)

anywhere you see this operation on a blog or forum, or can you point me in the right direction?

(and maybe i should call Bradley first, as my guy is pretty new...)

[devo]

I know Habs has good pictures on http://www.susanminor.org but right now i just can't find the thread. So basically you need to turn your generator upside down and take the 8 OUTSIDE screws out. The cover will then come apart like a clam. Inside your will see the arm that triggers your micro switch. Mine was bent down from the arm so it didnt hit the switch every time. If the switch is not actived you will screw up your cycle. Hope this helps but this is just going from memory.

[mrphilips]

hmm... i'm handy and all, but it's still a bit vague.
that being said, maybe i should get in there anyway and look around - learn a few things, and maybe solve my problem and give it a clean-up while i'm at it.

but, i'll be calling bradley monday anyway, just to make sure i'm not voiding warranty.
thanks for the advice devo.

(i'll let ya know what pans out)

[devo]

Well if you call Bradley on monday and talk to Brian he will walk you through it. Taking it apart is a good idea to do just to clean it out. You will be amazed how much wood chips get in there.

[Habanero Smoker]

i've read all the susan minor FAQs and the suggestions and will impliment them if required, but i think it would make sense to run the machine closely watched for a few hours outside of the chamber sometime and gather some data.

Ah, Ha!! You didn't read all the FAQ's (just kidding)

You will find the information about the micro switch by clicking the below link:

Why are the bisquettes continuously feeding.....

The link may not take you to the exact post. If often takes you to the post above. If you don't see the post you are looking for scroll down a bit.

[mrphilips]

ah! dude, i did read them all... but when i read that one i assumed the "continuous" was a different error (like, over and over without stopping). mine seems to be just doubling or tripling up from time to time, but hey - if that's the fix, that's the fix, and i appreciate the nudge!

i'm still calling bradley to be safe, but now i have a detailed guide if i do get in there.
it doesn't explain the bent thingy that devo mentioned, but without having had a good look, i'll reserve my questions until i'm good and sure i do(n't) know what i'm talking about.

thanks for the help guys!

[mrphilips]

...and now it's not advancing at all. 
pressing the button, it sounds like something is humming, but nothing is moving.
i just moved them around by hand and will continue to do so for the next hour or so until my meat is smoked, then i'm calling this onhold until i figure out what the eff.

[mrphilips]

so, i took it all apart (after clearing it with Brian - does not void warranty) and he suggested i may need to losen the screws holding the motor in place, physically push it closer to the micro-switch, and re-fasten it.
i did so, as well as clearing out some built-up smoke-fudge and wood debris, and i seem to be getting my manual pushes back, as well as no missed or duplicitous pushes!
thanks to everyone who got me this far.

funny thing is, every now and then, the motor goes the other direction...
i saw the thread that mentions this in the susanminor FAQs, but what i have here seems bigger than that... as i test this unit by letting it run for hours and also by manually hitting the advance button, the direction the motor turns seems random each time. switching the unit on or off mid-cycle will sometimes also swap the direction.

although it seems to be working normally in terms of 20-minute advances and functional manual-advances, i'm now concerned about the other issue - my unit is going counter-clockwise as often as it goes clockwise!

i left a VM for brian, but he seems busy today. i will await a response, but if anyone out there has an idea, i'd love to hear it!

[Tenpoint5]

so, i took it all apart (after clearing it with Brian - does not void warranty) and he suggested i may need to losen the screws holding the motor in place, physically push it closer to the micro-switch, and re-fasten it.
i did so, as well as clearing out some built-up smoke-fudge and wood debris, and i seem to be getting my manual pushes back, as well as no missed or duplicitous pushes!
thanks to everyone who got me this far.

funny thing is, every now and then, the motor goes the other direction...
i saw the thread that mentions this in the susanminor FAQs, but what i have here seems bigger than that... as i test this unit by letting it run for hours and also by manually hitting the advance button, the direction the motor turns seems random each time. switching the unit on or off mid-cycle will sometimes also swap the direction.

although it seems to be working normally in terms of 20-minute advances and functional manual-advances, i'm now concerned about the other issue - my unit is going counter-clockwise as often as it goes clockwise!

i left a VM for brian, but he seems busy today. i will await a response, but if anyone out there has an idea, i'd love to hear it!

I can help with the part in red, it's really easy. DON'T SHUT it off while it is in mid cycle!! or simply DON't DO DAT it don't like it!!

OK OK i'll go back to my corner now