# diff between 30" and 40" MES



## bnb (Mar 7, 2010)

So I have been looking at the 40" MES at sams club and then I saw a 30" MES at homedepot for a lot cheaper. What are the big difference between the two?


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## deltadude (Mar 7, 2010)

Cu ft of cooking space.  Thats about it.  

BUT, I can tell you that, the extra real estate makes it easier to smoke in several ways. Besides just the amount of food, you can cook a full rack of ribs without having to cut or curve or roll one.  The gap between shelves is greater, so less likely to be a problem when cooking certain foods. The 30" has had many complaints about the wood chips burning, not sure on this I'm just guessing after reading SMF for 20+ months.  The 40" used to be all stainless, but that has changed.  With the increase in wattage in both models, how they actually work in the customers backyards remains to be seen, but so far both 30 & 40 inch owners are happy.

In the past there has been a number of 30" owners opt to buy a 40".  I don't recall any 40" owners feeling like they need a 30".  Like boats and TVs, bigger is better.

Having said all that, there are many many very happy 30" owners, and above is not intended to be a knock on them.


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## denver dave (Mar 7, 2010)

You can never have too much space in your smoker. Once the neighbors and relatives get a taste you will always have company when the beast is smokin. This can be good or it can be bad.
	

	
	
		
		



		
			





If you have the money, I would go for the 40".


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## ronp (Mar 7, 2010)

What Dude said.


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## texacajun (Mar 7, 2010)

Besides what deltadude said the 40'' available from Sam's has a window and light on the inside of the unit. I would like to by a 30'' and due some side by side comparison on smoking times and actual sq feet difference.


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## flyweed (Jul 22, 2010)

So the MES 30 and 40 both have the same size heating elements?


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## beer-b-q (Jul 22, 2010)

I would be sure to check the model # on the 30" to make sure it is the new model and not a left over with the 850 watt element.  That could be why there is a big difference in price.


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## flyweed (Jul 22, 2010)

well...this is what my MES 30 says on the back.

Voltage: 120vac

Amps:  5.4a

watts: 650

Hertz: 60

MODEL:  20070106

Serial #:  GA040923

Dan


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## txmike (Jul 23, 2010)

Last week I picked up the MES 40 w/window. I love it. If you go with the 40" make sure it's 20070710 model. This one has replacable heating element and controller. I paid $300 at Academy; unfortunately Academy does not offer an extended warranty. I think someone stated that Sam's Club offers and extended warranty.


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## beer-b-q (Jul 23, 2010)

flyweed said:


> well...this is what my MES 30 says on the back.
> 
> Voltage: 120vac
> 
> ...


*MODEL:  20070106 *is the old model and to replace the element you have to replace the entire body assembly.

*Model #20070910 is their newest ‘standard’ 30″ electric smoker*, and it does allow for easy replacement of just the heating element. It’s hard to find on their website, so just search the web for the model #.

*30″ Electric Smokers*
====================
*Old Model #20070106*:
For heating element replacement, you must replace the entire body – and the customer can do this. The cost for the new body is .00 plus shipping and handling.

*Model #20070110:* smoker with window and meat probe
The heating element alone can be replaced by the customer.

*Model #20070910:* standard 30″ edition *(Newest Model)*

30-inch Electric Digital Smokehouse *UPC 0 94428 25980 5 / Stock*

The heating element alone can be replaced by the customer.

*40″ Electric Smokers*
====================

*Model #20070710:* smoker with window and meat probe

40-inch Electric Digital Smokehouse with Window *UPC 0 94428 26274 4 / Direct Import*
The heating element alone can be replaced by the customer.


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## flyweed (Jul 23, 2010)

damn..that stinks.  so this model 30 inch I have  only has a 650 watt heater element?  That sucks

I guess I am going to hit sams club and buy the new 40 inch. 

Dan


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## Bearcarver (Jul 23, 2010)

Flyweed,

If you get the one with the 1200 watt element, then you might have a reason to play with adding a PID.

