Masterbuilt 30 inch digital smoker

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Yes yes. I know you are correct. Every unit I see has the old one on it. Like the one I just purchased from Amazon. It's beyond me why they have so many different models. When they should have 3 at the most.
 
I don't think so. All the gen 1 I see for sale have the slanted controller. The only place I see the oval buttons on is on masterbuilt site.
I will admit that I see on Amazon are what I call the rectangular top controller for what I call the basic black MES 30 Gen 1 units. But I think I posted here previously that I saw a local ad at Tractor Supply Co. for a MES 30 Gen 1 with the domed top controller. However, on Amazon you can see the fancier MES 30 Gen 1 smoke with the door window here: http://www.masterbuilt.com/30-inch-electric-digital-smokehouse-black-top-control.html

From my limited knowledge of MES model numbers this one is never than the Masterbuilt 30 20070910 model, which is what I own. But really, the shape of the controller doesn't matter anyway. I'm just hooked into this conversation solely on the basis of believing (and proving) I'm right. Just gotta be me...
 
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The original top controller had a rectangular body. On the updated models it's dome-shaped.

The one on the left (Square cornered Control box) is the earlier Gen #1 Model MES.

The one on the right (Rounded cornered Control Box) is the newer Gen #1 Model MES.

They both work Great.

Bear
 
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Just looking to get something to start to learn on. Most of the time it will be me, my son, my daughter and my wife. So something inexpensive and easy to use is key.

Thanks for the info. Seems like the Amazon one is the way to go.
I own a MES 30 and it will cook more than enough food for your family. I this first hand because my family is the exact composition of yours. Now that my son and daughter live on their own, the MES 30 makes more than enough for my wife and I--and for my favorite brother-in-law who has dubbed me the "King of Ribs".
 
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Yes yes. I know you are correct. Every unit I see has the old one on it. Like the one I just purchased from Amazon. It's beyond me why they have so many different models. When they should have 3 at the most.
I've wondered the same thing. I bought the cheapest one MB had for my first smoker because it was my first one, and 1) it was what I could afford and, 2) the wife said to buy the cheapest one to see how I liked smoking before spending money on a more expensive one.

If and when my smoker bites the dust I'll consider upgrading to a new non-BT MES 30 Gen 2.5 or whatever the current gen will be. I may even go for one with a window. I still think MB makes the best smokers in their price ranges. I'd love to be able to afford a Cookshack, though.
 
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The one on the left (Square cornered Control box) is the earlier Gen #1 Model MES.

The one on the right (Rounded cornered Control Box) is the newer Gen #1 Model MES.

They both work Great.

Bear
Thanks, Bear. Still I wonder why MB keep marketing the older model on Amazon? Are they still making them or is there a huge backlog in stock?
 
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Thanks, Bear. Still I wonder why MB keep marketing the older model on Amazon? Are they still making them or is there a huge backlog in stock?
darRcksta, Can I jump in with a question or two.

When one orders a 20070910 that has a rectangular controller pictured  is that the one you get or do they ship the round corner one. Are they using a file photo?

Thanks to this forum and others as well as  word of mouth The standard gen 1 30 is a very good seller. Think MB realizes that and that is why the keep it in there line up of smokers and the fact it is under 200.00 dollars every day.

I read where Foam said it was a crap shoot about getting a good smoker out of china. I think most will agree but then there is MB's customer service. It's good real good. That sells there other items like the Turkey fryer

Just a question and something to think about.  Jted
 
 
Thanks, Bear. Still I wonder why MB keep marketing the older model on Amazon? Are they still making them or is there a huge backlog in stock?
As far as I know they're still making them all.

I would think they'd at least stop making the Gen #2 units.

Bear
 
 
I have an older MES that I have used to make ribs countless amounts of times using the 3-2-1 method and they have turned out awesome!! When food doesn't turn out more often its the person doing the smoking not the smoker.
Exactly right. Every time something didn't turn out as good as I'd planned I could pinpoint the mistake(s) I made so I don't repeat them next time.
 
 
darRcksta, Can I jump in with a question or two.

When one orders a 20070910 that has a rectangular controller pictured  is that the one you get or do they ship the round corner one. Are they using a file photo?

Thanks to this forum and others as well as  word of mouth The standard gen 1 30 is a very good seller. Think MB realizes that and that is why the keep it in there line up of smokers and the fact it is under 200.00 dollars every day.

I read where Foam said it was a crap shoot about getting a good smoker out of china. I think most will agree but then there is MB's customer service. It's good real good. That sells there other items like the Turkey fryer

Just a question and something to think about.  Jted
Jted. you can always jump in any time with anything you like.

