MES 40 - 20070311 HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT

[blacknosecorey]

Picked this thing up for a great price after Thanksgiving.  I have one issue with this smoker but it's a big one.  It does not produce smoke.  Zilch.  Nada.  The chips charred but that is all.  I do have the AMZNPS which I used for the first time yesterday with some success.  Need to work it out again to see if I am doing it right.  Very unhappy with the smoke box on the 40.  Will look at it again today to see if I can find out what the problem is.

 

[blacknosecorey]

Additionally - the fellow at Masterbuilt told me that my problem is that I didn't soak the chips.  Are you kidding me?  I never soaked chips in the MES30 that I had and had no issues with smoke generation.

 

[dockman]

Did you pull chip tray and loader out a few inches?

 

[foamheart]

If you had charred chips, you had smoke, my suggestion would be to try closing your vent a little thereby reducing the oxygen needed for combustion. I could be like a acetylene torch when you cut in the O2, that is an exaggerated reference.

Something is wrong if you are only having limited success with the AMPS, its good for 12 to 24 hours of perfect smoke depending upon your set up every time. 

 

[beuler]

Look at my post i just did a few days ago "my smoke stinks".

I , like others, are not happy with how the chips burn..i even tried a chunk of wood and its just not up to expectations. I will try the AMNPS next week and see what the difference is in smoke output and Flavor.

Joe

 

[blacknosecorey]

After some consideration perhaps the AMZN did well.  I didn't fill it up to the top, it did burn completely.  There's nice brown on my glass, so yeah, there was some smoke.  I like it.  Will use it next time.

As for the MES - I tried pulling the chip tray out, it didn't help.  It could be that I am used to seeing a lot of smoke and should only expect a nominal amount?  From my MES30 with the replacement tray I didn't get the billowing white smoke that I have read about, but I did get a LOT of smoke.  I looked at the 40 today and there's a plate that goes under the chip tray that may be the culprit.  It is not in there correctly anyway so I may cut that out if I can find that others have done the same with success.

 

[stovebolt]

  There have been many threads on here about lack of smoke in that model with the half sized chip pan. Do a search and you will find some ideas. You are correct about the plate. Some remove it, I drilled 3/4" holes in mine and it worked well.

 Later I installed the larger chip pan and housing which don't use the plate and that worked well, but now I only use the AMNPS except for very short smokes.

 Search for "lack of smoke" and see what you get.

Chuck

 

[voodoochile]

I'm no expert but I dont think you want or need billowing smoke coming from the smoker . Many of the experienced smokers on this forum talk about TBS ........... thin blue smoke

 

[blacknosecorey]

UPDATE TO EVERYONE:  I called Masterbuilt and the CS guy told me that I was not getting smoke because I didn't soak the chips.  I told him that he was incorrect, but he held firm.  I then emailed CS and the first person told me to use dry chips because they get the best smoke, but said that there was not a retro kit for this smoker.  I responded and told them that I had been cooking at 250 and got almost no smoke and that I did use dry chips. The CS person responded that it should be smoking at 250.  A few days later a second person responded that she had a chip tray that she thought would fit this smoker and sent it on out.  Well, it fits.  I have to find new fasteners to replace the two screws on the far left of the tray, but otherwise it fits like a glove.

 

[beuler]

Hope it works for you! Like i said earlier, my problem was getting to much smoke...i would add chips and the element is so close , it just zaps em to nothing instantly.

Im now working on the AMZNPS for my smoke. 

Joe

 

[geerock]

Blackboard,
That model with the small loader and chip tray was notorious for the complaint you have. The guy at CS is an idiot if he tells you that soaking chips will solve your problem. There was a retrofit chip tray for that model that fixed the issue. It came without the extra heat deflector piece that was on the original. Maybe thats what they sent you and if they sent you the right one it solves theissue.

 

[sctdg35]

Master Built electric Cold Smoker attachment . $59 at Bass Pro .You will get hours of smoke without adding anything to it . Check it out

 

[blacknosecorey]

 
Master Built electric Cold Smoker attachment . $59 at Bass Pro .You will get hours of smoke without adding anything to it . Check it out

A-Maze-N-Pellet Smoker - in hand.  Just wanted to be able to use the tray if I wanted to.

 

[sb59]

From reading reviews and reports, most Masterbuilt elecs. are best used as ovens that get their smoke from something else? Amaz.Smoker, Smoke Daddy,Smoke pistol etc.

 

[foamheart]

 
From reading reviews and reports, most Masterbuilt elecs. are best used as ovens that get their smoke from something else? Amaz.Smoker, Smoke Daddy,Smoke pistol etc.

That is the nature of  ALL electrics. No fire, no tending, no moisture lose, no smoke ring. Sounds fair to me.

You can use the MES as its engineered and it works just perfectly fine. Try it. I promise you it does work. you can get all the smoke that is required with chips. I used an electric with no vent, no adjustable temperature setting, that charged the chip tray only one time before the power was turned on and it worked every time delivering juicy delicious fully smoked foods. Matter-a-fact, I could actually over smoke the meat causing that bitter creosote taste. I have warn out three of them over 30+ years and they smoke just fine.

 

[bdskelly]

I dunno… Mine has been great. It is the older model 40 with the glass. I did have one issue that the electronic head went out after an electrical storm. I now leave it unplugged when not in use.  The unit was way out of warranty but the MES customer service insisted they send me a new head at no charge.

Ditto that you never want smoke bellowing out of the thing. I little bit of smoke goes along way on these machines. Or any smoker. 

I've cooked a lot of family dinners on mine over the years.  In fact if I had a nickel for every time I smoked a Sunday dinner on the old MES… Well I guess I'd use the money to go out and buy a new one.  

Just my 2 cents

B