# What is the point of the a-maze-n (I think it's called)  smoke tube and the "mailbox mod" on the MES



## smokin ts bbq (Nov 28, 2015)

In my couple of days on SMF Ive seen a bunch of people talking about the a-maze-n smoke tube and the mailbox mod on their MES smokers. I want to know. What's the point?  What makes them so good and why do people like them so much?  I see no problem with periodically adding a handful of two of wood chips. It gives me a chance to check my meat and mop while I'm out there. It also isn't a big waste of wood chips either. Just a handful of two every couple hours.  So what's the purpose?  Thanks for the info.


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## daveomak (Nov 28, 2015)

The MB mod. allows the pellets to burn consistently...   Different heat ranges burn the pellets at a different speed...   Removing the pellets from the smoking box, allows the smoking box to smoke at a lower temp, like for cheeses etc...    The AMNPS doesn't burn well/at all above 5,000 feet....  the tube works at 5,000 feet...  the tube works well in a charcoal smoker.....  

Please check with Todd for all the details....   http://www.amazenproducts.com/default.asp ... He probably will answer the phone too....


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## crankybuzzard (Nov 28, 2015)

Cleaner smoke, longer smoke time without having to add chips, and many more that some of the MES owners can add.  

The mailbox mod is for several reasons.  A convenient place to put the A-MAZE-N tray or tube, it's also good for cold smoking.


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## hamrhead1971 (Nov 28, 2015)

It also makes an electric smoker a set and forget smoker.  With the AMNPS and the mailbox mod I can get 9 hours of consistent smoke.  That means I can get the amnps going good, put a hunk of meat in my mes40 and go do something else for several hours with no problems.  I have started a Boston butt, went and bush hogged the back 30 acres, came back checked the IT then mowed the front 5, getting TBS the whole time.  Cant do that using chips.


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## chef jimmyj (Nov 28, 2015)

Try getting the Chips to smoke with the MES OFF like for Cold Smoked Cheese and Bacon. Or get the chips to make smoke at 100, 130 , 140, 170 for Cool Smoking Sausage. The original Maze was designed to cold smoke in the MES, because it can't make smoke below 180°F. The redesigned AMNPS burns Pellets in a Hot or Cold MES. The Tube works at high altitude and in Gas, Pellet and other smokers. The Mail Box Mod makes any of the A-MAZE-N Products work in any model and size of MES and anything you are willing to drill a 3" hole in. Yes Chips work but it sucks reloading all night long on a 12-16 hour Butt or Brisket...JJ


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## smokin ts bbq (Nov 28, 2015)

Chef JimmyJ said:


> Try getting the Chips to smoke with the MES OFF like for Cold Smoked Cheese and Bacon. Or get the chips to make smoke at 100, 130 , 140, 170 for Cool Smoking Sausage. The original Maze was designed to cold smoke in the MES, because it can't make smoke below 180°F. The redesigned AMNPS burns Pellets in a Hot or Cold MES. The Tube works at high altitude and in Gas, Pellet and other smokers. The Mail Box Mod makes any of the A-MAZE-N Products work in any model and size of MES and anything you are willing to drill a 3" hole in. Yes Chips work but it sucks reloading all night long on a 12-16 hour Butt or Brisket...JJ



Never gotten into cold smoking tbh. But I see the benefits of the mailbox mod for that use.  But the tube just to have smoke longer. Not really. Meat only absorbs smoke for the first 2-4 hours after that just heat (or oversmoke it)   with 2 handfuls of chips. Or even a chunk of hickory or pecan. I have good clean smoke for a solid 2 hours on problem. After that I tend to just let it go with heat source it's not oversmoked. It is pretty hard however to achieve a good smoke ring.


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## crankybuzzard (Nov 28, 2015)

Smokin Ts BBQ said:


> Never gotten into cold smoking tbh. But I see the benefits of the mailbox mod for that use.  But the tube just to have smoke longer. Not really. Meat only absorbs smoke for the first 2-4 hours after that just heat (or oversmoke it)   with 2 handfuls of chips. Or even a chunk of hickory or pecan. I have good clean smoke for a solid 2 hours on problem. After that I tend to just let it go with heat source it's not oversmoked. It is pretty hard however to achieve a good smoke ring.



With patience, experience will come grasshopper.  You've just started, open your mind and learn from an olde phart or 27....

Could I have achieved the below with only 2-3 hours of smoke?













image.jpg



__ crankybuzzard
__ Nov 26, 2015






Nope, it took around 6 hours to get that.  

Do snack sticks and summer sausage benefit from only 2-4 hours of smoke, smoke that was generated at 200 degrees?  Nope....


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## meatpacker (Nov 29, 2015)

Can you use pellets in the MES pan?  I thought I might try it and pre-light them.

The literature says move 10 feet away from building. WHY?


