# MES 30 (New Generation) HUGE Temperature Swings



## tmmccloud (Apr 15, 2015)

Hey guys, kinda new to the smoking business and this forum. I purchased a MES 30 (New Generation) online and this is my second attempt to smoke in it. Been following "Bear Carvers" Step by Step tutorial for pulled pork using pork butt. Everything is good, except my MES is set for 260* and the temperature swings from 245*-275* consistently. Just back and forth. I have a Maverick 733 setup in the smoker, which is within 5-9* of the digital thermometer on the unit itself. So the unit even knows it is kicking up to high and going down to low. What can I do to make this a more steady temperature? Thanks.


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## Bearcarver (Apr 15, 2015)

tmmccloud said:


> Hey guys, kinda new to the smoking business and this forum. I purchased a MES 30 (New Generation) online and this is my second attempt to smoke in it. Been following "Bear Carvers" Step by Step tutorial for pulled pork using pork butt. Everything is good, except my MES is set for 260* and the temperature swings from 245*-275* consistently. Just back and forth. I have a Maverick 733 setup in the smoker, which is within 5-9* of the digital thermometer on the unit itself. So the unit even knows it is kicking up to high and going down to low. What can I do to make this a more steady temperature? Thanks.


That's not really bad peaking 15° above & dropping 15° below. Your average was 260°.

Check your kitchen stove out, and imagine what it would be like if it was outside, with air movement surrounding that stove.

Even when your Fridge is set at 36°, the air temp will go back & forth to about 29° and 43°. That's how it stays at 36° in there.

What can you do?? Keep it out of the wind & don't open the door. It should settle down later in the smoke, but it will never stay at one degree. If it gets windy, you can set the top vent to about halfway open, instead of 100% open.

Bear


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## tmmccloud (Apr 15, 2015)

Speaking of the Tutorial man himself, Thanks for the quick reply! Ya I imagine that makes sense, I'm just being picky I guess, but I am looking forward to Dinner! I put the Pork in at 0730, the internal temp is 176* currently, and I am hoping to be eating by 1900 its 1735 here now, sound feasible? (Promise, not a math problem!)

Thanks again!


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## Bearcarver (Apr 15, 2015)

tmmccloud said:


> Speaking of the Tutorial man himself, Thanks for the quick reply! Ya I imagine that makes sense, I'm just being picky I guess, but I am looking forward to Dinner! I put the Pork in at 0730, the internal temp is 176* currently, and I am hoping to be eating by 1900 its 1735 here now, sound feasible? (Promise, not a math problem!)
> 
> Thanks again!


Shouldn't be a problem----That's only about 25° to 29° in about 1.5 hours. At about 260° Smoker Temp, it Sounds like it could be done a half hour early, so you can give it a half hour tented rest.

Bear


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## daricksta (Apr 16, 2015)

Bearcarver said:


> That's not really bad peaking 15° above & dropping 15° below. Your average was 260°.
> 
> Check your kitchen stove out, and imagine what it would be like if it was outside, with air movement surrounding that stove.
> 
> ...


This is what I've always maintained. If you track the overall temp swings it will average out to your set point. I never did the actual math but from the info from Bear and others and just from empirical observation I've always been satisfied that the smoker temp is where I wanted it to be.


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## sota d (Apr 16, 2015)

Sounds to me also like normal behavior for a MES. I usually get a 30* temp swing, but the average is pretty close to the setpoint. As far as planning a Butt for dinner time, you'll learn like the rest of us have, that it's best to allow a lot of extra time so it gets done early. It'll rest nicely wrapped in double foil and towels in a small cooler for up to 4 hours, and still be steaming when you pull it at dinner time! We've all been there-"is it done yet?" LOL


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## bmaddox (Apr 16, 2015)

I wish my unit had a consistent temp swing like that. I will shoot to 30 degrees over the set then 5 degrees under, then 40 over, 20 under, and so on and so forth. I have learned to not care so much and just ride it out. At the end of the day it seems to average out and everything is always cooked perfectly.


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## trucking13 (Apr 16, 2015)

yep i had the same problem last weekend, and i just trusted my 733 to keep me honest, but i did call masterbuilt tuesday and they are sending me a new control module. so thank you masterbuilt for standing by your products.


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## mummel (Apr 16, 2015)

Does the 733 have a charting option or anything?  Whats the best way to see a historical chart of the temps?


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## timberjet (Apr 16, 2015)

mummel said:


> Does the 733 have a charting option or anything?  Whats the best way to see a historical chart of the temps?


analog electric smokers work like this. Either the element is on full blast or off. Hence the swings. The MES is a simple smoker so no graphing or charting. You would have to do that with a network connected temp probe like the Igrill.


