'BAD- ley' digital smoker

[tortuga]

3rd go round using the new 6 rack digital smoker was a joke.
Had it stuffed with salmon and turned it on, set it for 190 and left it to warm up my morsels.
Came back an hour later and the pieces were all sweating and not warm. Checked the temp guage and it read 105 degrees. Turned it up and no change. Fuse was good so felt around the element and it was not hot. Out comes Big Chief to the rescue.
The Badley 'smoker' element was working so I began to smoke to raise the temp a bit while I shuffled racks over the Chief. What a hassle. Almost wasted 6 racks of fish.

Anyone had the element crap out before. I'm ready to sell it and buy 2 more chiefs.

 

[Sculpin]

That's too bad about the element. Have you tried contacting Bradley and what about warranty?

I have had a 4 rack digital model since they came out without any problems what so ever. It has been a great unit with lot's of fish through it.

 

[tortuga]

Not yet and I'm sure they will send me a new one but I'm a bit leary about it happening again.
Maybe the 4 rack is better?

 

[sammyslabber]

Not yet and I'm sure they will send me a new one but I'm a bit leary about it happening again.
Maybe the 4 rack is better?

My bradley's seen better days & I've had it since they 1st came on the market ...door falls off & had a few issues with puck advance switch so far they've been quick to act, no ? asked ship replacement part & end up only paying fo shipping...sammy

 

[Fish Assassin]

My back burner either is 2 hot or 2 cold. Drove me crazy. But after 8 years I have figured out how to deal with it. I still don't think my temp gauge works right either. Thought many of time about going back to the Big Chief smoker. Good Luck.....

 

[Hookin'up]

Bradley is awesome for service, give Brian a call he'll get you in the right direction and have probably have you check a couple things right over the phone
, there are issues with wires coming loose inside the digital,
also hate to ask but you do have the small wire from the digital controller pluged into the back of the cabinet right? main element wont work if not
sounds like you only had heat from the puck burner
I love my BDS4, I did the second element mod and added a Auber digital pid controller,
now its a set it, walk away and go fishing kind of smoker

 

[Hookin'up]

tortuga,
what you can do to double check the element is plug the main element on the back of the cabinet direct to ac power,
the element should start to heat immediatly bypassing the temp control, if it does heat up normally it may be a commonly loose wire inside the digi controller

 

[hud52]

I had the same problem with my Bradley 6 rack digital smoker. It was solved after discussion with Bradley customer service. It was a faulty temperature probe. Cost me 20 bucks to fix. Now it works great. In fact, I have a smoker full of fish in it as I write this.

 

[tortuga]

Out of town till Fri. I'll try the bypass route before I call Badley.
Yes it was plugged in and I even rebooted a couple times.