Something isn't right if you cant get smoke under 245. If that's the box temp, not the setting temp. I have the MES 30 and have discovered that if the outside air temp is hot, the box is so efficient it will hold 225 for a long time (or any temp really) which causes the element to not turn on as much.
I've had to turn my temp setting up to get smoke, but it wasn't the element or anything, its the fact that the box gets hot and stays hot from its good seal and insulation.
Try shading the box from the sun if its hot outside (I avoid smoking when outside temps are above 90 deg.) and opening the vent more or all the way.
Masterbuilt tells you to keep the vent closer to closed...that's great for a cold day, but on a hot day it will not circulate enough air. You need to exchange more air on a hot day so lower temp air enters more freely. It uses more chips but allows the element to turn on more frequently.
Find a thermometer with a remote probe and feed it in to the box through the door gasket, don't trust the built-in one that came with the box, although mine is fairly accurate. See if you can verify that your read-out on the box jives with a second trusted thermometer. If your box is getting to 245, the element is clearly clicking on, but good to check to make sure the temps you think you are getting are correct.
Spending 13 hours to barely get smoke sucks. I just cooked a 9 lb butt in my pressure cooker yesterday in two hours and the meat was literally so tender it could be almost gummed rather than chewed. Sure, it doesn't have that bark I love so much...but 2 hours...ya know...I do cut it in to chunks, season them and brown them pretty hard to get that mailliard reaction before putting in the cooker, which kicks the flavor up to close to 10. Plus I use that meat for carnitas/pork tacos and slam it on the cast iron flat griddle after pressure cooking with some extra pork fat or lard and sear a nice crust, basically a Mexican double cook!. Next time I'll use alderwoood smoked salt instead of regular salt in the seasoning. Its not a total substitute for smoked...but damn...I didn't have to start at 6 am to eat by 7 or 8 and it was smack yo mamma good. I like Butt smoked, pressure cooked, slow cooker cooked, cut in to country ribs and smoked and grilled...ground...OK...I just like Butts...:icon_lol:
Great looking pull there too. Way to handle it.