Electronic Smoker Advice/Questions

[da maxx]

I agree with everything stated about the MES and A-Maze-N Products. I was also new to electric smokers. My wife bought me the MES 30 on a special from HSN. Since then I've been smoking every weekend. After researching these forums. I bought the AMNPS smoker and few pounds of pellets. Then I went back and ordered the Maverick probe. I just recently placed a third order with them for more pellets and extra probes. Todd offers free shipping on the entire order when you purchase the Maverick ET-732. This is an excellent deal. The Maverick is two temperature probes in one unit. One for the smoker and the other for the meat. The wireless is the icing-on-the-cake. My only regret is not buying all the products from A-Maze-N on the same order.

 

[mikelikessmoke]

Over the winter of 2010 I began the quest to find BOTH a new smoker and a new grill.

I have used a propane grill and hated it, so therefore propane smokers were out right from the git go.

Hands down my preference for both grilling and smoking is real wood.

I have used an old R2D2 style smoker and a Weber 22.5 Kettle for many years, feeding both of them wood.

I always have some charcoal on hand for the "WE GOTTA GRILL FOOD RIGHT NOW!!!!!" times but I still toss in some real wood for the flavor.

All that being said I was very leary of electric smokers....... the up side being that they use real wood chunks, or pellets or biscuits for the smoke and looked to be MUCH easier than my old way of smoking which involved babysitting the smoker ALL DAY.

After reading many many many posts on this and other forums I pulled the trigger and bought the MES 30.

Everyone said to get the 40 due to the increased cooking area but since I was replacing both grill and smoker I personally had to cut a few corners in my choices and went with the 30.

Am I disappointed at all?  NO!

Did it take some getting used to smoking on electric? Yes.

.

Was it a huge learning curve? No.... time is time and temps are temps just gotta learn the nature of the beast.

Have I completely ruined any food in it? No. Unlike a propane, charcoal, OR stickburner the temps are stable and it is NEARLY impossible to have a flare up while your back it turned that reduces food to charred cinders. I say nearly due to the fact that you can overfill the chip tray and add red hot charcoal to it and create a run away fire...... I haven't done this but it could happen if you listen to bad advice.

Is the flavor there? Yes. There is, in my opinion, a slightly lower quality of finished product from my MES than I was able to produce using my old method. Most people will not be able to notice any difference at all. Added Experience may remove that difference as well. Time will tell.

Is it easier ? YES, yes, yes, a thousand times YES! Before I bought the MES it was an all day event rushing back and forth from the smoker to the kitchen..... prep food run out check temps, back to prep, back to feed fire, back to prep, back to damp the fire down, back to prep, ad infinitum. With the MES once the temp is up, the food is in, and the Thin Blue Smoke is starving the neighbors to death, all you have to do is go back to add a few chips every half hour to an hour. That's it!  Todds AMNPS even removes that small task. Money WELL spent!

What about modifications to the MES to make it work properly? Out of the box, IT WORKS!

Can it be improved on with mods? Of course it can. The first recommendation is to add a chimney pipe onto the top vent to improve the draft, especially in slightly windy situations. Some use soup cans, some elbows for flue pipe, I used aluminum flashing rolled up to the proper diameter. Best thing about this mod is that it is not permanent and does no damage to the smoker. The pipe just sits there in the opening for the vent.... no cutting or drilling required. Some people have added deflectors, reflectors, baffles, heat sinks, etc. however I have not found that to be necessary.

Would I buy it again? Yes.

Would you recommend the MES to a friend? Yes and I have several times and they have likewise been happy with the decision to follow my recommendation.

Will I ever go back to my old stickburner? Never say never........ But I strongly doubt it. I can ALWAYS cook on my stickburner, I can cook in my MES as long as there is electricity...... so If the power is off then no smoking. Unless I buy a generator for backup :)

What about smoking during the winter months? I rarely smoked during the winter in my old smoker. I smoked all winter long with my MES sitting on the back patio (covered but open) and had no problem maintaining temps. No more eating bags of frozen pulled pork in December!

Anything bad about the MES 30? It is short...... It needs to be placed on a table or riser of some sort to be at a comfortable work height. I built a miniature picnic table about 2 feet tall and now it is perfect. Decking scraps, a nail gun and two hours time.

Is it really "set it and forget it"? Almost. Add a good remote temp probe and Todds AMNPS and it is as close to set it and forget it as anything can ever be.

tldr; Buy the MES 30 or 40 and you will be happy.

 

[djtech2k]

Fantastic!

So the Maverick has a probe for the grill temp and the meat temp?  Why would you need to buy more probes?  Does the built-in probes in the MES not work well?

So with the AMNPS, should I buy chips or pellets or what?  How much should I buy, especially if I cant buy it locally like regular chips?

