Need help deciding on a new MES 30"

[Bearcarver]

I was just trying to ask if I would be better served by the unit I have getting delivered or the unit everyone is getting better, or if I would even notice a difference between the 2 etc. The one I've got cost almost exactly what everyone is getting this one for on here and I just wanted the best bang for the buck.

Thanks

I'm still not sure what you mean, because without reading all the posts I don't know what you mean by "The one everyone is getting".

So I'll guess:

Since I know the one you're getting delivered is a Generation #1 MES 30, and that is a Great Smoker.

I will guess that the one you're referring to as "Everyone is getting" is a Generation # 2.5, which is also a great smoker.

Therefore, as long as my guess is right, I wouldn't bother changing what you're getting.

Bear

 

[averhoeven]

You guessed correct. It seemed as though this thread had almost exclusively become about the 30" gen 2.5 smoker people were getting direct from Masterbuilt which is why I thought that part was clearer.

Thanks for the help, just trying to figure it out before I open the box and set it up

 

[wayoung]

I finally got mine setup this weekend and it will NOT smoke no matter what I put in the chip tray? Wood chips, sawdust etc??? Any ideas why? I doesn't appear to me that the chip tray is sitting on the heating element like my old MES gen 1? With the way they have the chip tray mounting bracket installed there's no way to get it any closer?? I'm planning on calling MES today to see what they will suggest?  :help:  

What's the temp outside? We've been hitting 37C here and since the temp is so high the element isn't turning on enough to ignite the pellets, so no smoke. Could be your issue too. I've found raising the temp to 250 for a couple minutes just to turn on the element and getting the pellets going works.

Of course, everyone is going to tell you to buy an amazen pellet tray and you won't have that problem.

 

[wayoung]

Fedex sends a bill around 3 weeks later. $10 brokerage fee and taxes. I order RC parts from the US and it's the norm.

I got a surprise too today. Opened my front door and there sitting on my steps is my smoker. Masterbuilt shipped it to the billing address instead of the shipping address. I have a trip to the US coming up and would have had $800 CAN duty and tax free to bring my smoker back. Now I will get charged from Fedex the $10 fee and 13% (MB) on $290 CAN about $40. 

 So a $50 mistake. Called Masterbuilt to just tell them to watch the labels when shipping. With getting the smoker a week early and getting such a good deal I was not going to worry about the extra cost. Would you believe they apologized and said to send them the extra charges when they come in in the mail and they will refund me the difference.

Wow what great customer service. 

Going on six weeks now and no additional bill.

 

[mikecam]

Going on six weeks now and no additional bill.

   You might just get lucky. My luck is not so good. Received mine in the mail

wilf battery fedex bill 005.jpg

• mikecam
• May 31, 2016

week. Will pay it and send the bill onto MB with the RA number they gave me. 

 

[Bearcarver]

 
I finally got mine setup this weekend and it will NOT smoke no matter what I put in the chip tray? Wood chips, sawdust etc??? Any ideas why? I doesn't appear to me that the chip tray is sitting on the heating element like my old MES gen 1? With the way they have the chip tray mounting bracket installed there's no way to get it any closer?? I'm planning on calling MES today to see what they will suggest?  

 

Yes----If the tray is too far from the element, the chips won't smoke.

If the tray is too close (against), the chips can flare up & burn out.

If it's working perfectly, it will go from no smoke until it starts smoking, Then light smoke, to nice smoke, to too heavy smoke (creosote), to back to No Smoke.

Then you put more chips in and start the whole PITA cycle over again.

Or you can get an AMNPS, like wayoung said, and load it, light it properly, and enjoy up to 11 continuous hours of perfect smoke.

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

 
I've owned the AMNPS for several years now and I'd say I only have luck with it 50% of the time max. I will NOT stay lit/burning no matter what I try?? In this new unit there isn't a place to set the AMNPS like there was in my older MES so where is everyone placing them?? Everyone always says light it properly.....how is everyone lighting them properly???

Here's a good link for getting it started good, At least read Post #1 & 2:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/140859/how-i-light-my-amnps-w-video-link

If you're using the Gen #2.5 MES, I've found the best thing to do is put your bottom rack in, and set the AMNPS on the far left on that rack.

If it still goes out, or burns too light, move it to the right side of that bottom rack, and pull the chip dumper out a couple inches.

