Soon to be MES30 owner

[cunnart]

I live in the Salt lake city area and I just ordered my first ever smoker, a Masterbuilt electric 30". I believe it is a gen 1 based off of the part number on the site but I am still excited to get started. Any tips on how to upgrade it will be welcomed as will any tips on cooking, rubs and sauces. My wife and I love pulled pork, carolina style, and I recently got introduced to burnt ends and they were what convinced me I needed a smoker. Gods candy those things are.  

 

[gary s]

Hello and welcome, congrats on the new smoker. Good luck on all you future smokes.

Gary S

 

[sfcm]

Welcome to SMF. These guys are wealth of knowledge. I have a MES 40. I love it!  Join the MES group. You will learn a whole bunch about MES from mods to all the positives and negatives that everyone has. Good luck and happy smoking. Rob

 

[worktogthr]

Welcome to the site. You will learn so much here. I just got MES 30 as well. Got it used on craigslist and haven't used it yet. Look g forward to your posts as we will be learning simultaneously.

 

[larry tiner]

Howdy from Texas! My MES 30 is a few years old. Just now getting serious about it.
Correct me if I am wrong, but this is my take on smoking with it. First try, I added wood chips throughout full time. Ruined meat --- too woody taste. I now add wood for the first 1/2 of cooking time and fill tray only 1/2 full. Perfect results!!
Got a recipe off here a few weeks ago for 'pork burnt ends'. Highly recommend for everyone! I've always loved brisket burnt ends, but hadn't tried pork.

 

[cunnart]

Just found out the place I ordered it through has my smoker on backorder, probably since they are still listing the old gen1 part number. The question now is ride it out and see if they come through or cancel and go buy the MES40. 

 

[sfcm]

Cunnart, All i can tell you is that I got my MES 40 two months ago and have had no major issues with it.Temp probe is off about 15 degrees. It holds temp very well. Glass does require a lot of cleaning. Other then that, I love it.Good luck in whatever you choose.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Just found out the place I ordered it through has my smoker on backorder, probably since they are still listing the old gen1 part number. The question now is ride it out and see if they come through or cancel and go buy the MES40. 

I'll give you my Opinion:

I started with an MES 30 to save money, and ended up spending more money, because after about a year I got an MES 40 too. I guess I should have gotten the 40 right away!!!

That said, I can tell you that getting the Gen #1 instead of the Gen #2 is far more important than whether you get the MES 30 or the MES 40.

So which ever you get, make sure it is a Generation 1 MES.

Bear

 

[cunnart]

Yeah the deal on the 30 was way too good to pass up. If it doesn't ship I might get the QVC bundle that I saw yesterday on the 40

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Yeah the deal on the 30 was way too good to pass up. If it doesn't ship I might get the QVC bundle that I saw yesterday on the 40

Just make sure it's a Gen #1-----The Digital control has to be in a slanted box that mounts in the center of the back of the top.

Not the one with the controls built into the top front edge.

Bear

 

[cunnart]

it is a gen 2

 

[Bearcarver]

 
it is a gen 2

Then I would stay away from it, and look for a Gen #1.

Bear

 

[helmrod]

Whats wrong with a Gen 2 MES smoker? Thats what I have and it seems to work great.

 

[Bearcarver]

Hi Helmrod,

Welcome to SMF !!

How long have you been using your Gen #2 MES? Have you checked the difference in temps between the left side & the right side? Are you trusting the MES temperature readings, or do you have another thermometer in it to compare it to? Have you smoked anything in it yet, and if you have, were the items in the left side finished as soon as the items in the right side?

I have an MES 40 Gen #1 for 4 years, & I never had any problems with it, other than the chip burner not burning consistently. Since no Electric smoker gives you consistent smoke for any length of time, that hasn't bothered me since I started using my AMNPS in it. It works Great in my MES Gen #1. I love my MES 40 Gen #1, and my Amazing Smokers.

