Susie, I love spending other people's money. :-) Only trying to guide you in the right direction. I've researched smoke generators extensively and nothing beats an external smoke generator. I don't like the idea of having a smoke generator placed in the same location as what you're smoking. There's a reason why all commercial smokers have external smoke generators without the need for ice or other means of controlling oven temps. These internal cabinet smoke generators compared to external ones seem like they only solve part of the problem and are more of a hassle. I like something that just works without having to light it or put ice jugs in my cabinet.
I going to weigh in with Bear on your criticism of the
AMNPS because to me, said owner of the pellet smoker, you're not guiding Susie in the right direction at all. Since you don't own an
AMNPS you really can't comment on it with any authority; you're going off critiques you've read from just a few people. I can point to major and smaller appliances that work great in my home that some reviewers swore were pieces of junk and warned against buying them. You'll find a lot more positive reviews of the
AMNPS than negative.
It's important to note that the
AMNPS was designed specifically for both the MES 30 and 40 Gen 1. Some of the most experienced smokers here contributed to its R&D in their own MES units, Bearcarver being one of them, which I say makes him an expert whose advice is well worth taking.
As for the jugs of frozen water, that was one method to keep cheese from over-softening during cold smokes since it had a tendency to start melting onto the racks. Oh yes, the last time I cold smoked cheese this didn't happen; the cheese remained firm. However, the solution I'm using next time is to slightly freeze the cheese and to use QMATZ I just bought from Todd Johnson which will keep the cheese more intact. No more need for jugs of frozen water.
My biggest objection to the MB Cold Smoker--for me--is I don't want to hassle with yet another box for smoking that needs to be attached to my MES. Since I place my MES on a small table. it would be a huge hassle to try to connect the cold smoker to the wood chip loader hole. Much, much easier just to place the AMNPS inside my smoker and be done with it.
Lastly, the cold smoker has an electrical-powered feeder. That's yet another device which has to be plugged in, using yet more electricity over a smoke. Also, electrical motor can develop problems as can the feeder parts. The AMNPS is a metal tray for burning wood pellets; no moving parts and no feeding required. Will it work on smokers other than the MES? I don't know; Todd would be the one to answer this and would be happy to if anyone should ask him. He probably has already done so countless times.