I'll have to read both your and Bear's quotes a couple of times to internalize the answers but they both clearly explain how the controller and the heating element work. I also like hearing about how exterior heat is absorbed by the heat and how it affects the IT. Fascinating stuff.
Sorry, Kenny. I just saw you were quoting me and I thought it was about wood pellets. Long threads sometimes mutate into new life forms unrelated to their origin.
Noproblem it's probably my fault. Thanks for the oak information, i have a lot more oak than i do hickory. Will definitly use it now.
In a Loaded Smoker this would represent a problem as the meat acts as a heat sink absorbing the energy and reducing the swings. I don't think this swing would be too unusual in an Empty Smoker. There is A LOT of metal surrounding the coil. In a used smoker most of this metal would have dark smoke covered surfaces. The Infrared heat would be readily absorbed as well as any conducted heat. If the temp at the shelves is 280 and the Coil is coming on before the smoker temp gets below 225, this is a Controller problem. Unfortunately, only one of my MES 40's is at my apartment and it is not working, otherwise I would test the swings in mine. Maybe Bearcarver or some of the other MES owners reading this can test theirs and verify if you have a problem or if the large swing is typical...JJ
Were you getting that overshoot of 55° after you moved the probe down to the same area as the MES sensor?
My personal experience with the AMNPS is that I've gotten six hours out of 1.5 to two rows of wood pellets. The one time I used up a whole tray without finishing the smoke was when my MES 30 overheated due to my error. But I fully agree--the AMNPS is the only smoke source I use. Other guys have said they can get up to 16 hours on one tray but I never intentionally smoke anything that long. With the MES 30 I stick with smaller cuts of meat I can finish off in about 6 hours.
I was wrong when i said it would last it would last six hours when you fill up the AMNPS it's at least 5-6 hours on one row. I don't use chips any longer because the Amazen puts out such clean smoke. It's well worth your money, i didn't want to pay that much because it seemed cheap in the pics. That's not the case, it's very well made.
You are right about the quality. I usually buy a seasons worth at a time from Todd during one of his sales. They are great and the service is first class. Meat is to high to use a sub standard pellet.
It's well made and a simple design. No smoking guns or parts to piece together or to attach to something. It's one of the main reasons why I chose it.
