Please help me understand

[bauchjw]

That's pretty cool. Unlike you I place my MES on an old children's card/activity table. With my bad back I can't continually bend down or get on my knees to open the smoker door for whatever needs to be done during a smoke. If I bought the MB Cold Smoker unit I'd have to place it on the ground and then find some kind of flex tubing to connect it to the MES, something I'm not willing to do. That's why I have the AMNPS. I also recently won a A-MAZE-N holiday drawing so now I own a AMNT which is the tube smoker. I can experiment with that too in my MES and in my Weber charcoal kettle grill.

I'll be curious about AMNT, I've been thinking about getting one for my Webbers too! Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

 

[stckthrwr]

I was just looking at the tube vs the maze one. Is there a preference for which one works better? I happened to get a gift card for fathers day I'm planning on using to get one.

 

[daveomak]

I see you  have the MES 40....   I suggest the AMNPS 5 X 8...  and an assortment of pellets...   Pitmasters Choice, Apple, Alder, Oak, Hickory... and anything else that you think you want to test...

The TUBE smoker puts out too much smoke for the MES....   It has a lager diameter, puts out a fair amount of heat and a lot of smoke...

Todd designed the Tube for use in Gas smokers, Charcoal smokers and High Altitude residence where there was minimal oxygen for the Maze to work properly...

 

[brickguy221]

 
The TUBE smoker puts out too much smoke for the MES....   It has a lager diameter, puts out a fair amount of heat and a lot of smoke...

That depends on the person Dave... For me the Tube works good in that it puts out the right amount of smoke and stays lit, whereas the Maze doesn't put out enough smoke and sometimes stays lit and sometimes it goes out more often than it stays lit. I spent almost a year fighting the Maze and finally gave up on it and tried the Tube and found it to be adequate. I tried the maze with chip loader pulled out in various amounts as well as clear out and the Maze would still go out even though it was properly lit to a bright red cherry when I put it in smoker. I do plan to try the Maze one more time by placing it on the right side above the chip tray with chip loader pulled out 2" like Bear did.

Meanwhile, I use the Maze in my Weber Charcoal Grill. I put wood chips in it and lay it on the hot coals and it works perfect there.  

I recently purchased a Vortex Smoker for my pellets, as well as some pellets from the same place that have a 30% charcoal blend but haven't tried it or them yet. The 30% charcoal blend is supposed to make the pellets burn better. I will post the results after I try them, but want to try Todds pellets in the Vortex first.

 

[daricksta]

 
A palm tree in Seattle ???   Come on...

We imported it from Los Angeles...

 

[daricksta]

I was just looking at the tube vs the maze one. Is there a preference for which one works better? I happened to get a gift card for fathers day I'm planning on using to get one.

I recently won the 6" Tube Smoker (AMNTS) which so far I've used only in my Weber Kettle Grill. I filled it just about full with mesquite wood pellets and they were used up in about 20-30 minutes but that was also after 20-30 minutes of letting the pellets heat up. I imagine the large size AMNTS will burn pellets hours longer. So with all that being said, I've owned the 5x8 AMNPS for years and that's my go-to smoke generator for my MES 30 Gen 1.

As Dave Omak wrote, the AMNPS was designed for the MES, Gen 1 to be exact but my understanding is it'll work in all generations of the MES. The AMNTS was designed for pellet grills and smokers that run at much higher temps than the MES. Go with the AMNPS for your MES.

 

[daricksta]

 
That depends on the person Dave... For me the Tube works good in that it puts out the right amount of smoke and stays lit, whereas the Maze doesn't put out enough smoke and sometimes stays lit and sometimes it goes out more often than it stays lit. I spent almost a year fighting the Maze and finally gave up on it and tried the Tube and found it to be adequate. I tried the maze with chip loader pulled out in various amounts as well as clear out and the Maze would still go out even though it was properly lit to a bright red cherry when I put it in smoker. I do plan to try the Maze one more time by placing it on the right side above the chip tray with chip loader pulled out 2" like Bear did.

Meanwhile, I use the Maze in my Weber Charcoal Grill. I put wood chips in it and lay it on the hot coals and it works perfect there.  

