Desperate for a MES!

[BandCollector]

I have been trying for months to purchase a used Generation 1 MES to no avail. Therefore, I have decided to purchase a new one and hope for the best.

To those of you who have new versions of this smoker please help me out if you can. I would like a 40" mode but am at a loss as to which model number is the most reliable. Can anyone steer me in the right direction. Hoping they go on sale after Christmas. . .LOL!

Thanks and Merry Christmas everyone,

John

 

[mr mac]

John, just out of curiosity, are you living where you are limited to using only an electric smoker? I only ask because my daughter was able to buy and use a small pellet grill at her apartment simply because it's electric and not propane or open flame.

 

[cmayna]

John, Too bad you're not nearby. I just found a used MES40 locally on Craigslist.

 

[tallbm]

I have been trying for months to purchase a used Generation 1 MES to no avail. Therefore, I have decided to purchase a new one and hope for the best.

To those of you who have new versions of this smoker please help me out if you can. I would like a 40" mode but am at a loss as to which model number is the most reliable. Can anyone steer me in the right direction. Hoping they go on sale after Christmas. . .LOL!

Thanks and Merry Christmas everyone,

John

The best one would be, when facing it, vent on top left (not on side).
Guts do NOT have any slanted drip pan but look like this:

I personally think the glass door is pointless BUT the stainless steel may be worth it if the paint is not going to last you long and will lead to rusting. It's not an issue in my area and the fact that mine is always covered.
My glass door complexly darkens after 1 smoke rendering it useless to see through so I stopped cleaning it and messing with it. It is now covered in a solid layer of black smoke residue and serves zero purpose lol. Others clean it and like it so up to you.

Finally, Academy has always seemed to have the best MES deals once it gets close to Black Friday weekend and through the holidays. I have seen this be the case for years now so that might be a good place to start your shopping and to use for price comparisons.

Best of luck with it :D

 

[cptnding]

The best one would be, when facing it, vent on top left (not on side).
Guts do NOT have any slanted drip pan but look like this:
View attachment 683728

I personally think the glass door is pointless BUT the stainless steel may be worth it if the paint is not going to last you long and will lead to rusting. It's not an issue in my area and the fact that mine is always covered.
My glass door complexly darkens after 1 smoke rendering it useless to see through so I stopped cleaning it and messing with it. It is now covered in a solid layer of black smoke residue and serves zero purpose lol. Others clean it and like it so up to you.

Finally, Academy has always seemed to have the best MES deals once it gets close to Black Friday weekend and through the holidays. I have seen this be the case for years now so that might be a good place to start your shopping and to use for price comparisons.

Best of luck with it :D

Are these fairly easy to do the PID upgrade that everyone likes so much?

 

[BandCollector]

John, just out of curiosity, are you living where you are limited to using only an electric smoker? I only ask because my daughter was able to buy and use a small pellet grill at her apartment simply because it's electric and not propane or open flame.

No restrictions to any type of smoker. I had a pellet smoker but sold it due to space issues. Just want to go back to a MES.
Thanks, John

John, Too bad you're not nearby. I just found a used MES40 locally on Craigslist.

Too bad I live on the other side of the country. . .Thanks for the response,
John

 

[BandCollector]

The best one would be, when facing it, vent on top left (not on side).
Guts do NOT have any slanted drip pan but look like this:
View attachment 683728

I personally think the glass door is pointless BUT the stainless steel may be worth it if the paint is not going to last you long and will lead to rusting. It's not an issue in my area and the fact that mine is always covered.
My glass door complexly darkens after 1 smoke rendering it useless to see through so I stopped cleaning it and messing with it. It is now covered in a solid layer of black smoke residue and serves zero purpose lol. Others clean it and like it so up to you.

Finally, Academy has always seemed to have the best MES deals once it gets close to Black Friday weekend and through the holidays. I have seen this be the case for years now so that might be a good place to start your shopping and to use for price comparisons.

Best of luck with it :D

Thanks for the info. . .When I finally get my new MES I will naturally contact you for your expertise regarding upgrades.

Thanks again,
John

 

[chopsaw]

I did a quick search for the Pittsburg area . Had several come up on Facebook . Most looked like 30s but one new in box looked like a 40 .

 

[BandCollector]

I did a quick search for the Pittsburg area . Had several come up on Facebook . Most looked like 30s but one new in box looked like a 40 .

Thanks for your help but unfortunately I do not subscribe to Facebook. I only lasted 5 minutes on Facebook. Couldn't take the neediness of most of the people who demanded attention. Not counting you of course. . .LOL!

Merry Christmas my friend,

John

 

[chopsaw]

I do not subscribe to Facebook.

I don't either . I do have an account to look at the market place stuff . For one reason . Live edge slabs of hardwood .
I did a Google search for " MES 40 Pittsburg PA " and that's where it led me . Saw what looked like an MES 40 NIB for $100 .
Like Tallbm says , the Gen 2.5 ( vent on top left ) is the best configuration . Next would be the Gen 1 ( vent on top right ) .
Operation and temp swings for a stock unit is per the unit in my opinion . 2 bought the same day at the same place can run different .
Keep us posted .

 

[cmayna]

The best one would be, when facing it, vent on top left (not on side).
Guts do NOT have any slanted drip pan but look like this:

Aren't most MES vents on top right as you face it? ahhhh, I was thinking Gen 1, not Gen 2. Regarding a glass door, mine probably looks like tallbm's. Very coated. Mother Nature's natural insulation....

