How Many Mes Owners Here?

[bacca]

just got the smoker box retro. simple as a phone call, model and serial number and 7 days later, a retro kit. did some babybacks w/o the retro and got some decent smoke, so can't wait to see the diff. i used my smoker in the teens and everything worked fine.

I received my 40" MES 1200 watt just about a week ago. Looking forward to using it soon. What issues are they having with the smoker box?

Thanks Bacca

 

[rjp123]

I just bought a MES 30" analog from Cabelas (http://www.masterbuilt.com/prod-smokers-analogue.html)!  It was on sale for $159 including shipping.

Once the weather gets warmer I can't wait to get smokin'!

 

[smokyjeep]

.

 

[lupus]

New to the forum and new to smoking

Picked up the 30" rigged up for Australian power from Misty Gully in Australia

Only got it early in the year, and truth be told, haven't actually opened the blasted box. With the flood situation and the sudden food shortages, I haven't had a chance to actually look at the item. Which is a darn shame since I was all excited about the purchase over the xmas period.

 

[porked]

I have a good sized charcoal/wood smoker, but picked up an electric MES this Winter. I have to be honest, this MES does a great job in my opinion. When you couple it with an a-maze-n smoker, it's pretty hard to beat. Now, if I'm doing a couple of butts and briskets, the wood smoker is the choice, but when I just want to do a chicken, turkey breast, a pair of fatties or stuffed peppers, I will go with the MES everytime. Bought it at Lowes for $179. and so far I positively love it.

 

[birdman1099]

I just picked up a MES 30 last week from Lowes.  Digital, no window.  I have only used it twice, but I seem to have a problem.  I noticed whan I drop a load of chips in, the smoke billows quite quickly.  This morning I ooked into the side hole to look at them and they were on fire.  I thought the 2 previous smokes I did tasted a bit "off" but I thought maybe I was using too much wood.  Now I know.  Anyone else having this issue or just me....

If I can get past this issue, I bet I'll love it !!!!

 

[SmokinAl]

I just picked up a MES 30 last week from Lowes.  Digital, no window.  I have only used it twice, but I seem to have a problem.  I noticed whan I drop a load of chips in, the smoke billows quite quickly.  This morning I ooked into the side hole to look at them and they were on fire.  I thought the 2 previous smokes I did tasted a bit "off" but I thought maybe I was using too much wood.  Now I know.  Anyone else having this issue or just me....

If I can get past this issue, I bet I'll love it !!!!

Get an AMNS, I have the 40 w/window, and haven't used the chip drawer in months.
 

 

[swamp puppy]

Just got the old style 30" (no window) a few weeks ago and so far i love it.  I've done Ribs and a Loin and both came out great.  Very easy for the beginner to use.  I just popped a pork belly in about 5 minutes ago and hope to have some tremendous bacon here in about 2 hours.  I am sure the end result will be more a function of the quality of the belly and the cure/seasoning than the smoking, but it looks good so far.

I ordered an AMNS to use pretty much specifically for smoking cheese at this point and i am excited for it to get here (tracking number says today is the day).  I feel like the combination of the ease of use of the MES and the versatility the AMNS will give me should have me set for all my smoking needs for a long time to come!

-Ed

 

[porked]

I just picked up a MES 30 last week from Lowes.  Digital, no window.  I have only used it twice, but I seem to have a problem.  I noticed whan I drop a load of chips in, the smoke billows quite quickly.  This morning I ooked into the side hole to look at them and they were on fire.  I thought the 2 previous smokes I did tasted a bit "off" but I thought maybe I was using too much wood.  Now I know.  Anyone else having this issue or just me....

If I can get past this issue, I bet I'll love it !!!!

Did you soak the chips? If not try that. Before I bought the AMNS, I really had no problem with the chips, other than every 45 minutes you had to reload. With the AMNS, that problem is solved. The MES 30 works well, especially for the money.

 

[jwsailor]

I received my 40" MES 1200 watt just about a week ago. Looking forward to using it soon. What issues are they having with the smoker box?

Thanks Bacca

According to the folks at Masterbuilt the smoker box upgrade only applies to the MES30

 

[pawoodswalker]

 Doing My first Smoke in MES tommorow cant wait.

 

[southensmoker]

Got mine at lowes

And I do like it...  Thinking of getting a bigger one or just building one out of an old frig

 

[dauber]

Just purchased. Testing this weekend with a Boston Butt.  Old propane smoker gas value broke and looking for new valve. In the meantime I wanted to try an electirc version.= so I took a chance on the MES 40 w/window.

 

[daveomak]

I've had the MES 30 about a month. Chicken was first, Kosher dogs wrapped in bacon 2nd and cheesse third. I works flawlessly.

Thanks to all the folks here who have posted their experiences when using this smoker. Their posts are why it is on my patio now.

 

[smoker21]

I bought a 40 with a window and have used it 5 times so far and have had great luck.  Brisket was first (YUM).  Chicken a couple of times.and babybacks (YUM YUM!!!) twice.

Looking for more brine & rub ideas.

Worth every penny!

JD

 

[johnbphotos]

Bought an MES 40 this year. Having a bit of a time getting used to it. So far I ruined a $45 prime rib and $30 worth of ribs but had an awesome salmon smoke. Smoking a meatloaf today.

I found on mine that the temps are off quite a bit (10-20 deg) so I'm running my own digital therms and trusting them not the MES.

Other than that I like it a lot.

 

[vernski]

Anyone having problems with their Mes, PM Darryl the MES Tech-guy via this forum use the search. I had a few problems with my MES 30 and Darryl solved them. He replaced the control that was reading a error message when the temp was below 32*, now works fine. Then the chips were just turning to charcoal and not burning up to ash, so he replaced the fire box and chip tray. Now it works as it should. And I'm a happy smoker Thanks Darryl....Vernski

 

[Bearcarver]

Bought an MES 40 this year. Having a bit of a time getting used to it. So far I ruined a $45 prime rib and $30 worth of ribs but had an awesome salmon smoke. Smoking a meatloaf today.

I found on mine that the temps are off quite a bit (10-20 deg) so I'm running my own digital therms and trusting them not the MES.

Other than that I like it a lot.

Yup,

I guess there are very few smokers that have accurate therms built in.

You are doing exactly what you should do.

The digital remotes are more accurate, can be checked easily, and can be put close to the meat, so the area you are measuring is the area your meat is setting in.

Sorry about your Prime Rib & Ribs!

Bear

 

[bustintires]

just put another mes on layaway at cabelas. found a 40" s.s. with glass door, meat probe and remote for 245.00 in the bargain cave, has a small ding on the side and missing the chip feeder. shouldnt have any problem replacing the feeder. my bride and i have gotten so much use out of our 30 for the last couple years that we are really lookin forward to the new arrival.. gunna need a bigger deck as i will not retire any of our other units. it will be cramped with the 5 burner perfect flame grill, mes 30 and 40, uds, sideburner new braunsfeld and the camp chef double burner range, but it is still cozy.

 

[slideman]

This MES 30 is my first smoker.  The first thing I ever smoked was an 8 1/2 lb brisket, and that was about 3 weeks ago.  I invited over a bunch of the family and everone loved it.  I have 4lbs of pok loin in the refregerator right now that I will turn into bacon later this week.  I got the MES at Amazon because of the free shipping etc.  So far I like this smoker a lot but I am gathering the parts for a barrel smoker.  We all need a project --Right?