I recently purchased a Vortex Smoker for my pellets, as well as some pellets from the same place that have a 30% charcoal blend but haven't tried it or them yet. The 30% charcoal blend is supposed to make the pellets burn better. I will post the results after I try them, but want to try Todds pellets in the Vortex first.

I've had some problems with keeping pellets lit in both the Maze and in my new 6" AMNTS. The common link between both is my using pellets that may be at least 3 years old (I don't smoke as often as many guys here). I agree with others that the problem is with the moisture pellets have absorbed in their plastic bags that I store in my garage. But once I get either smoker burning for at least 20-30 minutes before placing them in my MES or in my Weber kettle grill they're fine. I've also noticed that here in the Puget Sound area where we actually get above 80 degrees some times, the hotter and drier the day the better the pellets burn.

Which Vortex Smoker did you buy?

 

[daveomak]

Since adding legs to my AMNPS, the pellets have lit and stayed lit without drying...   I'm leaning toward air flow problems....

AMNPS LEGS 3 001.JPG

• daveomak
• Jun 17, 2016

 

[texas mathew]

I bought my MES40BT from Sams. With the standard set up, when using lower temperature set points, very little smoke is generated. At 250, I got a pretty decent TBS (thin blue smoke), but have to re-load chips every hour. At 225...very little smoke, the chips just aren't burning much. Masterbuilt has a Cold Smoker Kit which sells for about $58. I'm debating whether to buy it, or make a mailbox mod.

 

[daveomak]

I bought my MES40BT from Sams. With the standard set up, when using lower temperature set points, very little smoke is generated. At 250, I got a pretty decent TBS (thin blue smoke), but have to re-load chips every hour. At 225...very little smoke, the chips just aren't burning much. Masterbuilt has a Cold Smoker Kit which sells for about $58. I'm debating whether to buy it, or make a mailbox mod.

You can search the forum or call Todd...

Todd has tested so many units...  he has solutions for darn near anything.....

Sending you a PM that has most of Todd's responses to getting units to smoke......

 

[wild west]

I see you  have the MES 40....   I suggest the AMNPS 5 X 8...  and an assortment of pellets...   Pitmasters Choice, Apple, Alder, Oak, Hickory... and anything else that you think you want to test...

The TUBE smoker puts out too much smoke for the MES....   It has a lager diameter, puts out a fair amount of heat and a lot of smoke...

Todd designed the Tube for use in Gas smokers, Charcoal smokers and High Altitude residence where there was minimal oxygen for the Maze to work properly...

I find the 12in tube works good in my mes but not if i pack it full. If full i agree it puts out too much smoke for my likeing. I fill about 1/4 full for a 3 hour smoke and 1/2 full for 5 to 6 hour smoke. Shake the tube so they lie evenly along the bottom full length of the tube. Light as normal and let it burn for a few minutes blow it out then place in the mes by itself with the top vent open full for at least l0 mins to let it calm down a bit. After its settled down put in whatever you are smokeing and its good to go. If it starts giving too little smoke adjust the chip loader for more draft. I also use it in my webber grill with no heat to get smoke on steak or burgers before grilling. Just have to remember the safe time requirements for safe food preperation temps.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
I see you  have the MES 40....   I suggest the AMNPS 5 X 8...  and an assortment of pellets...   Pitmasters Choice, Apple, Alder, Oak, Hickory... and anything else that you think you want to test...

The TUBE smoker puts out too much smoke for the MES....   It has a lager diameter, puts out a fair amount of heat and a lot of smoke...

Todd designed the Tube for use in Gas smokers, Charcoal smokers and High Altitude residence where there was minimal oxygen for the Maze to work properly...

I get too much smoke Smoke for my MES 40 too from the Tube, no matter how full I make it.

The AMNPS 5 X 8 is perfect for my MES 30 or MES 40.

Bear

 

[daricksta]

 
Since adding legs to my AMNPS, the pellets have lit and stayed lit without drying...   I'm leaning toward air flow problems....

