Catastrophe strikes

[Swamp_moss]

RIP to my 1 year old MES 30. Decided to smoke a butt today but it went exactly opposite of how it should. Long story short, every row of pellets caught on fire, and when I try to pull the amzn out my grease catch pan caught on fire...all down hill from there.

Melted my smoker something bad but I believe I salvaged the butt. Cut the burnt off and stuck it in the oven to finish it.

Frustrated beyond words

As a side note, the 7.5 lb but finished in 5.5, yes that reads five and a half, hours and tastes fine. Looking online I believe my specific smoker has been phased out so I guess I’m back in the market if anyone has suggestions.

 

[chef jimmyj]

That is tragic and we are glad no one was hurt or the fire did not escalate. Can you be more specific on the MES model and what may have led up to the fire? Other members may have the same unit and would be warned to look for issues.
What direction are you leaning in .now? Another MES model or other electric? Pellets, gasser or stick burner? What is you budget? Kalamazoo makes a killer Tri-fuel smoker/grill for a mere $20,000....JJ

 

[Hank R]

Smokin-it electric a very good product

 

[Preacher Man]

My local Lowe's and Home Depot both have smokers on clearance right now.

 

[Swamp_moss]

That is tragic and we are glad no one was hurt or the fire did not escalate. Can you be more specific on the MES model and what may have led up to the fire? Other members may have the same unit and would be warned to look for issues.
What direction are you leaning in .now? Another MES model or other electric? Pellets, gasser or stick burner? What is you budget? Kalamazoo makes a killer Tri-fuel smoker/grill for a mere $20,000....JJ

I’d really like to get another mes 30 like I have, but I’ll have to try and find the old manual so I know the product number to see if that’s even possible. Price range is definitely below 300 right now. Too limited time to want to let anything more expensive sit around most of the year unused.

I’ve been wanting to go to a mailbox but have been researching the best way to go galvanized free so it hasn’t happened yet. Shame bc I’ve got everything I need but was in too much of a rush to fix it this morning.

On my mes, the amzn tray squeezes in very closely to the heating element. Every so often, the variables line up and the pellets all begin burning. Well when I opened the door to insert a temp probe, the rush of oxygen ignited the whole tray. No big deal, it’s happened before so i keep pliers close by to remove it. Well it was lodged and in my struggle to remove it, the flames jumped just a few times to my foil drip pan. Once that lit things got crazy fast.

Shut the door and cut off all the air but not in time to keep it from getting very hot. Insulation melted out of the back, dripping on the table, the seal around the door melted, etc. I did yank the grease pan out and the butt out to save from more damage but, alas, the smoker is done.

A big helping of bad luck and a hint of user error. Should I luck into another 30 like I have, or any smoker for that matter, I will not put the smoke tray back inside it. I’m not saying others shouldn’t, but I’m in the once bitten (or burned) twice shy category.

 

[Swamp_moss]

Apologies for the lengthy replies, but just so I’m not scaring anyone out of using these products, it wasn’t fault of either product. My smoker did not have a build up of grease on it, only in the pan from an apparently very fatty butt. The element did not light the grease and the smoker temp never soared..until the fire of course.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Thanks for the update. I have the 40" MES 20070311. Home Depot $379, Walmart $399. There is plenty of room for the maze. Bearcarver has the above and a Bluetooth model he likes better and can advise you on that model...JJ

 

[mike243]

Hate that it happened,reckon water in the water pan aint such a bad idea after all

 

[gary s]

Good advice from JJ Bearcarver knows MES

Gary

 

[HalfSmoked]

Man just plain awful but as JJ said good that no one was hurt and no major problems to house or other things.

Warren

 

[JC in GB]

Wow, hope you get that situation resolved quickly. Glad no injuries or major property damage.