Acrid, bitter taste results.

[clifish]

If you use a handful of chips as most Electric smokers are intended for, you won't have a chip flair up.

The MES has the chips pretty much right on the element as well and I've never had it happen. I don't think I've actually heard of it happening here in any post I read. You'd need to overfill the unit to have it be a concern I'd think.

I would like to get more time than 45 minutes with the tiny chip tray provided, that is why I was going to try a double foil pan with sand under the upper tray with the trips.

 

[Jonok]

And that’s why I really want to encourage you to be careful.
Back when I first started using a MES, I managed to cause a “sneeze” on a couple of occasions by purposely stuffing as many chips into the stock loader as I could. (To Masterbuilt’s credit, I didn’t destroy my machine).

In the course of my many subsequent modifications, on several other smokers I have done it a few more times when trying to address the problem of brief, unstable smoke production (again, without catastrophic results, but I could see how it could end very badly for man and machine).

A bunch of chips in a pan with a lot of heat and unrestricted airflow WILL result in runaway smoke production, and, left to continue will almost certainly result in rapid combustion of said smoke (a “sneeze”) which has been reported many times on this board, and personally witnessed by me on at least 4 occasions.

If you wanna make it happen and feel the thrill of watching the door blow open on your very own smoker, I can give you easy instructions. (But filling one of those Weber or Home Depot cast iron smoke boxes with a bunch of chips and setting it on a red-hot element should work pretty well to demonstrate the effect too)

 

[Bearcarver]

yes I only light one end, I get the advertised time out of it, I do believe it is lack of ventilation issue.

If it was a air flow problem, it wouldn't stay burning, and definitely not get the normal amount time smoking per row.

Bear

 

[clifish]

OK, I will take the advice and run it as advertised and reload every half hour...I definitely see a mailbox mod in the future.

Thanks everyone

 

[Jonok]

My mod, as it sits now works great with chunks, provides 8-14 hrs of nice thin smoke on a single load, and doesn’t blow up either.

 

[clifish]

My mod, as it sits now works great with chunks, provides 8-14 hrs of nice thin smoke on a single load, and doesn’t blow up either.

do you a pic of what you did?

 

[Jonok]

Look at pilotbird’s thread about the mod. I sent him one and he is doing great work with it.

 

[clifish]

yeah I saw that, it is nice but for me to do that I need to put a bigger exhaust vent on top not that little 1/8th of an inch tube there already. My heating element goes most of the way across the bottom of the smoker. What size ball valve is that?

 

[Jonok]

1/2”. It provides plenty of airflow for the purposes of the mod.

 

[clifish]

1/2”. It provides plenty of airflow for the purposes of the mod.

I think I would need a bigger upper vent as well, if air can't get out it won't come in. The other part of your mod is just raising the chip tray higher with a lid?

 

[Jonok]

Nope, it’s an adjustable stand for a smoke generator to sit on, and a smoke generator that essentially destructively distills the volatiles from the wood, and then burns them resulting in “thin blue smoke”. It also involves carefully sizing a heavy drip pan to modulate airflow from the “hot” lower area of the smoker to the “cooking temp” area above. This keeps the distillation/combustion going at the right pace, and keeps the smoker temps from swinging all over the place.

It also has the added advantage of about 9 pounds of heat-soaked stainless steel that hastens recovery if you open the door.

 

[clifish]

I am going to drill out a 3/4" hole on the bottom (have ball valve if needed) and open up the top back vent hole to 3/4". I am leery of the "exploding" smoker possibility. I will then experiment with the amps tray or chips. I will probably also put a deep foil tray filled with sand and shallow tray on top of that for the chips or tray. This will sit right above the element on existing chip holder rack. Lastly a water/drip tray on first shelf for moisture.

 

[Bearcarver]

I am going to drill out a 3/4" hole on the bottom (have ball valve if needed) and open up the top back vent hole to 3/4". I am leery of the "exploding" smoker possibility. I will then experiment with the amps tray or chips. I will probably also put a deep foil tray filled with sand and shallow tray on top of that for the chips or tray. This will sit right above the element on existing chip holder rack. Lastly a water/drip tray on first shelf for moisture.

I don't know about your "Smoke Hollow", but if it is insulated anything like an MES, adding water to a pan is the last thing you want to do. If it's like an MES, it already has too much humidity within.

Bear

 

[clifish]

I don't know about your "Smoke Hollow", but if it is insulated anything like an MES, adding water to a pan is the last thing you want to do. If it's like an MES, it already has too much humidity within.

Bear

hmmm, never heard of too much humidity, everyone seems to say add more...ok I am new and you know your stuff. Do you not use any water pan in your MES? I am open to trying anything, I will say on my last smoke I did see condensation running down the inside window of the smoker???

 

[TomKnollRFV]

In the MES it's pretty much common practice to line the water pan with tinfoil. It will catch -alot- of liquid and you don't want to hand scrub the sucker every time. Trust me.

There's videos on youtube of this as the first step to using a MES. <Which made me chuckle>. If the smoke hollow is similiar, I'd say you might want to try it and see if it helps.

 

[Jonok]

Only time I add any water if if I’m smoking something without any significant moisture like a single rack of ribs. Otherwise, there’s plenty there.

 

[clifish]

I put a foil pan on the lowest shelf and filled it with water last time. Both bear and you are saying no water just use it as a trip try a so the mess does not end up dripping out of the bottom?

edit just saw your response - thanks you are smoking with chips or amps tray this way?

 

[Jonok]

Using my mod with a smoke generator burning chunks which doesn’t require as much airflow as a tray or tube. Lots of guys do just fine in MES 40s with no water and the chip loader hole and vent wide open to keep an internal tray burning though.

 

[Bearcarver]

hmmm, never heard of too much humidity, everyone seems to say add more...ok I am new and you know your stuff. Do you not use any water pan in your MES? I am open to trying anything, I will say on my last smoke I did see condensation running down the inside window of the smoker???

Exactly!
I haven't put water in an MES water pan in over 8 years.
I often have condensation running down my glass window in the MES door.
Why add to that, right.
Just cover the water pan with foil, and change the foil when it gets too ugly for you to look at, but keep it in place.

Bear

 

[clifish]

I don't have a chip loader door, the only venting is a small on the bottom and an 1/8" tube back top, I am going to drill 3/4" holes for both.