Masterbuilt temperature question

[ronp]

Hi you can read my story here: http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=17415

I used to frequent The german place in Manitowish waters tha Emil had. Can't remember the name though.

Before that I spent much time at Long lake.

thanks for asking.

 

[geob]

Which MES did you get, the 30 or 40. The 30 holds heat better. The digital Thermometer is about 30 deg off so you might want to check it with another one. If you are still having heat problems, add some charcoal in the wood pan. Gives a better smoke flavor anyway.
Like Ronp said, make sure you have water or sand in the water pan to act as a heat sink.
I don't remember turning mine up past 250 and that was to hurry up the smoke.

Remember Low & Slow.

Geob

 

[ronp]

I was just going to ask about that. I never used lump charcoal, does it work, and how about the falvor if it does.

 

[charlied20]

I just bought the MES 40 and the company had to send me a new body kit because I cannot get the heat up to 230 - 250. I have not changed the kit yet but will do so soon.
While cooking ribs this weekend I got it up to around 225 after about 1 hour and then added some potaote skins and sausage. The temp went down to below 150 and never got back above 180 after 1 1/2 hrs. After taking the skins and sausage out the temp went up to 230. Am I doing somethnig wrong?

 

[ronp]

Is your door gasket OK? I finally got through to a knowledgleable person today. Here are some pics of my door and it is faulty, their sending me a new door.
In the first you see where it leaks.

In this pic looking closely you see what appears to be a rivet. That should be a hole for the clip to go into.

This is very Blury but it shows the clip

Also she said if you are using an extention cord that will cut the wattage.And if it's on a ground fault protector that will also affect the performance. She sad it SHOULD, if everything is right acording to the above, 275 should be achieved in 45 minutes in decent weather, mine took one hour yesterday and was told that was normal because mine in on a ground fault protector.

Make sure that you have clips every 6 inches around the whole door. Mine only has one on each corner and one in the middle on top and 2 on the sides. Not acceptable.

I think I talked to a person named Lisa but not sure. All reps are not that good.

Good luck and stand your ground.

I checked the display at Sam's tonight and it is also defective.

I guess they had a bad run damned imports.

 

[charlied20]

I recieved my new body kit this week and went to change the door today but I cannot because the lower door tappings for the hinge does not line up correctly with the hinge from the old body - the spacing is about 1/4" too close to fit the hinge. I also checked the door gasket and I found one clip broken and the others are not 6" apart but more like 10".

I installed a new outlet so that I didn't need to use an extension cord. I did put in a GFP outlet because an electrician told me I should because it is outside. I have to call them again tommorrow because of the hinge problem. Thanks for the information on the door!

 

[jsdspif]

I had that problem and it was one of the terminals that slide onto the heating element were pretty much disintegrated . One was , the other looked fine so I just replaced the one that wasn't there any more with a new terminal the hardware store called an appliance terminal (I suspect it's stainless steel). Then after using it a couple of times without a problem it started acting up again not getting to temperature or fluctuating a lot , so I tore it back apart and the terminal I didn't replace the first time was just about gone , so I replaced it and mine has worked fine since then . Probably have used it 50 times or something .

 

[ronp]

You are welcome if my door is wrong and doesn't work, I'll be returning it to Sam's for the second time and get a new one until it is right.

 

[charlied20]

They will be sending me the door they took off the body kit they sent me. I'll let you know how I make out. Has anybody had a problem with the control panel for this MES?

 

[ronp]

I'm beginning to wonder. I called today to see where my door was. She said it was shipped last Thursday, great. I forgot to ask about the chip loader so I called back. got another rep and she said there were no orders sent to me. I was pissed.

She ordered the door and chip loader and gave me an order #. Another 10 days wait. When i got home tonight there was a big box, guess what was in it? A new door and chip loader.
So, I installed the door, 5 mnutes, and guess what? When I called about the chip loader the first time they told me they had never heard of the welds breaking. Well another guess what? Now there are 2 spot welds holding that thing together instaed of one, ha ha.

So after installng the door I now have leaks on both corners. And still dont have the six inch apart clips on the top. I think it is a lot better, but not right according to the rep that sent me this.

