Mod to the MES

cornman53 · Nov 17, 2016

One of the biggest gripes I have with my MES has always been the uneven heat and smoke. I had wanted to add some sort of heat deflection and smoke disbursement. My thought has always been a piece of perforated plate steel but it has been cost prohibitive. Until now. I always bring sausage, cheese and jerky into work and everyone loves it and I always get asked to do some for people. Well the brother of one of the guys owns a metal shop. He asked me to do some deer meat up for him in jerky and I said I would for a piece of 1/2 plate with some holes drilled in it. So for doing up about 25 pounds of jerky I got my diffuser. I just installed it tonight and will try it out this weekend.

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cornman53
Nov 17, 2016

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cornman53
Nov 17, 2016

SmokinAl · Nov 18, 2016

That looks like a great idea!

Interested to see how well it works.

Al

dr k · Nov 18, 2016

The pics below show a perforated stainless steel grill mat I use to diffuse/push heat to the center of the smoker since the sensor, element and top vent are in the right rear corner of my Mes 40 Gen 1. Two of these mats cover the grate of a 22.5" kettle grill. They are hinged in the middle so it's folded in half and in the corner of the smoker above the element. I raised my empty water pan up a level to more evenly distribute heat. Now the top three racks I smoke on are evenly heated. I did put a one inch strip of aluminum foil in the foiled mat so it's up against the back wall, keeping heat from going up the back wall past the sensor.

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dr k
Aug 28, 2016

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dr k
Aug 28, 2016

-Kurt

Bearcarver · Nov 18, 2016

cornman53 said:
One of the biggest gripes I have with my MES has always been the uneven heat and smoke. I had wanted to add some sort of heat deflection and smoke disbursement. My thought has always been a piece of perforated plate steel but it has been cost prohibitive. Until now. I always bring sausage, cheese and jerky into work and everyone loves it and I always get asked to do some for people. Well the brother of one of the guys owns a metal shop. He asked me to do some deer meat up for him in jerky and I said I would for a piece of 1/2 plate with some holes drilled in it. So for doing up about 25 pounds of jerky I got my diffuser. I just installed it tonight and will try it out this weekend.

I need a Heat deflector in my MES 40 Gen #1 to push heat from the right side to the middle & left.

However with my MES 40 Gen #2.5, I don't need any kind of heat deflector---Both sides are close without any mod.

Yours looks to be a Gen #2.5---How much difference are you getting from left to right, without any mod??

Bear

cornman53 · Nov 18, 2016

Bearcarver said:
I need a Heat deflector in my MES 40 Gen #1 to push heat from the right side to the middle & left.

However with my MES 40 Gen #2.5, I don't need any kind of heat deflector---Both sides are close without any mod.

Yours looks to be a Gen #2.5---How much difference are you getting from left to right, without any mod??

Bear

What I have found with mine, and it is the 2.5, its more front to back. At lower temps 160-180 I was getting 5-10 degrees hotter near the back of the smoker on the bottom two racks. then on the upper two it was directly under outlet was hotter. The upper two racks on the right side is the coldest in my smoker. At hotter temps I did not see as much discrepancy and it seems to be a more even heat.. I really notice it when I am smoking my jalapenos (140-160). I am constantly having to move racks around and shift peppers to different locations on the rack. I do have this inside a small shed with about a 5 foot stack on it (see photo) which could be part of my problem in that I am getting too much draft and seeing my heat channeling in the smoker. I do not have a damper on it control it and that is one of my next mods as soon as I can find one that fits. But I like the thick piece of iron as it is a huge heat sink and I hope will really help regulate the temp more. I will have to watch my start ups because the heater will be kicking out the heat to warm up this big ol hunk of steel and then it will probably over shoot the temp. So I will have to play with my preheat temps to make sure everything is at temp before I put in my meats or veggies.

image.jpeg

cornman53
Feb 20, 2016

Bearcarver · Nov 18, 2016

cornman53 said:
What I have found with mine, and it is the 2.5, its more front to back. At lower temps 160-180 I was getting 5-10 degrees hotter near the back of the smoker on the bottom two racks. then on the upper two it was directly under outlet was hotter. The upper two racks on the right side is the coldest in my smoker. At hotter temps I did not see as much discrepancy and it seems to be a more even heat.. I really notice it when I am smoking my jalapenos (140-160). I am constantly having to move racks around and shift peppers to different locations on the rack. I do have this inside a small shed with about a 5 foot stack on it (see photo) which could be part of my problem in that I am getting too much draft and seeing my heat channeling in the smoker. I do not have a damper on it control it and that is one of my next mods as soon as I can find one that fits. But I like the thick piece of iron as it is a huge heat sink and I hope will really help regulate the temp more. I will have to watch my start ups because the heater will be kicking out the heat to warm up this big ol hunk of steel and then it will probably over shoot the temp. So I will have to play with my preheat temps to make sure everything is at temp before I put in my meats or veggies.

Cool---I was thinking when I saw your Pic that it must be an awesome Heat sink, and it should keep the box temp from falling as fast as normal during the downward part of each cycle, once that steel warms up.

I never checked front to back, but most of the time my smoking meat is central on a rack, and the only time I smoke below 220° is cured stuff like Bacon & Dried Beef.

Very interesting Mod !!

PS: Love the Little Smoke House!! Must be nice to have no wind to deal with.

Bear

dr k · Nov 18, 2016

A flared gas water heater duct attachment instead of sticking the pipe into the top vent will eliminate the drafting effect of the chimney and then you can use the damper the Mes came with when done applying smoke.
-Kurt

cornman53 · Nov 30, 2016

Ok. Here is an update on the mod I did to the MES. I have done a double smoked ham (bear's) for Thanksgiving, A turkey breast for another family feast, and a rack of ABTs for football. What I have found is that my temperature swings in MES that were usually in the 3-5 degree range have dropped to only 1-2 degrees. On the ABTs I am still seeing whatever I place to the back of the smoker gets done quicker but not like it was before. So I don't think it solved everything I think it has helped. I will know more on my next batch of jerky or chipotles.

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Mod to the MES

cornman53

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