Masterbuilt smoker vent position?

[thomas8977]

Hey everyone. haven't posted on here in forever. I too have the manual MES 30 that has a little hole in the back of the smoker, not the top. I too have trouble with the smoke taste and everything, and the wood chips look like charcoal more than white ash. I have googled for the past week on finding alternatives. Smoke generators, plug the hole, not plug the hole. Then I saw the AMNPS. while its an awesome design and I haven't heard one bad comment about it, I was about to buy it, but I had an idea I want to throw at you all first before I buy it. Since the chip tray in the MES is stainless steel, why not put a very small amount of chips in and take a butane torch to it outside the smoker, let it burn to ambers, add more wood in and stick it in the smoker while its preheated. Would it come close to doing the same? Thank you all for your time and plan on smoking this Saturday when its a balmy 16 degrees for a high!

 

[susieqz]

if you like long smokes, the mes without the amns is worthless.

with it, i start the smoke just before bed, set the mavrick real high just to tell me if the mes bursts into flame.

then i go to bed,

after my morning coffee, i go out to check everything n maybe reload the amns.

sometimes the amns smokes all thru the night.

i like my sleep, that's my idea of smoking.

even with the traeger i gotta get up every 2 hours to add pellets.

 

[Bearcarver]

Hey everyone. haven't posted on here in forever. I too have the manual MES 30 that has a little hole in the back of the smoker, not the top. I too have trouble with the smoke taste and everything, and the wood chips look like charcoal more than white ash. I have googled for the past week on finding alternatives. Smoke generators, plug the hole, not plug the hole. Then I saw the AMNPS. while its an awesome design and I haven't heard one bad comment about it, I was about to buy it, but I had an idea I want to throw at you all first before I buy it. Since the chip tray in the MES is stainless steel, why not put a very small amount of chips in and take a butane torch to it outside the smoker, let it burn to ambers, add more wood in and stick it in the smoker while its preheated. Would it come close to doing the same? Thank you all for your time and plan on smoking this Saturday when its a balmy 16 degrees for a high!

Hi Thomas,

You could try that, however no matter how it works, I can guarantee it won't be anything like the pleasure you get from using an AMNPS. A full load in an AMNPS, once lit properly, can get you up to 10 or 12 consecutive hours of perfect, constant smoke without having to touch it again.

Bear

 

[gary s]

I like my AMNPS   does a great job

gary

 

[jay styron]

Hi All,

I just bought the MES 30" gen2(digital display up front), I also have the AMZN tube pellet smoker. I've used both a couple of times but don't like putting the tube on the bottom rack during smoking. I've also noticed that the tube smoker fits perfectly where the MES chip loader goes. Is there mods I can do to use that or does everyone just put it on the bottom rack?

Thanks

Jay

 

[sota d]

Hello Jay and welcome to the forum. I have the same smoker as you but haven't gotten an a-mz-n yet.(will soon). I did see on the a-mz-n website in the tube smoker instructions that you should not put it near a heat source, like right above the heating element. Hope this helps, David.

 

[thomas8977]

Alright. You all twisted my arm and I bought the amnps and a 20 pound bag of tragers hickory wood pellets. I'm ready to smoke! I hope that's a good brand.

 

[susieqz]

tom, that' my fav combo. the amns full of hickory. yum.

people say it's too strong for chicken, but try it.

 

[thomas8977]

Is there such a thing as too strong? Lol. Ill see if I can squeeze in some chicken. Gonna smoke 2 pork shoulders, a bunch of smoked sausage.....

 

[domapoi]

 
tom, that' my fav combo. the amns full of hickory. yum.

people say it's too strong for chicken, but try it.

Some say the same thing about mesquite but I love it when I smoke just about anything. Oh, yeah, to keep up with the current topic, I keep my vent open fully all the time no matter how "bone chilling cold" in gets here at the beach in San Diego, CA. LOL

 

[bmaddox]

 
Hi All,

I just bought the MES 30" gen2(digital display up front), I also have the AMZN tube pellet smoker. I've used both a couple of times but don't like putting the tube on the bottom rack during smoking. I've also noticed that the tube smoker fits perfectly where the MES chip loader goes. Is there mods I can do to use that or does everyone just put it on the bottom rack?

Thanks

Jay

A lot of people on here (including myself) have a mailbox mod on our MES units for the AMNPS units. Use the search bar for some guides on the mailbox mod and you will see some great ideas.

 

[Bearcarver]

Is there such a thing as too strong? Lol. Ill see if I can squeeze in some chicken. Gonna smoke 2 pork shoulders, a bunch of smoked sausage.....

For some people maybe, but not foe me. All I ever use any more is Hickory---For all meats!!

Bear

 

[foamheart]

 
For some people maybe, but not foe me. All I ever use any more is Hickory---For all meats!!

Bear

Gonna change da'Bear's name to Andy Jackson..... ya know he even resembles his iron will. (Andy resembles Da Bear that is)

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Gonna change da'Bear's name to Andy Jackson..... ya know he even resembles his iron will. (Andy resembles Da Bear that is)

Don't be picking on my Great Uncle Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson!!!!

Don't forget what happened to Charles Dickinson!! 

Bear

 

[jted]

For many years I used white oak because that was what I had on the wood pile for the fireplace. When I could cut hickory I reserved it for the smoker. Oak is a plentiful wood in Central Virginia. Hickory in the AMNPS is great as well as Tod's Pitt master mix.   Jted 

 

[foamheart]

 
Don't be picking on my Great Uncle Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson!!!!

Don't forget what happened to Charles Dickinson!! 

Bear

200 years ago? Almost exactly!

 

[ozsmoker]

i've smoked 2 briskets and 3-4 sets of ribs... i feel like the meat has come out dry every time... i live in the desert with very little humidity so if closed vents help i will try that. i always have them fully open

i feel like the amnps won't work with the vents closed. i haven't had much luck with it as is.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
i've smoked 2 briskets and 3-4 sets of ribs... i feel like the meat has come out dry every time... i live in the desert with very little humidity so if closed vents help i will try that. i always have them fully open

i feel like the amnps won't work with the vents closed. i haven't had much luck with it as is.

I wouldn't think the reason they came out dry was because of the vent being open fully.

Other reasons could be opening door too often, smoking too low too long----Try a higher heat for less time.

We'd almost have to know all your details to see why they came out dry.

Bear

 

[gary s]

Pictures of the meat before, during and after will help

Gary

 

[ozsmoker]

 
I wouldn't think the reason they came out dry was because of the vent being open fully.

Other reasons could be opening door too often, smoking too low too long----Try a higher heat for less time.

We'd almost have to know all your details to see why they came out dry.

Bear

did st louis ribs for the first time today, they came out better than anything i've done, not perfect but very good... 3-2-1 method, only opened the door in between steps.

i will definitely experiment with higher heat and less cook time. thanks for the tip

with the vent fully closed (90% closed, as it doesn't close completely), the temperature fluctuation was almost completely gone. it stayed a steady 225 for almost the entire cook... with the vent fully opened,  i'd get down to 215 and up to 240+... it would cycle the heating element on and off. i was pretty surprised the vent position has such a huge impact on the stability of temps

also, my woodchips wood last about 1hr as opposed to 30-40 mins with vents fully opened

 
Pictures of the meat before, during and after will help

Gary

yes i will do this next time... i'll get the wife to take them as my hands usually get food/oil/sauce on them

i'll have to look into the mailbox mod because i want to use my amnps and it won't work if i have the vent closed

not sure if it's with all st louis ribs, but these seemed to have a lot of cartilage/inedible parts vs almost none on baby backs