I purchased my Sam's MES last June 2008, 2/3 of the money was a Father's day gift, with 1 year extended warranty. The MES has worked great since, with a few minor glitches, nothing a couple of hard resets couldn't fix.
Sam's MES owners know the unit comes with a great heavy duty vinyl cover, or so I thought. I live in Sacramento, Calif. weather here isn't extreme, so I store the MES under the eve on the patio, along side my Weber Genesis and Weber Kettle each have a cover. The MES cover which is black has started turning purple from the UV rays, and one corner seam has started to split about 6 inches.
My warranty had just reached its limit, but I took a chance and called Masterbuilt. The lady that answered the phone was nice, pleasant, and helpful. She told me the warranty had expired but thought it wasn't right that the cover had deteriorated so much (especially since I have covers on my other two webers and one is over 10 years, the other over 8yrs).
She is sending a New MES cover No Charge and No Freight.
I hear a few people complaining about their MES units. I originally purchased the MES based on posts I read here at SMF. Sure some owners had problems, but a little effort fixed the problems and generally people were really happy with their MES. The 40" MES has a lot of features, SS, digital control, double wall - insulated, external wood chip tray,etc. One feature I really liked, I could lay a rack of ribs flat, most of the other Cabinet style smokers required you to either roll or cut the rib rack. I used to sell supplies to Sheetmetal shops, to get a double wall Stainless Steel insulated Cabinet, would cost around $400-500. I decided that if the MES failed after one year, I could easily convert it to a charcoal or wood smoker, or simply replace elements and electronics and I would still have a great smoker.
Thus the MES is a great investment, provided the body/cabinet is well cared for. The MES for my life style is a good fit, simple to use, the digital controller and external wood chip feeder allow you to do other things besides tend fire and manage temperatures, and the food usually comes out great!
Thanks Masterbuilt for taking care of this customer...
Sam's MES owners know the unit comes with a great heavy duty vinyl cover, or so I thought. I live in Sacramento, Calif. weather here isn't extreme, so I store the MES under the eve on the patio, along side my Weber Genesis and Weber Kettle each have a cover. The MES cover which is black has started turning purple from the UV rays, and one corner seam has started to split about 6 inches.
My warranty had just reached its limit, but I took a chance and called Masterbuilt. The lady that answered the phone was nice, pleasant, and helpful. She told me the warranty had expired but thought it wasn't right that the cover had deteriorated so much (especially since I have covers on my other two webers and one is over 10 years, the other over 8yrs).
She is sending a New MES cover No Charge and No Freight.
I hear a few people complaining about their MES units. I originally purchased the MES based on posts I read here at SMF. Sure some owners had problems, but a little effort fixed the problems and generally people were really happy with their MES. The 40" MES has a lot of features, SS, digital control, double wall - insulated, external wood chip tray,etc. One feature I really liked, I could lay a rack of ribs flat, most of the other Cabinet style smokers required you to either roll or cut the rib rack. I used to sell supplies to Sheetmetal shops, to get a double wall Stainless Steel insulated Cabinet, would cost around $400-500. I decided that if the MES failed after one year, I could easily convert it to a charcoal or wood smoker, or simply replace elements and electronics and I would still have a great smoker.
Thus the MES is a great investment, provided the body/cabinet is well cared for. The MES for my life style is a good fit, simple to use, the digital controller and external wood chip feeder allow you to do other things besides tend fire and manage temperatures, and the food usually comes out great!
Thanks Masterbuilt for taking care of this customer...
