How much smoke @225? masterbuilt MES 130B

[Bearcarver]

Good news....it had to be where the smoker was with all that direct sunlight hitting it....had to be. Temps didnt spike anywhere close to or like they did the other day. Im just gonna smoke on my front porch from now on since itll stay shaded 90% of the day.

Im gonna go start that other thread and fill in what details i remember....some of my family caught wind of my pulled pork via my own facebook post....and "were in the neighborhood" and also just happened to have beers!!! lol I was planning to post it yesterday with all the details....but I had to drink those beers....and take all the praise for the GREAT BBQ! Your step-by-step treated me good bear!!!!

Also....let one 5am wake up sell me on something.....ordered the AMNPS at about 11am yesterday, after waking back up hourly to fill the chip tray! lol Ordering it since it just seems like a bad move not to the more I smoke! Good steady smoke....and as long as the temps stabilize....makes this more set it and forget it! I like that....i like low and slowwwwww Headed to academy tonight to pick up some fishing stuff...and a couple bags of B & B pellets....im going with apple and hickory. Any other must haves I should have on deck....im leaning toward having 3 and 4 at the absolute max! I wont be smoking a ton....prolly just once a week.

Thanks for the words and direction from everyone! looking forward to posting more on these forums!

All Sounds Great, Fishin!!!
One other thing I should warn you about:
During the Spring, Fall, and Winter, when the Sun is low in the sky, if your MES window faces the South, the opposite can happen with the Sun playing tricks on you. Read the Link Below:
MES with Window---Heads Up

Bear

 

[tallbm]

Good news....it had to be where the smoker was with all that direct sunlight hitting it....had to be. Temps didnt spike anywhere close to or like they did the other day. Im just gonna smoke on my front porch from now on since itll stay shaded 90% of the day.

Im gonna go start that other thread and fill in what details i remember....some of my family caught wind of my pulled pork via my own facebook post....and "were in the neighborhood" and also just happened to have beers!!! lol I was planning to post it yesterday with all the details....but I had to drink those beers....and take all the praise for the GREAT BBQ! Your step-by-step treated me good bear!!!!

Also....let one 5am wake up sell me on something.....ordered the AMNPS at about 11am yesterday, after waking back up hourly to fill the chip tray! lol Ordering it since it just seems like a bad move not to the more I smoke! Good steady smoke....and as long as the temps stabilize....makes this more set it and forget it! I like that....i like low and slowwwwww Headed to academy tonight to pick up some fishing stuff...and a couple bags of B & B pellets....im going with apple and hickory. Any other must haves I should have on deck....im leaning toward having 3 and 4 at the absolute max! I wont be smoking a ton....prolly just once a week.

Thanks for the words and direction from everyone! looking forward to posting more on these forums!

That is great to hear!

Yeah the AMNPS is basically the 2nd "almost" mandatory thing to get with an MES.

Have you bought your pellets yet? If not here is a little pellet education which is a real thing believe it or not hahaha.

Most brands of pellets don't actually sell you the pellet you think you are buying... not exactly.
Most brands blend their pellets. So for example brands like Camp Chef, Pit Boss, Lousiana Grills, Pacific Pellets, Traeger, B&B Pellets, BBQ'ers Delight, and others give you only about 25-35% of the pellet listed on the bag!!!! :eek::confused::mad:

For example: You buy B&B "Hickory" pellets. Well you are getting a blend of about 25-35% Hickory pellets and the rest are all a filler wood like Oak, Alder, or Maple (whatever is prevelant and cheapest in that manufacturers area).
Hell in the past I believe Traeger would use "flavor oils" to give you your "Hickory" flavor.

