LOL---If you mean the Eggs---They're 5 years old now!!!
Still look pretty good though!
Bear
Do you clean the glass on your smoker door (if it has glass)
- Thread starter uncle eddie
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Still look pretty good though!
Bear
dogman60
Fire Starter
- Aug 8, 2016
- 43
- 17
It is bio degradeable and leaves no residue . It is a very very strong
Product - nothing quite like it - no acid. I restored a MES recently and use the product to completely degrease before refinishing. While you at WM
Pick up a pack of plastic razor blades
Inexpensive and handy when scraping other parts of your smoker ....
Dk
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On the one hand, I'm relieved to find that I'm not the only one who has basically given up on keeping the light and the glass clean inside of my MES-40!
On the other hand, the posts showing shiny, sparkling-clean MESs make me feel guilty!
I may have to try the razor blade method along with some of the other suggestions. Mine will be the ultimate test of various cleaning methods because it's on there THICK! You might say that my window is well seasoned.
I tried to keep the glass in my MES clean for a while after I got it, but it gets bad so fast that I sort of gave up on it, and, like others, just pretend I don't have a window on the unit!
And the internal light is even worse. Yet it was nice to use when the unit was brand new! At this point, you can't tell if it's on or off.
I'll put cleaning the MES window on my list. Somewhere below mowing the lawn, oiling the swamp cooler bearings, and fixing that toilet that STILL leaks even though I replaced the flapper!
On the other hand, the posts showing shiny, sparkling-clean MESs make me feel guilty!
I may have to try the razor blade method along with some of the other suggestions. Mine will be the ultimate test of various cleaning methods because it's on there THICK! You might say that my window is well seasoned.
I tried to keep the glass in my MES clean for a while after I got it, but it gets bad so fast that I sort of gave up on it, and, like others, just pretend I don't have a window on the unit!
And the internal light is even worse. Yet it was nice to use when the unit was brand new! At this point, you can't tell if it's on or off.
I'll put cleaning the MES window on my list. Somewhere below mowing the lawn, oiling the swamp cooler bearings, and fixing that toilet that STILL leaks even though I replaced the flapper!
The heck with that goofy light !!
On the one hand, I'm relieved to find that I'm not the only one who has basically given up on keeping the light and the glass clean inside of my MES-40!
On the other hand, the posts showing shiny, sparkling-clean MESs make me feel guilty!
I may have to try the razor blade method along with some of the other suggestions. Mine will be the ultimate test of various cleaning methods because it's on there THICK! You might say that my window is well seasoned.
I tried to keep the glass in my MES clean for a while after I got it, but it gets bad so fast that I sort of gave up on it, and, like others, just pretend I don't have a window on the unit!
And the internal light is even worse. Yet it was nice to use when the unit was brand new! At this point, you can't tell if it's on or off.
I'll put cleaning the MES window on my list. Somewhere below mowing the lawn, oiling the swamp cooler bearings, and fixing that toilet that STILL leaks even though I replaced the flapper!
I clean my Door glass before each use, but I haven't touched the Gen #1 light in years.
My new #2.5 has the light outside, but my front porch has better lighting, and I very seldom smoke at night.
LOL---My Son & I fixed both of my toilets, and this is the first time they ever worked right. I was proud of myself---I actually found all the parts on the Internet, and my Son helped swap them out.
Bear
dogman60
Fire Starter
- Aug 8, 2016
- 43
- 17
The MES i just restored had 3 years of build up on the glass. The smoker has to look right as it is part of my backyard set up - the larger smoker I use is for big gatherings the MES for everyday use . The window on the MES is kept clean so guests can check it out and see what's going on inside . There is a definite cool factor when smoking . Folks like to watch the thing work.
The little light is crazy although MES replaced that and
The board at no charge when I contacted them about parts . The newer boards are sealed with more 5200 than the older models which had none so any leaks corupted the circuit board . Again you will be shocked with a couple squirts of Tuff Nuf on the glass will do . I also clean the interior cabinet temp sensors .
Dk
The little light is crazy although MES replaced that and
The board at no charge when I contacted them about parts . The newer boards are sealed with more 5200 than the older models which had none so any leaks corupted the circuit board . Again you will be shocked with a couple squirts of Tuff Nuf on the glass will do . I also clean the interior cabinet temp sensors .
