MES 30 improvements on smoke consistency?

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Tried the Chicken I made with the AMNPS today and it was good but I wish it had more smoke flavor. I noticed during the cook the smoke didnt get real steady until the second hour. Am I doing it wrong or is that normal?
If it is normal this brings me back to questioning this vs the chip loader for short cooks like 2-3 hours.

I am cooking a brisket in two weeks and really want to master the AMNPS so I can set it and walk away.

1. Do pecan pellets do well in the AMNPS?
2. Enough smoke for a 10.50 pound brisket?
3. Should I start a new thread about my brisket? I have some timing questions as this is for a family event and I want a home run brisket this time!!
Everything Todd already told you, plus a little from the Bear:"

If you aren't already using Hickory, and you want more smoke flavor, try Hickory. Todd will tell you----Hickory is the only thing I use. 
biggrin.gif


Also---My AMNPS gradually smokes heavier through the smoke. If yours starts out too light, light it an hour or more before you start smoking your meat.

Todd covered everything else I can think of.

Bear
 
 
I inject my briskets with a mix of beef broth and Sprite. 

Smoke my briskets until the hit 120° or until they start to drip juice

I place them in a pan with beef broth, onions and carrots.

At about 165°, I foil and cook to 195°

Into a cooler for an hour to rest

Doesn't matter if I use my MES or Pellet Grill, It's the same method for me

The water pan in the MES is too large for the size of the cabinet and creates too much steam.

The steam mixes with the smoke and can cause "Black Rain" inside your smoker

If you really think you need a water pan, use a small loaf pan on one of the lower shelves

The pellets that came with the AMNPS are a mix of Cherry, Hickory and Maple.  It's a great all around blend.

Pecan is similar to hickory, but not as strong.  I like Pecan on beef roasts and briskets

Todd
The beef broth sounds good but what does the sprite do?
 
Couple things......
I find that I get kinda immune to the smoke taste and smell on the day we smoke.  The next day my food has a great smokey flavor.
We actually prefer Beer Can Chicken, so I cold smoke my chicken for an hour or 2 and then 45 min on the grill.  If you want extra smoke flavor, try smoking for an hour or so before you turn the heat on.

If your pellets are not dry, the smoke can be light for the first 30 min. or so, but then get stronger as the pellets dry out.
Try nuking your pellets for 60 seconds before lighting and see if they produce more smoke
Light both ends for more smoke
Make sure the exhaust is WIDE open, pull the chip pan out 1.5" and pull the chip loader out 2"
Don't use water in the water pan, because it creates way too much moisture inside the MES


Todd
Todd I did all those things tonight and thought it solved my problem but after an hour I thought it went out but I removed the loader and it starts smoking again. I'm okay and would leave in the chip loader out but I'm afraid to do it and leave it alone? For instance if I cook a brisket overnight.
 
Hmmmm...?????

Usually pulling the chip loader doesn't work

Do you have an extension for a chimney on the exhaust?

A simple 3" aluminum elbow works wonders to make a simple chimney
 
 
Hmmmm...?????

Usually pulling the chip loader doesn't work

Do you have an extension for a chimney on the exhaust?

A simple 3" aluminum elbow works wonders to make a simple chimney
Ok I can do that should I keep doing the other things as well?
 
I was talking to my neighbor, who is an engineer for a gas fireplace company, and telling him of the inconsistent draft in my MES and sometimes it will actually backdraft.

His response to me was, "Have you ever seen a fireplace without a chimney?"

You need a chimney to create a draft..It was a Duh Moment for me!

Without a chimney, the wind can blow into your exhaust and actually cause the unit to backdraft

I originally tried 2 bean cans taped together and it worked!

Then someone on the forum suggested using a 3" aluminum elbow, and the crimped end fits nicely into the exhaust hole

And Yes, all these simple little things add up

Todd
 
 
I was talking to my neighbor, who is an engineer for a gas fireplace company, and telling him of the inconsistent draft in my MES and sometimes it will actually backdraft.

His response to me was, "Have you ever seen a fireplace without a chimney?"

You need a chimney to create a draft..It was a Duh Moment for me!

Without a chimney, the wind can blow into your exhaust and actually cause the unit to backdraft

I originally tried 2 bean cans taped together and it worked!

Then someone on the forum suggested using a 3" aluminum elbow, and the crimped end fits nicely into the exhaust hole

And Yes, all these simple little things add up

Todd
Todd big Congrats I see you are in Cabelas. I had the back draft killing by burn in the mailbox,that is how I came up with the elbow.
 
I would never smoke anything overnight without remaining awake overnight to monitor it. One of the guys here recently posted about how his MES caught on fire while he was smoking something and it was lucky he was outside to see it to unplug the smoker and put out the fire.
 
I was talking to my neighbor, who is an engineer for a gas fireplace company, and telling him of the inconsistent draft in my MES and sometimes it will actually backdraft.
His response to me was, "Have you ever seen a fireplace without a chimney?"
You need a chimney to create a draft..It was a Duh Moment for me!

Without a chimney, the wind can blow into your exhaust and actually cause the unit to backdraft

I originally tried 2 bean cans taped together and it worked!
Then someone on the forum suggested using a 3" aluminum elbow, and the crimped end fits nicely into the exhaust hole

And Yes, all these simple little things add up


Todd

Thats cool I am willing to try that but is there a way to make it come on & off the smoker easily when not in use so I can keep it covered?
 
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I would never smoke anything overnight without remaining awake overnight to monitor it. One of the guys here recently posted about how his MES caught on fire while he was smoking something and it was lucky he was outside to see it to unplug the smoker and put out the fire.

I do use a probe to keep an eye on the temp inside the MES to wake me in case a fire. The last time I did an overnight cook I added wood chips from 7pm - 12am then made sure they cooked off before hitting the pillow. It was not the best sleep I ever had but I did sleep some. I would think the internal temp would go up fast if there was a fire and my igrill app would wake me up. The wind picking up and setting the AMNPS on fire does concern me but I think the chip loader all the way in when I go to bed should prevent that.
 
If you search for riverrats damper you will see a simple damper that replaces the chip loader. Here is mine I think it is a corn can.


 I also use a stack. After trying a lot of variations this one was 15.00 delivered and it work well. I tried taller  and  fatter This one worked and looked good.

View media item 336193
I  just sit it on the smoker and remove to put the cover on. The stack creates a nice draft and the damper is adjustable for flow.  Jted
 
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Thats cool I am willing to try that but is there a way to make it come on & off the smoker easily when not in use so I can keep it covered?
The crimped end of the 3" Aluminum Elbow fits perfectly into the lole for the exhaust on the MES

Pressure fit

Remove it when done
 
If you search for riverrats damper you will see a simple damper that replaces the chip loader. Here is mine I think it is a corn can.


 I also use a stack. After trying a lot of variations this one was 15.00 delivered and it work well. I tried taller  and  fatter This one worked and looked good.

View media item 336193


I  just sit it on the smoker and remove to put the cover on. The stack creates a nice draft and the damper is adjustable for flow.  Jted
Nice this makes since you can control the airflow completely. Where did you find the stack? Are you using the AMNPS with this set up?
 
Hi, After my first long smoke I started researching the AMNPS. I knew I did not want to feed the smoker with chips.

This stack can be screwed on semi permanently or you can use magnets to hold it on or do as I do just sit it on top .Your exhaust is 3.25 on your MES and the ID of the stack is 2 3/8. 

That may seem small but the MES hole is 1/2 covered by the exhaust damper even when it is fully open. A SI, or Smoking TEX or other good quality smokers vent is about 1 inch so the 2 3/8 works fine. That in conjunction with the riverrat damper is a good fit.

Ordering information for the stack

Service Dept # (800) 963-0211 hrs 8am-6pm M-T 8am-5pm F EST

The Lowe's model number is 0190449

They said that they didn't' use the model number for the part but used the item description but here are both

Smoker Stack - 302-02009-00

On the assembly instructions its reference id is H

I found the price to be 15.98 delivered. The stack is a Lowe's master forge about 6 or seven inches tall.

 Jted
 
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I was talking to my neighbor, who is an engineer for a gas fireplace company, and telling him of the inconsistent draft in my MES and sometimes it will actually backdraft.

His response to me was, "Have you ever seen a fireplace without a chimney?"

You need a chimney to create a draft..It was a Duh Moment for me!

Without a chimney, the wind can blow into your exhaust and actually cause the unit to backdraft

I originally tried 2 bean cans taped together and it worked!

Then someone on the forum suggested using a 3" aluminum elbow, and the crimped end fits nicely into the exhaust hole

And Yes, all these simple little things add up

Todd
Todd, are you suggesting a chimney for every MES 30 model? I have a MES 30 Gen 1 and I haven't noticed any draft problems with my machine. What inconsistencies have you noticed with yours--and are you talking about a Gen 1 or Gen 2 or both?

I resist doing mods to my smoker because so far it doesn't seem to need and besides, I'm not that handy with stuff like that.
 
I do use a probe to keep an eye on the temp inside the MES to wake me in case a fire. The last time I did an overnight cook I added wood chips from 7pm - 12am then made sure they cooked off before hitting the pillow. It was not the best sleep I ever had but I did sleep some. I would think the internal temp would go up fast if there was a fire and my igrill app would wake me up. The wind picking up and setting the AMNPS on fire does concern me but I think the chip loader all the way in when I go to bed should prevent that.
That would be one troubled sleep. I know that I'd be waking up a lot just to check my Maverick receiver to confirm the smoker was still on, the interior temp and what the meat IT was. The Maverick has alarms for the temp hitting the min and max temp settings and for when the target IT is reached. The igrill sounds cool but I don't own a smart phone.

So far I've had no fire problems with my MES 30. One time the temp kept spiking to 295° because I had failed to clean the hi-temp limit switch on the back wall.
 
 
Hi, After my first long smoke I started researching the AMNPS. I knew I did not want to feed the smoker with chips.

This stack can be screw on semi permanently or you can use magnets to hold it on or do as I do just sit it on top .Your exhaust is 3.25 on your MES and the ID of the stack is 2 3/8. 

That may seem small but the MES hole is 1/2 covered by the exhaust damper even when it is fully open. A SI, or Smoking TEX or other good quality smokers vent is about 1 inch so the 2 3/8 works fine. That in conjunction with the riverrat damper is a good fit.

Ordering information for the stack

Service Dept # (800) 963-0211 hrs 8am-6pm M-T 8am-5pm F EST

The Lowe's model number is 0190449

They said that they didn't' use the model number for the part but used the item description but here are both

Smoker Stack - 302-02009-00

On the assembly instructions its reference id is H

I found the price to be 15.98 delivered. The stack is a Lowe's master forge about 6 or seven inches tall.

 Jted
If I ever do this mod, Jted, you have to be on Skype to talk me through it.
 
Hi, After my first long smoke I started researching the AMNPS. I knew I did not want to feed the smoker with chips.
This stack can be screw on semi permanently or you can use magnets to hold it on or do as I do just sit it on top .Your exhaust is 3.25 on your MES and the ID of the stack is 2 3/8. 
That may seem small but the MES hole is 1/2 covered by the exhaust damper even when it is fully open. A SI, or Smoking TEX or other good quality smokers vent is about 1 inch so the 2 3/8 works fine. That in conjunction with the riverrat damper is a good fit.



Ordering information for the stack

Service Dept # (800) 963-0211 hrs 8am-6pm M-T 8am-5pm F EST


The Lowe's model number is 0190449


They said that they didn't' use the model number for the part but used the item description but here are both


Smoker Stack - 302-02009-00


On the assembly instructions its reference id is H


I found the price to be 15.98 delivered. The stack is a Lowe's master forge about 6 or seven inches tall.



 Jted
Thanks for the info on this!! My MES was smoking perfect with the AMNPS and just stopped I think the wind got to it and possibly back drafted as Todd mentioned. The top of the MES 30 exhaust makes it vunrable to wind from all directions. The intake is down low and on one side and next to my other grill so less exposed in a sense.
 
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