looking to buy

If you look down through this forum and the open forum, you will find the comparison of the two smokers has been thoroughly discussed.

I myself am a CS owner and have not regretted that decision for 1 second. You get what you pay for - I think most on this forum will tell you the CS is far superior. The Bradley requires that you use their wood biscuits, which are fairly pricey. That raises the cost of a smoke considerably.

I do strongly suggest you read through the forums for previous posts.

JJ, Assuming everything else were equal, the Cookshack would still win out because of just one factor, cost of operation. The CS uses wood chunks. You can saw them up yourself, you can buy them economically at Wal-Mart or you can order them from various places including Cookshack. The Bradley uses "Bisquettes" which are compressed wood hockey pucks and they can get very expensive, especially so on a long cook. Also, if you run out of Bisquettes you can't smoke. If you run out of wood chunks you cut up some more or run to Wally World. Hence, my pick is the Cookshack.

I would agree about the wood chunks and would add that it would be difficult or impossible to find a more economical cooker from the electrical standpoint. I bought the smokette 008 which has MORE than enough capacity for my needs and operates on a 500 watt element. Not only is the 500 watt element economical, but since the unit is so well sealed and insulated it adds even further to the economy. With the cost of living going up any economy is welcome!

I don't know about the other company's,But I do know about CS. customer service is the best as far as I'm concerned,they stand behind their products,high quality,& the best forum (even though you do not have to own a CS)to be a member,lots of great knowledgeable people that have years of experience with their smokers,techniques,recipes,& they are not afraid to share a lot of them either (thanks guys & gals).I do not regret purchasing a CS,I guess thats why I have now upgraded from a model 009 to a 55(needed more room for the amount of people I cook for during holidays) I could have purchased another brand but I did'nt even think about it because of the service,experience & satisfaction that I have had with a CS.sorry I got so long winded but I could keep going on about this,but I also did a lot of research before I purchased a CS,& I myself do not regret it,hope this helps.

Richard

Cookshack=No moving parts to break.
I love my 4 month old 009 smokette, and as I saw on Mainly Daves website, it works at -6 Degrees, thats a plus for me living here in Maine, "Q" all winter long!!

I am very sorry that I have offened any you folks, if you that have seen my post in the past , they have not been of personal nature. Again I am sorry, you folks smoke a lot and make friends.

This has nothing to do with CS vs Bradley.. and it has everything to do with it. Consider this. I worked for Hewlett-Pakard for 21years.. before our division became Agilent Technologies. I remember a company update that I attended given by a high level manager. This was 12 or so years ago. One of the things he told us was, in effect.. in the grand scheme of things, we could afford to give away HP printers because we will make more money selling ink cartridges in the near future than the entire company is making today. This is highly paraphrased.. but you get the idea. How does this apply to Bradley..? The CS uses about 2-4 oz of wood per cook.. price.. pennies per cook. The Bradley uses a few dollars worth of hockey pucks per cook (as I understand it). Both are good pieces of equipment, both do a good smoking job in slightly different ways.. so, I'm not denegrating the Bradley.

Do the math..

I fail to see how "relative" this comparison of smokers is, or how comparing the two is "apples and oranges". They're both smokers--they smoke stuff!??!

The only discernable point I've understood so far from Wacker is the consistency of the pucks. If that's your primary concern, then use your pucks! Use them in your offset, your open-air pit, your WSM, etc. But realize that you're paying a premium (10- to 20-times or more) for a chunk of wood to solve a problem that most folks would say is a non-issue.

quote:

Originally posted by MallardWacker:
[qb] ...There are other issues that should be compared and they have been discussed on both boards extexsively. Both have very loyal followings and some would probably get in to a fight on some issues. [/qb]

Here is a link to the Bradley forum in case some of you are interested.

If you're interesting in a Bradley, I don't own one, so I'd suggest a visit there to find out what their owners think.
Bradley post about smokers

As Mallard represents Bradley opinion here, you don't own a CS do you, just wanted to know so I can represent your ownership correctly when you make statements like

quote:

The issues that I take up with the cs is in the construction and performance of their rig

If you own one, great you can give us a unique perspective. If you don't own one, you can only represent 2nd hand your opinion of others thoughts. That's like saying, I don't like how a Hummer handles, when you've never driven one.

I'm not sure if anyone posting there represents CS opinions about the positives, but certainly other CS forum posts are presented there.

Not wanting to start any fights over loyalty issues so let's not go there. Their forum can talk about Bradley's and we'll talk about CS that's probably the safest idea.

Ah heck.....I'll settle it, just buy a Smokin-Tex..

he he he....just joking.

I read all about Bradley, wasn't that aware of CookShack and compared them to the SMoking-Tex. I was a member on the Bradley Forum and understand they sometimes have a "hopper-feed" issue with those proprietary wood pucks. You have to keep those MOVING parts clean.

Personally, I like the so-called RONCO way of smoking....set it and forget it!!!!!

happy bbq-ing everyone!!!

dan

Sorry SO, didn't see the delete button. I apologize if this created any extra email for you.

KE,

Sorry, I have no dog in this hunt anymore. I have taken some things way too seriously. If it isn't about making something taste better, having fun or making friends with our smokers (any brand) I'm no longer interested. Life is way too short. I have a lot to be thankful for, a beautiful wife of 23 yrs, a gorgeous talented daughter and a very smart son that is about ready to leave for college AND just found out that the doctors (and my) suspicion of a brain tumor is false.

As I came to realize, DAMN, it's just a smoker. (and I don't swear).

Can we say paradyne shift.(man I hate that word)

This is my last word on this subject, anything that you folks will me hear from will only be in reference to the above for mentioned topics.

No blood.........no foul.

It seems only natural to me that Bradley owners would like Bradley smokers on a Bradley forum, and the same for CS owners on a CS forum.

SmokeOn indeed!

wacker,
i agree with geisyerq,
no blood no foul
just glad you are here
jack

I dont know a smidgen about smokers compared to these guys on here nor compared to you either,I am sure. So sorry if I misunderstood what was said over there and carried any of it over here.Please know I am truly chagrined.
You are a lucky man having such a lovely family and good health. Nothing else is more important. Kathy

paradigm

Thanks