mes not producing smoke at 130f

[meatloaf]

have any of you had this problem? if i turn it up higher theres lots of smoke but at 130 it stops.....should i light the chips with a lighter and blow out or something?

 

[Astralogics]

I believe it's a pretty common problem for an MES to lack/struggle to produce smoke at lower temps. I use a pellet tube/maze to produce the smoke and have the MES just hold the temp.

 

[normanaj]

You'll get zero smoke at 130℉ with a MES or any other smoker.

 

[smokerjim]

Mine wont smoke unless set at 200, mailbox mod and maze works great and you get 8-10 hours of continuous smoke.

 

[ajbert]

Agree with all of the above. Just an FYI, the maze works great at low elevations. When we moved to Colorado with the altitude of 9100 feet, the maze wouldn't work. I got the tube and have had smoke ever since. I don't know where the line is between the maze working or not. We were maybe at 50 feet above sea level when I used the maze.

 

[Timber II]

Yep smoke tube is the answer

 

[meatloaf]

ok thanks guys got the tube on smokin away!

 

[normanaj]

Amazen tube or tray will solve your problems.

 

[chef k-dude]

130 doesn't sound right, are you smoking cheese or something? I've learned to not use my MES30 when the ambient temps are above 90. I'm not buying or making stuff to limp along the smoker. BUT, you CAN pull the chip loader out and torch the chip tray through the hole. It will usually snuff itself back to a smolder when you put the chip loader back in the hole.

 

[meatloaf]

130 doesn't sound right, are you smoking cheese or something? I've learned to not use my MES30 when the ambient temps are above 90. I'm not buying or making stuff to limp along the smoker. BUT, you CAN pull the chip loader out and torch the chip tray through the hole. It will usually snuff itself back to a smolder when you put the chip loader back in the hole.
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what temp do you smoke at? i have seen a lot of recommendations to smoke for a few hours at 130 and then gradually move up

 

[uncle eddie]

I use the maze when I am smoking/drying my sausage in the MES40 at 150F. I used to use a tube but I thought it made too much smoke...just my opinion.

No MES40 smoke until about 200F...

 

[PolishDeli]

M meatloaf
This was my experience aswell. Using the same heating element for temperature control and smoke generation is a flaw in these tools. A mailbox mod or a Masterbuilt slow smoke attachment helps solve this problem.