I run half hickory half apple in my rig. Not sure if you can do what with the bradley deals. Maybe alternate apple and hickory?

Yea you can, you just alternate or arrange the pucks how you want them to go in. Each puck lasts 20 minutes before another is kicked in.

So, how exactly does one do the wood chips in a Bradley puck electric smoker? Please edumacate me.

Simple. Place pucks in stack on left. Set to automatic and it self feeds them in every 20 minutes. Alternate pucks for adding different types of wood.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image..._Front-750.jpg

NOT the pucks. I have the Bradley, but someone earlier said they use wood chips in theirs. Not sure how that works without having to open it all the time and reload.

I'll let GloryDayz clarify because I don't really get it either but he said heat it up past 150 and then he just throws some wood chips in the water pan when he doesn't want to use the pucks. I don't really get that either but he says it works and he's a God around here.

So you are part of the Bradley crew!? Oh boy, I feel pretty cool now!

I have one, but don't use it much as I don't get the quality of results I had when I was using my offset smoker. But it was free, so I can't complain. I probably need to use it more so I get better at it.

I always heard offset smokers are harder to use and lack the quality of vertical smokers in getting smoke to the meat. Again this is just reading and no idea if it's true. I'm pretty much a n00b.

I don't understand throwing it in the water pan. You need the water so the meat doesn't dry out, so if you're throwing it in the water pan, you must not be using water?

And would it work with larger chunks?

Lew, one thing I learned early with the electric and pucks - make SURE you keep water in that pan. If you don't have water, the pucks will drop into the pan and continue to smolder, and after that 20 minute burn they start emitting off flavors.

I liked mine and used the shit out of it, and (generally) had outstanding results. It could be tricky to keep a constant temp, but I never had problems getting smoke to the meat. I think that's more a function of how the smoker is built. You want the vents so they draw the smoke over your meat.

See I don't get it either but he said he puts the small wood chips right in the water! And it's hot enough to give off smoke. He does it this way when he doesn't use the pucks.

So when they drop in the machine they just drop into the water pan?

Yes, the water extinguishes the puck.

I don't have a Bradley, I have the El-Cheapo electric Brinkman. I do use chips (and chunks) of many varieties and I do soak them for the long part of the burn. That being said, I also have been known to have the first round be dry to heat-up the smoker very hat and bark the meat, then it's be to wet chips and lower heat.

But I'd like a Bradley.....

Unless you're GloryDayz and you have the most ignitable wood in the world which goes right in the water and smokes anyway!!!

I bet he's writing a long winded response to show my ass up. And rightfully so!

OK, so I'm looking at the manual (page 11) - http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91NkMF1vgGS.pdf

There's a "drip bowl" for the pucks, then a tray underneath that. Maybe he's putting the chips in the bowl and water in the tray?

LMAO

So he did respond, and he SOAKS the chips, which makes perfect sense. That's normal. Putting them in a bowl of water will not work.

Well my question to him was how do I use the Bradley with wood chips/chunks of my own if I don't want to use the pucks. He told me to throw them in the water bowl! :cuss:

He's trying to sabotage me!!!

Is there anyway that you see to use your own chips in there if you don't want to use their pucks and have time to monitor things instead of setting and forgetting?

I've never tried. I think they might get hot enough to smoke just sitting in the water bowl. But I've never tried it, so I can't vouch for it. If GD is using a non-Bradley, his water tray might be closer to the heating element.

I've read some people will put them in a washed out tuna can, but they have to refill all the time, so that's not good.

I wonder if you could put something bigger on the heating element, like a small cast iron pan? Then the second question would be whether it would get hot enough to start the chips smoking.

Yea I've heard the Tuna can thing and only thing that would make that work would be lining a shit ton of them up but they'd still burn out too quickly and you'd be replacing very often.

A pan would work if the element covers enough of the bottom of the pan to get it hot enough. Is there enough room to put a pan in there near the element?

My Brinkman bullet smoker has a thin steel pan you put the chunks into and directly on the burner. They smoke well. Not sure about a cast iron pan though.

I believe it was BRC that also mentioned putting the wood chips in the water pan with the water. It's confusing the hell out of me. I wish we could get that question clarified.

You are right TimBone. I got my avatar assess mixed up! Both are fine assess I might add!

FMB check this, it was BRC who said he throws the chips in the water pan. ****ing Houdini!!!

Here is the post where he mentiosnputting them in with water. To be fair, it says just "a little water." I didn't notice that before. Maybe they last longer because they slowly begin smoking as the "little" bit of water evaporates? But, if you already have a water pan, why would you need water with the wood at all? It just threw me off.

I hope my soon to be adopted father, GloryDayz, can forgive me for my outlandish behavior.

Sorry pops. :(

Calm down. Been doing it for years. Put the chips in the water. The chips outside the water smokes. As the water level lowers, more chips are exposed. But, I also add more.

Again, I only use this method when I watching the smoker.

So you mound over the water level? This is coming into focus now.

Doesn't that cause you to have to open and check the smoker to add water constantly or are you building a pretty significant mound?

What would that accomplish? How is that any different from putting them in minus the water?

The water will slowly evaporate, and as it does more wood will be exposed and begin to smoke.

Yeah. That I understand. But what's the point? He says he does this when he's around to tend to it. from my understanding, this would make the would last longer and smoke slower.

I prefer hickory and apple for pork.

You have to have water or the meat will dry. You just put dry wood in there, you will burn your meat.

I always cook slow. Attending or not. I have parties. I'm around all day. I open the door I increase the temp till it gets back up to what I want. A 12 hour cook I'll open it up 4-5 times.

