# what makes a 40" (or 30") smoker a 40" or 30"?



## solman (Jan 10, 2019)

i have a masterbuilt 40-inch propane smoker from cabelas, and i've measured every dimension of the smoker and can not find how they came up with "40-inch". it's 24-inch wide, 16-inch depth, racks are similarly sized but obviously a bit smaller to fit inside. it's definitely not 40-inch tall. the closest i can figure is 24 + 16, the width and depth of the body. does it make sense to call a smoker 40-inch based on width+length? or how did they come up with 40-inch?

here is their advertised dimensions: 43.50"H x 29.13"W x 22.44"D. the width and depth are measured at the base of the feet, which is wider than the body.


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## oldsmokerdude (Jan 10, 2019)

There is no common definition, but typically it's an approximation of the height from the ground to the top of the smoker (for vertical smokers anyways). Doesn't really have anything to do with the volume of the smoke chamber it self.


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## HalfSmoked (Jan 10, 2019)

The main difference between the 30" and 40" is you don't have to trim a rack of ribs to fit the 40" where as you do for the 30" in my book. I do have the 40" Master Built.

Warren


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## solman (Jan 11, 2019)

then they should advertise the 40-inch as "a one rib wide smoker" and a 30-inch as a "3/4 rib wide smoker" so people can better understand. if they're advertising approximate height, then that makes absolutely no sense at all. i would think people care more about how wide/deep it is than height.


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## zwiller (Jan 11, 2019)

LIKE for asking, never understood either...  Maybe measured like a TV and diagonal?  LOL  I agree with Warren.  Whole rack/brisket 40 though.


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## Bearcarver (Jan 11, 2019)

I never actually measured any of mine that I can remember.

But I would say the difference between an MES 30 and an MES 40 is approximately 10".
And I would guess the MES 30 is closer to 30" than it is 20" or 40" high.
And I would also guess the MES 40 is closer to 40" than it is to 30" or 50" high.

I never even saw a "Masterbuilt 40" Propane Smoker" up close, but I'd venture to guess it's closer to 40" high than it is to 30" or 50" high.

It would look pretty stupid to call an MES 40---An "MES 41 & 7/16" or an "MES 39 & 27/32"

My 2 cents,

Bear


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## HalfSmoked (Jan 15, 2019)

The rack size does determine the size of the smoker as well as 40" is 4" bigger than 36" on my tape measure.  

Warren


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## Murdy (Jan 15, 2019)

"It would look pretty stupid to call an MES 40---An "MES 41 & 7/16" or an "MES 39 & 27/32" "

I'd be willing to bet the nominal size, with just about any manufacturer, is larger than the actual size.  Border-line fraud, but they've been getting away with selling 2x4's that are 1 3/4 by 3 1/2 forever.


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## solman (Jan 15, 2019)

my "40-inch" masterbuilt is exactly 24" wide. they could've just called it a "24-inch propane smoker" and it wouldn't look stupid at all. "40-inch" makes absolutely no sense at all, and is completely stupid.


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## Bearcarver (Jan 15, 2019)

Murdy said:


> "It would look pretty stupid to call an MES 40---An "MES 41 & 7/16" or an "MES 39 & 27/32" "
> 
> I'd be willing to bet the nominal size, with just about any manufacturer, is larger than the actual size.  Border-line fraud, but they've been getting away with selling 2x4's that are 1 3/4 by 3 1/2 forever.




If I remember correctly my Dodge Ram with an 8' Bed, actually had a 98" Bed.

"Reverse--Fraud"??

Bear


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