Masterbuilt or Bradley electric smoker opinions?

I'm in the market for a new smoker. I've been using an electric Brinkmann for several years and it's just about at the end of it's life.

I really think I'd like to stay with electric as it is easy to deal with and I don't want to have to mess with propane tanks. I could do NG if it is an option, but I do like the simplicity of electric. I don't want to have to babysit the thing too much, so I like the temp control of the newer electrics.

Currently, I've looked at the Masterbuilt 30 & 40 inch smokers and some of the Bradley ones. There are benefits to both that I like - size and digital control on the MB, but indirect smoke on the Bradley. I'm kind of turned off on buying the pre-made pucks for the Bradley, but I would only be smoking probably once a month, so having to use the pucks probably wouldn't be a big problem.

Any opionions about these smokers?

http://masterbuilt.com/prod-smokers-digital.html
http://www.bradleysmoker.com/digital-smoker-4-rack.asp

Why not charcoal or wood as a fuel instead of electric? I am not a fan of either smoker. If I was to buy an electric smoker it would be the Fast Eddie FEC100.

You're obviously coming from a professional smoking perspective, which is not where I'm at. For once a month smoking I don't think I'll be checking out the $3,600 Fast Eddie.

I mostly like the idea of electric with temp control so I don't have to babysit the thing and check temps much. I don't really have a lot of time to devote to smoking, so I pretty much start it up and walk away.

Get a Traeger then

JonW said:

You're obviously coming from a professional smoking perspective, which is not where I'm at. For once a month smoking I don't think I'll be checking out the $3,600 Fast Eddie.

I mostly like the idea of electric with temp control so I don't have to babysit the thing and check temps much. I don't really have a lot of time to devote to smoking, so I pretty much start it up and walk away.

Click to expand...

Then get a WSM or UDS or BGE and throw a bbq guru or stoker on it, or build your own.

I'm with Dataz. I was all about the electric method for the same reasons you are. Then I said F it and built a UDS. There's very minimal interaction required. I do check it every 30-60 minutes because I'm new and nervous, but every time I check it, it's sitting right where it should be. I did a 19.5 hour smoke a couple weekends ago with 1 bag of charcoal and 3-4 valve adjustments.
Add a stoker like Dataz said and it would do that minimal work for you.

I bought a bradley years ago. Hated it. The little buscuits kept getting stuck and not working. They have probably fixed that by now.
I sent it back and bought a cookshack. I love my cookshack!

I had the brinkman electric also..It did fine but I absolutely love my WSM. not much work/babysitting at all. once the coals are going and dampers adjusted I don't have to touch it. It'll do 12 hour smokes just fine depending on conditions (temp/wind/prec) and won't break the bank.

It seems like everyone loves their Weber Smokey Mountain. I have a couple myself for home use.

I have the original Bradley and love it. As long as the ambient temp is above 50F. you won't have a problem with temps.

That is the problem with some of the smokers today. They are not insulated and in cooler weather they just can not hold temperature. We have the same problem with our Lang 84 Deluxe stick burner. Thats why we went to a Spicewine Insulated Box smoker. There is a solution however if you have a WSM or possibly a UDS. The BBQ Guru guys have a silicone cover that will keep your smoker nice and warm and comfy.




I have one and it works very well with my WSM. I can't see any reason why it couldn't be slightly modified for a UDS.

I'll be checking out the WSM. I'm in SoCal, so ambient temps aren't an issue for me.

onthekeg said:

Get a Traeger then

Click to expand...

You're still talking about $1,000 for the base Traeger vs. $150 for a Brinkmann (or similar).

To me, much of the choice question depends on what you plan on smoking, and how much capacity your smoker needs to have. If you just want the ability to smoke racks of meat electrically, either of those seem fine. But if you're really just going to load up a single rack for family dinners, I think there are other good options.

I have three smokers:
A "Big Chief" electric smoker. This one is only good for cured meats like sausage and jerky (doesn't go above about 150*F). But I can load up the racks, and can smoke about 50lbs of sausage at a time.

