# Complete newbie question with smoke smell



## Rdnckhemi01 (May 20, 2019)

So im new to smoking and finally using my mes that i got for christmas.  I seasoned it and than used it 2 weekends later.  I made a nice pork loin in it.  My concern is when i added my chips in and they started to smoke it smelled more like a campfire than the light smoke smell.  Also had tons of smoke out of smoke and not just a light haze.  Im not sure if its normal or something going on with my smoker.  Any and all tips/help is appreciated.
Thanks for helping the newbie,
Derek


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## chef jimmyj (May 20, 2019)

Totally normal. The white smoke should lighten up to gray than blue. You really need to look into an A-MAZE-N AMNPS, Pellet Smoke Generator. Light it and get 9+ hours of Thin Blue Smoke. A lot easier than feeding the MES every 30 minutes. BTW... Neve soak chips...JJ


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## Jonok (May 20, 2019)

Unfortunately, that's the nature of the beast.  There isn't much in the way of controlled production of smoke with the stock chip loader.  Some woods aren't particularly offensive in large doses I used peach chips before I came up with my own smoke production system. These chips are commonly available, (at Meijer around here, but I bet Wallyworld sells them everywhere) and even though they were pretty intensely smoky smelling, the meat wasn't bitter as it would have been with an equivalent dose of hickory or mesquite).

Those of us who use MESs a lot have come to rely on alternate smoke generation strategies.  The Amazn tray or tube has a big following and some spectacular results (probably >1000 threads on this site)  Others of us have come up with other ways to address the issue.
If you're going to use the stock chip loader, small, frequent additions of dry chips are the way to go.  soaking just makes a bunch of steam until the chips dry out and burn anyway.  If you're willing to commit to going out and putting in a half loader of chips every 20 minutes and cleaning out the ash tray every 2-3 hrs, you can make some really good meat without covering everything with creosote.  If you try to keep it stuffed full, it will make too much smoke for a while, just right for another while, and too little as the charcoal starts a fire (which will ultimately burn out the cabinet around the chip loader hole), you just get black yuck all over everything and the fire makes your temps unstable.


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## chopsaw (May 20, 2019)

Alot of what you see coming out of a MES , no matter what you use , chip loader , amazn tray or tube is moisture . I agree with the advice above . I run a mailbox and the tube smokers . Next time you smoke , hold your hand 4 or 5 inches above the exhaust and see if you get condensation on your hand . Take the advice above , get a tray or tube , buy some pellets .


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## Jonok (May 20, 2019)

Hey, be fair, there is an alternative...


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## sigmo (May 21, 2019)

Jonok said:


> Hey, be fair, there is an alternative...



I'd be curious to learn about your smoke production technique.

I use one of the original AMNPS pellet mazes, and with some playing with things, I get consistent smoke production that I can control well in my gen 1 MES 40.  I don't use a mailbox (Yet).  But I love tinkering, and have started to assemble some parts to build an aquarium air pump driven smoke generator.  And I have a mailbox in the bull pen as well.

So I'm always interested in reading about what everyone else has done, and how it's worked for you.


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## Rdnckhemi01 (May 21, 2019)

Ok so when i get the AMNPS is there a better brand pellet out there i should use or one that works better.  Was looking at the traeger pellets last night at my local ace.


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## Jonok (May 21, 2019)

sigmo said:


> I'd be curious to learn about your smoke production technique.
> 
> I use one of the original AMNPS pellet mazes, and with some playing with things, I get consistent smoke production that I can control well in my gen 1 MES 40.  I don't use a mailbox (Yet).  But I love tinkering, and have started to assemble some parts to build an aquarium air pump driven smoke generator.  And I have a mailbox in the bull pen as well.
> 
> So I'm always interested in reading about what everyone else has done, and how it's worked for you.



Search “problems and solutions with Masterbuilt smokers” .


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## dr k (May 21, 2019)

Rdnckhemi01 said:


> Ok so when i get the AMNPS is there a better brand pellet out there i should use or one that works better.  Was looking at the traeger pellets last night at my local ace.


Traeger and bbqrs delight 20lb bags are blended with 70% Oak or alder and just 30% the flavor on the bag. I like the Traeger apple and pecan and I  like oak so I like these pellets. Todd at Amazen products sell 100% the wood on the bag and has periodic discounts like this month I  believe it's a 15% discount code. You can get his newsletter emailed to you with periodic contest giveaways and promos and discount codes. Todd's tubes and trays come with some pellets. I try to get the $49 order together to get free shipping and use the discount code. Just make sure you hit $49 after the code. With the tray or tube it should be easy to hit. I don't have the code for May. Maybe someone has it to give you.


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## Rdnckhemi01 (May 21, 2019)

Thank you to everyone for their answers i greatly appreciate all the help


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## smokerjim (May 21, 2019)

just another maybe helpful hint, if you do go to the pellets and have trouble keeping them lit, a lot of us will microwave them for 2-3 minutes to get the moisture out of them, some people don't have problems with keeping them lit so you'll have to try them out and see how they work for you.


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## tallbm (May 21, 2019)

Rdnckhemi01 said:


> Thank you to everyone for their answers i greatly appreciate all the help



Hi there and welcome!  I think the guys are getting you setup and well on your way.  I'm a huge fan of Lumberjack pellets as they are 100% of the wood on the bag unless they explicitly state that the bag is a blend of woods.



smokerjim said:


> just another maybe helpful hint, if you do go to the pellets and have trouble keeping them lit, a lot of us will microwave them for 2-3 minutes to get the moisture out of them, some people don't have problems with keeping them lit so you'll have to try them out and see how they work for you.



smokerjim makes a very good point about microwaving the pellets to elminate hidden humidity/moisture in the pellets though you could never detect it if you touched the pellets.
I would like to add to his statement that based on how powerful your microwave is you may want to break the microwaving into 2 rounds.  I microwave for 1min 20 sec, stir let rest for 2 min, then nuke again for 1min 20 sec.  
Some people have caused some smoking and small fires when microwaving pellets for too long a period. 
Break up the microwaving and you have nothing to worry about :)

I think more than 90% of the MES owners here use the A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (AMNPS) tray and pellets.  It can't be beat.  Also get yourself a good wireless dual probe (or more probes) thermometer.  There are many out there that should work.  I often recommend the Thermopro TP-20 but feel free to go with another reliable option and again I recommend more temp probes the better :)

Best of luck!


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