# where to place amns in mes 30



## riverrat3 (Sep 14, 2014)

As title says where do you guys place it for best results. Ordering the 5x8 pellet model. Thanks in advance.


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## riverrat3 (Sep 14, 2014)

Think I found my own answer. Dang I can't wait to get this thing!


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## daveomak (Sep 14, 2014)

I originally placed mine to the left of the chip tray on the wires.....   then Pops came up with the Mail Box mod.....  Soooooo, I did a mod..... 

... click on pics to enlarge ...












AMNPS and Mailbox mod.jpg



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burning pellets.jpg



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inside mailbox.jpg



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outside mailbox.jpg



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Inside MES wchip tray.JPG



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And then there is the "tunnel" to move the exhaust to the center of the MES 30













exh tunnel 1.jpg



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exh tunnel 2.jpg



__ daveomak
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## foamheart (Sep 15, 2014)

In case you don't have time for all the mods, or until you do have time..........













004.JPG



__ foamheart
__ Sep 15, 2014






The bottom left is the normal place. But I just can't stand normal, I found that I get better air flow, which is ecential for the AMP's to burn by setting it a bit higher on top of a spare grate on top of the reload box.













005.JPG



__ foamheart
__ Sep 15, 2014






This way its directly in the air flow and drafts a good draft.

But to each their own. The mailbox mod is the best in my humble opinion. I was/am just too lazy.

The problen is the amount of suction or air inlet available. The manufacturers inlet is located on the reloader. In the center of cylinder.













016.JPG



__ foamheart
__ Sep 15, 2014






Only three small holes.













010 (2).JPG



__ foamheart
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The three holes are the total  inlet you have, and below is the exhaust.













014.JPG



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You can see that a proper draft then is required.


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## riverrat3 (Sep 15, 2014)

Some great info there. I love to tinker so I think the mailbox mod or something resembling it is in order. Is there that much benefit to the exhaust tunnel? Is it purely to move the draft more to the center for better smoke path?


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## daveomak (Sep 15, 2014)

riverrat3 said:


> Some great info there. I love to tinker so I think the mailbox mod or something resembling it is in order. Is there that much benefit to the exhaust tunnel? Is it purely to move the draft more to the center for better smoke path?




The tunnel was installed to "overcome" the hot spot in the back right side of the smoker...  Seems to do the trick...  no more hot spot in the right rear of the smoker...


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## riverrat3 (Sep 15, 2014)

Well we'll have to do that one too then. :thumbsup:


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## themule69 (Sep 15, 2014)

As said above lower left or do a mailbox. I have the MES 40 without any mods and it works great for me.

Happy smoken.

David


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## daveomak (Sep 15, 2014)

When installing the exhaust tunnel, to hold it in place, I put a couple of holes in it and ran a piece of wire through the holes.....  then ran the wire up through the exhaust holes....
Clicking on the pics and enlarging them, you may be able to see the wire and how I did it...  














exh tunnel 1.jpg



__ daveomak
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tunnel holding wire.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Sep 15, 2014


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## rgautheir20420 (Sep 15, 2014)

I wouldn't do ANY mods until you give the AMNPS a shot in the bottom left position on the rails. I bought my MES30 G1 a couple months ago right along with the AMNPS. I have placed it on the rails at the lower left section and have had no issues maintaining a consistent burn and TBS. No extra money....no extra fuss.


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## riverrat3 (Sep 15, 2014)

Thanks David. My main reason for thinking about the mailbox mod is Sundays. With church and kids constantly refilling chips is not an option. And BBQ and football are a must! Not to mention I am a bona fide tinkerer.


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## themule69 (Sep 15, 2014)

riverrat3 said:


> Thanks David. My main reason for thinking about the mailbox mod is Sundays. With church and kids constantly refilling chips is not an option. And BBQ and football are a must! Not to mention I am a bona fide tinkerer.


You can use the AMNPS with a MES as is no mods. Give it a try first. I tinker with about everything. My MES 40 and AMNPS don't need any tinkering.

Happy smoken.

David


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## Bearcarver (Sep 25, 2014)

rgautheir20420 said:


> I wouldn't do ANY mods until you give the AMNPS a shot in the bottom left position on the rails. I bought my MES30 G1 a couple months ago right along with the AMNPS. I have placed it on the rails at the lower left section and have had no issues maintaining a consistent burn and TBS. No extra money....no extra fuss.





themule69 said:


> You can use the AMNPS with a MES as is no mods. Give it a try first. I tinker with about everything. My MES 40 and AMNPS don't need any tinkering.
> 
> Happy smoken.
> 
> David


Exactly----See if it works great like ours do without doing any mods. Don't fix if it isn't Broke!!!!!

Mine's been working perfectly on the bottom bars to the left of the chip burner for 4 years.

