Help did i just mess up my new MES 40!

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redrum

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 4, 2012
26
10
Jacksonville, FL
So tonight i bought a 12*12 ceramic tile, foiled it, and stuck it on top of the chip loader area.  I noticed smoke was now coming out the back seam slowly and i don't remember that area being so hot on my first smoke.  I also noticed a slightly odd smell and a small bulge on the back area of the smoker. 

I have been smoking for about a hour so i pulled out the ceramic tile and am now worried i hosed my new smoker.

Please help me rest my nerves as i am panicked!  I am within 2 weeks of ownership should i try and swap it out at sams?
 
Wow, I'm kind of feeling for you right now. That doesn't sound too good. I'm a new MES 40 owner also and I hope you don't have a problem. I will say I have dealt with suggested mods before on lots of forums. For smoking as well as other things. The first best choice is ussualy to follow factory instructions. If I buy something I assume they built it that way for a reason or I would build it myself. So far I haven't smoked in mine enough to be convinced that the design flaws are significant enough to risk damage to my new smoker by making mods. No offence to those who have done it. Just my opinion based on experience. I hope all is well with you and your smoker.

Clay
 
THe part that sucks is that after my first smoke this thing was working like a champ.  I have read some horror story posts of getting bad units so i don't really want to swap it out, but i don't want it dead in a year either.
 
 
the smoke stopped coming out the back, the bulge is still there and the odd plastic burning chem burn smell is still present.
 

I submitted some pics of the damage but they are awaiting mod approval.
 
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the smoke stopped coming out the back, the bulge is still there and the odd plastic burning chem burn smell is still present.
 

I submitted some pics of the damage but they are awaiting mod approval.
Just be patient, a mod will get to them soon. (I'm not a mod in this forum so I can't do anything)
 
The temperature variance between my weekend warrior thermometer and MES has jumped to 25 degrees from 6-9.  I think that is a pretty good indicator that i did damage using the ceramic tile, which is a shame since this appeared to be a good one...  Sams club here i come.
 
 
I tried the ceramic tile mod, but the foam on my door expanded

The unit is filled with polyurethane foam, and will expand or actually melt under extreme heat.

What you smelled was the foam

TJ
 
I hate to say this but how ironic. I bought a 12x12 tile last night too and at 4 am got up and started up my brand new smoker (this is only my 3rd smoke). After about 5 minutes the temps on my 732 were not rising when there was a pop. I opened the smoker and the heating element was on fire. I blew out the flame and turned off the smoker.

After a couple minutes I turned the smoker back on and smoke was coming out of the vent despite not having any wood chips in the tray. Smoke continued to flow from the vent for about 10 minutes. I fired up my amzn and put in my butt and the smoker seems to be working fine. Any electricians out there? Did I damage the heating element?
 
Wow, sounds like bad news. Was the tile thing an MES mod that was posted somewhere? Never heard of it before. Sounds like Todd gave it a whirl and encountered problems too. Could someone post some information on it. What was it supposed to improve etc. Not that I want to try it, mind you, but just curious about it.

thanks,

ShortEnd
 
I just bought a new Mes 40 also and made a heat deflector for the right corner out of aluminum foil...looks like the 12 x 12 tile is a bit wide for the smoke chamber. Maybe a inch trim would be the ticket to using a ceramic tile.
 
Been thinkin' about this, redrum. Your looking at returning this to Sam's Club, right? When they ask you what is wrong with it, what are you going to tell them? Even when it may be of a financial burden to do so, the best policy is to be honest about it. They may go ahead and replace it and then again they may not. Even if they don't, you can chalk it up to one of life's lessons. It's still better in the long run to be honest with whoever your doing business with. You're not to be cheated by your business bretheren, nor should you in turn cheat them. Conventional wisdom these days seems to be, "well, they're a big corporation and I'm just a little guy, so what if I screw them a bit." Well, that's exactly at the core of what's wrong with the world today. We all pay for the dishonesty of others. It has a certain price effect on everything we purchase. They don't suffer the consequences of dishonesty-we do! They build that into their overall cost of doing business, and charge accordingly. The best policy is to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Enough sermon, you know the drill, do the right thing even when it hurts. You'll sleep better at night.

ShortEnd
 
I reset the unit and it held temp again, so i decided to break down the unit the next day to see if i had melted the foam etc.  The unit checked out nothing seamed to have melted and the board looked ok.  I discovered the odd smell was actually the ceramic tile.  I called SAMS to see if they would honor my return since it was within 14 days and explained to the manager on duty that i had been using a heat deflector to solve a hot spot problem and they stated they would honor the return for future reference if anyone has this same issue.

I am going to use it for a few more smokes and make sure it is ok, if not i will take it back, but i think i am done with the tile.

Sorry to hear about your unit catching on fire!  I think the tile does its job too well and plan to use a 9*9 sheet of aluminium in the future that is vented and kinked to direct smoke flow like others have posted.
 
 
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MES owners have been using the tile deflector for years.  Personally I never liked the idea of using tile, it is heavy, the MES is light gauge stainless, when heated it expands, thus wear on screws and holes holding the smoke tray assembly.  Instead I use a light weight aluminum cookie sheet tray, many have sandwiched a very thin insulator between the layers.  I cover it with a couple of wraps of aluminum and it works great. You can get them at Walmart or Target for a few bucks.

I'm not sure why everyone keeps using the tile, I have posted the idea about the cookie tray many times.  The tray comes in various sizes mine fits perfectly so I know the right size is out there.

 
thanks dude!  I will get that instead!  Do you place that on top of the firebox or above the water pan?  Would you mind posting a pic?
 
 
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