A PID wouldn't help anything that is "underpowered", like your 650 watt MES 30, or the MES 40 with the 850 watt.-------IMHO.

Bearcarver


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## flyweed (Jul 23, 2010)

those are my thought two bearcarver..why the hell would anyone put such a small heating element into a smoker this size.  So...on that note.....could I ADD another 650 watt element to this MES that I have..to take the total watts up to 1300...and then control the extra 650 watt element with the PID to help keep temps more stable?  Couldn't I mount the extra element right through the sidewall of the MES....or does anyone have another small element that would work to mount right through the sidewall?

I have seen some heating elements where they come in a "straight stick" and then you can bend it to fit your needs.  WHere would I find such a beast?

Dan


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## Bearcarver (Jul 24, 2010)

flyweed said:


> those are my thought two bearcarver..why the hell would anyone put such a small heating element into a smoker this size.  So...on that note.....could I ADD another 650 watt element to this MES that I have..to take the total watts up to 1300...and then control the extra 650 watt element with the PID to help keep temps more stable?  Couldn't I mount the extra element right through the sidewall of the MES....or does anyone have another small element that would work to mount right through the sidewall?
> 
> I have seen some heating elements where they come in a "straight stick" and then you can bend it to fit your needs.  WHere would I find such a beast?
> 
> Dan


You could do just about anything you want, but why take a small smoker, that barely has enough room for meat, and pack it with heating elements. If I were you, and I wanted to play, I'd get the bigger MES 40, or just build one from scratch. The MES 40 with the 1200 watt element is closer to over-powered than under-powered, so a PID would at least make sense in that one. It sounds like anything you buy will not be satisfactory, and you got your heart set on a PID, so what the heck----build your own. You can get all kinds of help on this forum for building your own.

Bear


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## beer-b-q (Jul 24, 2010)

flyweed said:


> damn..that stinks.  so this model 30 inch I have  *only has a 650 watt heater element*?  That sucks
> 
> I guess I am going to hit sams club and buy the new 40 inch.
> 
> Dan


Dan,

You are lucky you didn't buy a $600.00 Bradley 6 Rack Digital like I did and find out later that they only use a 500 watt element.

I sold it July 4th and got $350.00 out of it. I had only used it twice.

When the 1200 watt MES 40" units came out this year, I bought one just as soon as my Sam's Club got one in.  I couldn't be happier than I am with it...  And with the 3 year extra warranty it was still cheaper than the Bradley...


flyweed said:


> those are my thought two bearcarver..why the hell would anyone put such a small heating element into a smoker this size.  So...on that note.....could I ADD another 650 watt element to this MES that I have..to take the total watts up to 1300...and then control the extra 650 watt element with the PID to help keep temps more stable?  Couldn't I mount the extra element right through the sidewall of the MES....or does anyone have another small element that would work to mount right through the sidewall?
> 
> *I have seen some heating elements where they come in a "straight stick" and then you can bend it to fit your needs.  WHere would I find such a beast?*
> 
> Dan


http://www.drillspot.com/products/518310/tempco_csf00014_finned_strip_ss_heater


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## flyweed (Jul 24, 2010)

well  I may do just that.  I have advertised my MES 30 inch..and have a couple calls on it this morning.  If I sell it...I'll be getting the MES 40 with 1200 watt heater for sure!

Dan


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## deltadude (Jul 30, 2010)

I'm sorry I am going to disagree with the statement that the MES 40" is underpowered with a 800 watt element.  For my climate area 800 watts is plenty, provided a few simple procedures are followed.  If you do a heat calc on the BTUs necessary to bring a box to 300º F the size of the MES 40" you will find that 1200 watts is way over power.  Even 800 watts is slightly over power, that is why the 6 rack Bradley is only using a 500 watt, based on simple heat calcs.  The problem is we all don't live in Calif.  Some have to deal with extreme cold, or extreme meat loads, which will require greater BTUs of heat to accomplish the mission.  So Masterbuilt listened to MES owners complaints about recovery time and time to get to set heat time in colder climates.  Rather that up the element by say 200 watts to 1000 they put in the largest element 1200w they could and still have it safely operate on a 15 amp circuit.  Only time will tell if the bigger is better approach works without causing increased unit failures.  What we do know is that everyone who has the newer higher watt units seem to be happy so far.