Dk
Well, I have to admit that I put off doing the toilet work yet again. ;) I know I'll have to remove the tank from the stool, and last time I had to do that on a toilet, the bolts were so corroded that I had to use a cut-off disk on a Moto Tool to grind the heads off of the bolts reaching down inside the tank. Hopefully this one will not require that! But I'm still feeling lazy about the whole thing.
The light is kind of silly, but I just gotta see it go again, you know?
I think mine had at least 3 years worth, too.
I thought I'd try a few things, but the first one to try was some TSP (trisodium phosphate) in warm water. I used about a tablespoon of TSP in about a cup and a half of warm water, putting it into a serving bowl and using a scrub brush meant for cleaning bottles or cups.
I slopped the stuff onto the window several times and let it work on things. It started taking it off immediately, so I kept at it for minute or so. Then I got impatient and took out the razor blade widget and scraped pretty much everything off. The razor blade alone might have done the job, but the TSP really was dissolving the gunk, so it helped a lot. Finally, I scrubbed over the whole window with more of the TSP solution and the bottle brush.
Then I got the garden hose and gently washed off the inside of the door. But I was careful to not get any inside of the smoker itself.
It really did a good job, and was a lot less work than I'd anticipated!
All of this was done at about 10pm, so it was dark outside. The light for the photos is just from the porch lights I have. I give the camera incredible marks for it's low-light capabilities. You'd think these were taken in daylight, but they were all shot available light with just two 60W equivalent LED floodlights in a typical porch light fixture, one aimed this way, and the other off to the far side of the deck.
I highly recommend that if you do try the TSP, you wear rubber gloves, grubby clothes, and good eye protection. I've used it for many years prepping interior paint for new paint, and have, in the past, not worn gloves. But it dries your skin out something fierce! However, it's fantastic for grease-cutting. What reminded me to try it for this was a website talking about restoration of houses after they've suffered a fire. They recommended Trichloroethelene and TSP. I opted for the TSP, but I'll bet the TCE would also kick butt on it. I just didn't want to use something as toxic as that for a number of reasons.
TSP is what used to be in laundry detergent many years ago before they banned "phosphates" because runoff from it acts as a nutrient in waterways and can lead to excessive growth of algae. Of course, phosphorus is one of the three main plant nutrients, and any fertilizer you have will almost certainly contain quite a bit. You've got your N, your P, and your K. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. The big three.
I hosed the deck down well afterwards, too. Any runoff from that will only serve to fertilize my lawn and nearby trees and bushes. It's not nice to your skin, but no worse than any fertilizer I might apply as far as the yard goes. If you have a NICE deck, I'd recommend doing this somewhere else, though. I could imagine the dissolved smoke goo leaving a nasty stain on wood or concrete, etc. My deck is not a thing of beauty, so I wasn't worried about it! :)
It will be nice to see through the window again!
I can see why you like being able to see into the smoker and have your guests see into it, too. It really will be neat to see the smoke moving around. I think I'll use it to help diagnose air flow patterns as I work on some improvements to my MES now. It really will be nice to be able to see inside again!
I couldn't resist giving the light a bit of love, too. I just took off the window and then took out the bulb, too. Both were well covered with gunk.
I mixed up more of the same TSP and water solution:
Just soaking the glass assembly for a few seconds was already getting the goo off.
It came out pretty good. The glass is frosted, and the frosted side is out. I can see how they wanted to diffuse the light, but having the frosted side out isn't a wise plan. It just provides a rough surface for the smoke gunk to really stick to. Not that the inside was much better! The whole thing is not sealed in any way, so smoke gets all over the bulb and everything else, too!
Back in place, ready to test out.
There! See how beautiful it all is now?
It's actually pretty funny, but in the dark, lit only by the porch light, it doesn't look so bad. But when I'm looking at the photos, I can see how dirty it all is! I almost never do any smoking in the day. It's always at night. So I never really see how grubby things are.
I guess I could've cleaned the OUTSIDE of the window, at least!!!!