I personally tested an MES 40 Gen #2, and found numerous problems, many of which are mentioned by "Todd" in his comparison report (Below).

The biggest problems as far as smoking ability that I found, are:

#1   The slanted drip plate in the Gen #2 holds the heat from the element, and since it is higher on the right, that causes the heat to naturally rise up & to the right, causing the right side of the smoker to be much hotter than the left side.

#2   The Gen #2 doesn't have a very good air flow within it, making it hard to use an AMNPS for consistent long term smoking.

The Gen #2 that I tested had electrical problems, but I don't consider that a Gen #2 problem, because that was possibly just the a problem of the one I was testing. When I plugged it in, it started heating without turning it on, or touching any buttons on either the smoker or the remote control. I didn't even know it had come on until it started getting hot, because the digital lights never came on. I turned it off & on a few times, and still no lights. Then I tapped the top of the smoker close to the control buttons, and the lights came on. Like I said I don't consider that problem to be a "Gen #2" problem. That was a problem with that particular Gen #2.

Todd's comparison between the MES Gen #1 and Gen #2:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/133955/2012-mes-40-vs-old-model-mes-40

Bear

 

[geerock]

Theres threads going on now where the gen 2 owners have a 40 to 50 degree temp difference from readout to actual temp. And the controller is reading high so that when the unit is set to its max of 275 the highest the cooker will actually get to is 225 to 235. These gen 2 units have had controller and sensor issues since they came out. I know..... I went thru 3 of them before I gave up. And previous to that I had the gen 1 for a few years and loved it. GET A GEN 1! Academy Sports may still have some. And others are out there too.

 

[helmrod]

I just seasoned it on thursday and smoked a pork shoulder yesterday that was OK at best. I didn't check the temps much because I assumed they were accurate. As I have been reading that was a very wrong assumption. The meat didnt really have much smokey taste. I did notice that there wasnt much smoke generated at 230 degree temp setting. I did preheat it 250 degrees and once it got there I lowered it to a cooking temp of 230. Couldnt get it smoking much so I tried adding a different batch of chips with the same results. I wonder if I can return the smoker to Lowes and get my money back to get a generation 1? If not any thoughts on what I can do to resolve this?

 

[Bearcarver]

 
I just seasoned it on thursday and smoked a pork shoulder yesterday that was OK at best. I didn't check the temps much because I assumed they were accurate. As I have been reading that was a very wrong assumption. The meat didnt really have much smokey taste. I did notice that there wasnt much smoke generated at 230 degree temp setting. I did preheat it 250 degrees and once it got there I lowered it to a cooking temp of 230. Couldnt get it smoking much so I tried adding a different batch of chips with the same results. I wonder if I can return the smoker to Lowes and get my money back to get a generation 1? If not any thoughts on what I can do to resolve this?

If you can take it back, that would be my advice. The Gen #1 is Awesome, and hopefully you can find one. Seems a lot of guys have gotten them lately.

Bear

 

[geerock]

I'm guessing you may be cooking at a temp much lower than what the readout is. There are plenty of complaints about this very issue on the forums. Some right here on this one. Guys getting 30, 40, even 50 degrees lower than what the readout says. That may explain that the meat may have not been up to temp and the chip tray wasn't getting hot enough to burn chips. Because the one thing about the mes gen 2 is that the chips will actually ignite it gets so hot usually. Don't assume things are correct with that thing, I can guess that your temps are way off. Verify them and you'll see how much.

 

[helmrod]

Im going to try and take it back to Lowes tomorrow. I have all the original packaging since i have learned the hard way not to throw boxes away. My wife reminds me of this most times   LOL

 

[helmrod]

So should I order the Gen 1 MES from amazon or sportsman's guide then? I am really new to this and don't want to spend a huge amount of money on a smoker. I guess being cheap in this instance isn't the best route but I don't want to go crazy buying $300 smokers just yet. Also anything on the heating elements of the Gen 1 not being replaceable or burning out quickly?