MES 30 improvements on smoke consistency?

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After and before every smoke, I turn my MES up to MAX. temp. for a couple hours... helps to turn the creosote to ash and sanitizes the inside.... No gooey stuff inside at all....
 
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Yeah my foil sticks to the black tar crud on the bottom of the pan and is getting hard to remove. My AMNPS is suppose to arrive today so I will give it a try really soon.
I just scrape off the big amounts of grease, and the Dishwasher gets the rest. Comes back clean.

I got that Dishwasher 46 years ago & she still works Great !! 
wink.gif


Bear
 
After and before every smoke, I turn my MES up to MAX. temp. for a couple hours... helps to turn the creosote to ash and sanitizes the inside.... No gooey stuff inside at all....
That's a good idea. I have also set a pot of boiling water inside it when I am done to sort of steam clean it and soften everything up so I can wipe down all of the surfaces.
 
After and before every smoke, I turn my MES up to MAX. temp. for a couple hours... helps to turn the creosote to ash and sanitizes the inside.... No gooey stuff inside at all....
So basically smoke the creosote too! Lol!! That is a great idea nothing like a simple solution.
 
I have the MES 30 and use the AMNPS in my unit.

There was not enough room to place the AMNPS in the lower left corner like Bear does in the MES 40.

Came up with this mounting solution that is working well for me.

Made this from wire to hang the AMNPS basket under the lowest rack. It just slides in.

Then slide the chip tube holder out about 2" and I get consistent smoke and it stays lit.

Then just like Bear shows, I cut a foil pan in half & put it upside down above my AMNPS. Not shown.

Hope this makes sense.

Larry

 
 
Yeah my foil sticks to the black tar crud on the bottom of the pan and is getting hard to remove. My AMNPS is suppose to arrive today so I will give it a try really soon.
I definitely recommend cleaning the "ceiling" of your MES on a regular basis. I learned the hard way how important this is last year. I had put a couple of racks of cheese in the smoker and when I was repositioning cheese on the top rack the back of my forearm brushed against the ceiling and all this black crumbly buildup fell down onto the entire rack of cheese. I just left it on there and when I used it in recipes or just to munch on I sliced off the thin top layer with the black sediment.

So, I make sure the ceiling it wiped clean and I also wipe off dried food and excess grease buildup off the walls, floor, and inside door. I keep just enough "seasoning" on all the surfaces for flavoring. And since I've been doing these light wipedowns my Q isn't as harsh tasting as it was a couple of years ago. Yeah, I know more about smoking now but the food got mellower when I started the light interior wipedowns.
 
 
I have the MES 30 and use the AMNPS in my unit.

There was not enough room to place the AMNPS in the lower left corner like Bear does in the MES 40.

Came up with this mounting solution that is working well for me.

Made this from wire to hang the AMNPS basket under the lowest rack. It just slides in.

Then slide the chip tube holder out about 2" and I get consistent smoke and it stays lit.

Then just like Bear shows, I cut a foil pan in half & put it upside down above my AMNPS. Not shown.

Hope this makes sense.

Larry
Hi Larry!

Great idea---Looks like that works Great for you. Nice Job!!!

The AMNPS was actually designed to fit on the bars to the left of the chip burner, in an MES 30, however not all MES 30s are the same. I know some guys had to remove the screw on the bottom left of the chip burner wall.

Todd gave it a little extra space, when he designed the AMNPS, but he didn't want to make it any smaller than he had to.

Bear
 
 
I just scrape off the big amounts of grease, and the Dishwasher gets the rest. Comes back clean.

I got that Dishwasher 46 years ago & she still works Great !! 
wink.gif


Bear
LOL - I got my dishwasher 39 years ago, she'll make a little noise when I try to load her up with too much baked on mess.  
 
Bear

On my unit there are no bars for it to set on and nothing to remove that would allow the AMNPS to fit.

In order to place my AMNPS on the left side, I had to tilt it to get it in and pellets would spill out and then it would not sit flat. 

There must be a lot of variations to the MES lineup.

Also suspended as it is I get a clean pellet burn without going out for more than seven hours. Never had to re-light it.