There are a handful of brands that give you 100% of the wood on the label or CLEARLY call out that you are buying a blend. Those brands are:

• Lumberjack Pellets (all kinds of 100% woods, and blends clearly called out)
  • Cabelas - I believe they just rebrand Lumberjack
• Cookin Pellets (Hickory and maybe another type of wood, they also do a good Competition Blend they explicitly call out the woods on)
• A-Maze-N Pellets (All kinds of 100% woods and blends clearly called out. I'll let you ask him where he sources his pellets)
• I think there is 1 other brand I can't remember
• Oh, Camp Chef Alder - I believe it is 100% alder since Camp Chef's base wood is reported as being Alder so... Alder + Alder = 100% Alder hahaha. I own a bag of Camp Chef Alder for my 100% alder and use it for smoked Salmon Lox... no complaints here :D

Also know that blends aren't a bad thing IF you deliberately go to get a blend. I like Pit Boss' Competition Blend. It is about 50-60% Maple and then even parts Hickory and Cherry. The flavor is light but when I double up on it or supplement it with more 100% Hickory it is great! The trick is that I INTENTIONALLY want that blend and behavior hahaha.

Anyhow I hope this helps rather than thoroughly confuses. If you have any questions than please ask away :)

 

[FishInTheDesert]

All Sounds Great, Fishin!!!
One other thing I should warn you about:
During the Spring, Fall, and Winter, when the Sun is low in the sky, if your MES window faces the South, the opposite can happen with the Sun playing tricks on you. Read the Link Below:
MES with Window---Heads Up

Bear

Nothing big today fishing. About a 2.5 pound largemouth and a 5-6 inch smallie! A few white bass too...they were in wolfpacks!

Ill try and post a picture of my front porch....its perfect cuz I can keep the smoker shaded to help get the consistency I need. And my smoker doesnt have a window....sadly! maybe ill upgrade to a 140 as a christmas present to myself if they go on special. I always peek at the meat with a flashlight through the top vent lol...so I definitely want a window!

That is great to hear!

Yeah the AMNPS is basically the 2nd "almost" mandatory thing to get with an MES.

Have you bought your pellets yet? If not here is a little pellet education which is a real thing believe it or not hahaha.

Most brands of pellets don't actually sell you the pellet you think you are buying... not exactly.
Most brands blend their pellets. So for example brands like Camp Chef, Pit Boss, Lousiana Grills, Pacific Pellets, Traeger, B&B Pellets, BBQ'ers Delight, and others give you only about 25-35% of the pellet listed on the bag!!!! :eek::confused::mad:

For example: You buy B&B "Hickory" pellets. Well you are getting a blend of about 25-35% Hickory pellets and the rest are all a filler wood like Oak, Alder, or Maple (whatever is prevelant and cheapest in that manufacturers area).
Hell in the past I believe Traeger would use "flavor oils" to give you your "Hickory" flavor.

There are a handful of brands that give you 100% of the wood on the label or CLEARLY call out that you are buying a blend. Those brands are:

• Lumberjack Pellets (all kinds of 100% woods, and blends clearly called out)
  • Cabelas - I believe they just rebrand Lumberjack
• Cookin Pellets (Hickory and maybe another type of wood, they also do a good Competition Blend they explicitly call out the woods on)
• A-Maze-N Pellets (All kinds of 100% woods and blends clearly called out. I'll let you ask him where he sources his pellets)
• I think there is 1 other brand I can't remember
• Oh, Camp Chef Alder - I believe it is 100% alder since Camp Chef's base wood is reported as being Alder so... Alder + Alder = 100% Alder hahaha. I own a bag of Camp Chef Alder for my 100% alder and use it for smoked Salmon Lox... no complaints here :D

Also know that blends aren't a bad thing IF you deliberately go to get a blend. I like Pit Boss' Competition Blend. It is about 50-60% Maple and then even parts Hickory and Cherry. The flavor is light but when I double up on it or supplement it with more 100% Hickory it is great! The trick is that I INTENTIONALLY want that blend and behavior hahaha.

