I own (3) MES 40's, and decided to purchase a new 2012 MES 40 from SAMS Club @ @299 + Free Delivery
Some of my customers are using them, so I figured I may as well get one too.
I will perform a side by side comparison of the old MES 40 and the 2012 MES 40 in a later thread
First off, it does look a little nicer than the older version MES 40 and the window is bigger
As far as the "Cool Factor" goes, I give it a
I spent about 30 minutes assembling the new 2012 MES 40 and noticed a few things that troubled me!!
First off, the door did not fit properly, so I removed the cover to expose the upper hinge
(2) of the (4) screws holding the upper hinge seemed to be stripped, and the upper hinge was barely attached.
I removed the screws and the hinge, to find (2) of the (4) threaded inserts, were not installed properly, and would NEVER hold a screw. This in-turn would cause the hinge to break loose of the case, and the door to fall off, the first time the wind caught the door. Also there is no mechanism to keep the door from tearing off if/when the wind catches it. A simple cable or sliding latch would save the hinge and/or door, in the event the wind catches it....And It Eventually Will!!!
You'll notice in the pics, that the upper hinge on the new 2012 model is on the outside of the cabinet, and the lower hinge is on the inside, between the door and the case itself. The position of the upper hinge, combined with the lack of material in the hinge body itself, will lead to a failure of the hinge, if the wind catches the door.
These smokers are not used in a confined area, such as a garage. They are used on decks, porches and driveways, where they are subject to the elements. And "Yes Masterbuilt, there is wind outside!"
Sorry for the "RANT", but it irritates me to no end, that a company fails to follow thru on simple engineering tasks that should follow "Good Common Sense"! Cute little gadgets don't impress me, if the product is bound to fail.
Do they not test these things before hitting the market?
Did they not see the stress on the upper hinge?
Yes, hinges are sometimes on the outside of a cabinet, but their attachment and structure are such, to withstand normal use
Not sure if I'm keeping this 2012 MES 40 or not
I guess I'll just have to see how well it compares to one of my older models
I've got many hundreds of hours on my older model MES 40's, and not too many complaints
This new 2012 model will have to work very hard to beat it's older brother!!
Todd
Threaded inserts on the left are factory installed.
Threaded inserts on the right are the new ones I installed
Notice the difference in size?
Factory 6mm fine thread screw on the left
#10-21 coarse thread large headed pan screw on the right
Notice the difference in the size of the screw heads?
Upper Hinge of the New 2012 MES 40
Notice the difference in the size of the screws holding on the upper hinge?
Factory are the smaller 6mm screws. I installed the 10-24 screws on the right
Notice the narrow metal by the pivot?
This is the failure point of the hinge
This is a pic of the hinge on the Old MES 40. There is very little chance this hinge is going to bend.
The door will fail first!
Some of my customers are using them, so I figured I may as well get one too.
I will perform a side by side comparison of the old MES 40 and the 2012 MES 40 in a later thread
First off, it does look a little nicer than the older version MES 40 and the window is bigger
As far as the "Cool Factor" goes, I give it a
I spent about 30 minutes assembling the new 2012 MES 40 and noticed a few things that troubled me!!
First off, the door did not fit properly, so I removed the cover to expose the upper hinge
(2) of the (4) screws holding the upper hinge seemed to be stripped, and the upper hinge was barely attached.
I removed the screws and the hinge, to find (2) of the (4) threaded inserts, were not installed properly, and would NEVER hold a screw. This in-turn would cause the hinge to break loose of the case, and the door to fall off, the first time the wind caught the door. Also there is no mechanism to keep the door from tearing off if/when the wind catches it. A simple cable or sliding latch would save the hinge and/or door, in the event the wind catches it....And It Eventually Will!!!
You'll notice in the pics, that the upper hinge on the new 2012 model is on the outside of the cabinet, and the lower hinge is on the inside, between the door and the case itself. The position of the upper hinge, combined with the lack of material in the hinge body itself, will lead to a failure of the hinge, if the wind catches the door.
These smokers are not used in a confined area, such as a garage. They are used on decks, porches and driveways, where they are subject to the elements. And "Yes Masterbuilt, there is wind outside!"
Sorry for the "RANT", but it irritates me to no end, that a company fails to follow thru on simple engineering tasks that should follow "Good Common Sense"! Cute little gadgets don't impress me, if the product is bound to fail.
Do they not test these things before hitting the market?
Did they not see the stress on the upper hinge?
Yes, hinges are sometimes on the outside of a cabinet, but their attachment and structure are such, to withstand normal use
Not sure if I'm keeping this 2012 MES 40 or not
I guess I'll just have to see how well it compares to one of my older models
I've got many hundreds of hours on my older model MES 40's, and not too many complaints
This new 2012 model will have to work very hard to beat it's older brother!!
Todd
Threaded inserts on the left are factory installed.
Threaded inserts on the right are the new ones I installed
Notice the difference in size?
Factory 6mm fine thread screw on the left
#10-21 coarse thread large headed pan screw on the right
Notice the difference in the size of the screw heads?
Upper Hinge of the New 2012 MES 40
Notice the difference in the size of the screws holding on the upper hinge?
Factory are the smaller 6mm screws. I installed the 10-24 screws on the right
Notice the narrow metal by the pivot?
This is the failure point of the hinge
This is a pic of the hinge on the Old MES 40. There is very little chance this hinge is going to bend.
The door will fail first!
