Beware of Bradley Smokers

I purchased a Bradley (4)rack one - about two months ago - and write up is completely different than

what I have experienced -  It's prefect !  I have smoked ribs, chicken, salmon and a turkey breast -

no issues - you should have them replace it -

Had mine for 4 plus years and it works great

Steveinthesprings
Colorado Springs, CO

Have had a Bradley Smoke Generator for about 4 yrs. now, No complaint works great. I love that I can load it and forget it.

I am very pleased with my Bradley smoker. However, it is advaisable to drill a hole and introduce a meat thermometer in the smoker to make sure the temperature is correct. For those who is keen on saving money on the pellets, just take a branch of desired wood and cut discs to the size of the pellets. Make sure they are dry, otherwise you will just get steam for a period before they will produce any smoke. It is the same with the pellets, keep them in a very dry place.

Yngve Strom

Sweden

Hi All,

I am hoping someone can help... I've just used my Bradley 4 rack digital smoker for the first time.  I am using the Hickory wood and after two hours of operation I notice that it hasn't "smoked" any of the wood.  The wood chips are just pushed into the bowl... the heat is working fine, but the smoke does not work at all.  I have set the correct settings for Oven Temp and Smoke Temp... does anyone know what I can do to possible fix this?

Very disappointing...

Here is a link to the Bradley posts on this forum.  Hopefully you can find some help here.  Otherwise, call customer service.  Best of luck to you.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch?search=bradley+smokers

Hey guys im tossin up between the 4 and 6 rack digital or analog...? Plus should i be modding it with the extra element? Im sumwhat of a noob so any advice would be great thanks..
stuart

I would go 6 rack and digital.  If not, a year from now you might be wanting more space and the accuracy of the digital controls vs analog.  Buy it once, buy it right.....

You can always mod it later.

I agree with you.  I have had a bradley smoker for 4 years or so.  After the first year (out of warranty) I had to replace the temp control unit, it went bad.  The following year I had to replace again.  the 3rd year it failed again, so I purchased a PDI controller installed it with another burner.  (forgot to mention I also had to replace an element in the unit the 2nd year)  the 4th year I went to use it and now the bisquette burner has gone bad.  43 bucks to replace it.  Every year I have issues with it.  I only use it a couple times a year.  Crap made, and parts are 4x what they should cost.  Of course Bradley won;t stand behind anything after a year.

Walmart has all the bisquettes online.​

The thermostat in my Bradley smoker gives the right temperature, however, only where the sensor is located. When I placed one meat thermometers at the top and one 150 m.m. from the bottom, the temperature could differ almost 20 C, although the smoker was empty. Air and water does not mix as one would expect. Temperatures in tanks can vary a lot from top to bottom.

To solve the problem I drilled a 7 m.m. hole at the top and fixed a 4 speed electric kitchen whip on top of the smoker. The whips were of the type with 5 m.m. wide steel blades, so it was just to cut away the center and form one as a propeller. A small propeller from a model airplane would probably be better. However, this gives a much more even temperature in the smoker. Adjust it to give an even temperature, but not more, as that might make the products too dry.

A fan like this would be a good Product for Bradley.

Yngve Strom

I have owned the 4 rack digital Bradley smoker for about six years.  It is without question the best smoker that I have ever used.  The negative review posted here may be the posters individual experience, but it is very different from the word of mouth experiences that I have gotten from several "meat smokers" with whom I am familiar.

I am looking to buy a larger smoker than what I have.  The first thing I did when I saw the Bradley 6 rack smoker was to come here for a review.  This is the first thread I found.  It's interesting that the originator of the thread never replied to any of these intelligent comments.  Makes you question the original post.  

With that said, has anyone used the 6 rack smoker?  I will continue to search.  If I don't hear back, I'll open a new thread. 

Here are a few other smookers I guess you already have seen.

http://electricsmokercenter.com/

There is also a rather new type, feeding sawdust with a screw,like a meat mincer. I will come back on that later.

I will also come back on how to ease the problem with the huge temp differencens  in Bradeley smookers.

Hello again Rob

Here is another maker of smokers using saw dust.

See Borniak UW - 70 and - 140.

Looks interesting

http://www.smartfritid.se/roka/rokskap

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A few month ago a friend of mine and I, again made tests with checked thermometers at top center and bottom and another friend has done similar tests. It confirms that the temperature on the display can be up to 20 deg C higher than what those thermometers indicate. Most likely caused by the hot air stream coming up from the heating element  along the rear wall. The temperatures also differs between top and bottom, but not so much. At the beginning they all show the same temp. The fan I have built in reduces these differences, but further tests are required to say how much.

The temperature also wearies + - 5 deg C during the process, due to hysteres  and heat built up in the heating element.The friend mentioned , a computer genius, is in the process of making a much more sophisticated control unit, also incorporating a fan in the smoker, to solve the problem with swinging temperatures.  I will come back on that when it is ready.

However, with one or two thermometers placed where the meat or fish is and the temperature is set to get the desired temperature there, the Bradley smoker produces really good products and the risk of overheating connected with wood fired smokers is eliminated.

I love mine so far. What kind of temp gauge did u buy

Yngve said:

The temperature also wearies + - 5 deg C during the process, due to hysteres  and heat built up in the heating element.The friend mentioned , a computer genius, is in the process of making a much more sophisticated control unit, also incorporating a fan in the smoker, to solve the problem with swinging temperatures.  I will come back on that when it is ready.

Click to expand...

Yngve, any update on the controller? I've got a spare PID sitting around that I could potentially use, but I'd like to see what you've done first.

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A friend of mine started ambitiously with a new devise for governing the temperature in the smoker, but his workload has delayed the project, so I think it is not worth waiting for that. He has got all the components required including new sensors that he has calibrated.

He has also acquired an alternative smoke producer using saw dust   fed onto a hot plate by a rotating spring, that looks promising. He has fixed it to the Bradley smoker by using an adapter plate.