Bradley Original 4 Rack Electric Smoker vs Bradley Digital 4 Rack Electric Smoker
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Quick take: The Bradley Original 4 Rack Electric Smoker costs $160 less; the Bradley Digital 4 Rack Electric Smoker reaches a higher max temp (280 vs 250°F).
| Spec | Bradley Original 4 Rack Electric Smoker | Bradley Digital 4 Rack Electric Smoker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$470 | ~$630 |
| Rating | 4.7★ (132) | 4.8★ (110) |
| Type | Electric Smoker | Electric Smoker |
| Cooking Area | 572 sq in (4 racks, 11 x 13 in each) | 572 sq in (4 racks, 11 x 13 in each) |
| Max Temp | 250°F | 280°F |
| Fuel Type | Electric | Electric |
| Build Material | Stainless Steel Interior, Powder-Coated Steel Exterior | Stainless Steel Interior, Powder-Coated Steel Exterior |
| Hopper Capacity | — | — |
| Burners | — | — |
| WiFi / App | No | No |
| App control | No | No |
| Meat probe | No | No |
| PID controller | No | No |
| Side burner | No | No |
| Rotisserie | No | No |
| Searing | No | No |
| Dimensions | 15 x 11.5 x 25.5 in | 15 x 11.5 x 25.5 in |
| Weight | 60 lbs | 62 lbs |
| Warranty | 1 year | 1 year |
Pros & cons
Bradley Original 4 Rack Electric Smoker
- ✓The bisquette feeder is the cleanest smoke source of any home smoker: each puck smoulders for twenty minutes then is quenched, so it never burns down into bitter smoke
- ✓Separating the smoke burner from the oven element means you can smoke at almost any temperature, including cold smoking with the adapter
- ✓Nine hours of smoke with no intervention - not even a pellet smoker manages that without a hopper alarm
- ✓Polished stainless interior wipes clean, and the racks are small enough to fit a dishwasher
- ✓Insulated cabinet at 15 inches wide fits on a small balcony or in a garage doorway
- ✗250°F ceiling means it will never crisp chicken skin or render a pork butt bark - this is a smoker, not a cooker
- ✗Bisquettes are a proprietary consumable you must keep buying from Bradley; running out ends the cook
- ✗Nine hours of smoke costs roughly 27 bisquettes, which adds real per-cook expense a chip tray does not
- ✗The Original has no thermostat feedback worth the name - the dial is a power setting, so ambient temperature moves the cabinet temperature
- ✗Thin insulation for a cabinet smoker; below freezing it struggles to hold even 200°F
Bradley Digital 4 Rack Electric Smoker
- ✓Setting smoke time separately from cook time is the feature the whole design is built around - four hours of smoke inside a ten-hour cook, automatically
- ✓Internal thermostat holds the set temperature as the weather changes, which the Original cannot do
- ✓Same nine-hour unattended bisquette feed and the same clean, never-bitter smoke
- ✓280°F instead of 250°F is a small but real gain for poultry and for finishing
- ✓Digital display makes it obvious what the cabinet is actually doing, instead of guessing from a dial position
- ✗$630 for a 572 sq in cabinet is expensive per square inch next to a Masterbuilt at a third the price
- ✗280°F still is not enough heat to render fat properly or crisp skin
- ✗Still tied to proprietary bisquettes, with the same per-cook consumable cost
- ✗No WiFi, no app and no meat probe - at this price several competitors include all three
- ✗Bradley's published low end is 'subject to ambient temperature', which is an honest way of admitting the cabinet is lightly insulated