Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Bradley smoker vs Pellet smoker cleanup

I've had a few different smokers over the years, but recently picked up a Bradley.

I like the Bradley's simplicity and the temp control is better than some I've had, but I don't like spending so much time on cleanup - scrubbing the grates, the drip pan and bowl, even the base tray. Never had to do that much with my other smokers and certainly never with any of my charcoal smokers. With them, just give a wipe once in a while and empty the drip tray (which was a simple tin soup can). Or with my Kamado, it just burns up on the charcoal.

Wondering about the amount of cleanup required for a pellet smoker. Which is the simplest for cleanup?

I usually wipe down the grill grates on my Traeger and put new aluminum foil on the drip tray after I’m done cooking. Empty the drippings bucket and your done.
I also take my shop vacuum and clean out the heating element/burner.

Hmmm....is a spotless smoker necessary?

I’ve seen some who polish the interior shiny after every use. Not me. But I do like my grills clean when I start another smoke.

But the design of the Bradley pretty much requires you to clean the drip pan, bowl and base tray. It gets a lot of drippings and crap.