I am shopping for the MES and most places seem to have the MES30 for like $289, but I havent seen anyone with the MES40.  I dont know if I need the 40 or not, but nobody seems to carry it.  Home Depot, WalMart, Lowes, etc all carry the MES30.  Hopefully its the new model with the remote.

Since I havent laid eyes on it yet, is the MES ok to leave outdoors?  I mean is it something that will rust out or ok to smoke in different temps?  Where I am, we get all 4 seasons, so it gets hot and it gets cold/snowy.

I think I have read enough to convince me to get the MES.  Even though my old charcoal smokers have made great food, I could use some more help so that its not an all day event for me.  The BGE still sounds amazing and the WSM sounds good too.  I had thought about the Bradley before you guys really filled me in on the MES.

Now its time to find the right model and the right price so I can start smoking with a new MES!  Looks like I'll need to go ahead and order the Maverick and the AMNPS too.

 

[daveomak]

dj, morning....  w-m has them for $189.... delivered free to your local w-m.... that is how I got mine....   Todd can handle all the trimmings for you in the AMNPS and Therm dep't...   Dave

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Masterbuilt-30-Electric-Smokehouse/7811422

 

[djtech2k]

Yeh I saw that at W-M.  I think I want to get the MES 40 and I definitely want the newer one with the remote.  Those seem to be a lot more difficult to find.

 

[mikelikessmoke]

The link Dave posted is the exact one I have..... mine came from WM.

As for the remote..... bells and whistles.

With a good aftermarket temp probe, Maverick, you are good to go.

PLUS when, not if but when, the cord to the probe breaks the Mavericks are replaceable. Todd sells those as well.

The remote sounds like a good idea....... at first.

Turn it on without stepping foot outside....... Until you go out to put your food in and find out that the neighbors kitten has crawled inside last night. I always open mine up to be sure it is clean and empty before firing it up. Just sayin'

Changing the temp without going out....... Rarely do you need to change the temp during a smoke other than ramping up the heat towards the end to dry up the bark a bit maybe.

Checking cabinet temp and meat temp..... Aftermarket therms do that too.

Just sayin' don't get dazzled by the lights and bells and whistles and windows.

The 40 certainly has a larger capacity But you can still cook a LOT of food in the 30. I have cooked for 15 hungry people with my 30. still had plenty of room in the smoker for more food and plenty of leftovers after the feeding frenzy was over. Some day I probably WILL buy a 40 just because it is bigger though.

BTW the MES makes for a handy warming / holding oven when you need to shuffle things around in the kitchen too.

My decision to get the 30 was based on dollars and cents. The 30 was half the price of the 40.

MY 30 set out all winter on my covered patio. No direct snow sleet hail or rain...... still looks and works fine.

I am in OHIO, I get all 4 seasons. I smoked at 20 degrees this winter with no problems other than preheating the cabinet with a pan of boiling water. If it is too cold it will not turn on. preheating will raise the internal temp above the limit and then it is fine.

The walls of the cabinet are well insulated. No problem maintaining temp at 20 degrees or 95 degrees outside. although cold smoking cheese at 95 outside will most likely result in a puddle of goo in the bottom of the smoker unless you pack it with ice to try to keep the internal temp down.

Chips pellets chunks or what? The AMNPS is designed to burn pellets or dust. Todd only sells pellets and dust that are 100% flavor wood.

If you buy cherry pellets, they are 100% cherry. Other places pellets will be 80% alder or oak and 20% cherry.

As for what types...... personal preference. To me a very little Mesquite goes a very very very long way. Peach is

the wonder wood. Oak is fine for beef. Apple is fantastic for most anything. I probably burn more maple than anything else. Really depends on you taste.

Quantity to buy....... Depends on how much you plan to use your smoker. I got a couple pounds of each type from Todd. You can fill the AMNPS 2 or 3 times from a 2 pound bag. Smoke once a week then 10 pounds will last you 10 weeks more or less. Smoke every day.... Buy more, a lot more :)

Plus with the AMNPS you can cold smoke cheese and bacon. MMMmmmmmmmm Bacon!

 

[djtech2k]

Great. 

So from your post, it sounds like the AMNPS holds about 1lb of pellets that will last about 1 smoke, does that sound about right?  Is there any trouble getting it burning or keeping it burning, or anything like that? 

From the looks of the AMNPS, it will take up 1 of the shelves in the MES, is that correct?

Do you need to have a pot of water in the smoker for moisture, like a lot of other smokers?

I think I want to get the 40 so I am confident on size.  So far, I have not found a retail store with the 40 in stock.  The one at Sam's is the older MES40 for $299, but I also dont have a Sam's membership. I wish I could get it at Home Depot since I have gift cards, but at this point I just want to find it for a good price and get it ASAP :)

 

[daveomak]

dj, evening...  The AMNPS holds about  1# of pellets, you are correct.... the burn time is 10 hrs or so...   The AMNPS sits to the left of the chip assembly in the botton of the smoker.... totally out of the way...  Light it and forget it.... continuous smoke so to speak...   then you use the electronics to control the temp... not the smoke...   A perfect setup...  

