I'm new to the forum. I purchased a MES 40 and AMNPS 5X8, after reading some of the threads I made the mailbox mod and what a difference. I haven't done any smoking since the mod but I tried it out with the MES empty and no chip tray. The smoke was exactly what I was hoping for. I'm anxious to try it for real. One thing I did discover is the meat probe on the MES is off by about 20 degrees. I discovered this while smoking a brisket. I haven't checked the actual temp of the MES, I hope it's pretty accurate.