Maybe I'll do that, and wash the outside of the smoker after I get that toilet fixed.
I didn't clean the snap-disk overtemp switch nor the sensor housing for the control sensor. They're well "seasoned", but the dark coating may actually increase the thermal emissivity of the surfaces and make them respond faster than if they were all shiny!
Ask my wife if I come up with good excuses for being lazy.
Looks Great Sig!!!
Now if you do it every time, it won't be so hard !!
Thanks for the report !
Bear
Now if you do it every time, it won't be so hard !!
Thanks for the report !
Bear
Thanks, Bear!
Time will tell if I have the discipline to keep it clean or not. ;)
But I like having the window back, so I may well keep up with it now.
On another note:
Re-reading this thread, I see that a lot of people say they don't like or trust the meat probes in their MESs.
But when I used my dry-block thermometer calibrator and precision laboratory reference thermometer to test various thermometers I have, I found my MES's meat probe to be very accurate over a wide range of temps.
So I use it as a meat probe sometimes, and other times as an accurate way to read the true air temperature at various locations inside the MES.
I hope people are using proper methods to thermally couple their reference thermometers to their other probes or thermometers when testing their calibrations.
If they are, and their MESs' meat probes really are off, that is a shame. My MES itself is off. But not its meat probe. I must've just gotten lucky in that regard.
Tabbed in.
Time will tell if I have the discipline to keep it clean or not. ;)
But I like having the window back, so I may well keep up with it now.
On another note:
Re-reading this thread, I see that a lot of people say they don't like or trust the meat probes in their MESs.
But when I used my dry-block thermometer calibrator and precision laboratory reference thermometer to test various thermometers I have, I found my MES's meat probe to be very accurate over a wide range of temps.
So I use it as a meat probe sometimes, and other times as an accurate way to read the true air temperature at various locations inside the MES.
I hope people are using proper methods to thermally couple their reference thermometers to their other probes or thermometers when testing their calibrations.
If they are, and their MESs' meat probes really are off, that is a shame. My MES itself is off. But not its meat probe. I must've just gotten lucky in that regard.
Tabbed in.
I don't know about other Peeps, but I don't have an easy way of checking my MES meat Probe.
I'm not going to carry Boiling water from my Kitchen to my Smoker on my front porch, and I'm not going to carry my Smoker into my Kitchen.
The probes & cables are also easier to clean in the Kitchen Sink than on the front porch.
I have two Mavericks that are always accurate & easy to check, clean & use.
However, That's just me,
Bear
dogman60
Fire Starter
- Aug 8, 2016
- 43
- 17
I personally think anything connected to the MES control panel is suspect so I use a thermo. To check internal temps .
I have a brand new control panel and sensors
With the upgraded wiring and my internal cabinet and probe temps are still off by 15 degrees . On the masterbuilt forum this problem is commonly discussed . The probe always showing the reading with higher temps .
I have a brand new control panel and sensors
With the upgraded wiring and my internal cabinet and probe temps are still off by 15 degrees . On the masterbuilt forum this problem is commonly discussed . The probe always showing the reading with higher temps .
I used a dry block calibrator that I built a number of years ago to test mine. But that's something most folks probably don't have lying around the house. ;)
It was made to be somewhat portable so I can use it to calibrate various probes and thermometers. But it does need 120VAC power to operate. The cable on the MES's meat probe is not very long, but I was able to just set the calibrator on a chair next to the MES and make it reach out into one of the wells in the calibrator.
Inside of the unit is a machined aluminum cylinder with openings for various probes and a central "well" that can be filled with oil for calibrating liquid-in-glass thermometers:
I have a band heater wrapped around it to provide fairly even heating of the aluminum block:
Teflon pieces are bolted top and bottom to provide a means of mounting the block in the enclosure without coupling too much heat away from the block:
That's mounted in the enclosure of the unit:
And then insulated to keep the heat where I want it and make the whole thing more steady and even:
Then it's all wired up to a PID controller that uses a precision RTD sensor that is mounted in a hole going up from the bottom, sitting right next to the central "well". There's a solid state relay to actually switch the power to the heater as commanded by the controller.
I should bring it out and test that probe again and also do all of my kitchen thermometers again, too.
