Bradley smoker

[Simply Smoking]

Hi SMF world, glad to be a part of.
Looking for advise: Bought a Bradley smoker and it gets up to temp very quickly and the cake feeder works well. It has four shelfs, but if you cook more than one slab of ribs and anything else it doesn't get to temp, stays around 190. Anyone that's has experienced this and has found the cure, please tell. On a side note, when you do cook just one slab it cooks great, no fuss, no muss. Thanks all.

 

[old sarge]

While I don't have a Bradley, I can tell you that my old Cookshack and the Smokin-it I use now did take longer to come to temperature with a full load as opposed to a small load. But they did indeed get to the set temp although it might have required an extra 10 minutes or so. Nothing wrong. Have you checked with Bradley? Not too many Bradley users here.

 

[Simply Smoking]

While I don't have a Bradley, I can tell you that my old Cookshack and the Smokin-it I use now did take longer to come to temperature with a full load as opposed to a small load. But they did indeed get to the set temp although it might have required an extra 10 minutes or so. Nothing wrong. Have you checked with Bradley? Not too many Bradley users here.

Hey Sarge,
No I haven't checked with Bradley because I read the same problem has occurred with many users after the fact.

 

[myownidaho]

The Bradley needs plenty of time to come to temperature and stabilize. I start mine up about an hour before I start smoking. If it’s cold outside, it will take longer and your to temp will be lower. I started two butts at 0930 this morning and the smoker didn’t get above 240 for six hours.

Because of the lower power of the heating unit and the thickness of the walls, heat retention can be an issue.

 

[idahopz]

Unfortunately the Bradley has a very weak heating element, so any significant quantity of meat you put in the cooker will cool it for quite some time before it recovers. I've not found an easy fix for this, but some will change the heating element for more power. I have heard that some will put bricks in the bottom so that the temperature swings are not so drastic.

Good luck on your Bradley, but I use mind now only for smoked cheese, jerky, and smoked fish - foods that do not require higher temperatures that most of the meats require.

 

[Simply Smoking]

Unfortunately the Bradley has a very weak heating element, so any significant quantity of meat you put in the cooker will cool it for quite some time before it recovers. I've not found an easy fix for this, but some will change the heating element for more power. I have heard that some will put bricks in the bottom so that the temperature swings are not so drastic.

Good luck on your Bradley, but I use mind now only for smoked cheese, jerky, and smoked fish - foods that do not require higher temperatures that most of the meats require.

Agreed, I believe this would make a better fish, jerkey or small amount of food smoker. Thanks.

 

[Simply Smoking]

The Bradley needs plenty of time to come to temperature and stabilize. I start mine up about an hour before I start smoking. If it’s cold outside, it will take longer and your to temp will be lower. I started two butts at 0930 this morning and the smoker didn’t get above 240 for six hours.

Because of the lower power of the heating unit and the thickness of the walls, heat retention can be an issue.

Unfortunately waiting hours for meat, especially pork to come up to temp kinda worries me about quality of meat spoiling. I live in Florida. But thanks for the advise. I agree, I think the element isn't strong enough to handle larger quantities.

 

[rexster314]

Bradleys are designed for loooong cooks and fairly low cooking temps. Most fixes are laying some aluminum foil bricks in the bottom of the smoker for better heat retention, adding a second Bradley heating element, replacing the Bradley element entirely with a 900w element from Grainger. A PID controller would be in your future after element replacement/addition since the Bradley controls are rated for 1000w. The day I did the additional element and PID was the day I really started cooking in my Bradley. That was 5 years ago

 

[Simply Smoking]

Bradleys are designed for loooong cooks and fairly low cooking temps. Most fixes are laying some aluminum foil bricks in the bottom of the smoker for better heat retention, adding a second Bradley heating element, replacing the Bradley element entirely with a 900w element from Grainger. A PID controller would be in your future after element replacement/addition since the Bradley controls are rated for 1000w. The day I did the additional element and PID was the day I really started cooking in my Bradley. That was 5 years ago

Wow, that's way too much work. They should come from the factory built to handle the amount of food that fits on the four racks and maintain temp even if they have to up the price. Thanks for all the info.

 

[rexster314]

Wow, that's way too much work. They should come from the factory built to handle the amount of food that fits on the four racks and maintain temp even if they have to up the price. Thanks for all the info.

Well, you asked. There's a Bradley forum available if you would like to join