I just posted a very negative review on Amazon about the Masterbuilt 30" cover and I thought I'd share it here. I wish we were allowed to post links because it would sure help with this post (there MUST be a way to keep the sponsors happy and still provide a way to make these posts more helpful by providing links).
Anyway, the bottom line is that the MES 30" cover, designed, marketed, and sold by Masterbuilt, is a completely and totally worthless product. I have searched for alternatives on this forum and it looks like the "Classic Accessories 55-046-042401-00 Hickory Heavy Duty Square Smoker Cover" may fit (again, I wish I could provide a link), and do all the things the Masterbuilt cover did not.
If anyone has a better cover to suggest, I'm all ears.
Here's my review.
-----------------------------
Let me start this negative review by stating the one positive: this cover fits the Masterbuilt 30" smoker perfectly.
Unfortunately, it fails on all other counts and, ultimately, simply fails.
I purchased this in November 2015 to cover my Masterbuilt 30" smoker that I had been given as a gift the previous month (I am writing this in August 2016). When the cover arrived, I put it on and was immediately struck by how cheaply made it is. The material is very thin and very flimsy. It turns out that this deficiency is really important and leads to all the other problems with this product that I describe below.
Two days after I purchased the product, I was passing by the smoker and noticed that the cover was not on the smoker. I looked around and found it about twenty feet away. Apparently, during the night, we had a little breeze and it got under the cover and lifted it right off the smoker. It turns out that the cover provides no way of fastening it to the smoker, and because it is so lightweight, any breeze at all (this was not a major wind) gets underneath the cover, inflates it, and promptly lifts it right up off the smoker. Then, because it is almost as lights as a plastic bag, it blows away. The first time it happened, I didn't think much about it and simply put the cover back on again. Then it happened again. And again. And again.
My solution to this was to put two small sticks across the top, with a brick on top of the sticks. Problem solved ...
... except that a few weeks later we had one of our first big rains of the season. I live on the Central Coast in California, and we don't get rain for six months out of the year, especially during the drought of the past three years. So, this was the first chance to see how well the cover protected the smoker. After the rain was over, I pulled off the cover to use the smoker and was distressed to find out that the smoker -- including the sensitive control box -- were just as wet as if I had not put a cover on in the first place. What I found after a little testing is that the darn thing is not waterproof, not water resistant, not water anything. Therefore, it is nothing more than a dust cover !!! What a joke.
So, from that point forward, when rain was forecast, I carted the smoker into the garage. This is a pain, but I obviously cannot rely on this cover to provide any form of protection.
But it gets worse.
About a month ago, after not having used the smoker for several weeks, I went out to take off the cover and found that the top had completely bleached out. You may not be able to see it in the attached photo, but the top has turned to a white-gray, whereas the sides are still mostly the original dark black.
Then, two days ago, I went out to prepare the smoker for some ribs, and I found that the cover is now full of holes. While it is possible that this is some sort of rodent, I cannot find any traces of rodent activity. I think the darn thing is just rotting out. Cheap synthetic material often goes brittle in the sun, but not usually after only nine months, and not with the mild sun we have here on the Central Coast in California.
So, bottom line: this is a worthless product which fails to do its basic task of protecting your smoker. It does not repel water which, as Masterbuilt owners well know, can ruin both the electronic control, as well as get into the junction box where the power cord enters the smoker. I live in the most temperate climate in the country, with almost all days about 72 degrees, with very little rain, and partial overcast most days from the coastal fog. I do not, however, live near the ocean, so salt air has nothing to do with this problem.
Don't buy this cover.
Anyway, the bottom line is that the MES 30" cover, designed, marketed, and sold by Masterbuilt, is a completely and totally worthless product. I have searched for alternatives on this forum and it looks like the "Classic Accessories 55-046-042401-00 Hickory Heavy Duty Square Smoker Cover" may fit (again, I wish I could provide a link), and do all the things the Masterbuilt cover did not.
If anyone has a better cover to suggest, I'm all ears.
Here's my review.
-----------------------------
Let me start this negative review by stating the one positive: this cover fits the Masterbuilt 30" smoker perfectly.
Unfortunately, it fails on all other counts and, ultimately, simply fails.
I purchased this in November 2015 to cover my Masterbuilt 30" smoker that I had been given as a gift the previous month (I am writing this in August 2016). When the cover arrived, I put it on and was immediately struck by how cheaply made it is. The material is very thin and very flimsy. It turns out that this deficiency is really important and leads to all the other problems with this product that I describe below.
Two days after I purchased the product, I was passing by the smoker and noticed that the cover was not on the smoker. I looked around and found it about twenty feet away. Apparently, during the night, we had a little breeze and it got under the cover and lifted it right off the smoker. It turns out that the cover provides no way of fastening it to the smoker, and because it is so lightweight, any breeze at all (this was not a major wind) gets underneath the cover, inflates it, and promptly lifts it right up off the smoker. Then, because it is almost as lights as a plastic bag, it blows away. The first time it happened, I didn't think much about it and simply put the cover back on again. Then it happened again. And again. And again.
My solution to this was to put two small sticks across the top, with a brick on top of the sticks. Problem solved ...
... except that a few weeks later we had one of our first big rains of the season. I live on the Central Coast in California, and we don't get rain for six months out of the year, especially during the drought of the past three years. So, this was the first chance to see how well the cover protected the smoker. After the rain was over, I pulled off the cover to use the smoker and was distressed to find out that the smoker -- including the sensitive control box -- were just as wet as if I had not put a cover on in the first place. What I found after a little testing is that the darn thing is not waterproof, not water resistant, not water anything. Therefore, it is nothing more than a dust cover !!! What a joke.
So, from that point forward, when rain was forecast, I carted the smoker into the garage. This is a pain, but I obviously cannot rely on this cover to provide any form of protection.
But it gets worse.
About a month ago, after not having used the smoker for several weeks, I went out to take off the cover and found that the top had completely bleached out. You may not be able to see it in the attached photo, but the top has turned to a white-gray, whereas the sides are still mostly the original dark black.
Then, two days ago, I went out to prepare the smoker for some ribs, and I found that the cover is now full of holes. While it is possible that this is some sort of rodent, I cannot find any traces of rodent activity. I think the darn thing is just rotting out. Cheap synthetic material often goes brittle in the sun, but not usually after only nine months, and not with the mild sun we have here on the Central Coast in California.
So, bottom line: this is a worthless product which fails to do its basic task of protecting your smoker. It does not repel water which, as Masterbuilt owners well know, can ruin both the electronic control, as well as get into the junction box where the power cord enters the smoker. I live in the most temperate climate in the country, with almost all days about 72 degrees, with very little rain, and partial overcast most days from the coastal fog. I do not, however, live near the ocean, so salt air has nothing to do with this problem.
Don't buy this cover.
