Charcoal powered MES40 ? What do you think ?

[mike johnson]

I was thinking about buying an offset charcoal smoker but for way less I think it might be possible to build a fire box to heat my old and broken MES40. Do you think that this might be possible? Or should I just fork out the bucks and buy one?

 

[jasper7]

I've been thinking of doing the same thing with my grill pro gas smoker, that I'm not really using any more.  So you could say I think its a good idea, I was wondering what were you thinking for a fire box?  Mine had a stainless steel box for chips/chunks, that I could drill holes in, but its kind of thin.  Just curios if you had a better solution.

 

[mike johnson]

I am thinking about using a 15 x 15 x 24" long firebox that will hold a 12 x 12 x 20 charcoal basket using a fan to monitor the heat inside the MES 40. They run about 160$

 

[jasper7]

Yeah I like that, if you get a chance post a pic when your done. 

 

[chef jimmyj]

Mike, Watch your Temps. The Foam insulation in the MES does not handle high heat. About 5 years ago, a Ceramic Tile over the Coil Box was all the rage to distribute even heat. Guys soon found the concentrated heat on the right wall, at the tile, was melting the insulation and warping the wall inside and out. I don't know if Fumes will be an issue or not. Think of a way to do it where no part of the MES will see more than 350°F...JJ