Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Bradley Smoker????  (Read 5479 times)

Offline mikeypedersen

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 406
  • Longmont, CO
Bradley Smoker????
« on: April 14, 2010, 01:25:28 pm »
Anyone own one of these?  I was thinking about making a smoker until I saw my tax return.  Now i'm thinking i might save the work, brew more, and just buy a smoker......

I was looking at the Bradleys simply for the ease of use factor.  Anyone have one and what do you think?

Here's a pic so you know what I'm talking about.


Offline capozzoli

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1689
  • Lat 40* 6 m. 2.24 s. Long -74* 51 m. 21.75 s.
    • Capozzoli Metalworks
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2010, 04:20:10 pm »
Ive seen them in action but never owned one. They have a similar one at Home depot.

How much smoking do you do?

For real budget smoking you may be surprised that you can do the same thing as with one of these smokers that you can do with an upside down can over an electric hotplate, smoldering a pie pan full of wood chunks. You can even use a cardboard box.

If you have a grill already. Consider a make shift smolder chamber that delivers smoke to the grill area. Use the grill area to smoke the meat. Then later fire up the grill and finish them.

 
Beer, its whats for dinner.

http://theholyravioli.blogspot.com/

http:// www.thecapo.us

Offline beerocd

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1429
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2010, 06:26:19 pm »
My choice, but I'm poor... (pay no attention to the Green Egg looking things)

For the Bradley - are you locked into their plugs? Are there other mfr's for those things?
The moral majority, is neither.

Offline Hokerer

  • I spend way too much time on the AHA forum
  • ********
  • Posts: 2654
  • Manassas, VA
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2010, 06:44:10 pm »
You had to go and do that, didn't you?  I been kicking around the idea of making myself an Ugly Drum Smoker and you have to go and post a pic of a bunch of them.  When my wife gets mad at me having 55-gallon drums around, I'm just gonna blame you.
Joe

Offline beerocd

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1429
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2010, 06:46:44 pm »
I'll shoot you a picture of mine and you can blame me. No complaints here when the food comes off a 10 hour smoke.
Yeah, it's ugly  - a little hillbilly - but man the food is good!
The moral majority, is neither.

Offline Hokerer

  • I spend way too much time on the AHA forum
  • ********
  • Posts: 2654
  • Manassas, VA
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2010, 08:18:27 pm »
Yeah, it's ugly  - a little hillbilly - but man the food is good!

I can live with that.  Plus, it really appeals to my homebrewer mentality in that it's another "gadget" type thing that I can make myself just like fermentation chambers, mash tuns, and all those cool "gadgets".
Joe

Offline euge

  • I must live here
  • **********
  • Posts: 8017
  • Ego ceruisam ad bibere cervisiam
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2010, 12:35:14 am »
I like the automated smoker. I'm always feeding small chunks of lump and hard wood and it gets to be PITA after 3-4 hours. My smoker's drafty and runs hot. Hmm... I paid about $1200 less in taxes than I was expecting. Maybe a new smoker?

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline theDarkSide

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 3041
  • Derry, NH
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2010, 06:31:48 am »
I have heard good things about the GOSM propane smoker ( ready to take my beating from the "propane sucks for grilling/smoking" crowd ) and will probably go this route.

I'm going to have so many propane tanks hanging around...1 for the grill, 1 for the smoker, 2 for homebrewing.  Makybe I should see about hooking into my 500 gallon propane tank that I use to heat my house.
Seacoast Homebrew Club - Portsmouth, NH
AHA Member
Stephen Mayo
------------------------------------------------

Offline nicneufeld

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1049
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2010, 07:36:20 am »
A large part depends on what exactly you are smoking.  Cap's manually rigged smoker-plate-in-a-box is a great cold smoking method (and I have some recommendations along those lines for not much more money, see cold smoking thread).  If you are looking into hot smoking, ie., the typical American BBQ smoking, then there's a lot of options there.  The WSM (bullet, r2d2) isn't cheap but once you learn how to use it its a fantastic tool.  Personally though I like my simple Weber kettle grill with a sheet metal smoking baffle (see "Smokenator 1000" on the web), its light on charcoal use and runs really well, and is much easier to clean up after.

The Bradley smokers will be true set-and-forget units.  Traeger has some similar units, I know people who love their Traegers.  I don't like the idea of being forced into buying their little manufactured biscuits...with a charcoal fired smoker at least you can use whatever wood you want to to smoke with.

