Question to mes owners.

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dribron

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Apr 9, 2010
214
10
Elk River MN
Today I was given a gift from a good friend of mine, a 50.00 off code for cabela's. The idea was too buy a Bradley like he has, but even with 50.00 off it is still pretty spendy, and with the puck cost it will contenue too be. So I was thinking of buying the 30" mes (black one) that Cabela's has on sale for 149.00. This would make for a pretty affordable smoker for me. Before I do I wanted to ask a question.
It seems that for the most part everyone seems to be pretty happy with the mes, this is great but I have also read about the problem of element failure. And from what I have read, replacing the heating elemenmt is impossible. So I would like to know just how many people have had this trouble, and how it was handeled? Was it somehow repaired? Also how long do these smoker tend to last? Can I expect to get five or six years out of it, or is less time more the norm?

Thank you for the help. Just trying figure out what the best choice is. The mes or maybe just bite the bullet and get the bradley...
 
I've had mine (30 inch) almost a year and used it almost every week and no problems at all.You can replace the element too , do a search ,its not that hard .
I've talked some friends into getting one and they are happy with the ones they have too.
 
Oh it can be replaced? On the digital black one? Awsome, I had read a few places on-line where people had stated their difficultys. This may have been on a older model.. Regardless, thank you for your replay.
 
Is the 30" digital back MES on sale at Cabelas for $149?....Really!?!?!?

I would get the MES over the Bradley in a heartbeat. At $.40 per puck, a 4 hour smoke will cost you over $5. Each puck lasts 20 minutes, and you wast the first and last puck on every smoke. At $4 for a couple pounds of chips at Wally World and you'll get many hours of smoking time ahead.

I own the 40" MES and rarely use the chip loader anymore(Long Story), but I would never trade my MES for a Bradley. Ask Beer-B-Q, he's selling his Bradley and already bought a 40" MES to replace it.

Just my 2 cents!


Todd
 
I love my 30" MES and yes I had a failure when it was a little over a year old. However it is not a true element failure it is a connector that goes on the element. This is easily replaced and the instructions can be found on this forum. It takes approxiamtely an hour to drill all of the rivets to get access but it is not hard to do.

I would definetly recommend the MES, it turns out some amazing Q.
 
The MES 30 that is at Cabela's now is probably the new model. If I'm not mistaken, it has a little access box right behind the problem spot. On the old model, you have to remove the whole back, by drilling out about 2 dozen rivets (not really that big a deal).

I'd buy the MES40 with glass door (about $300), but you can't beat that MES30 for $149.

Bearcarver
 
Home Depot had the 30" with window down to $174 I think but I don't see it on their website now, some stores might still have it. Sams is the best I think we've seen on the 40" at $299.
 
I've had my MES for 3 years now. Smoke on it 2-3 times per month on average. No Problems.
 
I was one of the lucky ones who got the homedepot.com windowed version w/ meat probe for $174 last month.Below I copied from amazon's website most recent reviewer for the MES 30" smoker.It contains good info regarding element replacement model stuff.

30" Electric Smokers
====================
> Model #20070106; sold here on Amazon.
For heating element replacement, you must replace the entire body - and the customer can do this. The cost for the new body is $60.00 plus shipping and handling.
> Model #20070110; smoker with window and meat probe
The heating element alone can be replaced by the customer.
> Model #20070910; standard 30" edition
The heating element alone can be replaced by the customer.

40" Electric Smokers
====================
> Model #20070710; smoker with window and meat probe
The heating element alone can be replaced by the customer.
 
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