MES40 Gen1 - Relocating the top vent

You are going to have a b!tch of a time drilling through the SS liner... just saying... probably near impossible unless you use plasma....

Don't' you like my tunnel design......

.. ..

cmayna said:

Hmmmm. SS liner? That does sound like a bear to deal with. What's holding your tunnel up against the ceiling? Do you have a thread created regarding this?

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Whatever you do up top, put it way over to the left. You have to overcompensate to make up for the heat being on the bottom right.

If your vent is on the right, the heat will go up the right from the element to the vent.

If your vent is in the middle the heat will go up mostly on the right until it gets near the top, then it will go to the middle to the vent.

Actually I found it to work much better to just put the removable heat deflector in the bottom right of my Gen #1. With that I am able to guide the heat from the element on the right over to the center of the smoker, so the center of the heat flow begins in the middle of the smoker before it rises through the meat, instead of after it gets at or near the top of the smoker.

Bear

Heat deflector bottom right. Elevating the left edge creates more movement from right to left before rising:

cmayna said:

Hmmmm. SS liner? That does sound like a bear to deal with. What's holding your tunnel up against the ceiling? Do you have a thread created regarding this?

Click to expand...

Enlarge the picture on the left.... You will see where I put a wire through the tunnel and secured it to the stack closure...

Bearcarver said:

 
Whatever you do up top, put it way over to the left. You have to overcompensate to make up for the heat being on the bottom right.

If your vent is on the right, the heat will go up the right from the element to the vent.

If your vent is in the middle the heat will go up mostly on the right until it gets near the top, then it will go to the middle to the vent.

Actually I found it to work much better to just put the removable heat deflector in the bottom right of my Gen #1. With that I am able to guide the heat from the element on the right over to the center of the smoker, so the center of the heat flow begins in the middle of the smoker before it rises through the meat, instead of after it gets at or near the top of the smoker.

Bear

Heat deflector bottom right. Elevating the left edge creates more movement from right to left before rising:

image.jpeg

• smokin monkey
• Feb 12, 2016

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Yeah!  Heat deflector.  Plus the deflector covers the chip housing , keeping it clean from drips. 

-Kurt

cmayna said:

 
One of my many upcoming mods for my new toy is to install a new vent on the left center area.  Is the insulation (assuming there is some) a hard foam insulation type?   Is there any known wiring going through the roof in that area?   Such as for the inside light?   Wouldn't want to drill thru a bunch of wiring. 

Think I should turn off the smoker before I start drilling?

JK.

Click to expand...

Like Bear said.  The heat just needs to rise anywhere but straight up the right rear corner past the sensor to the top vent.  You need to make the heat work it's way to the top vent. Plus the deflector gets the Mes controller to more closely match the digital therms on the food racks.  In the pic below I have a similar deflector to Bear's and the empty water pan can be on any level.  The higher the pan the less grease vaporizing occurs from the drippings that fall into it and it more evenly distributes heat the closer it is to your food your smoking.  I have a piece of cardboard the size of a sheet of paper 8.5"X11".  I wrap it in aluminum foil.  Cardboard ignites at 451*F so it's all good especially wrapped in foil.  Also, the hangers for the water pan on the lowest rack aren't centered, leaving a bigger space along the back wall for heat to rise.  I use a rack as a centering template to center the water pan on whatever level I want it then just remove the rack if I'm not cooking on it.  


-Kurt