Hello all,
New to the forum and have some questions regarding the MES 130. I was given this as a gift for Christmas and couldn't wait to use it. After my first use, I have some general questions and concerns and hoping others that have used the smoker for a while can help.
-I originally set the smoker to 225 to smoke a pork butt for my first cook. Using my Grilleye Pro, I noticed an ambient temp of only 190. After a few hours, I ended up cranking the temperature to 275 which gave me a 225 ambient temp. Have others experienced temp issues in this smoker?
-I also noticed there was hardly any smoke at 225. Once I set at 275 it produced smoke but not to my expectation. I've been contemplating picking up the cold smoke attachment but I have read multiple reviews regardings peeling paint and clogged smoke stacks. Does anyone have a positive experience regarding this item? I thought that this would fix my smoke issue, but the quality doesn't seem to be there for the price.
-Perhaps the most concerning seems to be the number of smokers that require part replacements after only a few smokes. Is this something that I need to be concerned with? Should I really expect to need to replace the heating element multiple times, among other parts?
I really want this smoker to work out but I am starting to have second thoughts... thanks!
New to the forum and have some questions regarding the MES 130. I was given this as a gift for Christmas and couldn't wait to use it. After my first use, I have some general questions and concerns and hoping others that have used the smoker for a while can help.
-I originally set the smoker to 225 to smoke a pork butt for my first cook. Using my Grilleye Pro, I noticed an ambient temp of only 190. After a few hours, I ended up cranking the temperature to 275 which gave me a 225 ambient temp. Have others experienced temp issues in this smoker?
-I also noticed there was hardly any smoke at 225. Once I set at 275 it produced smoke but not to my expectation. I've been contemplating picking up the cold smoke attachment but I have read multiple reviews regardings peeling paint and clogged smoke stacks. Does anyone have a positive experience regarding this item? I thought that this would fix my smoke issue, but the quality doesn't seem to be there for the price.
-Perhaps the most concerning seems to be the number of smokers that require part replacements after only a few smokes. Is this something that I need to be concerned with? Should I really expect to need to replace the heating element multiple times, among other parts?
I really want this smoker to work out but I am starting to have second thoughts... thanks!