But something any of you chefs (we're all chefs, aren't we?) might consider is one of those immersion circulators so you can do sous vide cooking. And once you have one of those, it's a simple thing to have a fairly decent stirred water bath with temperature controller that you can use for testing various thermometers over a wide range of temperatures.
It's a handy tool that's affordable enough for most of us smoking meat folks, I think!
Not to drag this even further off topic, but my wife and I have been really loving steaks done in the sous vide, and then pan seared for a minute or so on each side. We just make them up ahead of time with the spices and herbs we like, some butter and olive oil, and then vacuum seal them and freeze them. Then we pull one out, put it into the sous vide for a couple of hours, and when we're ready, we take it out and sear it briefly, and there's the best steak we've ever had!
Here's the circulator I got:
It's a newer version than some of the negative reviews were reviewing. It's been great.
You can see how it would be pretty easy to set up a circulated, temperature-controlled water bath with one of these, and use it for testing calibration on various thermometers and probes. It may not be laboratory-grade, but it's plenty good for food thermometry!
That's Cool, Sigmo!!
And way over my head !
I've basically only been a Woodworker; Cabinet Maker, Trim Carpenter, Deck Builder, and lastly Chainsaw Carver (See Below):
Why They Call Me "Bearcarver":
Link:
A Bear from Log to Finish
And assorted Bears
Bear
And way over my head !
I've basically only been a Woodworker; Cabinet Maker, Trim Carpenter, Deck Builder, and lastly Chainsaw Carver (See Below):
Why They Call Me "Bearcarver":
Link:
A Bear from Log to Finish
And assorted Bears
Bear
sundown farms
Meat Mopper
I clean it about every other smoke. I wipe on roughly 1 part Dawn to 2 parts water and let it soak. Then take a straight razor in a holder to cut the heavy stuff off. Then spray the glass with water+ACV and rub it until I have enough off that what remains is hard to find. I have used Windex to cut the last of the film then used the water+ACV to take off the Windex. Maybe takes 5 minutes but that is greatly offset by the time saved on waiting for the MES to warm back up after opening it to see how things are going. I think it was Chef JJ said every time you open it add 20 minutes to the cook. I believe it. So, cleaning it makes the cook time shorter and there is a cost benefit as the reduced cook time reduces the beer and wine that is required.
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Hah!
But I think you're right. If you can avoid opening the door, that's a benefit, for sure.
More good reason to keep the window clean, I guess. :)
Wow! That is fantastic.
I've always admired people who can draw, paint,or sculpt. When I try to draw an animal, it comes out looking like something you'd see on the refrigerator of the proud parent of a five-year-old!
And it's really neat that you can do it with a chainsaw!
Art envisioned by someone can never be seen by anyone else unless that person is also a skillful craftsman, and often, a clever inventor, so they can transform their vision into reality! I think that's what makes an artist.
Thank You Sigmo!!
Wow! That is fantastic.
I've always admired people who can draw, paint,or sculpt. When I try to draw an animal, it comes out looking like something you'd see on the refrigerator of the proud parent of a five-year-old!
And it's really neat that you can do it with a chainsaw!
Art envisioned by someone can never be seen by anyone else unless that person is also a skillful craftsman, and often, a clever inventor, so they can transform their vision into reality! I think that's what makes an artist.
I wish I could still do it, but it's now one of the Million things I can no longer handle.
I often see old trees along the road, and think---"Aw Man--I could make a really neat Big Foot out of that, or a Gorilla, or another Bear !!"
Bear
That's too bad. We all lose the ability to do things just at the time of life when we'd likely be the best at it! I heard a saying once: Youth is wasted on the young! :)
pm0084
Fire Starter
Just clean my glass on the MES 40...soapy water from a spray bottle and a razor blade.
Quick and easy...scraped of in nice strips.
The soapy water spray acted as a good lube for the glass and razor blade.
Now I will get to see the smoke and a juicy pork butt I will be smoking Friday night for Saturday.
Quick and easy...scraped of in nice strips.
The soapy water spray acted as a good lube for the glass and razor blade.
Now I will get to see the smoke and a juicy pork butt I will be smoking Friday night for Saturday.
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