Bob's MES 30 Analog build

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In my original plans for my MES Custom SS mod, I was going to install a round "dispersion" plate centered below the smoke stack inlet and spaced about 1" below the top of the inner liner.  My thoughts were it would help to keep the heat more even from the center of the smoker to the edges.  Before I installed it, I figured I would run the MES Custom with just the smoke stack (which has a 2 1/4" diameter).  I did not notice any real heat differences across the racks so I left it as is.  I've thought about using a piece of scrap poster board on a snack stick smoke (170* tops, the poster board should hand that OK) and just let the bolts friction fit through holes and see if it makes any difference.

If  you are going to use a ball valve through the body as your smoke stack (which is a novel idea and a good one IMO), I would up it to 2" or even 2 1/2" and just use short lengths of black steel pipe to complete the stack.  Should be fairly inexpensive and give total control over air flow.   I also enlarged the hole over the drip tray for more inflow of air when I modified my MES. I used the same 2 1/4" size hole as the smokestack.  I did not use the existing hole as the center as I wanted to ensure the entire hole was over the drip pan so it will still function as a drip pan.  I made the back edge of the existing hole along the back edge of the enlarged hole as the drip pan does not go the entire length of the body of the smoker (front to back), but it does extend all the way from just past the hole in the back to the front edge of the smoker.  The drip pan sits about 3/8" below the bottom so there is plenty of air flow into towards that intake hole.

Probably makes more sense in photos....

 
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I think that having the external smoke generator would add additional air accomplishing the same thing as your enlarged opening at the bottom.

The ball valve is a good idea in my opinion as well it is infinitely adjustable and all brass so nothing to melt. The only real problem with ball valves is that they are expensive. A 2" ball valve is $52. I bought a 1.5" at HomeDepot.com for #18.33. If I need more airflow I can add a second 1.5" somewhere else to spread out the exhaust and still be cheaper than the 2".

Adding a second 1.5" may be a good idea just for the option of forcing two exhausts.

My ultimate goal here is snack sticks. I want them to cook/dry evenly. I have seen people hang them from the rods at the top to the bottom rack and they appear to come out great but I worry about the bottom being over done and the tops being raw. Therefore even temp as possible is the objective.

If I can get things right for snack sticks then all other smoking operations would work out fine.
 
An exhaust ball valve sounds great but being such a tight fit to regulate water, oil or gas it may seize with sticky smoke reidue when the smoker cools when not being used. On my mes 40 when cool the top vent is locked into it's last set position so I loosened the nut for more play so I can break it loose when cool. Since it sits in the recessed opening and is only closed on preheating and when done applying smoke it probably doesn't need a nut and bolt. It's easy to move when hot. I was just wondering if the tight ball valve would be more maintenance.
-Kurt
 
Hondo....    To get a uniform heat supply in your electric smoker, get something to cut down the wattage so the element stays on all the time... 

I have done that with my electric smoker...  I adjust the wattage and control the temp with the controller....  

I used a dimmer switch BUT in the last few years electronics has improved...  Now I have 2 SCR's for controlling other electric stuff and they are cheap and work awesome....

 
I have used ball valves on other smokers and the sticky residu has not been an issue. I think it just rubs off as you turn the vale due to the tight tolerance.

I have used ball valves for both incoming air and exhaust air control. About the best thing I can think of for this. I have been using them for many years on all of the 20+ smokers I have built over the years.

Dave,

Keeping the heat consistent is not my problem using a PID, getting the entire inside of the smoker to be at the same heat is my goal. I want to eliminate hot and cold spots as much as possible.
 
 The heating element turning on and off creates a very hot spot when it turns on...  and a cold spot when it's off...  Having it on continually at a reduced wattage evens out the heat in the smoking cabinet....   It's like turning down the flame on a gas burner.....

My ultimate goal here is snack sticks. I want them to cook/dry evenly. I have seen people hang them from the rods at the top to the bottom rack and they appear to come out great but I worry about the bottom being over done and the tops being raw.

Reducing the wattage will solve the problem you describe....
 
Dave,

The PID pulses the power to the element.  It is not a full on / full off type situation as the element never gets fully heated when it's close to the set point due to the pulsing.  I have not seen any issues of a hot spot in my modded MES on a PID.  Also as temps start to fall of it pulses the element to gently bump the chamber temp back up to the set point.   That is how PID's hold such tight temp tolerances, and I generally see only a 2 degree swing at the most.

The only time the PID has the element "full on" is after I've had the door open moving the grates around to deal with the heat distribution in the MES.

