How Many Mes Owners Here?

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Which One Do You Have?

  • 40'

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 40' with window

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 40' 800 watt

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I like it a lot

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Where did you buy it?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Sams Club

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other please list where in a post

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    2
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Packmanjim,

Hang around someone who has one. I'll bet you will understand in short order. Sorta like tasting your first smoked ribs. Words don't adequately describe the experience.
 
Eric, I'm still new to this, so consider that as I comment.  First, a six degree variation between two thermometers I would consider within the margin of error.  And who's to say the 168 reading wasn't the inaccurate one?  Also, the reading from the thermo you keep in the box vis a vis the unit's temp is about what I get with mine.  From what I've read here, you should expect that.  It sounds like you might benefit from a Maverick 732.  That would give you the box temp and internal temp at once.  I've checked mine against three other oven and meat thermos we have in the kitchen and I'm surprised to see how close they all are.
 
I use to think the same thing. You really appreciate the convenience when you want to start a brisket or pork shoulder at 2 or 3 in the morning, and using the amnps gives you some sleep time or extra brew time.
 
You guys are still working to hard.........

Put it on today, pull it tomorrow, let rest, shred, put in the crockpot's insert bowl, add a little of JJ's miracle sauce, cover and stick in the reefer.

The next day when you are ready stick on the crockpot heater maybe a touch more of JJ's and you are ready to go.

That middle of the night stuff is sooooo fireburner....... <chuckles>
 
I really do not understand why anybody would want an electric smoker.  I see all the reasons people post on here but sorry I just don't get it.

I was in your shoes a yr ago. I can now smoke more often without being rite beside my Outlaw watching it like a Hawk... Smoking Burgers as I type this.

My Outlaw will be converted to Propane very soon, it just takes so much fuel for a 9 to 12 hr smoke. Im past the hobby stage so to speak as I am smoking some type of meat 2 to 4 times a week now.. The MES is cheaper to run as mine is only 800 watt, I can run it cheaper than my kitchen oven and get a way better taste and end result...its a win - win deal for me -
~Jim
 
 
Had my MES 40 with window for a couple years.  Love it.  I am on a low carb diet and the chicken I smoke in it is a real staple in our house.  It quit working recently and I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms.  Apparently the relay switch is failed and the heating element is on all the time when the unit is plugged in, even with the control module removed from the unit! 

I will take the cover off the access box on the bottom tomorrow to check it out and hopefully I can find a replacement locally.  Mine came with no paperwork or instructions and although I downloaded owners info it still gives precious little info about the unit.

Wish it had included a simple wiring diagram.  That would have made it so much easier to figure out what the problem was.  Fortunately a kind soul here sent me a picture of a wiring diagram that someone had shared with him.  That makes it pretty obvious what the problem is.
Opened it up today.  Wow, they really don't want you fixing these things!  Relay is on a PCB that is stuck in the bottom of that access box on the bottom in a pool of white silicone sealant.  Whole circuit board is soaked in that white sealer.  Had to really work at it to dig the stuff off of it.  The relay is a 30amp Chinese control relay HF2160-1A-12DE.  A pain to get to and desolder from the board, but readily available . . . if you don't mind ordering from China!  Found a Canadian company that will ship me five through FedX which beats ordering it with the standard 30 day delivery from China.  Had to order 5 of them though.  Oh well, it was still cheap as compared to replacing the smoker.  Will post pics when I get it fixed in a week or so.
 
I really do not understand why anybody would want an electric smoker. I see all the reasons people post on here but sorry I just don't get it.
even with all the trouble i have had with mine , i still would own one and i also have a propane smoker and a stick burner, on those cold , windy winter days it sure does make it easy to smoke meat and not have to tend to the smoker and now that i have done the rewire and other things to the electric smoker it works great and smokes all the meat i want during the cold weather . i would almost say the electric smoker is the easiest too use ,almost a set and forget it unit..
 
We bought our MES about 8 years ago from Sam's and it never quite worked all that well.  When we moved from Hudson to Dade City, the element stopped working altogether, so I cleaned it up and stored it away until I got the idea to convert it to an indirect cabinet smoker.  It is still a project on the back burner until I can find a firebox to hook up to it.  I planned to attach this through the hole in the side where the wood-chip tray goes in by using a threaded 4" pipe.  tThe electric element will be completely removed during this process.  I think that this will give me some satisfactory smoking.  Until that time, I will continue to use my Brinkman electric smoker.  I smoked a nice turkey breast Saturday, I nor my wife really like turkey and she took the breast off the smoker too soon.  Part of it was done and part still needed to cook for a while longer so she put it in the oven to finish the cook.  It had beautiful color on the smoke ring (I used hickory chunks), but still it's turkey.  My wife made a wonderful turkey noodle soup with the leftover breast meat, she makes her egg noodles from scratch and it was a fantastic soup.

I don't hover on the forums all that much but I will be around from day to day, always looking for ideas from others, this is how I learn as well as trial and error.
 
All-

I am seeing a lot of discussion about the temp variation between what the MES chamber temp shows vs what the meat probe shows (when not in meat). I also noticed that some people put a cork on their meat probe and other thermocouples. That seems like a good idea, keeping it off the rack metal so if you know about that, maybe post?

I want to call you attention to a class of products that log temperature over time and then download the data into a computer. It is good to know how high your electric smoker is cycling and what the average temp is over time.

