Should i buy a Bradley 4 rack digital?

[newbsmoker27]

Hi everyone,
I’m new to this forum & new to smoking. Been doing a bit of research & i am pretty much decided on buying my first ever smoker. The Bradley 4 rack digital. I’m thinking it’s a good choice for someone completely inexperienced in smoking. Wondering what anyone that has one or used one thinks? Thanks, I appreciate any & all feedback.

 

[pineywoods]

Welcome to SMF glad you joined us. You'll find lots of good info, recipes, and people here. Personally I feel there are better choices for a first smoker and I'm sure others will chime in with their thoughts as well. Whatever you choose good luck with it and let us know what you decide on

 

[olaf]

I don't want to knock Bradley but I was looking to use their smoke generator on a cabinet I was planning to build but recently I went through cabelas and they had all Bradleys on clearance and no pucks fleetfarm had 10000 pounds of pellets, 100 bags of wood chips, two hickory and one apple of Bradley pucks no one else carried any. I'm just afraid that they may not be around much longer. The food that comes out is great but the cost of pucks is killing them. May want to look at an MES.

 

[Coreymacc]

Hi everyone,
I’m new to this forum & new to smoking. Been doing a bit of research & i am pretty much decided on buying my first ever smoker. The Bradley 4 rack digital. I’m thinking it’s a good choice for someone completely inexperienced in smoking. Wondering what anyone that has one or used one thinks? Thanks, I appreciate any & all feedback.

I have the same unit your looking at. It's almost 10 years old. The unit itself has held up well. Biggest issue was huge temp swings, I put on an Auber PID and that fixed the issue. If I could do it again, I would get a basic model and put the PID on from the start.

Corey

 

[Brewandque]

I would not recommend Bradley either. I've owned one and the temp issues were not good. Could not get it above 250. And after adding meat it took forever to recover. Also, the pucks can get a bit pricey and hard to find.

 

[newbsmoker27]

Thanks for all the replies, i ended up buying the Bradley, bought it at Sail (in Ottawa) for $450, reg price everywhere else is $599. Used 3 times, for ribs, burgers then jerk chicken. All turned out delicious for a first timer lol. Mes does seem to be the most popular (my dad has one) but i do like what i’ve done so far

 

[olaf]

Thanks for all the replies, i ended up buying the Bradley, bought it at Sail (in Ottawa) for $450, reg price everywhere else is $599. Used 3 times, for ribs, burgers then jerk chicken. All turned out delicious for a first timer lol. Mes does seem to be the most popular (my dad has one) but i do like what i’ve done so far

What matters is that you like it. You can also make your own pucks they dont feed as well sometimes but can be super cheap to make and everything turns out good.