Anyhow I hope this helps rather than thoroughly confuses. If you have any questions than please ask away :)

Ordered some lumberjack from Dicks....but I didnt know cabelas brand is lumberjack. I have a cabelas locally and they are in stock...gonna go pick up the hickory and apple from there. I already wanna make another pork butt! lol

I thought that the B&B were 100%....but I went to the site, and theyre 100% wood....but not 100% of the wood that the flavor is. Glad you let me know about that....I definitely want 100% wood. As it is I keep getting farther and farther from old school smoking with just wood and a smoke pit! Take away the split wood, for chunks....to chips....and now to pellets! I feel like a city slicker! LOL


Question on the AMNPS...I hear you all say it goes on the bottom....is that the bottom grate? How do you all avoid fat dripping into the AMNPS? I need to google this...just figure id fire away at you since you always answer 110% of what im wondering! haha

 

[Bearcarver]

Ill try and post a picture of my front porch....its perfect cuz I can keep the smoker shaded to help get the consistency I need. And my smoker doesnt have a window....sadly! maybe ill upgrade to a 140 as a christmas present to myself if they go on special. I always peek at the meat with a flashlight through the top vent lol...so I definitely want a window!

Question on the AMNPS...I hear you all say it goes on the bottom....is that the bottom grate? How do you all avoid fat dripping into the AMNPS? I need to google this...just figure id fire away at you since you always answer 110% of what im wondering! haha

LOL---I used to look down the top vent too, when I didn't have a Window, because you can't trust how much smoke you see coming out the vent, so you have to look inside to see how heavy the smoke is.

As for protecting your AMNPS, I'll show you a Pic of mine. That's a foil pan cut in half & flipped over:
Bear

 

[tallbm]

Nothing big today fishing. About a 2.5 pound largemouth and a 5-6 inch smallie! A few white bass too...they were in wolfpacks!

Ill try and post a picture of my front porch....its perfect cuz I can keep the smoker shaded to help get the consistency I need. And my smoker doesnt have a window....sadly! maybe ill upgrade to a 140 as a christmas present to myself if they go on special. I always peek at the meat with a flashlight through the top vent lol...so I definitely want a window!



Ordered some lumberjack from Dicks....but I didnt know cabelas brand is lumberjack. I have a cabelas locally and they are in stock...gonna go pick up the hickory and apple from there. I already wanna make another pork butt! lol

I thought that the B&B were 100%....but I went to the site, and theyre 100% wood....but not 100% of the wood that the flavor is. Glad you let me know about that....I definitely want 100% wood. As it is I keep getting farther and farther from old school smoking with just wood and a smoke pit! Take away the split wood, for chunks....to chips....and now to pellets! I feel like a city slicker! LOL


Question on the AMNPS...I hear you all say it goes on the bottom....is that the bottom grate? How do you all avoid fat dripping into the AMNPS? I need to google this...just figure id fire away at you since you always answer 110% of what im wondering! haha

Yeah the pellet education issue is unfortunately a real thing. Wow I didn't know Dick's was carrying Lumberjack pellets, and it looks like they have most of the options too!!! The prices aren't too bad but are always going to be more expensive then the cheapo blended brands.

I HIGHLY recommend the Lumberjack 100% Mesquite for your beef smokes. With the AMNPS you get perfect TBS so no overpowering Mesquite smoke or fighting with getting Mesquite smoke to be TBS. I think Mesquite gets a bad wrap about it's strength and flavor because it seems to be much more difficult to manage than other woods. My guess the difficulty comes from it burning so much hotter. Your mind will be blown with that stuff on a brisket, beef ribs, or heck even a smoked meatloaf!

I have Lumberjack 100% Mesquite, Maple, Apple, Cherry, and Pecan. I have Cookin Pellets 100% Hickory (bought before I found local Lumberjack) and Camp Chef's Alder which should be 100% Alder since Alder is their base wood lol.

I make my own blends with all of those options. One of my favorite is 70% Apple and 30% Hickory for bacon and sausage smoking. I've done a really good 50/50 Pecan and Cherry for bacon as well but the Apple/Hickory is a little better on the pork and I feel like the Pecan/Cherry will be better on beef like jerky or beef snack sticks!

