a good reliable review 8)

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oldschoolbbq

Legendary Pitmaster
Original poster
OTBS Member
Jul 16, 2008
9,359
204
NW Ohio - outside Toledo
At the rquest of Trish , my better half , I will be getting an Electric Smoker. Little as I want to , Health is leading me towads an alternative Smoking method . I have looked at a lot of units and have come to a point as I need to know if the Master Built 40' Syainless Steel  , Glass front modle is worth the investment
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 .

I will be using my AMNPS with it and hope I can attain the Smokerings I get with my Stick Burner ,or close anyway.

Please give me all the Negatives and Positives you can ... I may want to go another route (brand)... or method all together.

Thanks ahead of time and as always . . .
 
I have the older mes 30 and after doing a few mod's (pid, mailbox, etc) it has been great.  Wont get any smoke ring with an electric though.  I have read many people having issues with the newer mes models.  Might want to check out the smokin-it line of electric smokers as well.
 
People have had good results getting smoke rings from using charcoal pellets in their ANMPS, or in the alternative, crushing a briquette and adding it to the rows.
 
There is a whole bunch of things to learn yet. You may not even know what low temp smoking is until you have to turn down your smoker so a ham or some kind of sausage can come in to its own. My friends and family have no complaints about the stuff I smoke. Fish. nuts, things you haven't smoked before etc. Not as bad as your are thinking.
 
Stan, 

as someone else pointed out the MES does have its problems.  I don't want to make anyone angry who uses it and enjoys smoking with it, but the fact remains that to make it work you will need to do a few mods.  Also it is not the most reliable unit out there. 

I have spend the better part of the last 6 months researching electric smokers as I need an alternative to my gas grill that I use as a smoker as well.  (due to living in a very windy area and having a very hard time controlling low temperatures as a result)

It seems that one of the most reliable and least complex units are the Cookshack,  Smoking Tex and the newest member of the group Smokin-It. 

Of the 3 ,  Smokin-it is the least expensive.   They have 3 sizes, appropriately named #1, #2, #3....

It seems of the 3 only the #3 will accept a couple of full rack of pork ribs and whole brisket.   The others you may have to cut them up in half. 

I am very close to ordering the #3 for myself.... (had to get approval from the family accountant) :-)

there are a couple of threads here on this forum.   read the threads if you can to get an idea......

HTH

Zed
 
Hi Stan.

Until recently, I used an MES40 all the time. It was the older generation, which I understand can still be purchased if you look. I never experienced anything but great cooks with it, and would recommend it. I always used an AMNPS with it, and it always worked great! Like others, I've heard many negative stories about the newest generation MES in terms of quality and design, but I don't have any direct experience.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to go with.

Red
 
Hi Stan.

Until recently, I used an MES40 all the time. It was the older generation, which I understand can still be purchased if you look. I never experienced anything but great cooks with it, and would recommend it. I always used an AMNPS with it, and it always worked great! Like others, I've heard many negative stories about the newest generation MES in terms of quality and design, but I don't have any direct experience.

Good luck and let us know what you decide to go with.

Red
Exactly!!!

I do ALL my smoking on my MES 40, and never had a problem. I use my Amazings in it always, but only because the Amazings put out Perfect Smoke. No smoker will put out constant, consistent smoke for up to 12 hours, like the Amazings will. So I can't tell you about the new MES 40, because I don't have one, but the one I've been using for years is Awesome>

Bear

PS: I did no Mods on mine except I lay a piece of aluminum in the bottom right, and a SS sink strainer to keep bugs from entering through the top exhaust vent.
 
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Stan if you do decide to go for the MES 40,  you may want to consider the older generation . You can still get that on Amazon.  it's about 100 bucks more expensive than the new generation....

just an FYI

Zed
 
Stan, I have been using a Old Gen MES40 for 18 months and it is great. I have not done any mods because the AMNPS was designed to go right in and function perfectly. It will not hold the volume of meat your Tejas does but the MES will not mess with your lungs like that stick burner. The other Electrics mentioned above range from $100 more than an MES to several hundred more. All good smokers but not very AMNPS friendly because of the small vents and limited drafting. The BIG Question is...When can I come get that Nasty, Old, Gonna Kill You One Of These Days, TEJAS!?!?!...

Your Bestest Buddy in Smoking...JJ 
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If I remember right my MES40 was the first thing I purchased after joining SMF. It's a nice size smoker and does a great job without any mods. The only problem I had with it, one of the wires going to the heating element got overheated (probably lose connection) and burned off. Made a quick fix and back in business. I haven't used any other brand of electric smoker so I can't comment on them. Good luck!
 
Thanks guys, and JJ , I'm to be buried in mine, not even the Son or G-Son will get at it,... it's mine and that's all to say...
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I'll be usinf it in the Summer(MY Woody) , it's the Winter that has me suffering and this can be set and let it work. Do't geyt me wrong , I love my Tejas , but now I'm getting old and the Weather screws with me.
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