Dryer Element

[motocrash]

Mine is powered by dryer elements. Has a fan blowing across the element the whole time it's powered on. My setup is the same thing sausagemaker uses on their cookers. I don't have a ton of hours on it yet but the last 5 weekends I've done over 100lbs of hams and bacons per run. The way I'm doing hams they take about 24hrs. So between the hams, bacon, jerky and pork butts I've done it's run over 200 hours so far with no issues

Huh...that's probably longer than most MESs' before they crap out.

 

[PerazziMx14]

Please delete

 

[chopsaw]

When smoking bacons its not uncommon for my MES 30 to get used 70 to 80 hours during the week. Its also not uncommon for it to be used 3 to 10 hours for normal smokes/cooks every weekend.

You must have gotten a faulty unit if you experienced failure so early. Or were you just conjecturing that they fail quickly based what you read on the internet and no 1st hand experience?

Same here . For all the bad things you hear / read I guess I got lucky .

 

[dr k]

I've replaced the heating element on dryers, and they are definitely designed to have air moving over them. If you think how hot a dryer gets, and how quickly it gets there, you get some idea of how frightfully hot the element must get to make the air that hot. Without air flow, I would be worried about whether the element might tend to self-destruct.

Also, you have to think about electrical safety.

Yup! Same setup as a hand held hairdryer with lots of airflow.

 

[motocrash]

Using this forum and 3 friends as a reputable cross section,MESs' as a whole are not consistent in build quality,longevity and general operation.The normal spate of problems and malfunctions has for the most part abated for the time being as this is the "off season" for a lot of people.In the coming months the well seasoned MESs' will be awakened along with the newly gifted ones from Christmas,it is then that these pages will once again become rife with MES problems.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Yes.. I feel the frustration gathering as a storm cloud in the distance.

 

[PerazziMx14]

Please delete

 

[dr k]

After all the learning and help here on SMF if I needed an insulated smoker, I just need a Mes gen 2.5 box with door and a heating element. Probably be up and smoking in an hour with an Amnps and PID controller.