I dont think you are supposed to use wood chunks in that smoker. Check your manual. My MES30 manual says only use chips...I'm a rule breaker but just saying. You didn't say, but dont soak your chips either.
This is a great community but on this issue you will simply not get any answer other than the pellet or dust trays/burners or the mailbox/external smoke chamber-add recommendations. The MES electric will also stop cycling when the ambient temperature is high outside. Well it wont totally stop but it won't cycle enough to anyone's smoking satisfaction. I ran in to this at 225, I imagine at 150 it would be worse. So its best in your case to smoke when its cool outside. The box is so efficient it holds temp well, thus will not cycle the burner if the box temp doesn't drop below the setting.
My manual is only helpful in this category in this way:
-No smoke at low setting
-Not enough heat to induce smoking
-Increase temp to 275° F for 8 to 10 minutes, or when wood chips begin to smolder then reduce to desired low setting.
I didn't even see this with my high ambient temps issue but instinctively did this. Jack the temp up to get the chips going, then drop the temp. Not an ideal solution because as I wrote above, the box is very insulated and efficient, so when you jack the temp up, it will actually hold it for a while unless its cold outside. I would jack the temp up, get the chips going, pop the door open to drop the temp, rinse and repeat. Like you, I bought a smoker, I wasn't interested in using anything but the flipping smoker!
This issue frustrated me to the point that I left here for a while. It seemed every answer was to buy an A-maze-n product, at the time purveyed by this site or the site owner. I felt solicited to back then, but Jeff must have sold the rights away since? I got over it. To each their own. Either do or buy what people suggest or find your own solution to solve the problem!
So, my long term solution was to stop trying to smoke using the MES in the African heat of the Virginia summer. I hate bieng outside then anyway. BUT, the short term solution, which found no joy here at the time, was a torch. Yep.
I took the chip loader out, stuck the nozzle through the loader hole and blasted the chips with my Mapp gas torch. It's trigger operated so I could stick it in there, then ignite it for short blasts until the chips burned. Put the loader back in the hole and the chips would burn for a while without raising the overall temp of the box.
Of course I already had the torch, so there was no additional expense on my part except a little gas.
This is the brand name one I have, or similar.
I'm a retired welder/metal fabricator, so not only am I not afraid of fire and heat, I'm skilled with it, so take that as your disclaimer. Not everyone has the guts and skill.
Some might say it could damage your unit, but look it over, its a metal tray with woods chips in it, you are not trying to torch anything else but that.