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## mummel (Apr 16, 2015)

Any apps that do it?  Doesnt the new bluetooth MES connect to your phone?


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## daveomak (Apr 16, 2015)

Fill the water pan with gravel and cover it with foil to keep it clean....  The thermal mass will slow down the temp swings......


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## chef jimmyj (Apr 16, 2015)

I have 2 Gen 1's like Bear's. Both swing 15° each side in the beginning. As all settles, 3-4 hours in, the swings diminish and on a windless day will be near dead on...JJ


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## tmmccloud (Apr 18, 2015)

Thanks a lot guys. The pulled pork was amazing. Only things I think I would change would be to start earlier in the morning for a dinner meal, and also to remove the really fatty chewy sections. I'm assuming post smoking would be the best time for that?


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## Bearcarver (Apr 19, 2015)

tmmccloud said:


> Thanks a lot guys. The pulled pork was amazing. Only things I think I would change would be to start earlier in the morning for a dinner meal, and also to remove the really fatty chewy sections. I'm assuming post smoking would be the best time for that?


Yup----When you're pulling it apart get rid of any slimy masses if they're there, and keep an eye out for the yucky little gland. Some of them were already removed & some weren't.

Bear


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## bmaddox (Apr 20, 2015)

I keep a trash can next to me while pulling so I can throw out any fatty or slimy piece. If it looks questionable then I chunk it.


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## craigdchang (Apr 20, 2015)

I smoked a butt yesterday. I started it at 6:00AM and set the temp to 250. It was windy and cold so I noticed a swing of about 15 degrees. So I kicked the temp up to 270. I figured maybe the cold was coming in the vent. It was a 4.5 lb. butt and I covered it at about 11:30, and added some apple juice, the IT was 150. I left it covered to about IT 200. Pulled it out and let it sit in the cooler for 2 hours. I started ripping it apart at 4:00. It had nice color but not real strong smokey flavor. I was using have hickory and half apple.  Sorry no pictures.

I have the MES cold smoker kit and it looked like there was quite a bit of smoke being generated. Any suggestions?


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## Bearcarver (Apr 20, 2015)

craigdchang said:


> I smoked a butt yesterday. I started it at 6:00AM and set the temp to 250. It was windy and cold so I noticed a swing of about 15 degrees. So I kicked the temp up to 270. I figured maybe the cold was coming in the vent. It was a 4.5 lb. butt and I covered it at about 11:30, and added some apple juice, the IT was 150. I left it covered to about IT 200. Pulled it out and let it sit in the cooler for 2 hours. I started ripping it apart at 4:00. It had nice color but not real strong smokey flavor. I was using have hickory and half apple.  Sorry no pictures.
> 
> I have the MES cold smoker kit and it looked like there was quite a bit of smoke being generated. Any suggestions?


If it was windy, the wind could have been sucking the smoke out.

I don't usually recommend this, but if it's windy, you could close your top vent halfway, but keep an eye on the smoke, so it doesn't get too thick. Thick heavy smoke can be a bad thing. A long time with light smoke is good, but a short time with thick smoke can be very bad.

Bear


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## daveomak (Apr 20, 2015)

craigdchang said:


> I smoked a butt yesterday. I started it at 6:00AM and set the temp to 250. It was windy and cold so I noticed a swing of about 15 degrees. So I kicked the temp up to 270. I figured maybe the cold was coming in the vent. It was a 4.5 lb. butt and I covered it at about 11:30, and added some apple juice, the IT was 150. I left it covered to about IT 200. Pulled it out and let it sit in the cooler for 2 hours. I started ripping it apart at 4:00. It had nice color but not real strong smokey flavor. I was using have hickory and half apple.  Sorry no pictures.
> 
> I have the MES cold smoker kit and it looked like there was quite a bit of smoke being generated. Any suggestions?




Meat seems to take smoke better at lower temps, for me...    before the fat starts to melt....   then I crank up the temps.....

And I don't use a water pan and I don't foil...


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## bmaddox (Apr 20, 2015)

It could just be your personal taste. Some people like a strong some flavor. Try using all hickory and letting it go longer before wrapping and see how that does.


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## craigdchang (May 22, 2015)

I can't say enough about Master Built customer service. They are the best. I bought mine in March of 2015, and I have a temperature swing of about 15 - 25 degrees. The model I have is 20076514. I called customer support and they are shipping me a new smoker, because replacing the control panel is not resolving the problem. Now that is customer support!