Top Vent fully open.

Bear

 

[oarriaga26]

First time poster

I decided take a dive into owning an electric smoker..after seeing alot of negative feedback about the 2nd gen I'm wondering if I should take it back..i just picked one up at Lowes for 63 dollars because of a discount code and gift card I had.. what do you guys think?

 

[johnmeyer]

 
Do you do anything special with the pellets prior to lighting it?

No. Some people do pre-heat them, in the oven, or with a heat gun, but I don't think that is necessary unless they have gotten damp during storage.

Here is my method for lighting:

Video: Heat Gun Lighting AMNPS - No torch used

It is similar to the video Bearcarver linked to, except I use the heat gun to first do a preheat of the chips that are close the lighting area, so that they are both dry and hot. I then crank the heat gun up to full and use it to actually get the chips lit. Because of all the super-hot air going over the chips during the ignition process, the chips near the area that actually lights get very dry and are ready to smolder.

I still sometimes have it go out, but this almost always happens in the first fifteen minutes of the smoke, and I think this happens when I get impatient and put the AMNPS into the smoker before it has had a chance to smolder outside for the full ten minutes.

So, to repeat, the one key, whether you use a butane torch, propane torch, heat gun, or some combination, is to let the tray smolder, outside the MES, for at least 8-10 minutes. You want to get a big chunk of chips creating smoke, and have it ignited top to bottom. Then, when you are ready to put the AMNPS into the MES, pull the MES chip tray out about 1/2 - 1 inch to let a little air from the chip loader holes to waft over to the AMNPS, which you should place on the rails to the left of the chip loader, if your model is built that way (there are different versions, and some don't have the rails). Also, make sure the drip tray is pushed all the way forward (I stated this incorrectly in my video, but "fixed" it by putting some text over the video to explain what should be done). You want to do this so the drip hole is not covered. The air coming up from this hole helps provide additional oxygen to the AMNPS.

I hope this helps.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Do you do anything special with the pellets prior to lighting it?

This is all I do to my Dust and my Pellets:

For those of you who have an "A-MAZE-N-SMOKER", or any other dust burning smoke generator, This is how I keep my powder (Dust) dry. Humidity will effect how the dust burns.

As soon as I open a plastic bag full, I put it right into jugs like these & screw the top tight.

I have some that's 6 years old---Still burns fine.

View media item 68424

 

[Bearcarver]

First time poster

I decided take a dive into owning an electric smoker..after seeing alot of negative feedback about the 2nd gen I'm wondering if I should take it back..i just picked one up at Lowes for 63 dollars because of a discount code and gift card I had.. what do you guys think?

It's up to you---The other two are better smokers than the #2, but some people seem to be satisfied.

If I had to use a Gen #2, I'd remove the useless slanted drip plate & put the bottom rack in with a foil pan for a water pan on it.

Bear

 

[makaroni28]

I just picked up this smoker from Lowes Model #: 20077915 Masterbuilt JMSS 800-Watt Electric Vertical Smoker. Its 10% off and I found another 10% off coupon online. Im an impatient buyer lol

I called master built for 3 days and was on hold for an hour before I had to go back to work, every time they returned my call I was working and couldn't pick it up. bummer. 

Although I did finally talk to them after I was an hour into seasoning my new smoker. They only have the red model left, and quoted me 180 + 86 shipping. The rep said the only difference between the model I bought and the ones they were selling ( the ones cobra posted) were the included legs and cover. But it seems the drip/water pan is different as well.

But i am excited to get started on this smoker journey, and glad I found this forum! And thanks for all the great info so far! Next stop will be checking out Bearcarver's guides

 

[goldmine1965]

 
This is all I do to my Dust and my Pellets:

For those of you who have an "A-MAZE-N-SMOKER", or any other dust burning smoke generator, This is how I keep my powder (Dust) dry. Humidity will effect how the dust burns.

As soon as I open a plastic bag full, I put it right into jugs like these & screw the top tight.

I have some that's 6 years old---Still burns fine.

View media item 68424

Hey Bearcarver,

Any benefits to using the dust over the pellets?

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Hey Bearcarver,

Any benefits to using the dust over the pellets?

The Dust is easier to keep going, and it makes less heat in your smoker for smoking cheese.

