I've had this smoker for about a year.... Little things cropped up that made me alter the original design....
Hot spots in the smoker.... Temperature spikes... Uneven smoke and flash overs... Not being able to cold smoke....
I'm probably forgetting a few...
Now don't get me wrong about this smoker.... It is a great smoker and a very good bargain for what you get.... Stainless steel smoker.... Insulated... Electronic control.... and it works well, as received from the factory....
Given the opportunity to get a refund and purchase another smoker, I would still buy a MES... Maybe the MES 40.... but I am glad I don't have to make that decision.... This smoker is great.... Now it is even better because I have had the opportunity to make it perfect.....(In my warped mind, it is perfect)
The first BIG deal is Todd's AMNPS and his recipes for the perfect pellets for smoking food.....
I have made many smoke generators and Todd's far surpasses anything I made... ((that almost got stuck in my throat)..
With Todd's smoker, I knew the chip pan and chip tray were obsolete so out they came.... I think there were 3 screws and
2 bolts... save these pieces in the event you want to put it back to factory...
Light the smoke gen and forget it....
It will smoke at any temperature..... For up to 10+ hours.... No adding chips... Such a deal... A BIG deal.....
With a continuous supply of perfect smoke, only thing left to do is adjust the smoker temperature.... more on that in a minute....
Since all the chip stuff was removed, I now needed to make an adjustable air intake....
A lid from a can.... 3/4" hole.... Sheet metal screw, washers and spring for tension... Done.....
Full open.... Nice adjustment if needed.....
Addressing the offset exhaust opening....
This pan has a 4"-5" hole in the center....
It is lowered about 1"-2" from the ceiling in the smoker for air flow.....
Now the heat and smoke exit thru the center of the smoker ceiling.... (more or less)
To eliminate the temperature fluctuations....
A 1500 watt dimmer switch was added to control the heat output of the heating element....
Now the heating element stays ON all the time..... You can adjust the heat output of the element by turning the
dimmer just as you adjust the light output of a light bulb, or turning the knob on a gar burner on your stove...
This also solved the problem of the hot spot, along with the chip stuff removal....
The temp measurements inside the smoker are consistent.... NO fluctuations in any heating zone.....
The meat location may cause some differences but that is the way it goes.....You can mark the dimmer to approximate temps
for future reference... An extermal temp probe should still be used for finite temp monitoring..... All the electronics
are still functional... Temp setting still shuts of the element when needed, I did not disable that aspect of the
controller.... It is a necessary and perfect application to this smoker.... The dimmers main purpose is to
regulate the heating element so it gives out a "mild heat" instead of "WIDE OPEN and OFF".... everything else is the
same as factory.....
I'm not making any promises... I "think" these mods are the last I will make to the MES 30.....
As far as I know, "It don't get any better than this"....
Thanks for looking.... I lay awake at night thinking of this stuff..... Dave
Hot spots in the smoker.... Temperature spikes... Uneven smoke and flash overs... Not being able to cold smoke....
I'm probably forgetting a few...
Now don't get me wrong about this smoker.... It is a great smoker and a very good bargain for what you get.... Stainless steel smoker.... Insulated... Electronic control.... and it works well, as received from the factory....
Given the opportunity to get a refund and purchase another smoker, I would still buy a MES... Maybe the MES 40.... but I am glad I don't have to make that decision.... This smoker is great.... Now it is even better because I have had the opportunity to make it perfect.....(In my warped mind, it is perfect)
The first BIG deal is Todd's AMNPS and his recipes for the perfect pellets for smoking food.....
I have made many smoke generators and Todd's far surpasses anything I made... ((that almost got stuck in my throat)..
With Todd's smoker, I knew the chip pan and chip tray were obsolete so out they came.... I think there were 3 screws and
2 bolts... save these pieces in the event you want to put it back to factory...
Light the smoke gen and forget it....
It will smoke at any temperature..... For up to 10+ hours.... No adding chips... Such a deal... A BIG deal.....
With a continuous supply of perfect smoke, only thing left to do is adjust the smoker temperature.... more on that in a minute....
Since all the chip stuff was removed, I now needed to make an adjustable air intake....
A lid from a can.... 3/4" hole.... Sheet metal screw, washers and spring for tension... Done.....
Full open.... Nice adjustment if needed.....
Addressing the offset exhaust opening....
This pan has a 4"-5" hole in the center....
It is lowered about 1"-2" from the ceiling in the smoker for air flow.....
Now the heat and smoke exit thru the center of the smoker ceiling.... (more or less)
To eliminate the temperature fluctuations....
A 1500 watt dimmer switch was added to control the heat output of the heating element....
Now the heating element stays ON all the time..... You can adjust the heat output of the element by turning the
dimmer just as you adjust the light output of a light bulb, or turning the knob on a gar burner on your stove...
This also solved the problem of the hot spot, along with the chip stuff removal....
The temp measurements inside the smoker are consistent.... NO fluctuations in any heating zone.....
The meat location may cause some differences but that is the way it goes.....You can mark the dimmer to approximate temps
for future reference... An extermal temp probe should still be used for finite temp monitoring..... All the electronics
are still functional... Temp setting still shuts of the element when needed, I did not disable that aspect of the
controller.... It is a necessary and perfect application to this smoker.... The dimmers main purpose is to
regulate the heating element so it gives out a "mild heat" instead of "WIDE OPEN and OFF".... everything else is the
same as factory.....
I'm not making any promises... I "think" these mods are the last I will make to the MES 30.....
As far as I know, "It don't get any better than this"....
Thanks for looking.... I lay awake at night thinking of this stuff..... Dave
Last edited: