Stainless Steel on Gen 1 MES40

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dvuong

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jun 5, 2014
83
13
Daly City, CA
I just finished putting together the Gen 1 MES 40 yesterday.  It wasn't too bad, although I did have a bit of a hard time getting the controller to sit right with the stabilizing screw and what not.  

For those of you that have the full SS body, how hard is it to maintain?  It seems to scratch/dent fairly easily.  There's already a small scratch on the top of the smoker and the interior of the door has a little ding.  

I do miss the body of the Gen 2 - the black seemed to hide things a lot better and didn't seem nearly as fragile. 
 
 
I just finished putting together the Gen 1 MES 40 yesterday.  It wasn't too bad, although I did have a bit of a hard time getting the controller to sit right with the stabilizing screw and what not.  

For those of you that have the full SS body, how hard is it to maintain?  It seems to scratch/dent fairly easily.  There's already a small scratch on the top of the smoker and the interior of the door has a little ding.  

I do miss the body of the Gen 2 - the black seemed to hide things a lot better and didn't seem nearly as fragile. 
Mine is 5 years old, and gets smudges easily, and I never look at it for scratches, but I would guess there are many. I'll look next time I take the cover off.

The important thing (to Me) is that after 5 years of the Sun's UV, cold, heat, and Humidity, there isn't one flake of rust on it---Anywhere.

Bear
 
That's the problem with stainless steel: it may be "stainless" but it shows every scratch and ding easily. That (and the added expense) is the reason why my wife and I never buy stainless steel appliances.

But realistically, unless you're a cleaning fanatic the inside of your smoker will get blackened and stained after a few smokes. But to protect the outside you should buy a cover for it.
 
 
I just finished putting together the Gen 1 MES 40 yesterday.  It wasn't too bad, although I did have a bit of a hard time getting the controller to sit right with the stabilizing screw and what not.  

For those of you that have the full SS body, how hard is it to maintain?  It seems to scratch/dent fairly easily.  There's already a small scratch on the top of the smoker and the interior of the door has a little ding.  

I do miss the body of the Gen 2 - the black seemed to hide things a lot better and didn't seem nearly as fragile. 
That controller screw is a PITA.  When it says 15 minutes to assemble, it's without the screw dilemma!  I went to the Dollar Tree and got the SS wipes!  I hear olive oil is good for SS.

-Kurt
 
 
Mine is 5 years old, and gets smudges easily, and I never look at it for scratches, but I would guess there are many. I'll look next time I take the cover off.

The important thing (to Me) is that after 5 years of the Sun's UV, cold, heat, and Humidity, there isn't one flake of rust on it---Anywhere.

Bear
I had to scrub around the chip loader for what looked like rust but it came off with a plastic scrubbie thing, I don't know what it's called ( I got this one May /June this year.)  Magnets are really attracted to the outside SS which means not much Chromium in the steel or it's attracted to the steel behind the thin shell.

-Kurt
 
 
I had to scrub around the chip loader for what looked like rust but it came off with a plastic scrubbie thing, I don't know what it's called ( I got this one May /June this year.)  Magnets are really attracted to the outside SS which means not much Chromium in the steel or it's attracted to the steel behind the thin shell.

-Kurt
LOL---Yup, I'm sure they don't use any high grade of SS, but no rust in 5 years isn't bad. Much better than any of my Pre-1990s vehicles.

Another thing I like about my SS is the electrical tape I use on the top to secure my Maverick cables sticks Awesome, and didn't stick well at all to the black surface on my old MES 30.

Bear
 
Did you guys wipe down the inside before seasoning?  

Also, does the base of your controller sit flush with the top of the smoker or is there a little bit of a gap/slant to it?  I can't get mines to be fully flush with the smoker and it doesn't look like it was designed to be; there's maybe a 2cm gap.
 
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LOL---Yup, I'm sure they don't use any high grade of SS, but no rust in 5 years isn't bad. Much better than any of my Pre-1990s vehicles.

Another thing I like about my SS is the electrical tape I use on the top to secure my Maverick cables sticks Awesome, and didn't stick well at all to the black surface on my old MES 30.

Bear
Looks like it's just thin sheet metal really.  It would be great if a magnet sticks to the exterior chamber.  That way, I can mount my Thermoprobe to the side of it. 
 
 
Did you guys wipe down the inside before seasoning?  

Also, does the base of your controller sit flush with the top of the smoker or is there a little bit of a gap/slant to it?  I can't get mines to be fully flush with the smoker and it doesn't look like it was designed to be; there's maybe a 2cm gap.
Mine fits pretty good, but I wouldn't try to force it. It doesn't matter if it's a little off.

Bear
 
Looks like it's just thin sheet metal really.  It would be great if a magnet sticks to the exterior chamber.  That way, I can mount my Thermoprobe to the side of it. 
Believe it or not, I never tried a magnet on mine. I did drill a small hole (3/8") with a HSS drill bit, and it didn't drill easily!! (Kinda like SS)

Bear
 
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