You are looking at the inside of my highly modified MES 30....  The AMNPS is a blessing in a small package.... Dave

 

[chef jimmyj]

Great. 

So from your post, it sounds like the AMNPS holds about 1lb of pellets that will last about 1 smoke,  The AMNPS can be filled 3-4 times on 2 Lbs of pellets and you only Fill if you are smoking for 10 Hours. Each row burns a little over 3 hours so for Ribs you will only fill one row with a few ounces of pellets.   does that sound about right? So no uses less than a pound. I got Ten Pounds in Package #3 , have had several smokes since Feb and have yet to put a dent in my Pellet supply!  Is there any trouble getting it burning or keeping it burning, or anything like that? If you follow Todd's directions the pellets light and burn without issue. Most of the testing was done in a MES 40 because Todd owns a couple of them.

From the looks of the AMNPS, it will take up 1 of the shelves in the MES, is that correct? Not always, you can put it on the bottom shelf but it is sized to go on the double rails next to the coil and chip housing in the MES.

Do you need to have a pot of water in the smoker for moisture, like a lot of other smokers? The MES comes with a Water Pan, it is your choice if you use it. I and many here don't add water, some add Sand.

I think I want to get the 40 so I am confident on size.  So far, I have not found a retail store with the 40 in stock.  The one at Sam's is the older MES40 for $299, The unit at Sam's is the 2011 model, it is one of the units that has the Remote. The 2012 model has the remote as well but I can guarantee you will not find one for under $459.00. The Sam's unit is $299 and you won't have to wait until June to get it.but I also dont have a Sam's membership. So it will cost you an extra $30.  I wish I could get it at Home Depot since I have gift cards, but at this point I just want to find it for a good price and get it ASAP :) So go to Sam's spend $329 and be smoking this week!...JJ

 

[mrspike]

If you do not have a Sam's club close enough, they have them online. Don't have a membership?  Google Sams one day pass, or join and with just this one purchase you make out

 

[coryjac0b]

I too looked at smokers for a LONG time.  After reading about the Electric smoker MES40, it just made sense to me.  Plug it in, set it and forget it....to a sense.  Alot of people that have the MES40 end up getting the AMNPS from Todd and almost all of them get the Maverick remote thermo too.  If you read up on the problems the MES has with temp readings, not all experience the problems.  So rid yourself of concern and get the maverick.  The AMNPS will produce smoke for up to 11 hours without refilling it.  Much better than having to worry about the wood chips in the small chip tray that the MES has. 

IMO, why worry about charcoal running out or chips running out and having to refill it every 30 minutes. 

Get the MES40, last years model from Sams Club for $299 if you don't want to spend $449 for the newest one from Cabela's.

AMNPS runs about $30-40, sawdust or Pellets are reasonable as well, $6 for 2lbs or so.

The Maverick ET732 is about $60 ish depends on where you look.  Not a neccessity but not a bad idea for long smokes over night and what not.

Excuse me for high-jacking the thread.  I did just purchase one of the MES40 from sams, and i am happy with it so far.  I am curious as to what a "AMNPS" is, and the Maverick ET732 is.

Thanks

 

[djtech2k]

Hey guys.

I am about to order the stuff I need from AMAZEN.

I am getting the MES40 from Sams.

I want to order from Todd today.

I want the AMNPS I guess.  I am going to get the dual probe Maverick.  Now for pellets, how should I order?  Ths site is a little confusing.  Like I see the pellets listed, but the flavors are in "blocks"  So if I order the 2lbs, is it 2lbs of 1 flavor or do u get 2lbs of each flavor in that box?

Any suggestions on which flavor and how much to buy?  I plan to smoke various meats and some salmon.  I would like some variety, but want plenty so I dont have to order often.

 

[djtech2k]

Excuse me for high-jacking the thread.  I did just purchase one of the MES40 from sams, and i am happy with it so far.  I am curious as to what a "AMNPS" is, and the Maverick ET732 is.

Thanks

http://www.amazenproducts.com

 

[coryjac0b]

Thanks!, looks like i will be placing an order today.
 

 

[bigblue]

I just ordered from todd (amazenproducts.com)bought 30# of pellet if you look close at blocks your talking about they are for different weights (2# and 5# ) and whether pellets or dust just click on the block and you will see . their are also different blocks for different wood flavors (pit master is the bomb )any questions PM todd or call 

 

[kryinggame]

Dang, after reading all of this, I might want to go out and buy another MES and AMNPS.