Good air flow probably helps.

Larry
 
 
Bear

On my unit there are no bars for it to set on and nothing to remove that would allow the AMNPS to fit.

In order to place my AMNPS on the left side, I had to tilt it to get it in and pellets would spill out and then it would not sit flat. 

There must be a lot of variations to the MES lineup.

Also suspended as it is I get a clean pellet burn without going out for more than seven hours. Never had to re-light it.

Good air flow probably helps.

Larry
Hmmmm----Strange!!

I'd like to see a pic of your interior from back a bit with the door open, so I can see the whole bottom half inside without the AMNPS. If you get a chance.

Thanks,

Bear
 
 
Bear

On my unit there are no bars for it to set on and nothing to remove that would allow the AMNPS to fit.

In order to place my AMNPS on the left side, I had to tilt it to get it in and pellets would spill out and then it would not sit flat. 

There must be a lot of variations to the MES lineup.

Also suspended as it is I get a clean pellet burn without going out for more than seven hours. Never had to re-light it.

Good air flow probably helps.

Larry
You must have a gen2 that has the sloped drip plan that runs across the entire bottom.
 
Bear

Here are the pictures of my MES 30. It came with the sloped drip pan, that I do not use.


Area on left side of chip holder no bars to set on.


AMNPS will not fit in this space without tilting and spilling pellets


AMNPS with cover to direct smoke to center

r
Just for St. Patty day what green grass looks like in NC that I mowed today.


Considering making the cover and heat deflector more permanent out of SS sheet.

Any thoughts on more improvements?

Thanks

Larry
 
Mine should be in today so I will see if it fits to the left of the chip loader.
 
 
Bear

Here are the pictures of my MES 30. It came with the sloped drip pan, that I do not use.

Area on left side of chip holder no bars to set on.

AMNPS will not fit in this space without tilting and spilling pellets

AMNPS with cover to direct smoke to center

r

Considering making the cover and heat deflector more permanent out of SS sheet.

Any thoughts on more improvements?

Thanks

Larry
OK---You confused me by not having that slanted drip plate in. That's why I didn't know it was a Gen #2 MES.

I can see much better heat distribution without that in.

Without that in, what do the drips fall on?? The chip burner cover??

You might want to put a foil pan on a shelf above that??

Bear
 
I do use a drip pan as you suggested.

There are lots of ways to skin a cat and ideas for improvement are endless and fun to explore.

This set up has produced the best heat balance in the unit.

Have measure temps on the different shelves and both front and back not perfect but OK.

Thanks again for the ideas.

Larry
 
 
I do use a drip pan as you suggested.

There are lots of ways to skin a cat and ideas for improvement are endless and fun to explore.

This set up has produced the best heat balance in the unit.

Have measure temps on the different shelves and both front and back not perfect but OK.

Thanks again for the ideas.

Larry
Great !!

My main concern with the Gen #2 all along has been that slanted drip plate.

The way you're doing it seems to be a good way.

I don't know how Johnny54 gets good temp numbers with his slanted drip pan in-----That just confuses me even more.

I think I'll stick to my Gen #1----Getting a Headache!!
biggrin.gif


Bear
 
 
I just scrape off the big amounts of grease, and the Dishwasher gets the rest. Comes back clean.

I got that Dishwasher 46 years ago & she still works Great !! 
wink.gif


Bear
46 years ago? Was that one of those steam-powered models or does yours have those mechanical rocks that the dishes, glassware and flatware are beat against? We lost more dern place settings with those models...

We just had to replace our 13-year-old Kenmore with a brand new Kitchen Aid. It's actually a big improvement over the old model and uses a lot less water and energy.
 
 
46 years ago? Was that one of those steam-powered models or does yours have those mechanical rocks that the dishes, glassware and flatware are beat against? We lost more dern place settings with those models...

We just had to replace our 13-year-old Kenmore with a brand new Kitchen Aid. It's actually a big improvement over the old model and uses a lot less water and energy.
No---This one cleans the house & washes the clothes too.

And cooks non-smoked food too.

Bear
 
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