Electric Smoker Wood Chips

[n3cw4rr10r]

How often do you guys add wood chips? Do you use the side loader every time? If I smoking ribs for 6 hours do I need to open the door after says 3 hours to empty the ashes before adding more chips?

P.S: I have the 30" masterbuilt electric smoker and plan on cooking the ribs for 5-6 hrs straight (not wrapping in foil).

 

[normanaj]

Two things:

First you should invest in an A-MAZE-N tray or tube and ditch using the chip loader forever,some of these can produce smoke for over 10 hours.

And second is get a good dual probe thermometer such as a ThermoPro or Inkbird,one probe to measure chamber temp and the other for food temp.The built in Masterbuilt one(s) are somewhat inaccurate,

These two things will make your smoking life a little easier!

 

[chopsaw]

do I need to open the door after says 3 hours to empty the ashes before adding more chips?

No , at least I don't .
Use the side loader to add chips . Don't over do it to start , look into the tray like said above , but learn it as is for now . Enjoy your ribs .

 

[n3cw4rr10r]

Two things:

First you should invest in an A-MAZE-N tray or tube and ditch using the chip loader forever,some of these can produce smoke for over 10 hours.

And second is get a good dual probe thermometer such as a ThermoPro or Inkbird,one probe to measure chamber temp and the other for food temp.The built in Masterbuilt one(s) are somewhat inaccurate,

These two things will make your smoking life a little easier!

I bought a 4xs inkbird one after it was highly recommended here on the forums.

 

[Lonzinomaker]

I used the chip loader and whenever the smoke stopped. Would put in a new bunch of chips until the meat got above 150-160 at which point it slows down accepting smoke. Never got the pan so full of ash that it needed dumping. When I stopped adding wood, I also closed top vent almost all the way to keep moisture in.
But I got tired of that and also wanted to use the MES as a cold smoker so did a mailbox mod. I could get 10-11 hours of smoke off a full AMAZN tray. And a 12-15 degree rise in heat over ambient temp for cheese smoking.

 

[smokerjim]

I have a mes30, when I used the chip loader maybe every 40 minutes or so I would add chips but I went to the amnps tray with mailbox mod and never looked back. I never wrap, about half way through cook I will open door and rotate ribs or what ever I'm smoking for a more even cook.

 

[uncle eddie]

I use an MES40...my second one actually. For short smokes I use the chip tube and have to add chips about every 20 minutes. 6-8 chips will do It. You don’t need to soak them either. I set a timer for a reminder.

For longer smokes I use an AMNPS. I do not recommend the tube smoker for your MES30 or my 40...it simply makes too much smoke for such a small chamber. The tray is the way to go. You can find it on their website or on amazon as well as their pellets...which are top quality with zero filler. Hickory pellets are 100% hickory, etc.

 

[normanaj]

I do not recommend the tube smoker for your MES30 or my 40...it simply makes too much smoke for such a small chamber. The tray is the way to go.

U-bolt mod and filled with ground/crushed pellets.In many cases the tube outperforms the tray for both duration and tbs.

 

[whistlepig]

I have a MES30 and add chips every 45 minutes or so. More frequently on windy days.

 

[uncle eddie]

U-bolt mod and filled with ground/crushed pellets.In many cases the tube outperforms the tray for both duration and tbs.

normanaj - I had missed the posts on the u-bolt mod. Just looked it up. I will definitely try this with my long-unused, tube smoker.

 

[whistlepig]

For overnight smokes like butts and brisket the AMNPS is the way to go. For shorter smokes like ribs and chicken the chip tray works well. And my MES doesn't really use a lot of wood chips.