All MES Owners,
There is a good debate for both using and not using a heat deflector in a MES. Today, I'm smoking a turkey breast and decided to do a little "Unscientific Air Flow Test" of the air movement in the smoker. "Air Flow" is really not the correct term, it "Turbulence" caused by convection heat.
MES Airflow Test
http://[img]http//i758.photobucket....pics/MES Updates/SmokedTurkeyBreast.jpg[/IMG]
For my "Test", I hung (4) pieces of paper from the 2nd rack, in each of the (4) corners, and turned my MES up to 250* and shut the door. I was amazed to see how much turbulence was caused by convection heat, in the right rear corner. The paper in the RR corner moved rapidly, compared the the other (3). I opened and closed the exhaust vent and the paper in the RR corner consistently moved more rapidly than the other corners. I removed the chip loader, and result did not change, unless I opened up the exhaust vent.
I then placed my granite tile heat deflector on top of the smoke box, and the RR corner moved "Less" than the LR and LF corners. I then moved the tile about 1/2" away from the right inside wall and about 1/4" from the back wall. The result was that all (4) pieces of paper moved at about the same rate!!! It seems that moving the tile to allow a little air flow equalized the 4 corners.
The bottom left side, under the drip pan, showed little to no air flow without a baffle installed, but airflow was increased when I installed the baffle.
Conclusion:
There definitely is a "Hot Spot", or at the very least, a "Disproportionate Amount of Air Flow" in the right rear corner of a MES. In my opinion, PignIt's solution to a heat baffle for his MES is right on. I'm heading out to get something like it to try in my MES.
Todd
There is a good debate for both using and not using a heat deflector in a MES. Today, I'm smoking a turkey breast and decided to do a little "Unscientific Air Flow Test" of the air movement in the smoker. "Air Flow" is really not the correct term, it "Turbulence" caused by convection heat.
MES Airflow Test
http://[img]http//i758.photobucket....pics/MES Updates/SmokedTurkeyBreast.jpg[/IMG]
For my "Test", I hung (4) pieces of paper from the 2nd rack, in each of the (4) corners, and turned my MES up to 250* and shut the door. I was amazed to see how much turbulence was caused by convection heat, in the right rear corner. The paper in the RR corner moved rapidly, compared the the other (3). I opened and closed the exhaust vent and the paper in the RR corner consistently moved more rapidly than the other corners. I removed the chip loader, and result did not change, unless I opened up the exhaust vent.
I then placed my granite tile heat deflector on top of the smoke box, and the RR corner moved "Less" than the LR and LF corners. I then moved the tile about 1/2" away from the right inside wall and about 1/4" from the back wall. The result was that all (4) pieces of paper moved at about the same rate!!! It seems that moving the tile to allow a little air flow equalized the 4 corners.
The bottom left side, under the drip pan, showed little to no air flow without a baffle installed, but airflow was increased when I installed the baffle.
Conclusion:
There definitely is a "Hot Spot", or at the very least, a "Disproportionate Amount of Air Flow" in the right rear corner of a MES. In my opinion, PignIt's solution to a heat baffle for his MES is right on. I'm heading out to get something like it to try in my MES.
Todd
