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30 of 31 found the following review helpful:
 Nice Little Smoker Apr 21, 2008
By Reardon Smith
The main advantage of this smoker is it's small size, which is just right for the two of us. It comes apart and all the smoker enclosure racks etc go in the dishwasher, so clean-up is very easy. It is designed to be transported in a hold-all, though we haven't done that - we just carry it from and to the garden shed for storage. The smoker "bag" that is the cover for the enclosure definitely has a finite life, and it would have been good if they included a few more than the one extra in the box. The only problem I have encountered is that here in Texas, where the outside air is usually pretty warm, it is hard to get the internal smoker temperature down low enough for a long cooking time. Even on the lowest setting the cooking flame heats the smoker to 250 to 300 degrees. The smoker flame isn't enough on its own, so you end up turning the oven flame on and off for those really low temperature foods like fish. I let it get up to its full (minimum) temperature and then turn it off and just let it smoke for the rest of the time. Seems to work very well. It is a nice smoker for those of us that are just occasional fans of smoked foods.
28 of 33 found the following review helpful:
 Looks great on paper, but ranks poor in exeuction Nov 23, 2010
By D. Vo
I am an avid home cook and have always been interested in smoking my own bacon, pastrami, pork butt, etc. I don't want to invest in a Big Green Egg and my apartment does not allow for a charcoal setup so the Weber is out of the question. When I saw the Bradley Propane Smoker, it felt like a perfect match. With Amazon's low price and free Prime shipping and Bradley's reputation on the BBQ circuit, I couldn't resist. While it (sort of) does what it says, it does so in a really cheap and often poor way.
1. The rails meant to hold the propane tank does not work well. It's too tight of a fit. If you use a lot of force, you can get a typically sized camping tank in there but you will end up scratching the tank or any stickers on it. If you have a tank that has a plastic sleeve at the bottom (to minimize impacts from drops or hard put downs), it will take quite a bit of wrangling to get in there. I resorted to connecting it up directly to a large LP tank.
2. There is a heat/flame unit and the biscuit burner. The flame unit has its own starter and adjustment knob. The problem is the knob does literally nothing. You can adjust it from zero-point to max and the flame doesn't change. This is the biggest problem with this design. With the heat at the "lowest" point and the biscuit burner on, the internal temp reaches in excess of 250F. It actually goes close to 300 which means you cannot cold smoke. It ends up basically roasting your meats. There's nothing you can do to stop this short of rigging a setup that removes the smoker out of the tent and piping the smoke over.
3. The metal grates, heck, the entire inside is very difficult to clean. You are going to get a lot of sizzling fat dripping down or "exploding" in the interior. After hours of smoking, everything gets baked on with a sheen that's very difficult to remove.
4. No customer support. For being such a large company, I was surprised when they never replied to my inquiry. Not even an acknowledgment.
5. The tents need to be replaced. Like I said, they get really worn down and dirty inside.
Before you buy this product, know exactly what you are getting. If you think you can control the temps, or need to get down below ~300F, look elsewhere.
16 of 18 found the following review helpful:
 Perfect portable smoker for camping Apr 19, 2009
By Bill
Smoking meat is about finding a way to cook in smoke all day at about 200 degrees. You either tediously tend a fire or find an automatic smoker like the Bradley models. Bradley has been around for a long time and their smokers work great.
The "perfect" weekend smoker for home would be one of their digital smokers like Bradley Digital 4- Rack Smoker. It is reasonably compact and well made. It uses 120 volt electricity to turn the wood bisquettes into smoke.
But, it is hard to take your smoker with you. For camping weekends, the Propane Smoker is "perfect". Instead of using 120 volt electricity it uses a 1 pound can of propane and 4 AA batteries. The system of a rack and foil tent is very clever. The finished food is wonderful. You will make lots of friends because the all day aroma will bring visitors!
Pros:
- stores in a compact bag
- well made components
- it iseasy to control the cooking temperature
- you can throw away the tent so it does not stink on the way home
- all the dirty parts can be transported home in a garbage bag for cleaning in the dishwasher.
- it is a lot of fun to use on a camping trip
Cons:
- a challenge to use if it is windy
- you have to buy tents
- you have to buy propane cans
- you have to buy Bradley bisquettes like Bradley Smoker Bisquettes, 48 Pack (Choose Flavor)
- if you store it in an RV, you have to keep it clean or it smells
Hints:
- focus on cheap ribs, brisket and pork shoulder
- dry rub the meat at home before the camping trip and double bag it in plastic
- poke a cooking thermometer throgh the tent for temperature control
- if you want to clean the parts "in the field" soak them overnight in a Rubbermaid tube with a strong dose of ammonia cleaner.
If you like to cook meat when you go camping this is a toy you will have a lot of fun with. Your friends and family will love you for it.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Great Concept - Poor performance Jul 18, 2011
By Marcus
I really liked the concept of this product, but found that there was several deficiencies. This is my first product review on Amazon, but I will try to remain objective. I am aware that my unit might have been a "lemon", but I want other buyers to be aware of possible issues with their purchases.
I have used this product a total of 5 times, unit came with 6 tents [special bundle].
Concerns:
- Not capable of reaching temperatures above 195F after several hours of operation (this is with meat on the 4 racks, with space in between to allow air circulation, tent not removed during that period). During "warm up" (when I run the smoker empty for a few minutes), the burner has no problems increasing temperature up to 250F and more. I experienced this every single time I used this product, even with perfect weather conditions ( good exterior temperature, no wind, ... ). On more than one occasion, I had to "rescue" my meat by switching it to the oven halfway true smoking.
- Uneven cooking: Meat right above the burner and on the top of the tent cook more rapidly, to circumvent this, you have to move trays around, loosing any temperature buildup in your tent.
- Does not generate a lot of smoke. More often than not, I have noticed that wood bisquettes would end up in the water-pan barely "browned".
- The vertical stack of bisquettes sometimes get jammed, causing the auto-advance mechanism to push nothing. You have to stay at your smoker's side to ensure it gets fed properly.
Advantages:
- Very portable, easy to assemble.
- Despite the small size, feels very sturdy, even loaded with meat on all 4 racks.
- Pretty good gas usage (about one pound of propane for 6 hours of operations, in my experience).
- Economic.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Great for camping, or to learn if you really want a Bradley. Nov 22, 2010
By Randy A. Woodward
To be completely honest, I bought this because it was cheap. I've used log burning smokers for years, and I've been curious about the "set it and forget it" convenience smokers I've seen advertised... but not enough to shell out 300 bucks for one. When I saw the Bradley portable propane unit, the cost was low enough to convince the Mrs. that we need to make real barbecue when we go camping and this is the route.
Pros: Simple to set up and use. Very portable. Nice carrying case. Good quality hot or cool smoked foods. Requires far less attention than a live fire set up. Nice variety of wood flavors to chose from.
Cons: Propane fuel is expensive. Wood biscuits are expensive (and exclusive). Capacity is only moderate. Temperatures tend to fluctuate and depend on ambient temperature. You're not going to save money by smoking your own hams, but it will give you a ton of flavor options you just can't find at the grocery.
Experience: We've made ribs, brisket, salmon and beef jerky all with very good to excellent results, particularly with the salmon. As with any smoker or barbecue rig, you need to understand the process and learn to know your equipment and its idiosyncrasies.
Recommendation: For under $100.00 this is a must buy. If you're not sure about smokers or Bradley in particular, it's a small investment in a hobby that could bring a lifetime of joy.
See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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