Lets figure this problem out. MES smoker, not enough power, open door and lose all heat

[viper]

In my frustration, I wanted to consult some pros here to see what I might want to do to fix my issues.  I am running the electric Masterbuilt smoker.  I like electric for the most part BUT it has become very obvious that I need to open the door multiple times to mop, flip, etc.  Every single time I open the door, I lose precious heat which causes the internal meat temp to reverse and takes even more time to get to temp and probably adding to the drying out issue. 

Example for today which has me pissed for the day.  Started at 9:00am with 8 chicken breasts.  No big deal but obviously very little fat so moisture is key.  Need to open door maybe 4 times to mop, add to the boil pan, etc.  I am now at friggin 7hrs smoke time with maybe an hour yo go,  This should have been a 3-4hr smoke. I recently had my internal temp at 156, opened door for right at 1min to mop, temp drops to 148, MORE TIME!!  Just adding to the dry out. 

My box temp will go from 225 to 170 maybe and take 15min or so to get back to temp.  My question is, is this common with propane or charcoal smokers?  is this something I need to live with?  I am really just trying to determine if this is because if the chest type cabinet where pretty much the whole internal area will lose it's heat due to the door design or if this is just a power problem and I need to boost the power (more wattage) to get the cabinet back to temp much quicker. 

How fast does your cabinet temp recover after opening?  does your meat temp drop when you do? 

 

[eman]

If you have an old style 800 watt MES like i do then heat recovery is terrible. I have learned fill the water pan full w/ hot water to start and DON'T open the door . I used to mop , spritz , spray, flip and look. Once i had someone convince me to try it their way ,No more

 There is no need to open the door except to place the meat in and take it out to foil or to remove it when done.

 My pan has only dried out once and that was on a very extended brisket cook

(Long Stall). Usually the juices that drip down from the meat keep it w/ some liquid in it.

 I run my smoker at 225° - 230° for 99% of my smokes and never open the door.

 

[viper]

I would really prefer to be able to open the door without huge consequence and seems many people do but I was not sure if I just needed more heat for a faster recovery or if the door was a big issue, cooling the meat down rapidly when the door was open. 

For those running a real smoker, is the recovery relatively fast for you?  Is there even a recover at all?  I have some engineering thoughts regarding the issue and might throw some mass in the cabinet to increase thermal mass which should help to carry through and even out temperature fluctuation. 

I am also considering either upgrading the heating element or adding another to get more go when it is needed. 

 

[beer-b-q]

I Have Three Questions,

1. Which MES do you Have?
2. What Temp Do You Have It Set At?
3. WHY, Do You Feel The Need To Open The Door?

When we do Chicken we only open the door when putting it in....  With the MES it is not necessary that you open the door a lot, that is the beauty of it...

 

[Bearcarver]

I agree exactly with Eman & Paul.

What size element & which MES do you have.

My MES 30 with 800W element was slow to recover, but I didn't open the door for a minute---ever.

My new MES 40 can go from 170˚ to 225˚, this time of year in PA, in about 5 or 6 minutes.

What is the temp where you live----We have no idea where you live---City?---State??---Part of state??

The door of an MES is one complete side of a 4 sided box. If you remove that side for a minute, I'd say going from 225˚ to 170˚ is pretty good.

Since you don't think it is a real smoker, maybe you should get a real smoker?

Bear

 

[SmokinAl]

I agree exactly with Eman & Paul.

What size element & which MES do you have.

My MES 30 with 800W element was slow to recover, but I didn't open the door for a minute---ever.

My new MES 40 can go from 170˚ to 225˚, this time of year in PA, in about 5 or 6 minutes.

What is the temp where you live----We have no idea where you live---City?---State??---Part of state??

The door of an MES is one complete side of a 4 sided box. If you remove that side for a minute, I'd say going from 225˚ to 170˚ is pretty good.

Since you don't think it is a real smoker, maybe you should get a real smoker?

Bear

  I think Bear's hungry. Did you miss a meal Bear?

 

[viper]

Did not mean to start a flaming war there.  That probably came out wrong.  I like electric but I realize some competitions will not even allow electric.  Anyway, I am just trying to figure out of the box temp is what causes this or if other smoker types retain better heat when the door is open.  With something like a chicken breast, I fail to see how I can do those and keep them moist without opening to mop or spritz. 

 

[tjohnson]

Some guys place sand in the water pan for a heat sink and I've heard of guys using 1" firebricks on the bottom.  The slow recovery seemed to be on the older models, due to an 800 watt element.  Mssterbuilt has since replaced the 800 watt element on the 40" models.

Try using a heat sink.

Todd

 

[beer-b-q]

Did not mean to start a flaming war there.  That probably came out wrong.  I like electric but I realize some competitions will not even allow electric.  Anyway, I am just trying to figure out of the box temp is what causes this or if other smoker types retain better heat when the door is open.  With something like a chicken breast, I fail to see how I can do those and keep them moist without opening to mop or spritz. 

The MES was never intended nor marketed as a Competition Smoker.  That is like comparing Apples to Walnuts, a whole different species.  If you want to get into competition All real KCBS Rules Competitions require Wood or Charcoal Fired Smokers, NO PROPANE OR ELECTRIC...

We have a great many members here using the MES Units on Daily basis and most are willing to help you but YOU have to let us know what unit you have for us to Do That.

Seems to me that if you really wanted help you would tell us which size and model you own.

When I bought the POS Bradley and found it wouldn't do temps that worked for smoking (Could never get the unit over 200ºF) I got rid of it and got the MES,  There is now comparison between the two, the MES is 10 Times the smoker the Bradley is and half its price...  I regularly smoke in my MES 40" with the 1200w unit and can easily get it to 275ºF.

 

[nozzleman]

Add another vote for the you don't need to open the door to have a good smoke with this unit, why don't you just try it instead of saying you don't see how that can be so.

 

[Fife]

I have a MES40 and have had no trouble with it.

 

[Bearcarver]

Did not mean to start a flaming war there.  That probably came out wrong.  I like electric but I realize some competitions will not even allow electric.  Anyway, I am just trying to figure out of the box temp is what causes this or if other smoker types retain better heat when the door is open.  With something like a chicken breast, I fail to see how I can do those and keep them moist without opening to mop or spritz. 

No war---just trying to explain:

You said you opened the door for about a minute, and the temp went down from 225˚ to 170˚.

Then it took an 800W element 15 minutes to recover.

Would you open your front door in the Winter, and leave it open for a minute?

No, that's not a fair comparison, because your front door isn't 25% or more of your house wall area, like the MES door is.

So if you removed one whole wall of your house for a full minute, how long would it take your furnace to recover.

I can't figure that one out, because you don't say where you're from.

Were the chicken breasts dried out or juicy?

Do you have any pictures of them?

Thanks,

Bear

 

[viper]

Kansas and MES 30. 

Yes, everything was dry.  I am certainly not headed to a competition but I just pay attention to how pros operate and seems they open the hatch several times during a smoke.  I really need to be able to add glaze, mop, etc without concerns a complete failure.  I try to minimize the door open time but as you say, the door is about 20% of the total surface area of the cooker so stands to reason the box will cool down quickly.