For us older unit owners, preheating will make the difference in how the MES not only performs over the whole cook, but improve temp recovery when the door is opened.  In the summer I preheat for 1 hour, when the outdoor ambient starts to drop I go to 2 hours.  If the temps are close to freezing or below, I have preheated as long as 3 hours with the controller set to 270º.  The manual says that preheating isn't necessary, and I tried using the MES without preheating.  But I noticed it took over an hour and sometimes 2 or 3 hours to get up to heat depending on outdoor ambient or size of the load.  I also noticed that after 3 hours of use temp recovery was really fast.  So I concluded that once all the metal is thoroughly heated, temp recovery would be faster.  Normally with preheat recovery is 5-10 minutes instead of 30+ minutes.  Naturally when the outdoor temp is cold it takes longer to thoroughly heat all the metal and insulation.  It's basic physics, heat always goes to cold.  So if you put meat in at the room temp of your kitchen say 75º, and the metal temp is 50º or colder a huge amount of heat is going to whatever is colder, your meat is still cooking but not as efficiently as say in the summer when the heat doesn't have to over come huge amount of heat loss.

Having said all that, when my older MES 40 heat element connections finally fail, I will rewire with heavier gauge wire and connectors, and either replace the element with a 1000-1200 element, or I will use the 800w and add a 2nd stage 300-400 watt element, that will only be on when the internal temp drops 15º or more.


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## Bearcarver (Jul 30, 2010)

deltadude said:


> I'm sorry I am going to disagree with the statement that the MES 40" is underpowered with a 800 watt element.  For my climate area 800 watts is plenty, provided a few simple procedures are followed.  If you do a heat calc on the BTUs necessary to bring a box to 300º F the size of the MES 40" you will find that 1200 watts is way over power.  Even 800 watts is slightly over power, that is why the 6 rack Bradley is only using a 500 watt, based on simple heat calcs.  The problem is we all don't live in Calif.  Some have to deal with extreme cold, or extreme meat loads, which will require greater BTUs of heat to accomplish the mission.  So Masterbuilt listened to MES owners complaints about recovery time and time to get to set heat time in colder climates.  Rather that up the element by say 200 watts to 1000 they put in the largest element 1200w they could and still have it safely operate on a 15 amp circuit.  Only time will tell if the bigger is better approach works without causing increased unit failures.  What we do know is that everyone who has the newer higher watt units seem to be happy so far.
> 
> For us older unit owners, preheating will make the difference in how the MES not only performs over the whole cook, but improve temp recovery when the door is opened.  In the summer I preheat for 1 hour, when the outdoor ambient starts to drop I go to 2 hours.  If the temps are close to freezing or below, I have preheated as long as 3 hours with the controller set to 270º.  The manual says that preheating isn't necessary, and I tried using the MES without preheating.  But I noticed it took over an hour and sometimes 2 or 3 hours to get up to heat depending on outdoor ambient or size of the load.  I also noticed that after 3 hours of use temp recovery was really fast.  So I concluded that once all the metal is thoroughly heated, temp recovery would be faster.  Normally with preheat recovery is 5-10 minutes instead of 30+ minutes.  Naturally when the outdoor temp is cold it takes longer to thoroughly heat all the metal and insulation.  It's basic physics, heat always goes to cold.  So if you put meat in at the room temp of your kitchen say 75º, and the metal temp is 50º or colder a huge amount of heat is going to whatever is colder, your meat is still cooking but not as efficiently as say in the summer when the heat doesn't have to over come huge amount of heat loss.
> 
> Having said all that, when my older MES 40 heat element connections finally fail, I will rewire with heavier gauge wire and connectors, and either replace the element with a 1000-1200 element, or I will use the 800w and add a 2nd stage 300-400 watt element, that will only be on when the internal temp drops 15º or more.


