New Smoker

I guess the first question could be where do you get the wooden pucks,when Bradley goes away.

With a Cookshack,you can pick up sticks along the road.

I ordered my CS50 a few days ago after seriously considering the Bradley 6 rack digital.

I decided on Cookshack for several reasons.

If you have read through the Bradley forum, I'm sure you have seen that there have been problems with the 6 rack getting up to temp. I also didn't like the 9hr 20min timer. The Cookshacks electronics and heating element seem to be better suited for the size of the unit and the AmeriQue has that great "hold" feature that Bradley dosen't have.

Also, the Cookshack, as far as I can tell, is not affected by the ambiant temp and can be used in (almost) any weather.

Customer service seems to be equal for both companies and both forums are visited by friendly and knowledgeable folks who are loyal to their chosen brand.

My main reason for buying the Cookshack was the wood pucks. It wasn't the cost, it was the lack of variety. From reading this fourm I've found several sources for wood such as peach, Allspice, nectarine etc. As an added incentive, the Cookshack uses only 2-4 ounces of wood so it is much more cost effective over time. (eg: apple chunks are listed online at $1.50/lb. Each chunk is about 2 ounces. Total cost for 4 ounces: $0.37. Cost for Bradley w/ 4hr smoke time: $4.00 +/- if you get the pucks for .30 - .33 each)

Hope this helps,

Tony

I have the Cookshack AmeriQue. It is foolproof, temps stay within a couple of degrees and it is built like a tank. Their customer service is superb.

I have several smokers. Starting out with my Little Chief from many years ago. I also have 2 offsets which I dearly love.
In 1999 I had a major life change and ordered a Cookshack 08.
I had to get a bigger one and got the CS150. I love to Q year round and thats not possible with the big offsets in heavy snow or rain conditions.
The CS units arent affected by winter temps here and works well in the dead of winter. I use them in my garage. Just open the doors.
Here is a great testament to CS bye Mainley Dave. Here is his link. http://www.lamaine.com/bbq/

quote:

Originally posted by TonyNJ:
Also, the Cookshack, as far as I can tell, is not affected by the ambient temp and can be used in (almost) any weather.

There are CS smokers in Alaska, Maine and Canada. Below zero weather has nearly a nil effect on time & temp.

I encourage you to visit Mainely Dave's website. His site is full of photo-journalistic info on how the CS cooks. Look at "Sub-Zero Pork Picnic Shoulder." It's about the 4th link from the bottom.

You can't go wrong with CS. And, if you think you do you have 30 days to send it back, no questions asked.

Best of luck withh your choice!

Do you want the Cadillac or the Volkswagon?

quote:

Originally posted by YamahaYZFR6:
Do you want the Cadillac or the Volkswagon?

As a VW owner, I'd have to go with, "Do you want a Caddy or a Yugo?" Sorry Yamaha.

As for my choosing a CS over other electric smokers, several things made my choice a CS.
First, was the great accolades for their customer service. Secondly, durability/reliability - the CS smokers are very well built products. Third, in-use cost was minimal - a few chunks of wood & low power consumption during use). Great product and I'm pleased with it. As a matter of fact, I only kept the shipping box it was shipped in for almost exactly the 30 days return policy. I knew after the first two weeks of ownership and use, I was not going to get rid of it.

Thanks for your time and info.

Last night I smoked a couple of briskets on the Bradley - try, try again(?). About 1:00am the smoker temp monitor went nuts. Checked the Bradley and once again the "auto feed" was stuck in continuous feed mode. What a mess! That was it!!!

However, not to worry. Thanks to this forum, an AmeriQue is on the way.

My only regret is that I didn't take photos to post here and send Bradley. Btw, Bradley has great customer service, are very accommodating, and have a good product that can make great Q. Seems to me they just demand too much of the smoke generator - like expecting a Prius to win at Monaco or Daytona.

You made the right choice on the AmeriQue. I have one and love it. Good luck!