New MES Bluetooth Digital smoker

[Bearcarver]

 
So i emailed customer service about this and this was their reply:

"Both the Bluetooth connection and our RF remotes have a range of up to 100 feet. However, that would decrease if there is interference. You can convert your smoker from Bluetooth to the RF remote, but you would need to purchase the control panel and remote. The control panel is typically $49.99 plus shipping and the remotes are $29.99, if you wanted to purchase both those, I can discount them to $19.99 each. If you are interested in placing an order, please let me know."

So I'm not sure if the RF range has been decreased since your review of 200-300 feet Bear, but apparently something is different now since its only 100ft according to CS. Now to decide if its worth $40 to switch to RF....
 

Personally, I wouldn't know why the RF remotes today would have less range than they used to.

Like I said mine worked at 210' of a clear shot, and more than likely good for 300'.

However the important thing was that it worked from every room in my house & on the outside on the opposite side of the house.

My RF Remote never dropped on me, like my Maverick Therms do now & then.

I would bet that the RF remotes are the same as they used to be, but the Customer Service person has no idea of the facts.

I would find a couple guys who have converted from BT to RF, and ask them how good theirs works.

Bear

 

[bionicbeast]

 
I found that discussion, and that's a good question about the "Little White Lie".

You would think we could just buy an RF remote & control that would work with the Gen #2.5 that we have.

Bear

 
Personally, I wouldn't know why the RF remotes today would have less range than they used to.

Like I said mine worked at 210' of a clear shot, and more than likely good for 300'.

However the important thing was that it worked from every room in my house & on the outside on the opposite side of the house.

My RF Remote never dropped on me, like my Maverick Therms do now & then.

I would bet that the RF remotes are the same as they used to be, but the Customer Service person has no idea of the facts.

I would find a couple guys who have converted from BT to RF, and ask them how good theirs works.

Bear

I wouldnt be surprised. But now I'm trying to think if spending another $40 on top of everything I've already spent is worth it. Maybe further down the line when I'm thoroughly annoyed with the bluetooth and have more money to spend

 

[Bearcarver]

 
I wouldnt be surprised. But now I'm trying to think if spending another $40 on top of everything I've already spent is worth it. Maybe further down the line when I'm thoroughly annoyed with the bluetooth and have more money to spend

I'm in about the same place, except since I got this Gen #2.5  I've been going with only using the controls on the Smoker, and not using any remote.

I like to go out & check how my smoke is doing anyway, and I can see what the temps are with my Mavericks, so to me it's not that big a deal not having a remote at all.

Are they saying that the $49,99 and the $29.99 would be $19.99 each (Total $39.98 plus shipping)??? Sounds like a good deal.

Bear

 

[bionicbeast]

 
I'm in about the same place, except since I got this Gen #2.5  I've been going with only using the controls on the Smoker, and not using any remote.

I like to go out & check how my smoke is doing anyway, and I can see what the temps are with my Mavericks, so to me it's not that big a deal not having a remote at all.

Are they saying that the $49,99 and the $29.99 would be $19.99 each (Total $39.98 plus shipping)??? Sounds like a good deal.

Bear

Seems like it. And while I agree that it's awesome they are offering that discount, I'm still stuck on the fact that I'd have to pay some more right now. Might wait a while and see how much i really dislike the Bluetooth. I've only used it for the seasoning process so far. Gonna try it out with some actual smoking and see.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Seems like it. And while I agree that it's awesome they are offering that discount, I'm still stuck on the fact that I'd have to pay some more right now. Might wait a while and see how much i really dislike the Bluetooth. I've only used it for the seasoning process so far. Gonna try it out with some actual smoking and see.

I agree---And I've been doing without any Remote for about a year & a half.

The only reason I'm even considering it is because the price aint bad.

I'll probably at least wait awhile, if I ever get one.

Bear

 

[mummel]

Get the Mav hands down. Way worth it.

 

[arkansas smoker]

What a thread!  I just finished reading all of the posts and learned a lot.  It took me almost 3 days!  I appreciate everyone that contributed.

