MES 30" vs 40" - cast your vote!

[mummel]

What size smoker do you prefer and why?

 

[beartoo]

40", Bigger Better?, Found a great price on it ($319.99).

 

[Bearcarver]

Started with an MES 30, because it's usually only Me & Mrs Bear.

Found out quickly it doesn't matter how few people.

Had to cut Rib Racks in Half, cut Briskets in half, and could only get 7 pounds of Beef Stick in at one time.

Bought the MES 40 the following year, and sold my MES 30 for $50.

Love my MES 40 for 5 years now!!

I would have saved some money if I'd have never bought that MES 30.

Bear

 

[bmaddox]

@Bearcarver  is spot on. I love my 30" but I would replace it with a 40" if I had the money.

 

[sota d]

I agree with Bear, I love my 30 and have had some great smokes on it, but more and more now I'm finding that I wish it were a little bigger. Can't really justify replacing a year old smoker, but when it's time for a new one, it'll be a little bigger.

 

[goensouth]

Never had a 30 but love my 40 with a household of 4 plenty of room to feed all.

 

[craigdchang]

I just bought a 30" electric with the window. I wish I bought the 40" electric with the window. Now I want to smoke everything and there is only so much room in the 30" 

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

No matter who says different, size matters! It's just the way it is.

 

[tropics]

40 the only way to go, you can put less in it. But the 30 you can't put more then it can take.JMHO

 

[mummel]

No matter who says different, size matters! It's just the way it is.

That's what she said.

 

[bigd3077]

Now that I have some smokes under my belt, I wish I got the 40

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

All these years later it's still ok to say "that's what she said!"..... Thank you Michael Scott!

 

[gary s]

On stick burners bigger is not always better, but for Electric I would go bigger

Gary

 

[daricksta]

I own a MES 30 Gen 1. Like others here, I'm now cooking for only my wife and I (new empty nesters--sob!

) so 30" is plenty big and it was also cheap which fit my requirements for an entry level smoker. If I could afford it I'd buy a 40" or larger smoker, though, and if I really could afford it I'd be looking at a Cookshack since they're American-made and all stainless steel.

And as John Wayne supposedly said "That's about the size of it."

 

[Bearcarver]

Bump for the other Thousands of MES owners on this forum.

Bear

 

[hamrhead1971]

I liked my 30 except that you couldn't cook a whole rack of ribs without either cutting or rolling them. Now my brother likes my old 30 and I love my 40. Also a big fan of the window.

 

[mummel]

Isnt the window a pain to clean?  How much can you see inside if it's smoked up?

 

[goensouth]

Very easy to clean hot water and a Mr clean Magic eraser less than a minute it is crystal clear.

 

[b-one]

I don't have an electric. That said I kick my self for not buying the 22.5 WSM all the time!

 

[reasoning]

Eh I have a 22.5 wsm and find myself hating it because it's to large for a lot of the smoking I do. Doesn't make much sense to fire it up for 2 chickens, or a single fatty. Normally just use my 22.5 grill and split it with a thick shield of tin foil. But it's nice to have the size at times like cooking a butt and 4-6 racks of ribs for a party