2012 MES 40 vs. Old Model MES 40

[tjohnson]

As I was PMing with another member, his 2012 MES 40 rocketed to 340, before he caught it

Ruined his ribs....

I'll let him come forward and post his own misery with the new 2012 MES 40

TJ

 

[old sarge]

I think he just did over on page 15 of the models 30 and 40 comparisons. I'm sure the good folks at Masterbuilt will take care of him  but sad nonetheless.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Still a shame that there is an issue and possible fire hazard but the Bright Side is...Masterbuilt finally made an MES that will smoke up Chicken with a Crispy Skin!...

...JJ

 

[newsmoker chaz]

Great review Todd. I now know what i"m getting for my Birthday. Thank you and keep up the good work

 

[old sarge]

Unfortunately he was not smoking chicken.  

 

[tjohnson]

Still a shame that there is an issue and possible fire hazard but the Bright Side is...Masterbuilt finally made an MES that will smoke up Chicken with a Crispy Skin!...

...JJ

 

[tjohnson]

Swapped out my defective 2012 MES 40 for another New 2012 MES 40 at SAMS Club last night

This morning, I fired it up to burn the oil off

About 45 minutes outside burned most of the oil off, and then I brought it into my 65° warehouse

Took another 1/2 hour to finally reach the set point of 275°

MES Meat Probe read 280° in it's bracket on the inside wall

Maverick Probes were placed on the rack, second from the bottom.

Right side = 316°

Left side = 291°

This is a 25° difference between the right and left side of the same rack!!!

41° difference between ET-732 Probe and the MES Set Temp

After 15 minutes, the temps settled down a bit and the MES kicked it at 271°

Right Side = 306°

Left Side = 289°

DSCF5761.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

After another 15 minutes

MES Set to 275°

MES Display = 264°

Meat Probe = 280°

Right Side = 315°

Left Side = 284°

15 Minutes Later

MES element turned off at 275°

MES Display = 276°

MES Probe = 285°

Right Side = 320°

Left Side = 289°

DSCF5762.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

 

[old sarge]

I'm no expert but it seems to me that the area above the heating element would naturally read a higher temp than on the side opposite the element.  Maybe Masterbuilt ought to follow conventional wisdom and center the element from the back to the front. 

 

[tjohnson]

3 hours into the seasoning process, and here are the temps

I moved the probes to the top rack

Not really sure where Masterbuilt is reading 275° inside the smoker

Each rack seems to be reading much higher temps

MES Display = 275°

MES Probe = 285°

Right Side = 306°

Left Side = 293°

DSCF5763.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

 

[tjohnson]

30 Minutes later

I removed the drip pan/heat deflector to see what temps would do in the 2012 MES 40

MES Display = 267°

MES Meat Probe = 290°

Right Side = 315°

Left Side = 313°

DSCF5765.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

I removed the Drip Pan/Heat Deflector

DSCF5765.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

 

[tjohnson]

After the element shut off at 275°, here are the temps

Drip Pan/Heat Deflector is Removed

Maverick Probes are on top rack

MES Display = 276°

MES Meat Probe = 300°

Right Side = 331°

Left Side = 322°

DSCF5767.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

MES Meat Probe Reads 300°!!!

DSCF5768.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

 

[smoke happens]

I don't have an MES yet, my 30" is on backorder and should be here in a few weeks so hopefully someone will have an answer. Can the heating element be moved to the center of the unit instead of off to the right side? I plan on using the AMNPS I already have for smoke generation, so the chip loader will most likely be getting removed and a baffle put on it to control airflow. That or I will be doing the mailbox method. Vertical hot spots are understandable due to the nature of convection, but it seems like centering the heating element could reduce the left to right temp variables. Is it even possible to mod this MES to relocate the heating element?

 

[tjohnson]

Temp on the controller set to 225°

Drip pan/heat deflector was inverted - See Pic Below

Temps on the 2nd rack from the bottom are 19° higher than controller setting

MES Display = 226°

MES Meat Probe = 239°

Right Side = 244°

Left Side = 239°

DSCF5770.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

Inverted Drip Pan/Heat Deflector

Temps from right to left on the same rack were within 5°....This is acceptable, NOT 20°!!!

Hmmm......This gives me an idea!!

DSCF5772.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

 

[smokeone]

Thanks great review.

 

[smoke happens]

Always love it when you get an idea Todd, standing by.....

 

[chef willie]

Cabelas now out of stock on the new Mes...wonder if all were recalled? Almost bought one at $325 but waited to long and the sale was over with the price now jumping to $450. Kinda glad I missed the sale after reading the above posts by Todd. For that kinda asking price you would think the 'new' model would be flawless.

 

[tjohnson]

Another hour has passed with the 2012 MES set to 225°

I reinstalled the drip pan/heat deflector as per the mfg. instructions

25° difference between Controller Setting and actual temp on the 2nd rack

This is my 2nd 2012 MES 40.

The 1st one was purchased online from SAMS, the day after Thanksgiving, but not used until 1/2013.  It overheated and was returned last night to SAMS Club. 

My point is, if these units were purchased approximately 45 days apart, and both are defective, what about all the hundreds or thousands of units sold in the past 45 days?

MES Display = 223°

MES Meat Probe = 250°

Right Side = 250°

Left Side = 241°

DSCF5774.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

Reinstalled the drip pan/heat deflector as per mfg. instructions

DSCF5776.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

 

[chef jimmyj]

Big difference side to side but at least you know the MES Meat Probe is accurate, mine is off by 10*F. Good thing is this one has the coil shutting off at some point even though the temps are higher than expected, 300*F+, which one could live with if you decided to keep it...

 Chickens are getting nervous! 

... It sucks that for the Price there are such issues. Masterbuilt will have to figure this out or they may see a loss of market share over the next year. Would not be surprised to see a Re-Re-Engineered MES 40-2014...JJ

 

[texacajun]

DSCF5772.JPG

• tjohnson
• Jan 9, 2013

Todd I noticed that the drip pan/heat deflector in the first test was installed upside down and in the replacement unit you showed it installed correctly.

Could this be the swing differences in right to left in the each one of the test? Or is the pictures incorrect and you had the drip pan/heat deflector installed

the same way in both test?

350x700px-LL-f20c8f97_DSCF5776.jpg

• texacajun
• Jan 12, 2013

 

[tjohnson]

Todd I noticed that the drip pan/heat deflector in the first test was installed upside down and in the replacement unit you showed it installed correctly.

Could this be the swing differences in right to left in the each one of the test? Or is the pictures incorrect and you had the drip pan/heat deflector installed

the same way in both test?

350x700px-LL-f20c8f97_DSCF5776.jpg

• texacajun
• Jan 12, 2013

Ahhhhh....Good Observation!!

As my 1st test progressed, I inverted the heat deflector, to see if I could easily direct some of the radiant heat to the left side of the smoker.  Inverting the drip pan helped, but did not necessarily fix the problem.

This got me thinking.......

I made a simple Mod, and tested it yesterday.  I'm testing it again today, to make sure it will work consistently

The 2nd test was with my replacement 2012 MES.

I wanted to see how well it would perform, just as the MFG. intended, and really wanted to see if my 1st defective 2012 MES was a freak, or is there an inherent flaw with all the new 2012 MES 40's.  My conclusion, is there is an inherent flaw with ALL the New 2012 MES 40's, as they run 20°+ higher than the set temp.  The increased temps were read by both the Maverick ET-732 and the MES Meat Probe.  Other owners of the new 2012 MES 40 will verify this.