Bottom line, I like playing with my meat.:)

I inderstand you need water. So, you're not putting the wood chips in a separate pan than the water pan? I realize I may be hitting BucEyedPea level annoying here, but I'm really trying to understand.

We have that in common.

Same pan.

I'm still interviewing call girls. I figure it'd be nice of me to set you up with a sister first.

great deal if anyone's looking

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ZTMTCG/...d_p=1980506282

Mother****er! I thought about waiting for Cyber Monday but didn't figure smokers were a hot item.

didn't you order a bradley?

That is a good deal. Is that the one you have?

Lewdog, which one did you go with?

I found the below deal about twenty minutes ago.

http://www.pricefalls.com/product/Sm...ype=&network=g

Anyone that has this model - how often does one have to refill wood chips say for an 8 hour smoke?

Yes I did order it but that 40inch MB was the next on my list but it was listed over $300 pretty much everywhere I was looking. I'd have thought about it for $230!

That's the 4 rack which is digital. I got the original for $50 cheaper which is not digital.

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image..._Front-750.jpg

I'm wondering if there's anything on that Bradley that makes it worth the extra money. I've heard of the recent quality issues with the Masterbuilt.

Mikey, you've had your Masterbuilt for years, right? So you can't comment on the new ones and their durability?

Can you cancel your previous order? It was just a day or so ago, right?

I've had 2 different Masterbuilts (the second of which I bought a couple years ago) and they've been fine.

yeah, that is the one I have.

got it last Christmas. No issues. I know they had some issues with the top control / no window model when I was shopping for mine

That's like mine. It doesn't have any autofeed deal or the pucks. There is just a little tray over the element you dump wood chips into. It is refillable from the outside so you don't have to open the door and jack up your heat.

I usually dumo chips twice for an 8hr smoke, during warmup, and again about 2 hours in. You need to remember that your meat will only take in smoke for the first few hours (depending on mass), so anything beyond that is wasted. For long smokes I got an Amaz-N-Smoker pellet maze, which works great and can provide smoke for up to 8 hrs at a go (for briskets and such)

FWIW, I love having the window to check the meat

I've had a Big Green Egg for years and that thing is awesome!

How does that window hold up? Stull pretty clean? You clean it after every smoke?

They're going quick on that link Mikey posted. I'm trying to make a decision in time

not every. It's best cleaned with newspaper or a nylon scrubby.

I think this is 4 smokes since I've cleaned it
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/X0...g=w326-h579-no

adding it to your cart gives you 15 minutes

I only clean it out every few smokes anyways except for the grates, and NEVER use soap. I used it 2 days for turkeys last week, probably need to clean it after my next smoke.

my only gripe is I wish they made a stand like they do for the 30" to raise it up a little, but it's not bad.

I just bought a cart for mine so I can run it in and out of the garage easily.

I'll recommend a few websites:

Amazingribs.com digs into the science of smoking and explores the effectiveness of various smoking concepts like soaking your wood.

Smokingmeatforums.com is a great resource for talk about specific smoker brands including tips and modifications to get the most out of your smoker. It can be a bit of a circle jerk over the site's owner, but there's still a lot of good info and it's a tapatalk forum.

So, after reading through online reviews, I went with the Bradley.

It seems as though people have had some minor issues with both brands. What pushed me to the Bradley side was that the recurring theme when metioning customer service was that Bradley was wonderful and all about service, while the folks at Masterbuilt had created a few nightmares for people when having to replace parts. Hopefully I won't need to contact anybody, but customer service is a big issue for me.

Thanks for the help, guys.

they make this one, but it isn't wheeled, and doesn't have anything to keep the smoker in place.
https://www.masterbuilt.com/40-inch-smoker-stand.html

this is what they make for the 30", which is better. I have thought about buying this and replacing the crossbars to enlarge it.
http://www.qvc.com/Masterbuilt-Stand...ct.K41313.html

I have the bradley original, I got this for it as well http://www.auberins.com/index.php?ma...products_id=72

It measures the temperature and flips the power on and off to keep it at that temp. They have other ones on the site that can adjust based on the temp of the meat. These would work for any electric smoker for better temp control.

BTW, good remote thermo here...

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OQIHGFY/...d_p=1980506282

Mine is probably a 60" cart that I just sat the smoker on. That way I have a place to put meat and tools. I'll see if I can grab a picture sometime.

You get the Original or the 4 rack digital?

Four rack digital.

No I placed it last night and I have free 2 day shipping so it will be here Wednesday. I am not upset. I like the idea of the pucks so I can be super lazy when I want.

Nice. You badass little beaver! Mine might be the cheaper version but we can surely share ideas in this thread and tips on how to use it. I sure could use some help from the pros here!

Yeah. The pucks are what almost turned me off. I like the idea of them, but I want the freedom to be able and use wood chips as well. People say it's still possible with the Bradley, though. So we'll see.

Did you find a good deal on the pucks?

Definitely. I'm gonna do my usual rib smoke on it first, just to test it out. After that though, the experimenting begins.

Yea I don't plan to use the pucks all the time either, probably less than half the smokes I do. I like using wood chips/chunks so I hope we can figure that out in this unit. If BRC is wrong about the chips in the water pan, so help me GOD I'll kill him!

Again I went with Amazon for the pucks. $16-22 for a 48 pack. Let me know if you find something cheaper.

I'm gonna do a search here after supper.

Report back trooper!

Chips, not chunks.

No matter what they say, you're an ok guy BRC.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Bradl...0014355&rid=20

That's only a tad bit better than what you found, Lewdog.

Yes it is. I will remember that. You're work is done here!