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## hamrhead1971 (Nov 29, 2015)

meatpacker said:


> Can you use pellets in the MES pan?  I thought I might try it and pre-light them.*  I would not recommend putting pellets in the chip pan.  Being prelit and that close to heating element will probably catch fire.*
> 
> The literature says move 10 feet away from building. WHY?  *In case something shorts out and catches fire.  Mine sits a foot away from the wall.*


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## chef jimmyj (Nov 29, 2015)

meatpacker said:


> Can you use pellets in the MES pan?  I thought I might try it and pre-light them.
> 
> The literature says move 10 feet away from building. WHY?


Nope...Unless you want a FIRE! You are not the firfst to think of this. The pellets generate a gas that builds up and catches fire. Same with packing the Chip Drawer full, been there did that...JJ


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## chef jimmyj (Nov 29, 2015)

Smokin Ts BBQ said:


> Never gotten into cold smoking tbh. But I see the benefits of the mailbox mod for that use. But the tube just to have smoke longer. Not really.* Meat only absorbs smoke for the first 2-4 hours after that just heat (or oversmoke it) with 2 handfuls of chips.* Or even a chunk of hickory or pecan. I have good clean smoke for a solid 2 hours on problem. After that I tend to just let it go with heat source it's not oversmoked. It is pretty hard however to achieve a good smoke ring.


Really? So then most of SMF's 85,000 members have been doing things wrong? Is smoking Bacon or Hams for 7 days a waste of time? How are Stick Burners supposed to stop adding smoke after 2-4 Hours? Why does the Minion Method mix wood chunks throughout the 10-20 Lbs of Charcoal, 20 hour burn time, if 2 Chunks at the beginning is more than enough? I'm just Fooling Around with you, so please do not be upset. The statement above is made a lot by new members and we try to offer info and alternatives...Every bodies taste is different, if you are happy with the short smoke time...You got a good thing going. 

A little info...Two to Four Hours on Ribs...Probably enough for most folks. On a Pork Butt not likely. Less that 30% of a Butt is surface area and exposed to smoke. The remaining 70% gets no flavor until it is pulled and mixed with the Bark. Meat only absorbs Nitrogen Dioxide and a few other gases, that which gives a Smoke Ring, for 2-4 hours but smoke flavor will continue to accumulate. You get no smoke ring in a MES because the Chips do not generate enough of the needed NO2. Only Wood, Charcoal and Gas combined with wood makes enough NO2. Smoke ring contributes next to nothing, flavor wise, because most of the gasses that make it are tasteless and the bulk of the Flavorful Smoke components are too big to be absorbed or are insoluble.

There are a lot of Myths about smoking meat including the misconception of Smoke Ring absorption time vs smoke flavor. You might want to investigate some more or experiment. Here you will find very few that smoke 2-4 hours for anything other that Cheese, some Sausage and Fish. Additionally, the AMNPS and Tubes would have never sold the tens of thousands that are out there if throwing in two hand fulls of Chips got the job done for everybody in the MES...Take care...JJ


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## daricksta (Nov 30, 2015)

Smokin Ts BBQ said:


> In my couple of days on SMF Ive seen a bunch of people talking about the a-maze-n smoke tube and the mailbox mod on their MES smokers. I want to know. What's the point? What makes them so good and why do people like them so much? I see no problem with periodically adding a handful of two of wood chips. It gives me a chance to check my meat and mop while I'm out there. It also isn't a big waste of wood chips either. Just a handful of two every couple hours. So what's the purpose? Thanks for the info.


For me adding wood chips every 20-30 minutes was a huge hassle. I've got enough to do with fine tuning the heating element to make sure it remains around the set point I want for the smoke and with foiling, unfoiling meat, brushing on mop or finishing sauce without having to deal with the chips. I use the AMNPS and once properly lit it gives me up to about 11-12 hours of constant smoke. Why wouldn't I want to use a tray like that which serves to simplify the smoking process? Also, since switching to wood pellets I've never over smoked anything again. Over smoking is easier to do if you add too many wood chips too often throughout the smoke.


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## meatpacker (Nov 30, 2015)

Does that mean you can't use the a-maze-n smoke device and if you do you have to use chips and can't use pellets?  I seem to have seen one in a MES and I can only guess it's pre-lit before inserting.  Is the difference being that it's not over the electric coil?


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## daricksta (Nov 30, 2015)

meatpacker said:


> Does that mean you can't use the a-maze-n smoke device and if you do you have to use chips and can't use pellets?  I seem to have seen one in a MES and I can only guess it's pre-lit before inserting.  Is the difference being that it's not over the electric coil?


You can use both. I have. I smoked a pork shoulder and wanted to a mix of nutwood and fruitwood smokes since I'd read they go well together. I had pecan wood pellets but only apple wood chips. I lit the pecan in the AMNPS and went through the hassle of adding the apple wood chips with the chip loader. It worked fine with no temp problems. Since then I bought apple wood pellets for the smoker and I use the wood chips in my charcoal grill.


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