Masterbuilt smoker vent position?

[bigbob73]

All the 30" at lowes seem to have the new tray, the internal probe, and newer controller.

 

[sonnyhad]

I have the 30" unit and I think the wood chip burner is the new one but the loader cannot be, as its small like the video shows for the old ones. But the chip burner is as wide as the slot that holds it. About 8" I'd guess. Like I said earlier I just got it a couple weeks ago now. I'm using the crap out of it. And waiting for my amnps to show up for even more action. I just have to master it. Which is very nearly done. I'm getting lots of info here and appreciate it.

 

[tjohnson]

I have the 30" unit and I think the wood chip burner is the new one but the loader cannot be, as its small like the video shows for the old ones. But the chip burner is as wide as the slot that holds it. About 8" I'd guess. Like I said earlier I just got it a couple weeks ago now. I'm using the crap out of it. And waiting for my amnps to show up for even more action. I just have to master it. Which is very nearly done. I'm getting lots of info here and appreciate it.

The chip loader still has a filler in it to block off 1/2 of it.

Remember, just because you have a large chip pan DOES NOT mean you should fill it up!!

You'll create lots of ugly white smoke and creosote.  I'm guessing that this is why the chip loader is blocked off.  They don't want you to overfill the chip pan.

A small hand full of chips is all you need.

Todd

 

[Bearcarver]

Then it sounds like they are putting the new, wider, better working chip burners in at least some of their new smokers, according to Sonny & Bigbob.

I'm glad to hear that !!

Bear

 

[goose57]

I just bought a 30" @ Cabela's 3 weeks ago and it has the old one in it.

Goose57

 

[Bearcarver]

I just bought a 30" @ Cabela's 3 weeks ago and it has the old one in it.

Goose57

Hmmmm---Confusing!!

Now I'm starting to wonder if it depends how long the store has had it in their own storage. Could be new, yet manufactured 6 months ago, or longer.

Bear
 

 

[sooner john]

Just got a new 30" from Home Depot online. It has the new tray and half blocked loader. Seasoned it last night, smoking brisket today.

 

[tomwilson49]

my experiance also

 

[SmokinAl]

The initial question was where to position the top vent.

IMHO it's wide open all the time unless your cold smoking.

 

[finally]

new to smoking, just purchased MES 30, what is TBS?

 

[sonnyhad]

Yep, I figured that out real fast!! I thought at one point that the wood must have burned up, so I added more. but it was real warm outside so the burner wasn't kicking on too much. I opened the door to turn the chicken i was smoking around and the chips caught fire! I just shut the door and choked off the vent and the fire went out. I then re-opened the vent and all was good. So I made a note to self, "do not overload the wood chips dummy" LOL!

So this might be a good note on vent position. You need air to get the wood chips burning, less air to stop it from burning! Closed to hold heat, open to keep the burner going longer. I guess that makes it simpler to understand. 

 

[tromaron]

new to smoking, just purchased MES 30, what is TBS?

Thin blue smoke.  That's the kind you want.  White billowing smoke ruins the flavor and creates creosote.  

 

[tjohnson]

Yep, I figured that out real fast!! I thought at one point that the wood must have burned up, so I added more. but it was real warm outside so the burner wasn't kicking on too much. I opened the door to turn the chicken i was smoking around and the chips caught fire! I just shut the door and choked off the vent and the fire went out. I then re-opened the vent and all was good. So I made a note to self, "do not overload the wood chips dummy" LOL!

So this might be a good note on vent position. You need air to get the wood chips burning, less air to stop it from burning! Closed to hold heat, open to keep the burner going longer. I guess that makes it simpler to understand. 

That's Funny!

Been There Too!

