A Couple of MES Questions

[thunder lite]

I'm thinking about getting a MES40 and had a couple of questions for those that have one already:

1. Cold weather - I currently grill, smoke, bbq, etc. year round and in all kinds of weather and being in MN, it can get a little cold and snowy here. I'm wondering what people's experience has been with cold temperatures and the MES. Also, how much does wind affect the MES?
2. Inclement weather - Since it's electric and has an exposed control panel, do you have to worry about rain and snow? Do you have keep it completely out of the rain and snow when in use? 

Thanks,

Ron

 

[tjohnson]

Hey Thunder Lite

I run my MES 40 all the way down to about 20° without any issues.  The window sweats a little, so I use a plastic tray under the unit, to catch anything the gets past the drip pan or door seal.  Wind will effect the temp, especially when it's cold out.  In really cold weather, I've wrap my MES with a moving blanket.

I keep mine under a large front porch  Occasional use in the weather probably won;t hurt anything, but don;t store it outside

SAMS Club has the best deal on a new MES 40 for $299

Todd

 

[deltadude]

I'm on the left coast where we typically don't get temps too low below freezing, I have used it a couple of times when the temp was 28-29ºF.  Mine is in a covered area, before we bought this house it was just under an eave, with no wind protection, now I can block the wind on three sides.  As TJ said the wind can make things a little more difficult.

One tip allow you MES to preheat at least two hours, that gets all metal including the insulation sandwiched in the walls heated up, this will help prevent rapid heat loss, and temps will stabilize faster, than if you didn't preheat.

Remember heat goes to cold, at some temp even preheating will not prevent heat loss, and a blanket or enclosure of some type would be required.

 

[thunder lite]

thoughts on snow and such?

Ron

 

[beernuts]

Keep it out of the rain since the panel is not waterproof. As for cold and snow your heating and recover times will be longer. Lowest temp I've smoked here in MN is 29. Try to keep it out of the cold breezes when you smoke in cold weather so the unit will recover faster.

 

[thunder lite]

So now that I own a 2012 MES 40 (an AMNPS is in the mail) here's a couple more questions:

Has anyone had an issue with the remote shutting off? During my first smoke, it shut off several times. I thought I was doing something to cause it, but today, I put it on the counter and when I came back after 5 minutes, it was off. This also then seems to shut the MES off (or is the MES shutting off causing the remote to go off?). I set the time for 8 hours and was only about 2 hours into the smoke when it happened.

Regarding the temperature readings. I have ribs in, so I'm not using the meat probe. If I check the meat probe temp, it's a lot different from the set temp and the current MES temp. For example, the set temp is set to 225, the temp displayed on the unit is 204, but the meat probe shows 222. Has anyone else noticed this or is this to be expected?

Thanks,

Ron

 

[roadkill cafe]

So now that I own a 2012 MES 40 (an AMNPS is in the mail) here's a couple more questions:

Has anyone had an issue with the remote shutting off? During my first smoke, it shut off several times. I thought I was doing something to cause it, but today, I put it on the counter and when I came back after 5 minutes, it was off. This also then seems to shut the MES off (or is the MES shutting off causing the remote to go off?). I set the time for 8 hours and was only about 2 hours into the smoke when it happened.

Regarding the temperature readings. I have ribs in, so I'm not using the meat probe. If I check the meat probe temp, it's a lot different from the set temp and the current MES temp. For example, the set temp is set to 225, the temp displayed on the unit is 204, but the meat probe shows 222. Has anyone else noticed this or is this to be expected?

Thanks,

Ron

Thunder, Congrats on the new addition to the family and smart move on purchasing the AMNPS. Your smoking life will be so much easier with it. You may try putting a set of fresh batteries in the remote if you've followed all the instructions for programming temp & time. It may be when the batteries dies down it shuts the unit off. As for the temp readings, remember if the MES meat probe is secured in it''s clip inside the unit it's either touching or right next to the wall. Also, I've noticed my display isn't as accurate as my Maverick thermo and the sensor doesn't respond as quickly as the Mav.