The Pellets are good for higher heat (at least 275°) without the fire jumping rows. 

I'm not sure how hot dust is OK in an AMNPS, but the AMNPS was designed to take the place of the AMNS, because with Dust in the original AMNS, it could jump rows & burn out quickly at temps above 225°.  

Bear

 

[oarriaga26]

It's up to you---The other two are better smokers than the #2, but some people seem to be satisfied.

If I had to use a Gen #2, I'd remove the useless slanted drip plate & put the bottom rack in with a foil pan for a water pan on it.

Bear

Okay thanks

So I remove the pan and water pan and just set a foil pan on the last rack?

 

[cobrasjp]

I take a slightly different approach to using one of the AMAZEN smokers in my Gen 2.5 MES.

I use the AMAZEN 6"-9" expanding tube smoker pulled all the way out to 9" and fill it with pellets. I don't think it oversmokes at all. I place it on top of a steel mesh drawer organizer that I found at Walmart. It's a Mainstays Mesh Organizer 2" x 3" x 9" (long and narrow, just like the tube smoker). You have to remove the four rubber feet from the bottom or the mesh organizer. I place it INVERTED on the left side of the bottom drip pan with the 9" dimension running front to back. I then lay the lit tube smoker on top of the inverted mesh organizer. I remove the MB chip loader and get a good draft of TBS that keeps the pellets lit. My burn time is about what AMAZEN states for the tube smoker.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Bearcarver]

I take a slightly different approach to using one of the AMAZEN smokers in my Gen 2.5 MES.

I use the AMAZEN 6"-9" expanding tube smoker pulled all the way out to 9" and fill it with pellets. I don't think I oversmokes. I place it in top of a steel mesh drawer organizer that I found at Walmart. It's a Mainstays Mesh Organizer 2" x 3" x 9" (long and narrow, just like the tube smoker). You have to remove the four rubber feet from the bottom or the mesh organizer. I place it INVERTED on the left side of the bottom drip pan with the 9" dimension running front to back. I then lay the lit tube smoker on top of the inverted mesh organizer. I remove the MB chip loader and get a good draft of TBS that keeps the pellets lit. My burn time is about what AMAZEN states for the tube smoker.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Sounds like the tube is working good for you, as long as the smoke isn't too heavy.

When I tried the Tube in my Gen #1, I got too much (Heavy) smoke, so I always used the AMNPS in it. That was Perfect.

Now I get very light smoke with the AMNPS in my Gen #2.5. I think I'll give the Tube a try in that one.

Thanks for your post,

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

 
So I tried the new MES 30 again last weekend and the temperature fluctuation is even worse than my older MES!!!! The temp is off by at least 30 degress and it swings up and down when the element turns on or off by30 degrees and more. Why cant anyone make a decent smoker that heats and smokes the right wa, instead of having to use all these attachments, stand alone smokers, etc?

What is 30° off ??

Is the Maverick 30° different than the MES ? Then just set your MES accordingly to get what you want on your Maverick.

The other thing;

That swinging isn't really a fault of the smoker----The up swinging happens after the element shuts off.

And the Down Swinging happens after the element comes on.

Most MES units only do the big swings when you first start up for awhile, if you don't do anything to stop it.

Then once it's going for awhile it should settle down to a single digit swinging cycle.

I would imagine, like mine, yours comes on about one or two degrees below set temp, and shuts off at set temp. That's what it's supposed to do.

Hope this helps,

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

 
30 degrees different from what the smokers set to and what the actual temperature inside is

That's what I thought.

That's Pretty Normal.

I like to put my Maverick ET-732 within a few inches of the meat, and ignore what the MES says.

Then if the MES is 30° under the real temp, I just adjust my MES to make the Maverick Temp what I want.

Mine is usually 10° to 15° off.

Bear

 

[uncle eddie]

 
30 degrees different from what the smokers set to and what the actual temperature inside is

I would contact Masterbuilt.  Their customer service is outstanding.

I have an MES 40 and only have single digit swings - often no more than than +/- 3F.  

Side note on the MES 40 - I hated the glass in the door but had no other option.  After 2 smokes...it was roached, never to be cleaned again. However, I did not realize the glass in the door had an upside... the glassed door is less insulated than a solid door causing the heating element to cycle more often resulting in a better, more even smoke using their manual chip feeder.