MES 40 blazes my chips

[beuler]

Hi , New here!

I have a  1 yr old MES 40 that seems to quicly burn , if not , flare up my chips. I think its because the element is right there...i even got the retro kit even tho i didnt fall under the recall...what do you do to not get fast burning , stinky wood chips?

Thanks, Joe

 

[redneck69]

does your issue happen when you open the door on the MES 40 or when you add more chips?  if its either of these, its because you are adding air in quickly and allowing the chips to flare up....which is normal and happens on my MES 40

 

[beuler]

It happens when I add chips, which makes sense,,,TY,

The lady at Masterbuilt told me to soak my chips.

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Don't soak your chips. Then your just steaming your meat. That's ridiculous advice IMHO. My MES 40 (new generation) started fired every time no matter what. I'd put chips in and walk away and within just a few minutes id come back and FIRE!

I heard there was a recall and new tray you can get if you contact them. I never did. I started using wood chunks about the size of a finger (just cut down bigger chunks to size). They worked well one at a time with a new one added every half hour or so. Did this while I waited for my amazn pellet smoker to arrive. Once it came, I tried it and never needed to look back. Buy it and you won't need to deal with the bullsh*t MES flare up issues.

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

That's free advice that many MES owners gave me. Some dealt with the flare ups, and some had no issues except getting tired of constantly loading chips into the loader. The pellet smoker will let you walk away and live your life.

With that said, I also use a barrel smoker and love the fact I can't walk away for more than 20 minutes at a time. Bbq is an art and in don't mind having to be around to tend the fire. But I assume you bought the MES for the same reason I did (to not have to mess with it).

You won't get the same satisfaction, or pride from a set it, and forget it, but you'll still get delicious food to eat. I use mine cause its easy and don't always have time to tend to the offset.