I am doing my first smoke in my 40" BT smoker and seem to have the same issue as some of you.  The smoker keeps a nice steady temp as long as the door is shut.  I set it on 225 and it cycles between 220-230 which to me seems pretty good.  However, when I open the door to spritz my ribs and shut it, the chamber temp will climb as high as 285 before it starts coming back down to the set point of 225.  I have to change the chamber temp to something low, like 160, until the temp drops back down to ~225, then I change the set point back to 225 and everything is good again.

Why doesn't the controller sense the externally high temperature sooner than 280+ degrees before it starts coming back down?

 

[dennispfaff]

I have the same smoker. Last weekend I smoked a rack of ribs, set the temp at 225, apple juice in the water pan, and took 'em out 5 and 1/2 hours later. Turned out great. Didn't bother with opening the door and spraying. I know the temps fluctuate when opening and closing the door.
Remember to routinely clean the two sensors on the rear wall.
Dennis

 

[arkansas smoker]

I have the same smoker. Last weekend I smoked a rack of ribs, set the temp at 225, apple juice in the water pan, and took 'em out 5 and 1/2 hours later. Turned out great. Didn't bother with opening the door and spraying. I know the temps fluctuate when opening and closing the door.
Remember to routinely clean the two sensors on the rear wall.
Dennis

I was expecting the temp to drop after opening the door but not go 50 degrees over when I shut it.  It surprised me.

I have read that many folks don't use anything in the water pan.  Do you use the water pan for all of your smokes or just ribs?

Also, mine have been in 6 hours and I'm just starting to see some bone.  How much bone should show before taking them off?

 

[dennispfaff]

To be honest, I am not the best or most experienced to ask about smoking ribs. I have tried the 3-2-1, and wrapping, etc,, but after reading some other posts on this forum where they have gone "naked", I decided to try it that way. I filled 2 rows of Apple pellets and hust left it alone. In the past I did not put water in the pan, but this time I did and we were happy how they turned out. I think they were St. Louis ribs from Costco that my wife purchased.
Dennis

 

[arkansas smoker]

I never had any luck smoking ribs on my Oklahoma Joe so I just stuck with butts, briskets and chickens.  I'm hoping I'll get better at smoking ribs with the electric.  I also am smoking them naked and so far, they still look juicy and dripping with juice.  They look like they will be good.  I'm gonna have to experiment a LOT more :)

Appreciate the feedback Dennis.

 

[remsr]

If I was doing yard work, or working in my garage I would be out of range, but in either family room upper, or lower, the kitchen, or our bed room on the 3ed floor I am in range.
I simply plan my smokes around those issues.
Randy,

 

[dr k]

What a thread!  I just finished reading all of the posts and learned a lot.  It took me almost 3 days!  I appreciate everyone that contributed.

I am doing my first smoke in my 40" BT smoker and seem to have the same issue as some of you.  The smoker keeps a nice steady temp as long as the door is shut.  I set it on 225 and it cycles between 220-230 which to me seems pretty good.  However, when I open the door to spritz my ribs and shut it, the chamber temp will climb as high as 285 before it starts coming back down to the set point of 225.  I have to change the chamber temp to something low, like 160, until the temp drops back down to ~225, then I change the set point back to 225 and everything is good again.

Why doesn't the controller sense the externally high temperature sooner than 280+ degrees before it starts coming back down?

With all the metal from the chip tube, loader, tray etc. over the heating element they radiate heat after the sensor finally turns of the element, raising the heat past the set point. The temp drops and the sensor calls for heat and it's blocked by all the metal, having the temp coast below the set point. Whenever you open the door and your set point is 225*F you need to reset to like 215*F so it shuts off and coasts up to 225*F then rest the controller to 225*F to eliminate the initial massive over shoot when you close the door.
-Kurt

 

[arkansas smoker]

Thanks Kurt.

I think what is happening is I've got a Maverick 773 where it's probes as well as the meat probe of the MES 40, are pretty much instant read thermometers since there is almost no mass to them.  The chamber sensor is mounted on the back wall which is basically a huge heat sink and takes a lot longer to register a change in temperature but it's the one used by the controller to manage the heating element cycling.

