# Masterbuilt smokers



## conrad74 (Dec 12, 2007)

Looking to upgrade from my little chief to possibly a Masterbuilt ( or Centro -same thing as far as I can tell ) with temperature control and insulated box. does anyone have any experience with these units. Looking to do sausages , bacon ,etc. Also are they able to cold smoke ? Any recomendations advice would be appreciated

Thanks


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## homebrew & bbq (Dec 12, 2007)

If you're talking about the MES, I've been using one for about six months. The thermostat has a range of 100 to 275 so they don't really cold smoke as is, but I'm pretty sure someone posted some mods (with pictures) for cold smoking with one. 

I've mainly done pork butts and ribs (and ABTs and fatties, of course) with the occasional chicken or salmon fillet. I've been happy with the results. The only problems have been my lack of skill. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			










Hope this is helpful.


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## conrad74 (Dec 12, 2007)

Thanks- The electric version is the one I was looking at. Good to hear you like yours so far, have read a couple other positive reviews as well. Found the thread with cold smoking modifications , now I know what I can do with my old smoker !!


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## oleolson (Dec 12, 2007)

I've got a MES too.  I'm pretty new to smoking and just bought it a month or so ago but I've been very pleased with the results I've gotten with it so far.


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## monstah (Dec 12, 2007)

I also have an MES and am very pleased with it. I've done about 10 very successful smokes on it so far and counting. It's definitely a nice unit and worth every penny.


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## mossymo (Dec 12, 2007)

I have a couple MES electrics and have had quite a bit of success with them. Dollar for dollar, it is a very good product for the money. I have smoked just about everything imaginable in the Masterbuilt. I highly suggest an electric Masterbuilt, it is a bargain for the price compared to what you get with other electric smokers; in my humble opinion.


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## placebo (Dec 12, 2007)

Another happy MES owner here. Great product imo.


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## t-bone tim (Dec 12, 2007)

yes the MES,and the centro are the same with diff names , I find mine to be very veritile for use when I want to maintain a constant temp and find it can do most anything you want if you play with it 

as far as cold smokin it would prolly work well as is in cold weather , but can easily be used to generate smoke and pipe it to another vessel for cold smoke , here's a link to a quick idea I came up with when I got mine . 

Only thing I would do different is use a better ( steel or aluminum ) box or as you have already mentioned ( a use for your old smoker ) would be ideal , IMHO .

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=4215


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## billyq (Dec 12, 2007)

My friend's Dad swears by his MES.


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## smoked (Dec 13, 2007)

I love my MES.....thinking about getting another one also, on sale right now up the street for 179......


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## mossymo (Dec 13, 2007)

Cabela's had them last weekend for $149, it was a 2 day sale.


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## pitrow (Dec 13, 2007)

I just picked one of these up the other day. I've been using mostly the Little/Big Chief electrics, so this will be a nice change to have an insulated box and a temperature control. 

One thing I'd definitely recommend for you guys that just picked one up is to set it up and give it a dry run before you try to smoke anything in it. I set mine up straight out of the box and decided to fire it up just to make sure it was working. After it heated up it started smoking fairly good with the most acrid, nasty smelling smoke. I set the controls for 225 and an hour and a half. An hour later it still stunk pretty bad, though the smoking had pretty much stopped. It sure would have ruined any meat that had been in there. I assume this was left over oils and such from manufacturing burning off. Tonight I'm going to give it another dry run with some wood chips to make sure everything is up to snuff before I try some salmon this weekend.


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## kurtsara (Dec 14, 2007)

I was thinking about upgrading to the bigger one that Bass Pro Shop sell's but for that price I might as well buy another one like mine


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## smoked (Dec 14, 2007)

yup, first thing to do is fire them up with damper full open, let it burn all the manufacturing oils off, then fill up the chip box and let her smoke for a few hours to season.......


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## irwinwd (Dec 14, 2007)

another happy mes owner here.  I've had a lot of success with mine over the last year I've owned it.  After a minor mix up on my first smoke, I haven't had any issues with a smoke.  I think the ability to controll the temperature helps the learning curve a lot!  They are also well insulated, which is nice if your are going to smoke during the winter.  I'd recommend it to anyone.

I haven't tried cold smoking, but have heard it to be an issue with these.


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## larrymicke (Dec 14, 2007)

Should the damper on a MES be open all the time?  Does this maximize the temps?  I know this would be the case on a charcoal grill but not sure on an electric smoker.

I did some ribs on a MES last weekend trying the 3-2-1 method and they got done a lot quicker than I thought they would.


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## smoked (Dec 15, 2007)

no, you need to learn how to use the damper to control the heat and smoke....mostly the smoke.....if you want it to continually have the burner running and more smoke, full open damper......other then that you need to understand when to close it down to 3/4, 1/2, 1/4 and then a sliver.....it's not hard, but the more open the damper the more that burner runs......


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## jimmy (Dec 15, 2007)

Hello. I just bought a MES today. I noticed the rubber gasket between the door and box is not a tight seal. I see smoke comming out around the door. Is this to be expected? Thanks in advance!


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## kurtsara (Dec 16, 2007)

Mine does not leak around the door at all.








kow


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## illini (Dec 16, 2007)

More than likely you have put too much wood in it.
That smoke has to go somewhere when the top vent will
not handle it.!    Only enough wood to see a wee bit coming out the top then you have TBS.


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## jimmy (Dec 16, 2007)

Thanks for the response Illini & kurtsara. Although, I don't believe it is the wood being over filled. I can actually see inside the box with the door closed, not a huge opening, maybe 1/4 of an inch on the upper right hand side. It still seems to hold the heat very well though, even with the small gap. I have the temp set at 220*, when it reaches that temp, the burner shuts off and stays off for about 5-6 minutes. It's about 45* outside.


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## illini (Dec 16, 2007)

The upper right hand corner would be on the hinge side on mine. doubt if there is any way to cure the leak other than calling Masterbuilt and complaining.   They are very good at taking care of owners.

If it is on the latch side you may be able to adjust the latch and draw the door closed a little more.

Does not sound like the leak is sufficient enough to effect the performance though.

good luck


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## smokintexan (Dec 24, 2007)

I've had an MES (the one from Sam's) for a couple of months now.  I've been having some problems getting the technique down but I'm still working on it.  One thing I found is that the thermostat reads about 30 degrees hot!  I first tried checking it with an oven thermometer and didn't think that could be right, so I brought a calibrated thermocouple home from work.  Sure enough, it's about 30-35 degrees hotter than the digital readout says.  I strongly suggest checking it with an oven thermometer before doing anything else.  
I set mine on 190 now and am having better luck.  I still need to figure out the vent setting though...
Jim


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