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## sota d (May 22, 2015)

Glad to hear they are taking care of you, I've heard they are very good. Are they replacing it just because of the temp swing, or other issues? Just curious because from what I've read on here, most MES owners accept that much of a temp swing as normal MES behavior.


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## mummel (May 22, 2015)

Whats a fair temp swing? +- 5F would be nice.


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## sota d (May 22, 2015)

mummel said:


> Whats a fair temp swing? +- 5F would be nice.


I would be happy with 15-25 from hi to low! LOL


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## mummel (May 22, 2015)

MES aside, whats an acceptable temp swing for cooking?


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## sota d (May 22, 2015)

mummel said:


> MES aside, whats an acceptable temp swing for cooking?


I've only smoked on my MES. I'm sure it varies with what kind of smoker you're running.


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## craigdchang (May 22, 2015)

I have read that some people have complained and they received the control panel replacement, but it did not help. I wouldn't mind if I could get a max temp of 275. With the temp swing I can only get 250. They were saying something about the wall of the smoker causing the temp swing so that is why they are replacing the whole thing.


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## Bearcarver (May 22, 2015)

craigdchang said:


> I have read that some people have complained and they received the control panel replacement, but it did not help. I wouldn't mind if I could get a max temp of 275. With the temp swing I can only get 250. They were saying something about the wall of the smoker causing the temp swing so that is why they are replacing the whole thing.


I don't find 15° to 20° temp swing a big deal, but since we paid for a 275° Max, the average of that Max temp swing should sit at near 275°.

Even a kitchen oven can have a temp swing, and most Refrigerators swing from about 29° to 42° to maintain a 36° temp in the contents.

Having different temps in different areas of the smoker bothers me more than the very common temp swings.

Bear


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## mummel (May 22, 2015)

Bearcarver said:


> I don't find 15° to 20° temp swing a big deal, but since we paid for a 275° Max, the average of that Max temp swing should sit at near 275°.
> 
> Even a kitchen oven can have a temp swing, and most Refrigerators swing from about 29° to 42° to maintain a 36° temp in the contents.
> 
> ...


Are you disappointed with the new MES BT temps diffs across all the different grates?


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## Bearcarver (May 22, 2015)

mummel said:


> Are you disappointed with the new MES BT temps diffs across all the different grates?


No I don't have one to test yet.

Bear


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## daricksta (May 22, 2015)

Bearcarver said:


> Yup----When you're pulling it apart get rid of any slimy masses if they're there, and keep an eye out for the yucky little gland. Some of them were already removed & some weren't.
> 
> Bear


I'm almost afraid to ask: what's the yucky little gland look like? I don't think I've ever seen one in a pork shoulder/butt.


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## craigdchang (May 22, 2015)

It is a fatty little hunk of slimy mess


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## Bearcarver (May 22, 2015)

daRicksta said:


> I'm almost afraid to ask: what's the yucky little gland look like? I don't think I've ever seen one in a pork shoulder/butt.


It's a rather Gristly little pod found in a mass of fat.

I'm not sure, but I think a lot of guys get rid of it by accident, because it's right there with that mass of scummy gooey junk that most people throw away when pulling it.

I've found a couple when I split the Butt in two, when I cut out some of the slimy fat.

Plus maybe more often than not it's gotten rid of by the butcher or processor.

I remember the first one my Son smoked. I told him afterwards----"You gotta get rid of that disgusting crap in the inside!" It's very offensive to many people.

Bear

Do we really want to eat this, if it happens to be in your Butt or Shoulder?

I stole this picture (below) from Pops' Post:

it can be quite large - this is from one butt, about 8 oz:

View media item 452544


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## daricksta (May 23, 2015)

Well, Craig and Bear, even if that slimely glop has been removed I might pass on the pork shoulder from now on. Thanks to Bear that's a visual I'll _never _get out of my mind. Bear, don't ever do that to be with a beef brisket or a ribeye roast!


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## Bearcarver (May 23, 2015)

daRicksta said:


> Well, Craig and Bear, even if that slimely glop has been removed I might pass on the pork shoulder from now on. Thanks to Bear that's a visual I'll _never _get out of my mind. Bear, don't ever do that to be with a beef brisket or a ribeye roast!


LOL---That is disgusting, isn't it !!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






That's why I recommend they be removed before smoking.

Bear


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## daricksta (May 23, 2015)

Bearcarver said:


> LOL---That is disgusting, isn't it !!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Truth be told, Friend Bear, I've never seen it in any pork shoulder I've bought, which is typically from Safeway. Perhaps drinking copious amounts of wine and margaritas tonight shall flush that horrid porcine glandular apparition from my cerebral cortex until I stumble on your darn post again...


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