30 mes analog temp swings, help

Are you using a water pan with water in it... If so, dump the water and add gravel or sand..... Preheat the smoker on high so everything is hot.... then adjust the temp..... if it changes, it will change to the colder side....... and check your thermometer, in boiling water, to see how close it is to reading accurate....

When you first set the temp, everything in the smoker is cold..... there is a lot of thermal mass... as stuff warms up, it takes less BTU's to keep it at that temp... so the smoker warms up more.... etc.... unless you have an actual thermostat the temp will keep rising.... Once the smoker has stabilized the smoker works fine....
I turn my electric on to max heat (275) for a couple hours.... dry my wood pellets for the AMNPS while the smoker sterilizes itself etc... then adjust the final temp. while it's cooling... Seems to work well..

Dave

bigforkg said:

I didn't use any water for the almonds. I will try your suggestions and see if it helps. Should I have to adjust it that much as I did or is the temperature probe that poorly made? Should I look into a PID?

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i have the MES 39 Analog as well and I experienced the same issues you are. I tried many different ways but the temp swing and creep were all over the place especially as the ambient temp changed on a long smoke like brisket. All this changed when I got a PID controller. I got it from Auber Instruments and it turned my smoker into a finely tuned smoking machine. It was not cheap but to me was well worth it. I ordered the one designed for a Bradley smoker that is only rated for 1200W but I have had no issues with it handling the 1500W MES analog since it heats up quickly and the auto tune feature has it holding temp to +/- 1 deg. I would recommend this mod to anyone with a MES 30 Analog along with adding extra venting. Hope this helps.