MES 40 - Which Rack to Use?

I have not tested per rack,, Depending on smokers,, all will have some difference,, Mine seems more from side to side..Right below the vent is lowest other side bottom seems a bit warmer,,,A friend of mine has a hot spot middle top rack,,, Only time on smoker will give you, your info Good luck

If using just one rack, I use the middle rack.

If you have the pre-2012 MES (The one where the smoke box & exhaust vent is on the RH side), you might consider the following mod:

Remove the bottom-most cooking rack.

Cover it with Tin-Foil so that the foil is all the way over the the RH side, and there is an opening on the LH side.

Re-install the cooking rack.

Now, the smoke will rise from the smoke box, be directed to the LH side, and the "waft" over to the exhaust vent.

This should make for a better distribution of smoke

I use the middle two racks on my 6 year old MES 40.

To deal with the heat that comes up the back wall on right hand side, I use a metal cookie sheet  covered with alum foil.  They are a lot lighter than a piece of tile which some members here use, and it works great.  In the photo below you can see where it rests on the chip tray / heat element housing,  and notice the real black parts show where the most heat is.  Note, this is for the old MES 40 with only a 800w element.