bradley smoker

[doyourtime89]

   I was looking for some input on what people might think of the Bradley smokers.  Right now I have a Big Chief and I would like to better smoker and one that can do more the just jerky and smoked salmon.  I would like to get into doing all kind of meats too.  I am thinking about getting the 4 rack digital Bradley smoker. 

[sirmissalot]

I think they are sweet. If you really start gettin into doing your own sausage stuff like snack sticks you'll wish it was bigger but that's about it. They are handy and well made. Mine isn't digital but wish it was

[Boss .300 winmag]

Do you have a budget ,or money no option?

I have he Masterbuilt and have no complaints.

Bradley's take pucks vs pellets , way more expensive. Whole sports carries lot of pellet options way cheaper. 

[doyourtime89]

I think they are sweet. If you really start gettin into doing your own sausage stuff like snack sticks you'll wish it was bigger but that's about it. They are handy and well made. Mine isn't digital but wish it was

I was watching a youtube video about smoking and canning from some lady in Alaska and she shows how to buy and extra set of racks for your Bradley and inverts one on the other and they still fit in the spot where one goes so you can really have 8 racks instead of 4.   Here is the link...she talks about it around 40 seconds into the video.

Smoking Salmon in Nome, Alaska (Part 2 of 4)

[sirmissalot]

Yeah definitely, we double up the racks for salmon but snack sticks and other meat needs to hang. I'm not trying to talk you out of it just saying if you plan on doing much you may have to do smallish batches. I'm probably going to build a nice cedar smoker for doing the meat, but the Bradley is awesome for fish and stuff.

[WCTaxidermy]

I have a Bradley 6 shelf digital smoker and they work awesome.  They are too small to hang a batch of sausage in to smoke.  I found that I had to do separate smokes for even a normal size batch of sausage.  I have since built a smoker that I use for ALL my sausage making and it works a lot better than the Bradley for that.  Don't get me wrong, the Bradley is an awesome smoker and smokes a lot of meats and fish to perfection, it's just limited by what your application is.  I was able to make the large smoker for less than what the Bradley cost in the first place.   A man can't have enough smokers!

 

[Hawgdawg]

If you are going to use it alot the bisquits get real spendy in a hurry.. I spent 1300 on a treager and it sits most of the time because i HATE paying to use their wood!

Tip, I help a bud out with his bradley. slab your own wood and use a hole saw to make your own donuts and screw them out of there held hostage/ randsom over priced sawdust!
 

[WCTaxidermy]

I spent 1300 on a treager and it sits most of the time because i HATE paying to use their wood!

Hawgdawg, what you mean by using their wood?  I had a Traeger Texan for 13 years before I upgraded to another Pellet Stove.  Just curious by what you mean.  Great idea by the way for making your own pucks for the Bradley.

[Heredoggydoggy]

My neighbor and I were both in the market for smokers.  He found a good deal on the stainless steel Cajun Injector from Overstock.com, and I ordered one.  I love it!  He ordered a Bradley, paid more for it, then had to buy all sorts of extras for it that came standard with mine.  The Cajun has a built in meat temp probe, he bought an aftermarket one, and couldn't get it to work.  He has to buy the pucks, and spent extra to get a motor drive to feed the pucks.  Mine has a tray to put the wood into, and a chute in the side to add more without opening the door--and it eats everything, chips, chunks, pellets, and if you broke up one of those "pucks" it would burn those too!

He wishes he bought one like mine.  He even wants to add latches to his Bradley to hold the door closed like mine has.  so far, all I've done is ribs in mine, but I'm getting it down to a science now...

[sirmissalot]

Why would you want to latch the door on a bradley shut? They close like a refigerator, with those magnetic seals. I definitely wouldn't say they are the best bang for your buck, but they are awfully handy. The cost of the biscuits is minimal IMO, I'm still working on the second of the two cases I bought from sportco years ago. I have often wished I could use shavings off the planer for smoking though. We did have the motor for the biscuit advance deal burn out last fall, but Bradley gladly replaced the broken part for free.

[Hawgdawg]

I spent 1300 on a treager and it sits most of the time because i HATE paying to use their wood!

Hawgdawg, what you mean by using their wood?  I had a Traeger Texan for 13 years before I upgraded to another Pellet Stove.  Just curious by what you mean.  Great idea by the way for making your own pucks for the Bradley.

Pellets.............made of wood right! I found cash and carry is about the cheapest for pellets. without paying shipping. Still hate being trapped into paying and paying.

[Heredoggydoggy]

Why would you want to latch the door on a bradley shut? They close like a refigerator, with those magnetic seals. I definitely wouldn't say they are the best bang for your buck, but they are awfully handy. The cost of the biscuits is minimal IMO, I'm still working on the second of the two cases I bought from sportco years ago. I have often wished I could use shavings off the planer for smoking though. We did have the motor for the biscuit advance deal burn out last fall, but Bradley gladly replaced the broken part for free.

The OP wanted input, and I gave mine.  I thought I would get a Bradley when I was researching smokers.  I read the specs on the printout for the Cajun, and the price was right for the features I wanted.  I got the Cajun, and am totally satisfied with it.  My neighbor got the Bradley, and wishes he hadn't.  This is the only experience with smokers I have had.  A friend of mine got a big motor driven pellet smoker.  He's happy with it, but it cost him over $1,000, and I didn't want to spend that much.

[black hog]

after one year mine caught on fire called Bradley they said they would give me ten percent off a new one because i could not give them the serial number that was burned . Buy a traeger more room pellets cost alot less than Bradley chips. I might still have the the pictures of the Bradley after it burned

[Heredoggydoggy]

Why would you want to latch the door on a bradley shut? They close like a refigerator, with those magnetic seals.

I have no idea.  Have had no experience with Bradley smokers.  My neighbor likes the feature, and wants to add them to his Bradley. 

[hollymaster]

I have the 4 rack digital, wish I would have gotten the 6 rack. Of course I haven't done any sausage yet.