I was gong to call them tommorow to see if I could cancel today's order, but decided to let it go. If they can't manage what their doing, why should I? Maybe the next door will be right.

Maybe I should keep calling with differnt complaints until I get another smoker. Like the digital control doesent work, the temps won't go up, the door leaks, the loader broke. That should cover a whole new smoker.

I will say in their defense it is a no hassle deal, I haven't even registerd the unit yet.

They need to get their @$%$ together though, for their own bottom line.

 

[charlied20]

When I recieve my door I will only be the control away from a whole new system as well. Make sure that you get an order number whenever they are going to shipp something. It allows them to look it up quickly and give you the status.

I asked about the new door design and was told that the unit has been reengineered from the old style to correct some of these problems. That was probably why the tapping for the old body kit and the new one are different. I also noticed that the model number on the back of the new body kit list 3 different models. My original and 2 others. Does your kit have the same?

 

[ronp]

The back of the unit has only one model number 20070408. I assume that means it was made April 8, 2007. My manual has 4 numbers on it though.

What's your model # ?

Also, on the door where the lock was drilled, it was about 1/4 inch off, but it works.

 

[charlied20]

My old body kit model# is 20070108. My new one has 3 numbers: 20070108, 20070407 and 20070707. I am assume that means it is a 3rd generation of the body. I am hoping it works when I get the door. I'll keep you informed.

 

[ronp]

Those same numbers are on my manual.

I would like to get the latest model. If I sill have trouble I will just take it back to Sam's and see what they can do. I think this one will work though.

 

[davenh]

One thing I noticed with my 40" MES was the bottom of the door would bow slightly under hot temps and make a gap. It seals back up when cold. I added an extra latch to the top and bottom to keep it sealed tight.

 

[ronp]

Sounds good, you would think there would be 2 to start with.

 

[davenh]

Hi Chuck,
Got your PM and thought I'd share in more detail out here. Maybe some others could get something out of it, thinking most things might have been already covered in the thread, but here are my thoughts on using the MES

. Again, just my way of using the unit.

This time of year the MES should recover within an hour to 230. If you have really loaded it down with cool meat it might take a little longer to get to 250. I had trouble with mine during the winter recovering temps when loaded, but it was really cold outside (I added a heater, another thread).

Start with boiling hot water in the water pan instead of cold water. I also only fill the pan half way. Top vent always full open.

Warm up the unit to 270 for an hour with all the racks, water in the pan and drip pans in place. This will help to bring everything to temp before adding your meat, the recovery will be better.

As already mentioned above, added a couple door latches (top and bottom) to keep it sealed tightly. If you have any gaps in the seal, it will suck in cold air as the hot air exhausts. You want all the air flow in the unit to come in through the wood box inlet holes (three small holes in the load tube). This way it kind of gets pre heated. If the unit gets too much air from leaks, the wood might also start flaring up. If everything is tight the wood doesn't get enough air to maintain the flame, so it just goes out with a poof and smokes. You might notice the poofing around the load tube area after adding wood or opening the door.

Also make sure the load tube is in the dump position where it is locked. Some times the poof could push the load tube partially out if not locked.

Another thing I do is add a broken up charcoal briquette in with the wood. This helps getting a smoke ring and adds a few more BTU's for heat. I start off every smoke by adding two briquettes worth and 1/2 to 3/4 of a briquette each time I add wood.

I use mini chunks instead of chips, maybe 1"x1"x2" (chop them down from larger chunks), lasts longer and the charcoal helps to make them burn more consistant since the element shuts down after reaching setpoint. I put one in every 30~40 min with more charcoal.

I'm not sure I buy into the extention cord or groung fault theory from MES. The unit draws like 6.5 A max. You would need a really long extention or small gauge wire to get enough resistance to limit the current that much. I'm also not sure how a ground fault limits the current or voltage, unless it senses current to ground then trips. Other than that I would think it should react like a normal outlet. I use mine on a 50' 14ga extention, plugged into a GFCI outlet and get the rated current to the unit (did actually measure it).

Hope some of this helps

.

 

[ronp]

Thanks, very interesting.

 

[charlied20]

DaveNH - Thanks. I have been boiling the water before adding it and have found that preheating works better as well. I will try some of your other comments and let you know how I make out. Thanks again!!!