Brother, sounds like you've gotten alot of great info. here. Obviously these folks are proud of their products. I have the MES 30. It still does a great job. I don't always do big smoking for a large crowd so it's perfect for me and my girlfriend. Whichever model you choose, I promise you won't be disappointed.

By the way, WHEN you purchase your AMNPS from Todd, you want to spend extra money and get as much of the PitMaster blend pellets. Those pellets will will really kiss your meat well. While smoking it, it burns a very delightful odor. And, it's an all around pellet which can be used on anything.

Good luck!

 

[pinklincoln]

Without starting a new thread, I'm also shopping around for a smoker. For where I can walk in, and just buy one, these are the options I have.

Costco - Bradly Original w/ 48 hickory disks (best deal I could find)

And a smoke house little or big cheif.

Now, other then the huge price difference. One takes disks, the other takes chips. The chips are about 1/4 of the price of the bradly disks.

I want something that i can use for everything with ease- jerky to roasts, I read in a previous posts some smokers don't have strong enough coils to smoke at lower temperatures. Jerky, fish and sausage will be cooked the most in what I plan to buy.

Which is a better unit? Would the smokehouse be a quality machine for what i want to use it for? The chips are cheaper, and I have more options for sampling favors then I do the disks. It appearance seems like a heavy duty type machine, and less decrotive then the bradly. Are the chips a pain to add in every.. Hour? Manually, or is the ease of the automatic disks better?

I don't want to break the bank, and just prefer the cost effective options of the smokehouse cheif smokers, I also like the options of chips I can buy just about anywhere here.. But, the husband believes because bradly is the more expensive machine with fancy disks, it's probably better. If it is the be all end all, it may convince me. But if the products are comparable, I would use the near $150 difference to stock up on some accessories and meat.

Please no abbreviations, i haven't quite caught on yet to what they all mean :S

 

[pinklincoln]

- double post

 

[ironhorse07]

FWIW the local Sam's ran a open house kind of thing this last weekend. I am already a member so I didn't pay real close attention to the details but the jist was when you signed up they gave you a gift card worth the same price right on the spot. Might be something to check on in your area if someone is looking at the MES.

 

[kryinggame]

Without starting a new thread, I'm also shopping around for a smoker. For where I can walk in, and just buy one, these are the options I have.
Costco - Bradly Original w/ 48 hickory disks (best deal I could find)
And a smoke house little or big cheif.
Now, other then the huge price difference. One takes disks, the other takes chips. The chips are about 1/4 of the price of the bradly disks.
I want something that i can use for everything with ease- jerky to roasts, I read in a previous posts some smokers don't have strong enough coils to smoke at lower temperatures. Jerky, fish and sausage will be cooked the most in what I plan to buy.
Which is a better unit? Would the smokehouse be a quality machine for what i want to use it for? The chips are cheaper, and I have more options for sampling favors then I do the disks. It appearance seems like a heavy duty type machine, and less decrotive then the bradly. Are the chips a pain to add in every.. Hour? Manually, or is the ease of the automatic disks better?
I don't want to break the bank, and just prefer the cost effective options of the smokehouse cheif smokers, I also like the options of chips I can buy just about anywhere here.. But, the husband believes because bradly is the more expensive machine with fancy disks, it's probably better. If it is the be all end all, it may convince me. But if the products are comparable, I would use the near $150 difference to stock up on some accessories and meat.
Please no abbreviations, i haven't quite caught on yet to what they all mean :S

You probably should have started a new thread on this because you may get alot of different answers. A few years ago, I was looking at the Bradley but it can quickly get expensive using their brand of chips. I believe a chip is used every 20 minutes. What if you're doing an 18 hour smoke? Also, what if Bradley goes out of business, will you be able to find their chips? I believe the majority of us who went with the MES are pleased. I use my MES every single weekend. I did have a few problems when I first bought the unit in December. The unit would not turn on. Amazon sent me a replacement. There was a problem with the electrical panel on the second unit and MES sent me a new electrical unit and their cookbook to compensate. Hey, stuff happens, no sweat. Since December, I have made so many racks of ribs, butts, chicken and fish in my unit. After the first few smokes, I got smart and bought the AMNPS from Todd. Do you need one, absolutely not but why not use one. I have better things to do with my time then to keep checking on the wood burning. Also, you can also over smoke your food.

I have the 30  inch MES and I love it. Tomorrow, I'm going to smoke a fatty (Yes I will post pics); I picked up a few racks of baby back at Costco, so they're going into the MES on Saturday. And Sunday, I'm going to do a chicken.

By the way, if you go with the MES and the AMNPS, use some of that $150 and stock up on Todd's Pitmaster's Choice. I promise, you won't be disappointed. I, as well as my neighbors and their dogs love the smell that Pitmaster's Choice puts out.

Happy smoking!