Bear


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## riverrat3 (Sep 25, 2014)

Thanks bear. I thought I would be getting a 2nd gen but I found a gen 1. I didn't make that plain as usual duhhhhhh. Was reading your pork butt recipe and was wondering what rub you use?


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## Bearcarver (Sep 25, 2014)

riverrat3 said:


> Thanks bear. I thought I would be getting a 2nd gen but I found a gen 1. I didn't make that plain as usual duhhhhhh. Was reading your pork butt recipe and was wondering what rub you use?


Yeah---Those mods are more for the Gen #2, I believe.

Sometimes it takes awhile to learn how to get the AMNPS lit properly, but after that, the MES Gen #1 and the AMNPS are a match made in Heaven, by way of MN (Todd's house).

Bear


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## riverrat3 (Sep 25, 2014)

Thanks bear. Love how you share your knowledge. Been using bad Byron's rubb butt a little to peppery for my 6 year old. Have to try some  thanks a million.


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## graphicsman (Jun 26, 2016)

Have you had issues with smoke leaking from the mailbox to the tube?


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## dgsmokes (Aug 18, 2017)

Evening all.

So I am struggling with my AMNS. I have the maze tray, filled it with pellets, took the torch to it, and let it burn outside the smoker. Every time I put it in the smoker it goes out. I am running an mes 30, and I have tried various configurations to keep air flow up. The tried and true bottom left, with loader in/out, chip tray in/out. Upper vent wide open always.

Am I doing something wrong in the packing of the tray possibly, or is my mes just not bringing air in, in the way that it should?

Thanks for any insight!


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## redoctobyr (Aug 19, 2017)

I started a thread the other day, regarding my AMNPS going out, here:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/266991/how-easily-should-pellets-burn-in-amnps

It keeps going out, both when placed inside my Gen1 MES30, or when in my "mailbox" (actually a toolbox) mod.

People have been kind enough to share some good suggestions in that thread, so I just wanted to mention it, if you hadn't seen it already, since our problems are at least similar.

For my own understanding, are you using the 6x6 AMNS tray, or the 5x8 AMNPS tray? What kind of pellets or sawdust are you using? How long does it burn before going out, and are you drying the pellets?


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## Bearcarver (Aug 19, 2017)

dgsmokes said:


> Evening all.
> 
> So I am struggling with my AMNS. I have the maze tray, filled it with pellets, took the torch to it, and let it burn outside the smoker. Every time I put it in the smoker it goes out. I am running an mes 30, and I have tried various configurations to keep air flow up. The tried and true bottom left, with loader in/out, chip tray in/out. Upper vent wide open always.
> 
> ...


For those who have their AMNPS go out within the first hour or so, go to the following Link, and check out the first 2 posts. The first one is a sure-fired way to get it lit good, if you have a heat gun, and the second post is the ritual I go through to light mine, and mine never goes out (Works Great in 3 different MES units).

Link:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/140859/how-i-light-my-amnps-w-video-link

For those who have their AMNPS go out after it's been burning for Hours, check the Link "RedOctobyr" posted above in Post #19.

Bear


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## redoctobyr (Aug 19, 2017)

Bear, thanks for the link to that thread. Your method sounds effective. And the heat gun approach seems pretty interesting. I have a heat gun, I could give that a try. Even with the heat turned off, my guess is just the airflow across the pellets would really help get them burning hot.

dgsmokes, I forgot to mention it before. When placing it in my MES, I had been putting the AMNPS to the left of the heater, as you did. But it might be able to get more airflow if it was located above the heater area? I haven't tried it, but it occurred to me the other day. I've heard people mention that, at least in the Gen1, the hot air tends to rise straight up, towards the vent. If that air was going around the tray, that might help.

With mine located to the left, using dried pellets, it would sometimes burn for maybe 4-6 hours, then go out. Once it went longer, over 9. That time I'd also raised the temperature, maybe that created additional, helpful airflow.


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## Bearcarver (Aug 19, 2017)

*I always forget to mention:*

I very seldom Cold Smoke, because I only Cold Smoke Cheese. *(Tip---Use Dust when Cold Smoking)*

I Smoke my Belly Bacon with 110° to 130° Smoker Temps.

I smoke my Prime Rib with 220° usually.

Fish from 100° to 190°.

And I Smoke everything else between 220° and 260°, finishing Chicken with 275°.

*So I seldom have to deal with my AMNPS during a Cold Smoke, but when I do, I use Dust instead of Pellets, because Dust burns Great in a Cold Smoker, in an AMNPS.*

Also: The only time I ever had trouble Smoking with my AMNPS was when I used to try to use 100% Cherry Pellets.

Even I can't keep them going. I think it's because of the natural oils in Cherry wood. I had to deal with it when I had my Cabinet Shop.

If you must use Cherry, I recommend using Cherry Dust, instead of Pellets, or mix some Hickory or other easy to burn Pellets with the Cherry Pellets.

Bear


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