Added another smoker - mes 30 electric need tips

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griz400

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Mar 27, 2016
1,458
523
Never had an electric smoker, always an offset, but, was at Walmart just now .. and managers were marking down all BBQ stuff, grills, etc.... and there was this smoker and I just asked them what the price was going to be .. they said around 125 ..I said I will buy it right now for 100.00, they said ok.. I put it in the buggy ... lol ...
Now , I need some pointers on it .. I bought 2 bags of the small hickory chips and maybe smoke on it tomorrow ... thanks all.. looking for some pointers ...

IMG_0745.JPG IMG_0746.JPG
 
seasoning it up right now.. I have read about all of the mailbox mods, just ran it for 1 hr now added 1 load of hickory and seems like a lot of smoke .. and keeps smoking for about for a while now ..a thin nice stream of smoke...seems nice
 
I have had an MES40 for several years. Some things that I do now that are noteworthy

Wrap the water pan with foil and don't use water. The smoker is tight, the temp is thermostatically controlled, and water in the water pan is simply not needed.

Some fill their water pan with sand and then wrap with foil to get a large hot mass - but I don't open my door very often so I do not do this. It does take longer to get the smoker to temp if you do this, but it will definitely get back to temp quicker if you must peek at the meat.

Chips do not need to be soaked. 6 or 7 chips (+/-) every 20 to 30 minutes will get you perfect thin blue smoke.

Just about everyone runs their MES with the top vent wide open.

BE SURE TO SEASON YOUR NEW SMOKER...but you probably knew this already.

Cheers!

Ed
 
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Seasoning it up right now ... good tip on top vent, now wide open ... I see alot of people have added mailbox mods .. I see others like bearcarver doesnt ... how do you feel about this ... points to you eddie ..

Going to try it out tomorrow ..
 
point to you rings ... probably wont do a mod if more smoke isnt needed ..
 
Some dont use the mail box , but most use the tube or the tray like Tropics said .
There is a learning curve , just FYI .

works great for some things , good for others .
 
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Thanks Richie .. point to you .. just seasoning it up as we speak "type" lol... most people would not pass this up for 100.00 ... The smoking chambe on the side where you add chips .. That's not enough ???
 
Your going to like it. I'm doing average temp on my new MES40 so I know what the temps are at each rack position. Helps out knowing. Bear does it for his. Found I need a deflection plate in the back corner to even out the temp on that side. Good luck and happy smoking.
If points still are in effect in the new platform. Points to you for sure.
 
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Not at low temps , and some dont like to tend to the loading . I use both
 
Some dont use the mail box , but most use the tube or the tray like Tropics said .
There is a learning curve , just FYI .

works great for some things , good for others .


Just seasoning it all up .. probably will get the one that looks a maze ... point to you ...never had a smoker like this .. always had a side burner , now a reverse flow ... got this to play around, and only 100.00 .... lol.. want to make jerky and some Canadian bacon as well ... some sausage ... and think being able to smoke at a low temp .. would be a plus .. my reverse flow will smoke all day long at 225 ...thanks chopsaw .. if you think of something else .. let me know ...
 
Your going to like it. I'm doing average temp on my new MES40 so I know what the temps are at each rack position. Helps out knowing. Bear does it for his. Found I need a deflection plate in the back corner to even out the temp on that side. Good luck and happy smoking.
If points still are in effect in the new platform. Points to you for sure.


Want to smoke some different stuff on it .. sausage, bacon, maybe a butt or 2.. seems to hold a temp nice right now ... want to smoke some jerky up instead of the dehydrator .. I love deer jerky with my marinate and sprinle on some onion flakes ...
 
Thanks Richie .. point to you .. just seasoning it up as we speak "type" lol... most people would not pass this up for 100.00 ... The smoking chambe on the side where you add chips .. That's not enough ???
I never liked that little chip pan You can get TBS with the amnps or tube
I got a cheap tube from Target I wanted to try,tube or tray both work
Hint on the tray raise it up with either spring binder clips or screws
Richie
 
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Another point Richie ...will order the one that looks like a maze i guess .. seems to be a lot of smoke right now though .. won't know till I smoke something .. Thinking of a stuffed meatloaf on it tomorrow .. was going to make it on my reverse flow .. looking to stuff a meatloaf with peppers, mushrooms and Velveeta and bacon wrap it ... that was the plan when I bought it all .. then I bought this smoker ... and sorta want to try it out ... Since you have one, what temp for the meatloaf .. 225 ???
 
Another point Richie ...will order the one that looks like a maze i guess .. seems to be a lot of smoke right now though .. won't know till I smoke something .. Thinking of a stuffed meatloaf on it tomorrow .. was going to make it on my reverse flow .. looking to stuff a meatloaf with peppers, mushrooms and Velveeta and bacon wrap it ... that was the plan when I bought it all .. then I bought this smoker ... and sorta want to try it out ... Since you have one, what temp for the meatloaf .. 225 ???
I have not made any meats in mine
I think maybe 250 would be better because of the way it cycles
Use an outside probe the gauges that are installed are normally way off
Richie
 
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Oh yeah ... I always put probes in te meats .. always cook my internal temp ...another point ... till I run out of points ...
 
Point to you johnny b ....... when I smoke jerky .. it's only like at 160 ... hard to get my reverse flow that low and consistent ... other things at a low temp would be nice as well ... cheese,etc
 
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