A UDS. It uses charcoal and works wonderfully. I don't have a domed lid so I can only do one rack of meat at a time. But it will hold heat very well all day on a single load of coal. It takes a little more practice for heat control than electric, but you could always use a Guru for that. Cost about $85 to build, and will probably outlast me.

My current favorite is my electric flower pot smoker. The heavy ceramic pots provide insulation and hold a steady temp very well. Its basically a cheap ($15), easily replaceable, electric burner and a couple of pots. It can easily be made for less than $100. The main difference between this and a BGE is that flower pots won't handle high heat. But at about 1/10th the price, I can handle that. I did, however add a $170 Auber smoker controller to mine.

If money was no object, I would buy a Primo XL ceramic cooker. It's basically a slightly larger, and oval shaped, BGE. But it is the only one of this type of cooker currently made in America.

Lots of people swear by their WSMs, I just think the UDS and flower pot smokers are better bang for your buck.

I have the regular size Weber, 18" and a 30" Masterbuilt. The 30” won’t handle a full rack of ribs, maybe you can hang them in the 40”, not sure. MB won't go over 275 degrees so not good for poultry, but that can be done on a grill and I would be surprised if the Bradley could either. I also make a nice smoked jerkey with my MB and temps can go low enough for fish. My first MB died within a year, probably my fault for moving it with water in it, but they replaced it under the one year warranty but after that you have to buy a new one.

Keep in mind you will still need to check the Masterbuilt every 45 min to an hour to add more wood chips for at least the first 3 or 4 hours.

If I could only have one the Weber would be my choice. Really not much more trouble than the electric.

I have the Bradley analog and it is a love/hate relationship. The pucks get stuck coming out of the feeder if you have not scrubbed the crap out of the track that the pucks slide on and (and!!!) if you have the smoke vent closed too much during your smoke day. I have it worked out now, but before I figured out the vent issue, I was ready to throw the thing at the neighbor that I don't like. Like I said, mine is the analog version so temp control was a pain, but a Ranco controller solved that problem. Would I get it again? Yes- on sale, not full price. Keep an eye on slickdeals.net they have some people who find Bradley's on sale quite often. It could save you a shiny nickel.

Denny330 said:

I have the Bradley analog and it is a love/hate relationship. The pucks get stuck coming out of the feeder if you have not scrubbed the crap out of the track that the pucks slide on and (and!!!) if you have the smoke vent closed too much during your smoke day. I have it worked out now, but before I figured out the vent issue, I was ready to throw the thing at the neighbor that I don't like. Like I said, mine is the analog version so temp control was a pain, but a Ranco controller solved that problem. Would I get it again? Yes- on sale, not full price. Keep an eye on slickdeals.net they have some people who find Bradley's on sale quite often. It could save you a shiny nickel.

Click to expand...

Good info. I've just started thinking of either a Bradley or Masterbuilt analog model and just running it from my BCS system. I kind of like the thought of the Bradley since I could control the temp element while the smoker box ran uninterrupted. My only issue with the Bradley is being stuck buying their "pucks".

The pucks are cheap on Amazon, so they are not such a huge drawback, but if Bradley ever goes under, I would be left with a dorm fridge with a heater in the back. As for the independent control of smoke and heat, I will say yes and no. The power supply from the wall goes directly into the smoker and then it uses a small jumper to power the heating element. Someone (ahem) decided that he didn't need to worry about that small fact when I- I mean he- hooked up the Ranco. I had ONE puck smoked after 4 hours. I wised up fairly quick after that. If you have an old computer cord laying around, that is all that you would need to have them powered separately.

The BCS could definitely control it too. I'm using your design (and some of my crazy nuclear engineering background) to set up my BCS controlled brewery.

Denny - I got a good deal on Craigslist for a used Bradley yesterday. I also ordered some of the "bisquettes" from Amazon. I need to run a remote cat-5 cable to my outside location and then I can put a temp probe jack and an ssr/outlet there for the smoker.

The Bradley is a nice unit the way the smoke generator and the cabinet heating are separate. It might not be up to snuff for the high end smoker guys here, but I think it will do a nice job for my occassional smoking needs.