Newbie Smoker in search of advice

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Ethos

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 20, 2017
15
2
Hi All,


I've been lurking around the forum for a few days now, while also doing some research online as well. I'm a little confused with all the information available, and also unable to find some information i am looking for.


I am in search of an electric/digital smoker, however, I am still unsure as to whether to get one that uses pellets or wood chips, I've seen people comment on both but seeing as this is my first smoker, and I'd like to get something around the $500 mark, especially since Black Friday is approaching. One of my main concerns, is that I live in Canada, and I am concerned that electric/digital smokers will not be able to maintain the required temperatures to smoke chickens, briskets, ribs etc. Where I live we get temperatures between -10 to -40 on a cold day (obviously wouldn't smoke at -40 Celsius) (approximately 14 to -40 Fahrenheit with an average temperature of -13, or -25 Celsius).

Now I had an idea of building a shield of shorts to prevent too much cold air coming in or hot air escaping, not sure if that would make much of a difference.

I saw a Portable MasterBuilt one https://masterbuilt.com/product/portable-electric-smoker/

but it tells me how many output of Watts it has (1800) but not how high the temp rises. Would anyone be able to provide me some advice on purchasing a quality electric smoker that would do alright in the cold? Thank for any advice or input, it's greatly appreciated.
 
I can recommend the smokers from Smokin-it. They use chunks. You can get a chip screen if you want to use chips. They are very well insulated. Check them out.
 
I can recommend the smokers from Smokin-it. They use chunks. You can get a chip screen if you want to use chips. They are very well insulated. Check them out.

Hi Sarge, thanks for getting back to me, I’d love to hear your recommendations from smokin-It.
 
Ethos - Here is the web site. Best advice I can give is to prowl around the site. Lots of good information. There are a few Canadian owners of these units, and quite a few in the colder portions of the USA. They report smoking in the dead of winter with no problems. The analog Model 3 is currently out of stock but due back in a week or two per Steve, the owner. There is also quite a bit of information here at SMF; just use the search feature for Smokin-it. https://www.smokin-it.com
 
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Ethos - Here is the web site. Best advice I can give is to prowl around the site. Lots of good information. There are a few Canadian owners of these units, and quite a few in the colder portions of the USA. They report smoking in the dead of winter with no problems. The analog Model 3 is currently out of stock but due back in a week or two per Steve, the owner. There is also quite a bit of information here at SMF; just use the search feature for Smokin-it. https://www.smokin-it.com


Thank you for the recommendation, I love their products from what I can see so far, I think i"ll wait until Black Friday to make a purchase to see if I can perhaps get a bit of a discount. Thank you for your help!
 
Waiting is worth a shot. In the meantime, here is what one fellow did with a Model 4D and 6 turkeys. Plenty of more videos on youtube regarding Smoking-it to help you decide regarding size.

 
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Something else you might want to consider which I just though of would be a pellet smoker. They are electric, sort of in that they need electricity to feed pellets and to digitally control the temperature. Traeger and RecTec are both well known and respected in certain circles. The Traeger feeds pellets from the end and the RecTec feeds from the center to a center mounted fire pot. So they both cook with wood pellets and can smoke as well as grill. If I were to have to choose one or the other, I believe I would go with the RecTec because of the center feed. Completely different animal from a purely electric smoker. There is a pellet smoker section on SMF, and you can always visit that. But I like the convenience of electric. Still, I do get the itch once in a while for another piece of gear.
 
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What part of Canada are you in?? You didn't include any info in your profile. I'm in Alberta and I use my MES 30 Gen 1 year round. Admittedly I'm gone a lot of the winter hauling logs, but when I get home I fire up the MES. Wrapped up in a welding blanket to help keep heat in (or left unwrapped) the MES performs great. It just takes longer to get up to temp during the winter.
Gary
 
Camp Chef pellet grills are center fed as well, and you can get insulated covers for them, rec tec and traegers. They are easy to find on amazon, but none provide any temp ratings really, so you'd have to ask about that. Gary's suggestion of a welding blanket is probably your best option. Camp chefs are a little price friendlier, but also offer less cooking space, fyi.
 
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What part of Canada are you in?? You didn't include any info in your profile. I'm in Alberta and I use my MES 30 Gen 1 year round. Admittedly I'm gone a lot of the winter hauling logs, but when I get home I fire up the MES. Wrapped up in a welding blanket to help keep heat in (or left unwrapped) the MES performs great. It just takes longer to get up to temp during the winter.
Gary


Hi Gary,

I'm also in Alberta. Do you find this an easy smoker to use? I'm a beginner, only used a smoker once. I just looked it up and it's a great price. Just to confirm, you are able too control the exact temperature? Also that's a great idea to use a welding blanket as a cover to keep the heat in, I never thought about that.
 