Thanks DD,

I really didn't explain myself very well.

My point (above) was actually that I felt a PID would be a waste in a MES 30 with a 650W, and an MES 40 with a 800W, but a PID might be helpful in toning down an MES 40 with a 1200W. I hope that is more accurate.

I really should not have used the word "underpowered"----More like "Not overpowered enough to need reigning in with a PID".

Thanks again,

Bear


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## eman (Aug 2, 2010)

I have the older 40" The best thing i can see about the 1200W is in recovery times.

 I believe in smoke big or don't smoke. If the MES is plugged in it will be FULL!

 When i put 40 /50 lbs of cold meat in the 40 it takes dangerously long to recover. The 1200 would reduce the recovery time.


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## dick foster (Aug 2, 2010)

I don't get it. Even my two slice toaster has more wattage than these things do. My toaster oven even more.

If I ever went electic, (not very likely) the first thing I'd do is get some elements from a garge sale toaster oven or two or something along those lines and put some balls in the thing. Then I'd add a PID controller to kept temperature under tight control.


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## beer-b-q (Aug 2, 2010)

Dick Foster said:


> I don't get it. Even my two slice toaster has more wattage than these things do. My toaster oven even more.
> 
> If I ever went electic, (not very likely) the first thing I'd do is get some elements from a garge sale toaster oven or two or something along those lines and put some balls in the thing. Then I'd add a PID controller to kept temperature under tight control.


You might want to check and see what the amp draw on your toaster is.  I bet it is a lot less than that of the MES Smoker.

This is from the Owners Manual...


> WARNINGS & IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS continued
> 
> • Avoid bumping or impacting electric smoker.
> • Never move electric smoker when in use. Allow electric smoker to cool completely before moving or
> ...


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## dick foster (Aug 3, 2010)

I don't need to do that although I do have the meters to do it. The power consumption is printed right on the bottom per UL standards and I think the NEC too. Turn any appliance over or look on the back for the power consumption to be stamped or printed somewhere on the unit. It's usually in watts so divide just by 120 or 115 to get the approximate current draw in amps. Some applicances give consumption in VA but that is usually for computers, TVs and the like or things that present an asymetric or non sinusoidal load like a switching power supply. Heating elements pretty much present a pure resistance so they give consumpiton in watts.

1200 watts is a good one but my understanding is that most of them are shipping with only 800 watt elements.


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## beer-b-q (Aug 3, 2010)

Dick Foster said:


> I don't need to do that although I do have the meters to do it. The power consumption is printed right on the bottom per UL standards and I think the NEC too. Turn any appliance over or look on the back for the power consumption to be stamped or printed somewhere on the unit. It's usually in watts so divide just by 120 or 115 to get the approximate current draw in amps. Some applicances give consumption in VA but that is usually for computers, TVs and the like or things that present an asymetric or non sinusoidal load like a switching power supply. Heating elements pretty much present a pure resistance so they give consumpiton in watts.
> 
> 1200 watts is a good one but my understanding is that most of them are shipping with only 800 watt elements.


All of the new ones have 1200 watt elements.  If it is 800 or less it is not a current model.


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## dick foster (Aug 4, 2010)

That's good to know. I thought it was the other way around. Some things do get better afterall.


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## tjohnson (Aug 5, 2010)

I purchased the 40" MES w/1200 watt element in December, and smoked all thru the cold winter months.  Heat up and recovery was very fast when outside temps were 20*F.  For the $$$, you can't beat the benefits of the MES.  The clerk at Cabelas was trying to get me to buy the same $600 Bradley Beer-B-Q just sold. 

Pony up the $299, get the extended warranty and you won't be sorry!!!

Todd


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