After hearing about the larger wood chip tray retrofit kit that's available from Masterbuilt, I decided to order one. I was told by the representative at Masterbuilt that it would be available after February 1st, but, to my complete surprise, it arrived via UPS yesterday.
I don't understand why it is that Masterbuilt decided to cut the capacity of the tray to about half, but I figured that having the full size would allow me to have the option of putting in more wood chips, if so desired. The installation of the larger chip tray was very easy and, if you have access to a dremel-type tool or something similar, you can also easily modify the chip loader to mate with the larger-sized tray.
This is the wood chip tray that came installed in the MES 40. It is roughly half the capacity of the larger wood chip tray that replaces it.
This is the larger wood chip tray, already installed and ready to be seasoned. After seeing this one installed, it looks like it truly belongs there. This one covers the whole heating element and, after the three-hour seasoning process, I can tell you that it produces a lot more smoke. I know that's an obvious statement, but after using the smaller chip tray for a while, the difference is now very noticeable. This makes me think, once again, why Masterbuilt would have even gone to the smaller tray design? They did, so they must have had their reasons.
When modifying the chip tray loader, all you want to do is cut the six weld points holding the choke plate on. Here, I used a small cutting wheel to rough cut the weld points and remove the plate. PLEASE REMEMBER TO USE EYE PROTECTION!!!
Once the choke plate is removed, take a grinder or sanding attachment and smooth out any protruding or rough metal edges that are left behind from the rough cut. THAT'S IT! MODIFICATION COMPLETE!
Finally, don't forget to season your MES 40 again and enjoy your larger chip tray!
I don't understand why it is that Masterbuilt decided to cut the capacity of the tray to about half, but I figured that having the full size would allow me to have the option of putting in more wood chips, if so desired. The installation of the larger chip tray was very easy and, if you have access to a dremel-type tool or something similar, you can also easily modify the chip loader to mate with the larger-sized tray.
This is the wood chip tray that came installed in the MES 40. It is roughly half the capacity of the larger wood chip tray that replaces it.
This is the larger wood chip tray, already installed and ready to be seasoned. After seeing this one installed, it looks like it truly belongs there. This one covers the whole heating element and, after the three-hour seasoning process, I can tell you that it produces a lot more smoke. I know that's an obvious statement, but after using the smaller chip tray for a while, the difference is now very noticeable. This makes me think, once again, why Masterbuilt would have even gone to the smaller tray design? They did, so they must have had their reasons.
When modifying the chip tray loader, all you want to do is cut the six weld points holding the choke plate on. Here, I used a small cutting wheel to rough cut the weld points and remove the plate. PLEASE REMEMBER TO USE EYE PROTECTION!!!
Once the choke plate is removed, take a grinder or sanding attachment and smooth out any protruding or rough metal edges that are left behind from the rough cut. THAT'S IT! MODIFICATION COMPLETE!
Finally, don't forget to season your MES 40 again and enjoy your larger chip tray!