Todd

 

[rcfire77]

Hi all! Just to chime in on the equipment that is being shipped (or at least what what is being sold off of the shelf currently at Sam's Club), I just picked up the 40" model from Sam's Club yesterday. SS door, black cabinet, rivetted back panel, temp probe w/remote, small chip tray. Seasoned it tonight like someone had suggested on another post, I think it was Bearcarver, and put chips in right off of the bat. Air temp was about 78*. It started heating up rapidly. Most of the smoke from the oil residue was gone by around 110*, 5 minutes in. Smoke from the dry hickory chips started to be produced in a good amount at 146*, 9 minutes in. Was up to set temp (275*) in about 20 minutes. I was pretty happy with the results. I only noticed one quirk. The unit had ALOT of carryover, in regard to temperature, on the initial rise. It got to 275* and overshot that by 20* to 295*. It was already cycled off and it did come back down to the set temp in about 5 minutes. For the rest of the 3 hours it didn't fluctuate more then 3 degrees from 275*. Now I realized there was no water in the pan and no food load to stabilize and hold temps so I don't expect such a high overshoot when it used for cooking. After it was finished I took the chip tray out and there was nothing but fine white ash. I was really surprised how little it burns down to. The only problem I have with the unit is that I have to fight to get the chip loader out. And before you ask I did have it positioned to be removed, not to dump. I only say that because I picked up on that from somebody else's post earlier this season, and I didn't want to be that guy

...it wouldn't release easily either before seasoning nor after. It must be getting hung up on something inside somewhere. Tomorrow in the daylight I am going to see if I can find and scuffed metal or corners that it might be getting hung up on. I need to do something because I really have to wrench it to get it out and it moves the whole unit. It wouldn't work with meat in the unit. Other then that it is great! Now I just have to figure out what to make on Friday afternoon...

 

[Bearcarver]

OK guys, I just found this:

This is a PM I sent to MBTechguy, after I changed my chip burner in my new MES 40.

This should explain the great difference between a properly functioning MES chip burner, and one that isn't working properly.

This is from November of 2010:

============================================

PM to Masterbuilt Tech Guy:

Hi Darryl,

Thanks a lot for the great service!!!

As for the retro:

Remember how my original chip drawer did last week? It was 54˚ outside, and it had taken 17 minutes to start smoking, and the temp was already up to 169˚, when it finally started smoking.

With this new Retro-fix chip burner, it was 52˚ outside, it took 3 minutes to start smoking, and the smoker temp was only at 59˚ (light smoke)---65˚ (medium smoke). This thing now works Awesome ! I will still be using the A-MAZE-N-SMOKER a lot of the time, but this MES 40 is ready for any time I call on it !

Thanks Again,

Bear

==============================================

Note that if it the element had to be on continually for 17 minutes to get it to smoke, it will NOT smoke right once it gets to your set temp, because it will be cycling so much that it will not cause the chips to smoke. The replacement fixes that problem, in the fact that it only has to be on for 3 minutes to get it to smoke.

I hope this helps you guys in knowing if yours is working properly. 

Remember to allow for outside ambient temps.

Bear

 

[jwsailor]

Bearcarver

when you say chip burner is that the actual heating element?

 

[Bearcarver]

Bearcarver

when you say chip burner is that the actual heating element?

I would be referring to the "Chip burner assembly", which would be the whole box, at the bottom, including the drawer, but not including the element.

The element stays where it is, no matter which complete chip burner assembly you put in.

If you watch the change-over video, you will see them remove one assembly & put in the other one.

Bear
 

 

[sooner john]

What can be done to increase TBS and eliminate white billowing smoke and therefore creosote? Soak the chips? Wide open vent? New box? What else? Is one wood more likely than another to form TBS? If theres a thread on this already please point me towards it. TIA

 

[jwsailor]

ok Bearcarver, I may be a little slow, where can i find the video? I called Masterbuilt and they told me the smoker box change over was only for the 30 MES, I am a little confused.

 

[Bearcarver]

ok Bearcarver, I may be a little slow, where can i find the video? I called Masterbuilt and they told me the smoker box change over was only for the 30 MES, I am a little confused.

 JW,
Here is the video:

http://www.masterbuilt.com/video/sept2010/smokeretrokit.wmv

Originally the retro-fix was only for MES 30s, but then they found out the MES 40 had the same problem, and they widened their target.

They had great service, but sometimes you can get a girl on the phone that can be very much less than helpful. I thought they solved that problem.

Try another day, and another time. If that doesn't work, PM Darryl, at "MBTechguy". He's a great guy to deal with! You might have to wait a bit for him, because sometimes he's out of country for awhile.

Bear