Camp Chef pellet grills are center fed as well, and you can get insulated covers for them, rec tec and traegers. They are easy to find on amazon, but none provide any temp ratings really, so you'd have to ask about that. Gary's suggestion of a welding blanket is probably your best option. Camp chefs are a little price friendlier, but also offer less cooking space, fyi.

Thanks for your help, I think I'll go with a welders blanket; it had never even crossed my mind before.
 
Ethos - One last thought: Research as much as you can on the various smokers that grab your interest paying close attention to the pros and cons. Even though I suggest Smokin-it, they are not for everyone. Some don't like its looks, some don't like the price. Some don't want to buy without actually being able to se it in person. All valid. And while budgets are very important, buying quality and reliability is equally or possibly more important.
 
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Ethos - One last thought: Research as much as you can on the various smokers that grab your interest paying close attention to the pros and cons. Even though I suggest Smokin-it, they are not for everyone. Some don't like its looks, some don't like the price. Some don't want to buy without actually being able to se it in person. All valid. And while budgets are very important, buying quality and reliability is equally or possibly more important.

Thank you Sarge, I definitely love the look and rating/reviews I've read. the price doesn't bother me too much, however the shipping costs getting it to Canada with the duties is a little much for me. I've been looking in to this MES 30 that Gary recommended, it has great reviews and is available locally. Seems like a good price too for someone who's just getting in to Smoking. I'm not too concerned with looks in general, my main concern is having something that will satisfy my appetite and something I can learn from and go from there. But I'll have to do some more research yet.

Do you have any thoughts on the MES 30? Thanks again for taking the time to give me some pointers, it's greatly appreciated.

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/7141...lite-30-black-electric-smoker-with-meat-probe
 
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I only know what I have read. Zero experience. There are a lot of them out there and it would appear that the series 1 (I think) was and remains the most reliable and the series 2.5 is next. From what I have read, the series 2 is problematic. Not sure but some identify a particular series by where the controller is located, either at the back or the front. I would not know one from the other. Thus, do your research. Unless you you get a device from A-Maze-N, you will be adding chips probably every 20 or 30 minutes, maybe somewhat longer, from what I have read on the forum. The devices from A-Maze-N will give you a few hours of smoke without refilling. Several owners of the Smokin-it use them as well for cold smoking.

Use the search feature for MES 30 and study up on it is the best advice I can give. And good luck.
 
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Thanks Sarge, I'm a little skeptical with the control unit and thermostat.

I've been doing some research on this one at Amazon, looks pretty good.

 
For the Masterbuilt 20077515 I posted above, i can't seem to find information on how long the chips would last/need to be replaced, would anyone have an idea about this?
 
IMO you can't go wrong buying thst MES 30 Gen 1 at Cabellas for $200. They'r regular about $350.
Excellant smoker, very easy to use.
But...
--MES therms and probes are very inaccurate. You'll need to get a good 2 probe digital therm.
--you'll pretty much never get a smoke ring
--you'll probably get tired of adding chips every half hour or so. I strongly recommend buying an AMNPS (pellet tray) for smoke.

If you do get this smoker then just PM (private message) me and I'll try to answer all your questions.
Gary
 
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IMO you can't go wrong buying thst MES 30 Gen 1 at Cabellas for $200. They'r regular about $350.
Excellant smoker, very easy to use.
But...
--MES therms and probes are very inaccurate. You'll need to get a good 2 probe digital therm.
--you'll pretty much never get a smoke ring
--you'll probably get tired of adding chips every half hour or so. I strongly recommend buying an AMNPS (pellet tray) for smoke.

If you do get this smoker then just PM (private message) me and I'll try to answer all your questions.
Gary


Thanks for all your help Gary, I ended up getting the 30" I posted above, it's being delivered on Friday, I'm hoping to try her out on Friday night. However I wonder if I can use that pellet tray with model I bought. Do you think I would?
 
Thanks for all your help Gary, I ended up getting the 30" I posted above, it's being delivered on Friday, I'm hoping to try her out on Friday night. However I wonder if I can use that pellet tray with model I bought. Do you think I would?

Congrats on a GREAT buy!! You'r gonna live it.
As for the AMNPS (pellet tray) absolutely. Todd designed the AMNPS specifically for the MES 30 Gen 1. It fits on the rack just to the left of the chip tray. Personally I could never keep it burning there--just not enough air supply. So I ended up doing the Mailbox Mod (lots of info here so just do a search) and now it works perfectly.
Lots of others haven't had to do this si you'll just have to play that by ear.
John @bearcaver is the acknowledged expert on all MES. I just alerted him so he'll be here soon. He has some easy and cheap mods that will make your MES work like a charm.
BTW where in Alberta are you?? You haven't filled in your profile info yet.
Gary
 
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