First smoke on a new electric MES smoker

Hey all! I just got the analog 30B to replace an old brinkman. I smoked on a brinkman electric for years, because the factory outlet was here in town, and they were ridiculous cheap. Probably about what they were actually worth, but that place closed down. When my old model went bad, it was time to buy, or fix the old one, and the cost of the element was outrageous. So having found this forum, I read about all the various brands available. Money was unfortunately a big concern, and with the price, and hassle of propane I knew I needed a cheap electric. That's what led me to the MES. I might eventually upgrade to a nicer model, but I don't really need much, so I opted for the analog model. After reading a lot of threads here, I might've been better off buying a used one that's broken, and ugraded to make it better than original. But that ship has sailed, so this is where I'm at. All in, I'm pretty happy, it's most definitely a substantial upgrade.

 

Thanks smokerjim! I've had a lot of experience, both good and not so good, since I've gone electric for smoking. Having a thermostat sure beats the heck out of babysitting a wood burner. I used to stay up all night cooking brisket, but I'm too old for that now. So there'll be a short learning curve to adapt from the brinkman. Now I'm looking at meat thermometers. Cooking from the comfort of the lazy boy...there's got to be an easier way lol.

 

I've still got the old one, but fixing it is out. The price of a new element is almost the price of a new one, plus I've never liked how the racks work. You have to remove the top rack, while loaded with whatever is on it, to baste, or check the temperature of whatever's on the lower rack. Don't really know if I'm interested in cold smoking at this time, but I'm thinking that if I were, I'd be better off starting from scratch. After spending some time here on this forum, and getting some ideas, I've looked at the local craigslist. I could purchase, and rebuild a broken unit. It would be much better than either the old one, or this new one. So if cold smoking ever comes up, or capacity becomes an issue, I'll probably go that way. But I'll likely keep the old one, I can eventually repurpose some of the parts.