Miss Linda surprised me two days ago and suggested I go into Edmonton with her and drop in at Cabella's for a late Father's Day present--a MES 30--gotta love that woman!!!!! They had Masterbuilt smokers on sale. I've wanted a MES 30 for a long time, but of course they weren't on sale. Got one anyway. So I am now the VERY happy owner of a MES 30 Gen 1. Since there are normally just the two of us here, a Mes 40 would have been overkill--the MES 30 is more than big enough for us.
Brought it home and seasoned it yesterday. The temp gauge on the smoker was extremely accurate--compared to my Maverick, it was only out by 3 degrees. That really caught me off guard, as no factory temp gauge is ever even close to the actual temp. The meat probe is a different matter. It was off by 40 degrees (low). The only other issue I had was two missing screws to mount the controller to the body.
I called Masterbuilt this morning, and told them about the issues. Told them I just needed the size of the screws and I would just pick them up. The meat probe was a whole different matter. There was no discussion about what to do. The lady in Customer Service just asked for my address and said she would ship me a new meat probe and the two screws right away. Talk about great customer service!!!! Of course, when I was giving her my address (its a long, rural address), and I got to the Drayton Valley, Alberta part, she asked if Alberta was the city. Had to explain that Alberta was a province in Canada. LOL.
Other than the meat probe, there were no problems with the new MES. Body was in perfect condition, Temp gauge and timer worked great, heated quickly right up to 275 degrees and once there maintained a pretty good constant temp, and no leaks (checked the entire body and the only smoke visible was coming out the top vent)
My old smoker will be given away to a friend or neighbor that has no smoker, so they can start making their own Q.
Am I a lucky guy or what?
Chicken breasts and thighs are on the menu tonight for the first smoke. Will post results.
Gary
Brought it home and seasoned it yesterday. The temp gauge on the smoker was extremely accurate--compared to my Maverick, it was only out by 3 degrees. That really caught me off guard, as no factory temp gauge is ever even close to the actual temp. The meat probe is a different matter. It was off by 40 degrees (low). The only other issue I had was two missing screws to mount the controller to the body.
I called Masterbuilt this morning, and told them about the issues. Told them I just needed the size of the screws and I would just pick them up. The meat probe was a whole different matter. There was no discussion about what to do. The lady in Customer Service just asked for my address and said she would ship me a new meat probe and the two screws right away. Talk about great customer service!!!! Of course, when I was giving her my address (its a long, rural address), and I got to the Drayton Valley, Alberta part, she asked if Alberta was the city. Had to explain that Alberta was a province in Canada. LOL.
Other than the meat probe, there were no problems with the new MES. Body was in perfect condition, Temp gauge and timer worked great, heated quickly right up to 275 degrees and once there maintained a pretty good constant temp, and no leaks (checked the entire body and the only smoke visible was coming out the top vent)
My old smoker will be given away to a friend or neighbor that has no smoker, so they can start making their own Q.
Am I a lucky guy or what?
Chicken breasts and thighs are on the menu tonight for the first smoke. Will post results.
Gary
