# 2012 MES 40" Dissappointing Right Out Of The Box!



## tjohnson (Dec 9, 2012)

I own (3) MES 40's, and decided to purchase a new 2012 MES 40 from SAMS Club @ @299 + Free Delivery

Some of my customers are using them, so I figured I may as well get one too.

I will perform a side by side comparison of the old MES 40 and the 2012 MES 40 in a later thread

First off, it does look a little nicer than the older version MES 40 and the window is bigger

As far as the "Cool Factor" goes, I give it a 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






I spent about 30 minutes assembling the new 2012 MES 40 and noticed a few things that troubled me!!

First off, the door did not fit properly, so I removed the cover to expose the upper hinge

(2) of the (4) screws holding the upper hinge seemed to be stripped, and the upper hinge was barely attached.

I removed the screws and the hinge, to find (2) of the (4) threaded inserts, were not installed properly, and would NEVER hold a screw.  This in-turn would cause the hinge to break loose of the case, and the door to fall off, the first time the wind caught the door.  Also there is no mechanism to keep the door from tearing off if/when the wind catches it.  A simple cable or sliding latch would save the hinge and/or door, in the event the wind catches it....And It Eventually Will!!!

You'll notice in the pics, that the upper hinge on the new 2012 model is on the outside of the cabinet, and the lower hinge is on the inside, between the door and the case itself.  The position of the upper hinge, combined with the lack of material in the hinge body itself, will lead to a failure of the hinge, if the wind catches the door.

These smokers are not used in a confined area, such as a garage.  They are used on decks, porches and driveways, where they are subject to the elements.  And "Yes Masterbuilt, there is wind outside!"

Sorry for the "RANT", but it irritates me to no end, that a company fails to follow thru on simple engineering tasks that should follow "Good Common Sense"!  Cute little gadgets don't impress me, if the product is bound to fail.

Do they not test these things before hitting the market?

Did they not see the stress on the upper hinge?

Yes, hinges are sometimes on the outside of a cabinet, but their attachment and structure are such, to withstand normal use

Not sure if I'm keeping this 2012 MES 40 or not

I guess I'll just have to see how well it compares to one of my older models

I've got many hundreds of hours on my older model MES 40's, and not too many complaints

This new 2012 model will have to work very hard to beat it's older brother!!

Todd

Threaded inserts on the left are factory installed.

Threaded inserts on the right are the new ones I installed

Notice the difference in size?













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__ tjohnson
__ Dec 9, 2012






Factory 6mm fine thread screw on the left

#10-21 coarse thread large headed pan screw on the right

Notice the difference in the size of the screw heads?













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__ Dec 9, 2012






Upper Hinge of the New 2012 MES 40

Notice the difference in the size of the screws holding on the upper hinge?

Factory are the smaller 6mm screws.  I installed the 10-24 screws on the right

Notice the narrow metal by the pivot?

This is the failure point of the hinge













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This is a pic of the hinge on the Old MES 40.  There is very little chance this hinge is going to bend.

The door will fail first!













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__ tjohnson
__ Dec 9, 2012


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## whittling chip (Dec 9, 2012)

Sorry to hear about your problems. Todd. What I am really disappointed is that MES has not learned from their previous design flaws. Here's a link regarding the problems I had.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/120290/mes-40-owners-please-help

I also wrote a post on how to properly align the doors. It addressed some of the issues you stated. I can't find the post right now. They obviously have a design issue with ALL of the fasteners that they use. Inside and out.

Good luck and at least you have a backup!

WC


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## sound1 (Dec 9, 2012)

Anything to save a buck....did your mod get the door to seal tight??


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## tjohnson (Dec 9, 2012)

Yes, I can get the door to seal, but 1st time the wind catches it, the hinge will bend

I'm working on a "Stop", so the door won't swing far enough to bend the hinge

I would have never noticed the flaw in the hinge, if it wasn't for the poorly installed hinge

With a sloppy door, this unit should have never left the plant.

Makes me wonder about some of the other units???

Quality Control?

TJ


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## whittling chip (Dec 9, 2012)

This is what happens when the wind, or the door swings open too quickly.

Bent hinge because there is no stop on my 2010 model.

WC


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## linguica (Dec 9, 2012)

All of those problems are simply bad quality control and need to be addressed by the manufacturer. Having said that, I wonder if a smoker will ever be built that requires absolutely no tinkering or tweaking.   No.....that's no fun, i wouldn't want it.


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## tjohnson (Dec 9, 2012)

OK, Here's the fix!