I can not put a link here because of the rules but if you google "data logger" "temperature logger" "logger pro" and stuff like that, you will find a lot of low cost and interesting stuff.

Brian [email protected]
 
not sure about their temp probe and cords look to be vinyl or rubber... if I could plug my probe in, it would be perfect though... im running 10 degrees high when the burner shuts off,  I can live with that as my stick burner at times would be 25 to 30 degrees high when I added wood or coal...
 
 
All-

I am seeing a lot of discussion about the temp variation between what the MES chamber temp shows vs what the meat probe shows (when not in meat). I also noticed that some people put a cork on their meat probe and other thermocouples. That seems like a good idea, keeping it off the rack metal so if you know about that, maybe post?

I want to call you attention to a class of products that log temperature over time and then download the data into a computer. It is good to know how high your electric smoker is cycling and what the average temp is over time.

I can not put a link here because of the rules but if you google "data logger" "temperature logger" "logger pro" and stuff like that, you will find a lot of low cost and interesting stuff.

Brian [email protected]
Hi Brian!

Just the fact that the two probes are not at the exact same place in an MES can give from 5* to 50* difference, and yes being against a metal rack or wall isn't good.

I don't use cork or a potato. I just bring my smoker probe  through the top exhaust hole, and hang it through a rack, keeping the probe in open air. Then when I have it right where I want it, I tape the probe wires to the top of my smoker with electrical tape. The meat probe, I generally only use inside meat.

Bear
 
Yes, good point about the variation within the chamber.

I put a little computer fan, the chamber, just hanging by its wire held there by the door gasket. I only did it once and at the time was cold smoking some bacon. That bacon was a failure because it picked up an acrid smoke flavor that was just awful. I was using my external smoke generator of a cool moist day and leaving the smoker at ambient temperature, maybe in the low sixties. 

The smoke just hung in the smoker, not venting, and condensed on the cool surfaces. I learned an important lesson.

I would like to have some science to explain this acrid smoke thing. I wrecked some cheese the same way. I often get a bit of acridity  but it generally goes away if I let the cold smoked item mellow for a few days.

I woule like to see some science to explain the acrid smoke flavor but my theory is that there are compounds that volatilize at a higher temperatures and vent out, but instead collect in the condensate and off-gas. Imagine gasoline or something smelly like that condensing in the smoker and then giving off fumes.

Hanging a fan in the smoker probably only made it worse. An amazing amount of tarry gunk collected on the fan.

I am thinking though that at higher temps, up around 130-150 where I would normally be smoking, the fan would put a stop to the uneven temperatures. 

Fun stuff. Thanks for the feedback.

BB
 
 
Yes, good point about the variation within the chamber.

I put a little computer fan, the chamber, just hanging by its wire held there by the door gasket. I only did it once and at the time was cold smoking some bacon. That bacon was a failure because it picked up an acrid smoke flavor that was just awful. I was using my external smoke generator of a cool moist day and leaving the smoker at ambient temperature, maybe in the low sixties. 

The smoke just hung in the smoker, not venting, and condensed on the cool surfaces. I learned an important lesson.

I would like to have some science to explain this acrid smoke thing. I wrecked some cheese the same way. I often get a bit of acridity  but it generally goes away if I let the cold smoked item mellow for a few days.

I woule like to see some science to explain the acrid smoke flavor but my theory is that there are compounds that volatilize at a higher temperatures and vent out, but instead collect in the condensate and off-gas. Imagine gasoline or something smelly like that condensing in the smoker and then giving off fumes.

Hanging a fan in the smoker probably only made it worse. An amazing amount of tarry gunk collected on the fan.

I am thinking though that at higher temps, up around 130-150 where I would normally be smoking, the fan would put a stop to the uneven temperatures. 

Fun stuff. Thanks for the feedback.

BB
I wouldn't blame your fan. The fan should help both the heat & the smoke to circulate. The big thing in my opinion is to have your exhaust vent open, and your smoke light to medium. Heavy smoke is the biggest cause of the acrid smoke flavor (creosote) that you're talking about. The name of the game is TBS (Thin Blue Smoke), however it is hard to get actual "Blue" Smoke with an electric smoker. I that case light white smoke is fine. IMO

This is not scientific, but a whole lot of experience by Me and Hundreds of others on this forum agree with this.

Bear
 
I wonder if you placed the same fan on top of the exhaust vent, you could use it to "pull" smoke out from the smoker so that the smoke doesn't linger?
 
 
I wonder if you placed the same fan on top of the exhaust vent, you could use it to "pull" smoke out from the smoker so that the smoke doesn't linger?
I believe that would suck the heat out of the box too much.

Even when it gets a little windy out, I have to block the wind to keep it from sucking the heat out through the vent.

Bear
 
​Received my MES 40 with window just the other day.  I seasoned it tonight and am planning on an 8lb Boston Butt tomorrow. (Sitting in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap after being rubbed)

I've heard all the horror stories about the temp readout not being accurate.  I put my regular cooking thermometer in through the smoke vent and monitored the temp during seasoning.  I was alarmed to see that both my thermo and the meat probe were reading 30 degrees higher than the smoker.  BUT....I had both probes sitting on the rack, which I see from reading above causes misreadings.

I guess I'll just throw the meat in at 0 dark thirty tomorrow and just monitor the meat temp and hope it comes out OK.
 
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