To retro-kit, or not, that is the question (MES 40)

stovebolt said:

    Tinkerin,

   It was harder than it looks. The stainless is thin but tough and hard to drill with a hole saw. If I were to do it again I would

   probably just snip out some from the center of the piece without even removing it. Anything to get more heat to the chip

   pan. I suppose they did that due to the larger heating element than the older models. The retro pan sits just about on the

   element with no metal between them. Even so it seems to work well with larger wood.

    I'm like you, I have 5 acres if mostly oak with just a few hickories. I like oak personally but it's a bit strong for the wife.

  Chuck

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Bearcarver said:

No--They did that on their MES 30 too. They did it because of complaints of "flare-ups" with the old setup, which in my opinion worked GREAT !

The change they made was a screw-up. They tried to make something better & it made it worse!

The retro is nothing more than the chip burner setup that was in the earlier models, like the MES 30 I got 2 years ago (exactly the same thing).

That's why I recommend people get the retro-fix---Why cut holes in a screw-up?---Just get the FREE fix.

Fixing the dumper like Todd did is different---They aren't giving out FREE full length dumpers.

Kinda like if I got a new pick-up, and the air conditioning didn't work, I wouldn't be drilling holes all over my truck.   

I'd get the FREE AC FIX.

Bear

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stovebolt said:

    Bear,

  That is my thoughts too. That's what I did, but I tried various things just for my own satisfaction

 that this was the best set-up.

  This pic shows the modified OEM chip-pan holder assembly as well as the chip-loader with

 the blocker removed ready for the larger retro-kit. The retro-kit is the way to go.

  The loader is easy to modify with a Dremel tool and a thin cutting disc.

  To sum up. Modifying the small chip-pan helps it work much better but the good set-up is the

 retro-kit and it's free.

  Then, of course, get an AMNS and you have a great machine for any kind of smoking.

 Chuck

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tinkerin said:

Weekend smoke with amazn and the less than perfect chip tray. 

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tinkerin said:

Not at all Todd- all things in balance and moderation.

I figure I bought the amazn to go with the smoker, not the smoker to go with the amazn, sooo....the dang smoker should work as it was designed to, just as the amazn does!

You might want to know your product was the hit of the neighborhood last weekend though.  But not the way it was designed to be....my neighbors got quite the kick out of watching me with a chainsaw, 5 gallon bucket and 10 inch diameter cherry tree.  They just couldn't figure out why I was going through so many gyrations to line up the bucket under the chainsaw with my leg behind bucket as a backstop for spraying chip/dust  

Told 'em I had a new smoker device that I needed fuel for, and if they didn't stop laughing, they would never taste anything that come out of the smoker.  Didn't help that tree was in my front yard. 

It's much easier to order yours, yes, but one should always have a back up plan.  Think I ended up with about a half gallon of cherry wood chip/dust

 

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tinkerin said:

Nah,  I'm using that nasty sticky oil.  This wasn't actually a plan to use this specific gathering for smoking- I did know there was bad stuff in that bar oil and not to use it in the smoker.  I had to get the tree out of the yard and figured it was a good time to 'practice'.  I just was curious as to how well regular chainsaw chip/dust would work.  It's clearly a different size than Todd's even with my dull chain.  Figured to let it season a while and then do a no-food test burn.  For ALL practical purposes I intend to use Todd's stuff.

In the meantime- two butt's on the MES right now

  with some cherry and hickory.  Mostly hickory.  And NO chainsaw dust!

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