 

[zwiller]

John BandCollector What you plan on running the most with it? Cured stuff like sausage?

 

[BandCollector]

John BandCollector What you plan on running the most with it? Cured stuff like sausage?

Pretty much Smoking Salmon, Ribs, Jerky, and cheese.

 

[tallbm]

Are these fairly easy to do the PID upgrade that everyone likes so much?

Yep. You just open the panel on the underneath/bottom side (might have to drill out rivets and replace with sheet metal screws).
Cut the ends off 4 wires and wire nut the proper ends (braided wire ends to smooth wire ends) to make 2 whole wires.
The rewire is done!
Now the cord will feed power to the heating element while keeping the high temp safety switch in the mix.

The PID controller takes power from the wall and feeds it to the MES plug (you plug the MES into the PID controller).
You drop the PID temp probe down the vent and clip to the bottom of the lowest rack so it measures the smoker temp.
Enter the set temp into the PID and viola, it cuts power on/off to the MES until it hits and holds to your set temp!

Aren't most MES vents on top right as you face it? ahhhh, I was thinking Gen 1, not Gen 2. Regarding a glass door, mine probably looks like tallbm's. Very coated. Mother Nature's natural insulation....

When I see them in the wild it's mostly Gen 1's not Gen 2's. Usually vent on top right.
Admittedly I don't scrutinize them in the stores too much since mine is going strong and I'll just grab a used one should mine have a catastrophic failure that I can't fix.. which is highly unlikely at this point :D

 

[The Big Cheese]

New around here, so not too familiar with the acronyms. But I have a MES30, got new, vent top right so must be gen1. Reasonably priced. Has the glass door, haven’t cleaned since day one, only about 10% clear now lol. Haven’t had any issues with it. A buddy got a MES40 less than a year ago, and his digital display crapped out already. But he found one (I think on Amazon actually) and replaced it. So reliability might be an issue.
speaking of acronyms, what’s this PID upgrade I read about?

 

[tallbm]

New around here, so not too familiar with the acronyms. But I have a MES30, got new, vent top right so must be gen1. Reasonably priced. Has the glass door, haven’t cleaned since day one, only about 10% clear now lol. Haven’t had any issues with it. A buddy got a MES40 less than a year ago, and his digital display crapped out already. But he found one (I think on Amazon actually) and replaced it. So reliability might be an issue.
speaking of acronyms, what’s this PID upgrade I read about?

Hi there and welcome!

Yeah the electronics and the electrical connectors are the weak point of the MES units. The body and construction are the strong points and are great!

PID = Proportional, Integral, Derivative.

A PID controller has the P-I-D settings that are entered to control how it will operate. Not very exciting but that's what it is.

So a punch in some values for the P-I-D settings and the controller will behave according to those values. The PID controller will read a temperature with it's temp probe and then cut power on/off to the outgoing power source (plug of a rewired MES) so that the PID controller hits and holds the temp setting you told it to hit.

The performance and controller is super tight and reliable. Much better then the up/down temp swing control of the stock MES controller :D

 

[The Big Cheese]

Hi there and welcome!

Yeah the electronics and the electrical connectors are the weak point of the MES units. The body and construction are the strong points and are great!

PID = Proportional, Integral, Derivative.

A PID controller has the P-I-D settings that are entered to control how it will operate. Not very exciting but that's what it is.

So a punch in some values for the P-I-D settings and the controller will behave according to those values. The PID controller will read a temperature with it's temp probe and then cut power on/off to the outgoing power source (plug of a rewired MES) so that the PID controller hits and holds the temp setting you told it to hit.

The performance and controller is super tight and reliable. Much better then the up/down temp swing control of the stock MES controller :D

Ahh, gotcha. I have noticed when using Meater some large temp swings between on and off. I wish the they were a little closer to keep a more even temp.

Where does one get an updated PID?

 

[tallbm]

Ahh, gotcha. I have noticed when using Meater some large temp swings between on and off. I wish the they were a little closer to keep a more even temp.

Where does one get an updated PID?

There are basically 2 approaches to getting a PID controller.

Option#1: You assemble one yourself, which is fun for a project but not as cost effective or as simple as option 2. It gets less expensive to assemble once you have the tools, little components, and knowledge after doing 1, but not much cheaper than buying.

Option#2: You buy one from Auberins.com. This one with the multi-purpose probe will work for both the MES30 and MES40. The slightly less expensive and less powerful ones will not work well for an MES40 so this one is what I consider the bare minimum since so many people learn they want to upgrade in size from MES30 to MES40... especially if you are grabbing a free/cheap used MES40 and rewiring for a PID controller :D

Multi Purpose Controller [WS-1510ELPM] - $159.95 : Auber Instruments, Inc., Temperature control solutions for home and industry

Auber Instruments, Inc. Multi Purpose Controller [WS-1510ELPM] - The WS-1510ELPM is a versatile temperature controller to have in your home. It can be used for various applications such as Sous Vide cooking, controlling an electric smoker, making yogurt, dough proofing, controlling the...

www.auberins.com

Let me know if this helps :D

 

[flatbroke]

John, Too bad you're not nearby. I just found a used MES40 locally on Craigslist.

Do you still see it? I been looking and can’t find any either.

 

[BandCollector]

Do you still see it? I been looking and can’t find any either.

Where are you located? If close enough to Pittsburgh I could take a ride.

John

Sorry sent to wrong person and I am unable to delete this thread.