Hey Guy's,
Without going into great detail, we did have some issues with the ESQ30 (Window, and non-window) not producing enough smoke. As you all know, the change to the chip box/chip tray was made at the same time that we increased the wattage on our elements. Although this new design was tested thoroughly, the production unit's did not perform quite as well as anticipated. While achieving our goal to reduce heat up, and recovery time, the "lack" of smoke issue arose. Adding to this, was one of the hottest summer season's we have had recently, which, with the increased wattage, reduced the cycle time even more, not allowing the chips to ignite in some instances. While we do have a limited amount of retro-kits in stock, we are working hard to receive more asap. I am currently at the factory, to ensure timely delivery. Everyone at
Masterbuilt is dedicated to producing the safest, best performing products on the market, and providing superior customer service. We do listen to our customers, your suggestions, and I hope the improvements to our products show that. I try to visit this site weekly at a minimum, and you are welcome to mail me anytime, and I will get back to you asap. Tks. Darryl
During the time we were developing the "retro-fit kit", I worked with several customers directly to verify the design, and I would like to post one of their comments below:
"Today was the BIG event for the Retro-Fit. Went wonderful. At a set temp of 200 degrees I had smoke within 5 minutes (130degrees) and full smoke within 8 minutes. 7 and 1/2 hours later I foiled the ribs with bbq sauce. Another 1/2 hour and the meal was ready. The meat fell off the bone and the flavor of smoke was wonderful. Sorry, no pics, we ate it all. I did add about 2 inches of water in the pan so the meat would stay moist during the process and used dry chips twice.
Thanks for making us happy! Joe"