Hondo,

Unless you are using 1 or 2 grates, there is going to be some heat difference on the levels.  It's just a fact caused by the rising heat column.  At the lower levels there is more heat/energy in the air. Part of this is sucked up by the meat being smoked so there is less energy/heat at the next grate up, and so forth.   I don't really notice it until I start putting 4 or 5 grates in mine.  It's easy to deal with.  At about the 2/3 time mark I swap the grate order moving the top to bottom, 2nd from to to 2nd from bottom, etc...   I can run up to 8 grates in my modded MES, but the most I have run is 5 at one time.  I smoke my sticks laying flat on a PTFE coated fiberglass mesh mat on top of each grate.  Same for cut whole meat jerky.  I have figured out that at about the 2/3 time mark if I do the grate rotation, that is the only time I need to fiddle with the grates in mine on a snack stick smoke (top temp set for 170* in the final stage).
 
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Tonight I decided to do a test for maximum heat. I turned the smoker on full blast to see how hot it would go. It went to 250 at the one hour mark. At two hours it was still at 250.  I had it to 350 for the seasoning run but that was with a really old thermocouple so now with new one I only get 250. I used two meters, mine with a new thermocouple and the neighbors. Both read 250. That is not going to do it for me. I now there are times I will want to raise the temp over 250 for crisping chicken skin or other things.

The one thing I have not done is eliminate the "Controller" that is used for temp control. I know it is limiting the wattage to the element and removing it and wiring direct with PID control will probably get me the ability to go a lot higher. Anyone here already eliminate the control pot and if so how is it working out?
 
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Tonight I decided to do a test for maximum heat. I turned the smoker on full blast to see how got it would go. It went to 250 at the one hour mark. At two hours it was still at 250.  I had it to 350 for the seasoning run but that was with a really old thermocouple so now with new one I only get 250. I used two meters, mine with a new thermocouple and the neighbors. Both read 250. That is not going to do it for me. I now there are times I will want to raise the temp over 250 for crisping chicken skin or other things.

The one thing I have not done is eliminate the "Controller" that is used for temp control. I know it is limiting the wattage to the element and removing it and wiring direct with PID control will probably get me the ability to go a lot higher. Anyone here already eliminate the control pot and if so how is it working out?
I only have for digital MES40's never an analogue version but it is the same principle.  It is pretty easy you just need the wire from the cable to connect to the heating element. 

Best of luck :)
 
The mod is easy. I was looking for the RESULTS others have had by doing the mod. If I had the connectors I would have already done the mod.

I have a 1250 watt element and am curious how it will do when supplied with full power compared to the limited power the provided Potentiometer allows. I would love the ability to get over 400 degrees, not that I would ever need it but having that flexibility to go to any level I want is the goal.

I am sure someone here has done it and I would like to hear how it worked. There is always the possibility that it won't help at all and there is no point doing the mod.
 
I did not eliminate the analog temp control when I added a PID to mine.  I just crank it to full on and let the PID run the show (the analog control plugs into the back of the PID box).  I want to say mine is a 1500 watt element and I saw yours is 1200w.  I know mine topped out at around 375* during seasoning and with a full load of meat about 290* is the best I can do.  Also mine is fully insulated with roxul mineral wool.

I've just recently started using mine for stuff other than sticks and jerky and it sits right next to my big Weber S670 gasser so I can crisp/sear to finish on that.   Since I'm using a pellet tray for smoke, I keep mine at around 225* and just finish on the gas grill if needed.  I really like just flipping on the PID, and starting a 3" line of pellets and by the time I get the meat prepped, the pit is at 225* and the pellets are ready to be blown out and put in for smoke.  I built mine for sticks and jerky but it's seeing a lot of other uses now.
 
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Your 1500 watt is the one that came with it? I replaced mine with another shape for even heating. Seems to me 1250 should be fine for such a small volume.

I will make a temp cord and test it with straight full power and see how it goes. If it gets considerably hotter, I'll make the change permanent and add the PID.
 
No, the MES analog comes with a 1200 watt stock element.  I put in a 1500 watt element I had used for my e-WSM mod.  The stock MES element ran way too hot on the right side as I was pulling the chip tray out in my mods.  They concentrate the element on that side to keep the chips lit.  I wanted a more even heat distribution.  Here is the original MES element and the one I put in when I did the mods.  MES stock is on the left in the first photo (and the other element is still mounted in my extra WSM door).  Middle photo is the stock MES element as it came installed, and bottom photo is my 1500 watt element slid in the stock mounting hole (tight fit on the right side, but it did fit).  The modded element has two legs on the far side to keep the element from sagging so I could pull the MES element support bars out, just never got around to it.

I still don't know if my element will crisp chicken like you described wanting to do.  I built mine for sticks and jerky and doing other things in there is a bonus for me as I have other smokers for chicken and higher temp cooks/smokes.



 
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Added another change to the smoker. Added the smoke stack.
Parts include a 1.5" ball valve and a 1.5" closed nipple and a locking ring.

Here are the photos

Inside, outside and a wisp of smoke
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