Bradley's ---- digital vs original?

[Andrewh]

About to full the trigger on a Bradley and was wondering if any of your digi guys are regretting spending the extra $. I have read on the intraweb (super reliable I know) that the digitals are not worth it as they can be +/-30 of what you set the temps to.

true?

[835]

i have a digital,,, buddy has a non digital....
he read up on it and seemed to think "true smokers" liked the non digital better ,,,, something to do with the generator itself...

i bloody love my digital.... stupid easy to operate and you dont do a thing! other then rotate the stuff..... i can prograhm smoke times oven temps on off times....... i would have it no other way.....
check 1 vote for digital.....

one thing to think about tho....
i have a 6 rack smoker .... i have heard the 4 rackers are better for cooking in.. things like hams... the oven is the same but the inner volume of the 6 rack is quite a bit bigger... so Chicken, ham, pulled pork roasts..... is easier in a 4 rack.....
if all your going to do is Salmon and jerky..... 6 rack........ this said, i have done all the above in my 6 rack.....

[Beaverhunter]

I wouldn't buy a Bradley period. Had one didn't work very well or very long. Built my own wasn't that hard works way better control my temps to within a degree of what i set them at and I can do way mor volume.

[Cdn-Redneck]

I have a digital one and it works great. I have done brisket ribs and chicken in it. Go to the Bradley smoker forum there is a ton of ideas and recipes there.

[Daybreak]

My suggestion would be to explore other options for a smoker.

I have a Bradley Digital 4 rack and it will smoke product well when it is working, however they are absolutely rife with problems.

You are right, the temperatures will fluctuate up and down from the temp you have selected by as much as 30 degrees up and down. The element in them is known to fail, the so called smoke generator is a bit hokey and has a troublesome cheap micro-switch that also fails. The pucks are expensive and often do not burn correctly as the feeder does not perform as designed.

Many people who operate these products upgrade the element or put a second one in, modify the feeder and purchase an Aubern PID to enable the unit to establish a set temperature and hold it within a few degrees for the duration of the cook. Couple of hundred bucks extra to get what it is designed to do.

I have included a link to the Bradley Forum. If you scroll to the bottom of the page you will find the most recent posts. Monitor those for a week and you will see 50% of the posts are people trying to find fixes for the product. Look back in the history of "troubleshooting/problems". There is enough reading to keep you busy for weeks.

It's unfortunate because these are a Canadian product, Delta BC. For the price you pay you will not get good value or reliability for your dollar. You can buy a full fledged kitchen stove/range for slightly more than the cost of these smokers.

That is my experience and opinion with Bradley. Apparently their customer service is good but it would have to be considering all the issues they have.


Have a read: http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/

[Daybreak]

More fun stuff to read: problems, problems, problems...

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?board=18.0

[Seeker]

My suggestion would be to explore other options for a smoker.

I have a Bradley Digital 4 rack and it will smoke product well when it is working, however they are absolutely rife with problems.

You are right, the temperatures will fluctuate up and down from the temp you have selected by as much as 30 degrees up and down. The element in them is known to fail, the so called smoke generator is a bit hokey and has a troublesome cheap micro-switch that also fails. The pucks are expensive and often do not burn correctly as the feeder does not perform as designed.

Many people who operate these products upgrade the element or put a second one in, modify the feeder and purchase an Aubern PID to enable the unit to establish a set temperature and hold it within a few degrees for the duration of the cook. Couple of hundred bucks extra to get what it is designed to do.

I have included a link to the Bradley Forum. If you scroll to the bottom of the page you will find the most recent posts. Monitor those for a week and you will see 50% of the posts are people trying to find fixes for the product. Look back in the history of "troubleshooting/problems". There is enough reading to keep you busy for weeks.

It's unfortunate because these are a Canadian product, Delta BC. For the price you pay you will not get good value or reliability for your dollar. You can buy a full fledged kitchen stove/range for slightly more than the cost of these smokers.

That is my experience and opinion with Bradley. Apparently their customer service is good but it would have to be considering all the issues they have.


Have a read: http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/

I was given a digital bradley and I do like it, but Daybreak has some very valid points. I do not use it heavily, so I have not experienced a lot of problems. That being said, the first one I had, the digital display and feeder unit would not work. Returned and it and the second one has been great. The temperature can fluctuate to the point of continual monitoring to correct it. I found that if you smoke in temps below 25 degree C that the temps remainded a lot more stable, but anything hotter I was yoyoing back and forth, so smoke in cooler temps and put the unit in the shade. If I were spend the kind of money that these units list for, I would also look for a more reliable product first.

[Andrewh]

I have a line on a digital 4 rack brand new with warranty for 250 plus taxes. For this price I might give it a try, but I am still apprehensive reading what you guys are saying...

[ruger#1]

I have a line on a digital 4 rack brand new with warranty for 250 plus taxes. For this price I might give it a try, but I am still apprehensive reading what you guys are saying...

You can also get a good deal on a dented one from Bradley. They are made in China. Their shop is on Anisices Island.

[Ride Red]

I don't have anything to add as I don't own a Bradley. I do have however, one that I built many years ago that is 5' tall x 3' x 3'. It has an external firebox with dampers on the fire box and smoker itself. It will easily handle 60 lbs. of sausage and smoke it almost right to the core.(if you so desire) The downside, you need to be around to keep an eye on it. That being said, I enjoy the process, so I don't mind hanging around.