I think it's a crap shoot to get ANYTHING good out of China. Now, my wife and I have been lucky in that 98% of everything we've bought that's Chinese-made has been of high quality. If you look at what Costco sells, I bet they sell close to what Wal-Mart sells in made in China stuff. I can look in our home electronics and just about all of our small kitchen appliances and our kitchen gadgets and they're all made in China. Same thing for all our Halloween, Christmas, and Thanksgiving indoor and outdoor decorations.

If they weren't we couldn't have afforded them unless our incomes were a lot higher. That becomes a circular proposition: if Americans made more they could afford to buy higher-priced Made in USA goods. If Americans bought more Made in USA goods then more Americans would be employed in American factories and other industries and services and wages would be higher enabling Americans to buy more Made in USA goods.

To answer your question about the 20070910, I bought mine from Amazon in April 2012. What I saw was the stock photo with the rectangular controller and that's what I received. My understanding from Bear is that the dome controller model had already been released by then. On the MB site you see the smoker still has the same model #. I don't know if the UPC for both versions is the same, though. So I think if there's a stock photo of the rectangular top controller, that's what you get. If it's the dome, that's what you get. Guys who've recently bought the MES 30 Gen 1 will hopefully weigh in and tell us what they saw and what they received.

As for the Turkey Fryer, I thought a couple of times about buying it because people who deep dry turkeys swear by them. However, my wife roasts an upside-down turkey every Thanksgiving which is the best I've ever tasted. I once grilled over indirect heat a Thanksgiving turkey in my Weber charcoal kettle grill that remains the 2nd best. It was way before I knew anything about wood chips or smoking. I hope to try it again and add either hickory or apple wood pellets for extra flavor.

As
 
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To answer your question about the 20070910, I bought mine from Amazon in April 2012. What I saw was the stock photo with the rectangular controller and that's what I received. My understanding from Bear is that the dome controller model had already been released by then. On the MB site you see the smoker still has the same model #. I don't know if the UPC for both versions is the same, though. So I think if there's a stock photo of the rectangular top controller, that's what you get. If it's the dome, that's what you get. Guys who've recently bought the MES 30 Gen 1 will hopefully weigh in and tell us what they saw and what they received.
I think this is the fault of the Stores selling the various units. They often use stock photos & have no idea what they have there.

Back when I got my Gen #1, all SS with remote (rounded corners on the control box) at Cabela's, their ads didn't show that smoker (They showed the all black one). I called them & they said they didn't have any of that SS one. Then my Son was there for other reasons, and he saw one there. So I went there to get it, and I had to pick it up from the rear warehouse. While there, I found out they had 49 more of the ones they said they didn't have.

Bear
 
 
I think this is the fault of the Stores selling the various units. They often use stock photos & have no idea what they have there.

Back when I got my Gen #1, all SS with remote (rounded corners on the control box) at Cabela's, their ads didn't show that smoker (They showed the all black one). I called them & they said they didn't have any of that SS one. Then my Son was there for other reasons, and he saw one there. So I went there to get it, and I had to pick it up from the rear warehouse. While there, I found out they had 49 more of the ones they said they didn't have.

Bear
So that's the secret to buying the right MES Gen 1!  There's a Cabela's between me and Seattle but who wants to drive there? Does your son hire himself out to your SMF friends to secure those updated Gen 1 smokers?
 
 
So that's the secret to buying the right MES Gen 1!  There's a Cabela's between me and Seattle but who wants to drive there? Does your son hire himself out to your SMF friends to secure those updated Gen 1 smokers?
Brand new Cabelas here in OKC 9 miles from my house.
 
 
Brand new Cabelas here in OKC 9 miles from my house.
You're lucky. I gotta go down two separate highways (one's a freeway) through 4 towns to get to the one nearest me--which I've yet to even see. With the freeways around here you never know if it will be fast and clear or if the backup from the freeway will extend back up the highway leading to it. It can take almost an hour to go 5 miles on bad days.
 
 
You're lucky. I gotta go down two separate highways (one's a freeway) through 4 towns to get to the one nearest me--which I've yet to even see. With the freeways around here you never know if it will be fast and clear or if the backup from the freeway will extend back up the highway leading to it. It can take almost an hour to go 5 miles on bad days.
We also have a Pro Bass here and it is approx 20-22 miles from my house, so it takes approx 30-35 minutes to go there, so I seldom go there, especially since I no longer fish, just bowl a little and that is it.
 
 
We also have a Pro Bass here and it is approx 20-22 miles from my house, so it takes approx 30-35 minutes to go there, so I seldom go there, especially since I no longer fish, just bowl a little and that is it.
There's a Tractor Supply Co. in town. I think they stock the MES 30 Gen 1 with the oval top controller but I haven't been inside the store yet.
 
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