Tools Needed:

Drill and 3/16" Drill Bit

Phillips Screw Driver or Nut Driver

Materials:

Braided Picture Hanging Wire

1" x 1" L Bracket

#8 x 1/2" screw

Todd

Inside of door...Note Location of rivets above drip edge













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Drill out 2 rivets in pic













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Twist a loop onto each end of the wire

One loop will slip over the mounting screw for the drip tray, on the inside wall of the smoker

The other loop will get screwed or riveted into the hole left from drilling out the rivet on the door.

I used a 1" x 1" "L Bracket" to keep the wire from cutting the seal on the door

Hold the door back about 2" from fully open, and measure the length

Make the finished length of the wire, including the loops, the length above













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__ Dec 9, 2012


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## aeroforce100 (Dec 9, 2012)

Sounds like Masterbuilt is using SMF for it's QC/R&D  once again.  With all the free engineering they have received from tne folks here at SMF, maybe they would like to compensate the people involved???


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## deltadude (Dec 9, 2012)

As always Todd your the dude that can engineer some niffty things that help the MES!

Great pics, great write up!

It is obvious that Masterbuilt who started with a great basic design of the original MES, has decided that bling sells!

Therefore we have windows, wheels, multiple thermometer, redesigned cabinet,  etc etc.

The problem is adding bling and maintaining a price point means something gets cheapened. 

Again thanks for such an informative & helpful post.


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## tjohnson (Dec 9, 2012)

deltadude said:


> As always Todd your the dude that can engineer some niffty things that help the MES!
> 
> Great pics, great write up!
> 
> ...


Thanks Dude!

IMHO:

The window is a joke.....

If it's cold or even cool outside, the window sweats, and all this "Brown Stuff" runs down the inside of the door

The drip edge will distort after a few smokes, and becomes almost useless

This "Brown Stuff" drips out the bottom of the door and onto the concrete

I always use a Boot Tray under the front of my MES!!!

Once the window gets a smoke film on it, it's virtually useless to see thru.  Yes, you can clean it, but the film will come right back after a few hours of smoking, especially if it's cold outside.

Save the money  on glass, and add things like:

Adjustable brackets for more racks

Jerky Screens

How about a 800 watt/1200 watt element?

Todd


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## linguica (Dec 9, 2012)

MSG: Mr Todd Johnson. ORIGIN: IMF-SMF section.   Your mission, should you accept it, is to Invade and undermine MasterBuilt by designing and building a mid-priced smoker that does what the packing box says it will. This smoker must work properly out of the box while still leaving some "tinker room" for DIY's. As always, if you or your team are compromised, SMF will disavow any knowledge of the IMF Force.  This thread will self destruct  in 30 seconds


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## tjohnson (Dec 9, 2012)

Linguica said:


> MSG: Mr Todd Johnson. ORIGIN: IMF-SMF section.   Your mission, should you accept it, is to Invade and undermine MasterBuilt by designing and building a mid-priced smoker that does what the packing box says it will. This smoker must work properly out of the box while still leaving some "tinker room" for DIY's. As always, if you or your team are compromised, SMF will disavow any knowledge of the IMF Force.  This thread will self destruct  in 30 seconds


I should have saved the box from my new 2012 MES 40!

Would have worked perfectly, and in the event it got destroyed, find another box


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## barbqjim (Dec 9, 2012)

Sorry to hear the issues with the new MES. Nice mod. I am anxious to hear how it works side by side with the previous model. I am going to buy a 40 MES but I am not sure if i should go with the 2012 or the 2011 model. I currently have a offset smoker and it works well but is quite high in tending. I want to get the MES and a AMNPS to simplify things a bit I hope. thanks for the info and any future comparisons.


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## texacajun (Dec 11, 2012)

TJohnson said:


> Thanks Dude!
> 
> IMHO:
> 
> ...


I couldn't agree more with you Todd. The more bells and whistles you add the more issues your going to have.

The hinge on the new model looks poorly designed. You have to remember these are manufactured in china.

From the looks of it they have really started skimping on the quality. I will stick with my old MES 40''.

But coming from your point of view I understand your purchase of the new model. I would like to see a built in

stop for the door installed on the hinge itself. Like the older model see the stop installed in the older one circled

in red and no stop in the newer model above it.













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__ texacajun
__ Dec 11, 2012


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## tjohnson (Dec 11, 2012)

I'm slammed with Holiday orders, but promise to post a side x side thread of the Old Model MES 40 and the New 2012 MES 40.  I just so happen to have a brand new unit of each model for the comparison.

I have also heard complaints about the side vent on the 2012 MES. 

If the wind is blowing, the unit will "Backdraft", and smoke actually comes out thru the chip loader.

We're working on a simple mod for this

Bells & Whistles look cool, but they have to function too

Good thing I purchased the extended warranty!!!

Todd


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