smoke chips

The only thing I ever used the chip box for in my MES was to season it!  If you get an AMNPS (Amaze-N-Pellet-Smoker) from Todd here http://www.amazenproducts.com/   you will get up to 12 hours of smoke at a time & be able to sleep during overnight smokes. It can be used for cold smoking as well. If you get one you will never look back! 

You can use small chunks, but the AMAZN is the way to go. I do overnights all the time with my mes 40. Got a brisket and butt going right now for a 1 o'clock chow tomorrow. I'll use chunks for three hours and at bedtime I'll put the pellet tray in and let it be until morning. Plenty of smoke by then. Wrap when IT is right and serve at 1. Easy.

The AMNPS and MES are a match made in Heaven!!!

The little cost involved is well paid for by an effortless cook and perfect smoke for many many hours!

I don't have a pellet smoker but I do have the tube smoker and I have never had a problem with it.

I'm guessing you a have a MES? I think you could put the amnps in the smoker while it's heating up to help dry out the pellets since you don't have a microwave oven. I think the water pan in your smoker is also a probable reason for it going out. If I remember correctly the directions for my amnts says not to use a water pan.

You might want to reread the directions that came with your amnps... Remember, when all else fails follow directions! :biggrin:

tdssmoke,

What is the altitude where you live?  Some people who live above 5000 feet have reported real problems with getting the tray to burn continuously at higher altitudes.  This is why I ordered the tube.  I tried the tray, and did all the things suggested above (and more) to keep mine lit.  The longest burn I ever got was when the tray was put very near the coil in the MES (a position not recommended by any, including myself , due to flash-over risk).  Even when I did the mailbox mod, I was only able to get one and a half rows to burn before it went out.

Things I tried, including a combination of all of the below at once:

Different positions in the MES, on bottom, on racks, left, right and middle

No water in the MES

MES started 2 hours in advance to get convection flow running at its best

Chip tray (the one which the chips fall into and produce smoke) pulled part and all they way out.

Chip loader pulled part and all the way out.

Upper vent is always wide open for my smokes

Mailbox mod, no chip loader or tray.

Microwave and also baking the pellets

Brand X, Y and Z of pellets, including the recommended "pitmaster choice" pellets

Getting an amazing coal bed going with a torch, I have let half of the first row burn up, to insure an excellent coal bed

Used a hot air gun to get a RAGING coal bed going, until half of the first row is gone

Letting the pellets burn until they go out on their own (more than ten minutes)

Now I am trying the Tube smoker, with all of the things above, which is supposed to be more altitude tolerant.

We shall see if it works this time.