So I did a test tonight.  I let the smoker stabilize at 225 (took about 45 minutes), until the 773 probes, the meat probe and the chamber probe were all within a couple of degrees of one another.  Then I opened the door to simulate the time it would take to spritz a rack of ribs (about 30 seconds and the heating element came on).  The temp readings dropped to 160-180 for the 773 and the meat probe but the chamber temp only dropped down to about 211 since it is still reading the big metal mass of the back wall it is in contact with (and the residual heat rise of the things Kirk mentioned).  Once I shut the door, the temp started rising and the heating element turned off when the chamber therm got to around 238.  The open air probes of the 773 and meat probe went up over 260-270.  After about 10 minutes, all 4 therms stabilized again to 225 with about a 5-8 degree swing either way as the heating element cycled on/off.

Now I believe that having the 773 is just providing too much information and making me think to much about a problem that doesn't really exist.  It takes about 10 minutes for the smoker to stabilize after a door opening which I guess is really no big deal every hour of a 7 hour smoke.

It is interesting to watch a new piece of equipment and pontificate about it but in the end, those ribs last night were fantastic!  I'll keep an eye on it but like all things new, it will just take a little time to learn how my new smoker behaves.  I can, and did, micro-manage the heater element/temp on the first smoke but I suspect over time, I won't even think about it as long as the results are tasty

Appreciate the feedback guys.  Anyone should feel free to correct my assumptions as I enjoy learning new things. 

Brisket is on the menu this weekend.  Can't hardly wait.  Between now and then, I'll learn how to use my AMNPS 5x8 that I got today.

BTW, does anyone know of any time lapse videos of a AMNPS burning?

I feel mine is burning way too fast using Todd's hickory pellets but will need to try it a few times before I ask about it.  I figure a time lapse vid would be good for a newbie to show them how it's supposed to burn from beginning to end.

 

[dennispfaff]

As far as the AMPS pellet tray, I think it was Bear that initially told me that as a rule of thumb, one row = 3 hrs of smoke, 2 rows = 6 hrs, etc.
Dennis

 

[arkansas smoker]

Todd's site says up to 11 hours but I assume different woods burn at different rates.  I did 1 row of hickory plus a little spillover into the next row and it burned about 2-1/2 hours so that is closer to Bear's times.  I'll do a full tray tomorrow and she what happens.  It burned OK and smoked a LOT more than using chips.

20160817_200555.jpg

• arkansas smoker
• Aug 17, 2016

 

[dennispfaff]

You are probably right that different types of wood pellets faster/slower, as well as how well your initial fire gets them going. Definitely better using the AMPS than feeding the wood tray every 15-20 minutes.

 

[arkansas smoker]

Well, I'm sorry to say that my Sam's version of the MES 40 BT has a defective controller like others have posted.  I started it up this morning and set it to 225F for 20 hours and have watched it climb to over 300F so far at startup.  So, I pushed on the "Set temp" button on the front panel and it says 876F.

I guess I'll call MB today and see what they say but how disappointing.

I feel like letting it go to see how high the smoker will get and if there is any kind of fail safe temp where it will shut down on it's own but afraid of fire so probably won't.  I'll let it go to about 350F before I pull the plug.

Any ideas what could be wrong?

I want to call this thing a POS but I also want to like it.  Dang man, is there anything good coming out of China these days?

 

[dennispfaff]

Wow! I purchased mine at Bass Pro and have never had any problems like that. Knock...knock...knock

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Well, I'm sorry to say that my Sam's version of the MES 40 BT has a defective controller like others have posted.  I started it up this morning and set it to 225F for 20 hours and have watched it climb to over 300F so far at startup.  So, I pushed on the "Set temp" button on the front panel and it says 876F.

I guess I'll call MB today and see what they say but how disappointing.

I feel like letting it go to see how high the smoker will get and if there is any kind of fail safe temp where it will shut down on it's own but afraid of fire so probably won't.  I'll let it go to about 350F before I pull the plug.

Any ideas what could be wrong?

I want to call this thing a POS but I also want to like it.  Dang man, is there anything good coming out of China these days?

I heard of this before, and a couple guys managed to get Masterbuilt to give them an RF control & Remote to replace the defective BT Controller.

I would see if you can get that deal, because the RF is much better than the BT. IMHO

Bear