Bear has you covered on the AMNPS inside the MES.
I run a Mailbox Modification so my AMNPS burns outside of my smoker. This helps me and my smoking situations in a number of ways but one of the greatest advantages I get is that I can cold smoke Salmon more easily in Dec, Jan, Feb with the mild TX while adding as little heat as possible to the smoker with the burning pellets :)

With you being in West TX you would run into the same wintertime cold smoke issues I run into in North Central TX.
Try the AMNPS inside the MES and if it doesn't work for all your smoking needs let me know and we can discuss mailbox mods. I seriously spent only 10 minutes the other day and built one for my brother that is one piece, easily detatchable/portable, compact, and works like a charm!

 

[FishInTheDesert]

LOL---I used to look down the top vent too, when I didn't have a Window, because you can't trust how much smoke you see coming out the vent, so you have to look inside to see how heavy the smoke is.

As for protecting your AMNPS, I'll show you a Pic of mine. That's a foil pan cut in half & flipped over:
Bear
View attachment 374225

Im already wishing I had a bigger smoker....its TIGHT in there with the AMNPS! I basically only have the bottom rack I can put it on, wont fit below the grates the way yours does. Wondering if I should have gone with a tube instead.

Yeah the pellet education issue is unfortunately a real thing. Wow I didn't know Dick's was carrying Lumberjack pellets, and it looks like they have most of the options too!!! The prices aren't too bad but are always going to be more expensive then the cheapo blended brands.

I HIGHLY recommend the Lumberjack 100% Mesquite for your beef smokes. With the AMNPS you get perfect TBS so no overpowering Mesquite smoke or fighting with getting Mesquite smoke to be TBS. I think Mesquite gets a bad wrap about it's strength and flavor because it seems to be much more difficult to manage than other woods. My guess the difficulty comes from it burning so much hotter. Your mind will be blown with that stuff on a brisket, beef ribs, or heck even a smoked meatloaf!

I have Lumberjack 100% Mesquite, Maple, Apple, Cherry, and Pecan. I have Cookin Pellets 100% Hickory (bought before I found local Lumberjack) and Camp Chef's Alder which should be 100% Alder since Alder is their base wood lol.

I make my own blends with all of those options. One of my favorite is 70% Apple and 30% Hickory for bacon and sausage smoking. I've done a really good 50/50 Pecan and Cherry for bacon as well but the Apple/Hickory is a little better on the pork and I feel like the Pecan/Cherry will be better on beef like jerky or beef snack sticks!

Bear has you covered on the AMNPS inside the MES.
I run a Mailbox Modification so my AMNPS burns outside of my smoker. This helps me and my smoking situations in a number of ways but one of the greatest advantages I get is that I can cold smoke Salmon more easily in Dec, Jan, Feb with the mild TX while adding as little heat as possible to the smoker with the burning pellets :)

With you being in West TX you would run into the same wintertime cold smoke issues I run into in North Central TX.
Try the AMNPS inside the MES and if it doesn't work for all your smoking needs let me know and we can discuss mailbox mods. I seriously spent only 10 minutes the other day and built one for my brother that is one piece, easily detatchable/portable, compact, and works like a charm!

So, I picked up hickory, apple, and mesquite at Cabelas yesterday. Still gonna keep the Lumberjack Oak I ordered, but running cabelas for the rest now that I know theyre Lumberjack/100% of the flavored wood. So my wood lineup is gonna be apple (poultry/mixes), hickory (pork/other/mixes), oak (pork/other/mixes) and mesquite for brisket! Ive spent a lot of money recently and got some bigger expenses coming up....so im gonna ride with these for a couple/few months. But I think im all set....quality thermometer, AMNPS, and 4 flavors of pellets in 20# bags.

Here is my plan...and goal....especially after I tried sticking that AMNPS in my smoker. I dont wanna do the mod...yet! Hopefully I can ride out this 130 size until black friday/christmas sale time....then I NEED to upgrade! I 100% can NOT fit a full brisket in my smoker.....and brisket is what I LOVE in terms of BBQ! Im gonna make this one work, and learn on it...then hopefully I can get the bigger rig when those good sales hit...and sell this one for $50-70 to help with the upgrade cost.

Thats why I dont wanna mod it...I think if I mod it now, im gonna have to let the next owner keep the AMNPS....and I dont wanna do that cuz i dont think I can get a 50 dollar bill for a used smoker in my city, so tossing in the AMNPS for the next buyer would be a huge loss relatively speaking. If the upgrade doesnt happen...ill definitely look to doing the mod. Ill prolly do the mod if its easy enough when I upgrade my rig....fingers crossed it happens tho! Im gonna be like a hawk on those sales!

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

Im already wishing I had a bigger smoker....its TIGHT in there with the AMNPS! I basically only have the bottom rack I can put it on, wont fit below the grates the way yours does. Wondering if I should have gone with a tube instead.


So, I picked up hickory, apple, and mesquite at Cabelas yesterday. Still gonna keep the Lumberjack Oak I ordered, but running cabelas for the rest now that I know theyre Lumberjack/100% of the flavored wood. So my wood lineup is gonna be apple (poultry/mixes), hickory (pork/other/mixes), oak (pork/other/mixes) and mesquite for brisket! Ive spent a lot of money recently and got some bigger expenses coming up....so im gonna ride with these for a couple/few months. But I think im all set....quality thermometer, AMNPS, and 4 flavors of pellets in 20# bags.

Here is my plan...and goal....especially after I tried sticking that AMNPS in my smoker. I dont wanna do the mod...yet! Hopefully I can ride out this 130 size until black friday/christmas sale time....then I NEED to upgrade! I 100% can NOT fit a full brisket in my smoker.....and brisket is what I LOVE in terms of BBQ! Im gonna make this one work, and learn on it...then hopefully I can get the bigger rig when those good sales hit...and sell this one for $50-70 to help with the upgrade cost.

Thats why I dont wanna mod it...I think if I mod it now, im gonna have to let the next owner keep the AMNPS....and I dont wanna do that cuz i dont think I can get a 50 dollar bill for a used smoker in my city, so tossing in the AMNPS for the next buyer would be a huge loss relatively speaking. If the upgrade doesnt happen...ill definitely look to doing the mod. Ill prolly do the mod if its easy enough when I upgrade my rig....fingers crossed it happens tho! Im gonna be like a hawk on those sales!

If you do a mailbox mod, you can make the tubing going from the mailbox to your smoker chip loader hole removable at the hole. Then you can resale it with no damage.

 

[FishInTheDesert]

If you do a mailbox mod, you can make the tubing going from the mailbox to your smoker chip loader hole removable at the hole. Then you can resale it with no damage.

Finally watched the whole video....youre right. Lets see how it goes here....i might cave sooner than later and do it just due to space in the smoker. I know its not much....but I gotta hold off on spending anymore...at least for a month or 2 lol

 

[FishInTheDesert]

cant keep the AMNPS lit :(

just reloaded all new pellets to see what smoke I can with the time i have left. microwaved these too. Had my vent 100% open, then 90%.....now got it about 50% open, lets see if that was it

 

[FishInTheDesert]

took out the damn chip tray....and i think thats the deal. I also took out the drip pan to improve airflow...but I dont think that was necessary. Gonna put it back and see what happens.

Smoke is streaming out of the unit now....I think airflow was the problem. Im pretty sure it was...because one of the times I took out the unlit/nonsmoking tray, and left it outside....i noticed some smoke. Trying to salvage this pork buttt...lets see how it ends up

 

[KrisUpInSmoke]

I've seen people both partially pull out and remove the chip loader. A couple people have mentioned putting a small fan near the chip loader hole to create more draft and it worked to keep the pellets lit. You can also try making and affixing a chimney to the vent to increase draft. Check out, https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/mes-smoke-stack.134202/

 

[tallbm]

Yeah you gotta figure out how to get the best airflow in your setup. Removing chip tray, pulling out chip loader, elevating AMNPS, etc etc. Like everything else with your smoker, once you get it figured out you will be ready to rock!

As Kris mentions you can easily add/remove a mailbox mod if you decide to go the mailbox mod route at any point. I made one for my brother last week and it took 10-15 min. It was the 3rd one I've made and can easily list the materials in instructions should anyone need the info. I was thinking about doing a step by step post on how to do it but figured there was no real demand for the info so skipped it lol.