AMNPS LEGS 3 001.JPG

• daveomak
• Jun 17, 2016

I see you also did the mailbox mod. I still prefer to take the minimalist (and cheap, no hassle) approach to using my MES. I'm not great at building or assembling things like that anyway. I'm no expert on wood pellets so I continue to find it confusing as to way pellets in the same bag will quickly catch fire and burn for hours while at other times they'll go out a few times in my MES until midway through the smoke if I had to light them again they refuse to go out until  after the end of the smokeI separate the smoking pellets from the unlit ones so they can die out. I don't nuke my wood pellets because enough guys have posted that nuking doesn't always work.

 

[daveomak]

 

 
Since adding legs to my AMNPS, the pellets have lit and stayed lit without drying...   I'm leaning toward air flow problems....

AMNPS LEGS 3 001.JPG

• daveomak
• Jun 17, 2016

I see you also did the mailbox mod. I still prefer to take the minimalist (and cheap, no hassle) approach to using my MES. I'm not great at building or assembling things like that anyway. I'm no expert on wood pellets so I continue to find it confusing as to way pellets in the same bag will quickly catch fire and burn for hours while at other times they'll go out a few times in my MES until midway through the smoke if I had to light them again they refuse to go out until  after the end of the smokeI separate the smoking pellets from the unlit ones so they can die out. I don't nuke my wood pellets because enough guys have posted that nuking doesn't always work.

There's probably 1000 reasons pellets won't stay lit....     First let's discuss the cold dam.....    Your smoker is cold...  really cold.... been sitting there all night... at 8 AM you decide to cold smoke something...   It's finally warm enough to go out on the porch in your house shoes...   pull the meat from the refer and put it on a rack... the pellets are going fine by now and in the smoker they go...

20-30 minutes later, they are out.....  the smoker and meat inside are colder than the ambient air... heavier than the ambient air....   the air flowing off of the AMNPS is rising and mixing with the cold air....    the air in the smoker cannot support combustion...  too much oxygen has been consumed because there is no "flow-through" air inside the smoker....  stagnant, deprived of oxygen air...

I've seen it....  with the MB mod, I put 3 bellies in the MES....  they were cool...  but cool enough, when I went out to check on stuff, smoke was exiting out the holes in the MB door...  

That's one example of how stuff goes to hell and you can have NO IDEA WHY .....

 

[link]

I did this to my Amaze-N-Pellet Smoker as I do not like to wait for a long time to get a nice cherry red coal going. This works great for me, I get the pellets lit let them burn for a few minutes, Turn on the fan while I am getting things ready and away I go.

20140110_004028795_iOS.jpg

• link
• Jul 12, 2016

 

[daricksta]

 
There's probably 1000 reasons pellets won't stay lit....     First let's discuss the cold dam.....    Your smoker is cold...  really cold.... been sitting there all night... at 8 AM you decide to cold smoke something...   It's finally warm enough to go out on the porch in your house shoes...   pull the meat from the refer and put it on a rack... the pellets are going fine by now and in the smoker they go...

20-30 minutes later, they are out.....  the smoker and meat inside are colder than the ambient air... heavier than the ambient air....   the air flowing off of the AMNPS is rising and mixing with the cold air....    the air in the smoker cannot support combustion...  too much oxygen has been consumed because there is no "flow-through" air inside the smoker....  stagnant, deprived of oxygen air...

I've seen it....  with the MB mod, I put 3 bellies in the MES....  they were cool...  but cool enough, when I went out to check on stuff, smoke was exiting out the holes in the MB door...  

That's one example of how stuff goes to hell and you can have NO IDEA WHY .....

Dave, what you described is what I thought was happening inside my MES because you're right--the AMNPS has consistently performed better on warm to hot days than on colder and cold/damp days (and evenings). I think what really keeps me from constructing a MB mod is the actual work itself: buying a cheap metal mailbox, figuring out what size/length flexible duct to buy. Then there's drilling a hole in the mailbox to insert the duct into. And then there's bringing the whole thing out of the garage along with the MES and stuff associated with that. Just not very good at all that stuff. It's just easier and simpler for me to try to deal with getting the interior of the MES sufficiently warmed up, which means going beyond my set point before inserting the AMNPS.