Personally I've had more trouble with side firebox smokers (offset barrel).  I think you need to buy a really nice one ($$$) before they become really nice to work with.  Hard to keep temps down in my experience.  For cheap smokers, I like the WSM, even though it runs about $300, but really, a good $100 Weber kettle with the right accessories can do a lot of serious smoking.  It would get a bit tiring on the 12 hour whole brisket smoke, admittedly.

Offline babalu87

  • Brewmaster
  • *****
  • Posts: 831
  • Grand Brewbah
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #9 on: April 16, 2010, 12:18:02 pm »
My choice, but I'm poor... (pay no attention to the Green Egg looking things)

For the Bradley - are you locked into their plugs? Are there other mfr's for those things?

VERY NICE!

Yeah, need some drawings on this please
Jeff

On draught:
IIPA, Stout, Hefeweizen, Hallertau Pale Ale, Bitter

Primary:
Hefeweizen,Berliner Weisse, Mead

Offline Hokerer

  • I spend way too much time on the AHA forum
  • ********
  • Posts: 2654
  • Manassas, VA
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #10 on: April 16, 2010, 12:34:57 pm »
VERY NICE!

Yeah, need some drawings on this please

Just google "Ugly Drum Smoker" and you'll find more plans and info than you can shake a stick at
Joe

Offline beerocd

  • Senior Brewmaster
  • ******
  • Posts: 1429
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #11 on: April 16, 2010, 12:46:49 pm »
All you ever wanted to know about UDS


I actually built kind of a WSM-ish thing using a weber 22.5 kettle and I happened to have a 30" tall stainless barrel lying around. 1 bag of lump and a couple handfuls of wood will go overnight, no problem.
« Last Edit: April 16, 2010, 12:57:03 pm by beerocd »
The moral majority, is neither.

Offline Hokerer

  • I spend way too much time on the AHA forum
  • ********
  • Posts: 2654
  • Manassas, VA
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #12 on: April 16, 2010, 08:02:03 pm »
All you ever wanted to know about UDS

Yeah, I had seen that one but wanted to take it easy on the guy.  That thread makes Cap's "Ethnic Cooking" thread on here look like a little baby.
Joe

Offline gferlin

  • 1st Kit
  • *
  • Posts: 4
Re: Bradley Smoker????
« Reply #13 on: April 17, 2010, 07:14:37 am »
I bought my first smoker about a dozen years ago to smoke malt to make a smoked beer.  I'm now on my 3rd smoker and still haven't smoked any malt.

My current smoker is the Bradley unit pictured.  The biscuits cost about a dollar an hour to use.  6 hours is the longest I ever have the smoke on though.  After that the meat is "sealed" and no more smoke flavor can be added in my opinion.   With this unit I'm able to start a pork butt late in the day and let the biscuits run out, then the next afternoon after it has been on the heat at 200 to 220 for 20 to 22 hours I pull the roast off.  Let me tell you, nothing beats the taste and with the electric smoker there is not much tending to do.

I started with a charbroil electric smoker, did a propane smoker for a little while and then the last 6 or so years used the Bradley.  I do like the separate smoke generator.  I've been toying with the idea of getting a La Caja China Box to roast a pig.  I'm planning on hooking up the Bradley smoke generator to it to make smoked pig!!!

This has been my favorite smoker so far, Since I bought mine though a digital temp control model has come out.  It does take some fiddling to keep the temp right on the base unit.  Also, while mine has held up well over the years, I have had to replace the hot plate on the smoke generator, the smoker heat bar and the rheostat controller for the heat, but that was relatively minor.  I've seen pictures on the web of practically melted doors and door seals on this unit, but again, mine has held up well in comparison.

I think my next unit will be the Cookshack.  It is a little more money but offers digital temp control as well.  The big difference is the Cookshack uses regular wood as the smoke source.  I think that will be cheaper over the long run.

I smoke about once or twice a month.  Fish, chicken, ribs, brisket, pork butt and I even smoke ground beef for my chili (I humbly add that my chili is pretty awesome, I get a lot of complements on it) on this unit.  I think overall you'll be happy with it.  Expect to monitor and play around with the rheostat a lot at the beginning until you get the feel for how the various settings affect the temp inside, as well as how the different seasons affect the temp.

Gregg Ferlin
New Lenox, IL