Keep at it and you will get it sorted out!

 

[Bearcarver]

Im already wishing I had a bigger smoker....its TIGHT in there with the AMNPS! I basically only have the bottom rack I can put it on, wont fit below the grates the way yours does. Wondering if I should have gone with a tube instead.

Keep practicing with that AMNPS, and don't put it in until it's burning real good & has a nice big Cigar-like Cherry in the row of pellets.
Don't worry about having to take up space on the bottom rack for your AMNPS----In my opinion the bottom rack is too close the the direct heat for meat anyway!!

Bear

 

[Hilltopper96]

How to you route the wires for the probes into the smoker? I Have a Masterbuilt MES130b. I have ordered a ThermoPro TP25. It should arrive tomorrow.
I just got the smoker seasoned it and I am looking to do my first smoke.

 

[Hilltopper96]

Yeah you gotta figure out how to get the best airflow in your setup. Removing chip tray, pulling out chip loader, elevating AMNPS, etc etc. Like everything else with your smoker, once you get it figured out you will be ready to rock!

As Kris mentions you can easily add/remove a mailbox mod if you decide to go the mailbox mod route at any point. I made one for my brother last week and it took 10-15 min. It was the 3rd one I've made and can easily list the materials in instructions should anyone need the info. I was thinking about doing a step by step post on how to do it but figured there was no real demand for the info so skipped it lol.

Keep at it and you will get it sorted out!

Please do list your supplies.

 

[pa42phigh]

How to you route the wires for the probes into the smoker? I Have a Masterbuilt MES130b. I have ordered a ThermoPro TP25. It should arrive tomorrow.
I just got the smoker seasoned it and I am looking to do my first smoke.

I put the probe I monitor the smoker temp through the vent and the one that goes in the meat through the door

 

[Bearcarver]

How to you route the wires for the probes into the smoker? I Have a Masterbuilt MES130b. I have ordered a ThermoPro TP25. It should arrive tomorrow.
I just got the smoker seasoned it and I am looking to do my first smoke.

I run my Sensor cables through the top vent.
Then I put them where I want them, and put a Springy Clothes Pin on the cable, at the vent, to keep the Probe at that place.

Bear

 

[tallbm]

Please do list your supplies.

Here are the parts I use but you can change out the mailbox and add/tweak the list to match your setup:

3inch adjustable elbow duct joint:

Master Flow 3 in. 90 Deg. Round Adjustable Elbow-B90E3 - The Home Depot

www.homedepot.com

Wall hanging mailbox that fits AMNPS:


3in (amazon description says does 2.5-3.5 inch working diameter) worm drive clamp:

Deflect-o 3 in. Metal Worm Drive Clamp-MC325 - The Home Depot

Use this Deflect-o Metal Worm Drive Clamp to secure semi-rigid aluminum duct connections. Adjusts with a screwdriver for a secure fit.

www.homedepot.com

600F hi temp flue tape:

Instructions:
-I take the elbow joint and put it into the MES hole then I line up bottom elbow hole up on to of my mail wall malbox and when its in a good position I trace a circle around the elbow joint end that is on top of the mailbox (now everything is properly aligned)

-I then use a straight edge and I draw lines across the circle so it looks like a pizza with slices marked up


-I take my dremel rotary tool with a metal cutting wheel and I cut the slices. I bend each slice up and make sure I can fit the elbow joint to where the bent up slices are o the OUTSIDE of the elbow joint and I push the joint down into a the mailbox a little bit but not too much that it blocks the AMNPS.

-I bend the slices back towards the elbow joint for a good fit and I use the high temp flue tape to seal it all off so it is air tight.

-Next I worm drive clamp the taped over slices against the elbow joint and now everything is a snug 1 piece mailbox mod that I can put in place or remove with 1 hand.

-I then can make screw legs or just let it kinda sit on a rock so itis propped up easily

-I drill a hole on the top of the door and 2 in the outside facing wall of the mailbox mod so more air get in, thats it


Here is before I added a worm gear clamp:


You can build any variation of this with more or less or different parts :)