MES 40 Question

[torp3t3d0]

I have been using my MES 40 with a mailbox mod to do a lot of smoking since going about 2 years ago.

Spent a lot of money going through the remote thermometers that have been recommended on the site. Found a NEW one that I just love...it is a FireBoard system......since using it and monitoring the graphs that it shows me on my iPad, I have noticed something I need to ask about.

Smoking about 30 lbs of Polish sausage, Andouille, and Chorizo today....set my smoker to 110 degrees ,,,the program shows that the smoker has a sinusoidal have of temperature of about 20 degrees from a low of 90 to a high of about 110 degrees....shifted the temperature up and the same thing happens (around a 20 degree swing about on a rhythm of 28 minutes......

Has anybody else seen this...is it a characteristic of the MES or just mine? Can I correct this and get the temp to stay close to where I set it?

I cleaned the temp probe in the MES with no change in the rhythm.

Thanks,
Pete

 

[torp3t3d0]

here is a copy of the profile....just click one the link:

https://share.fireboard.io/7664A9

thanks
Pete

 

[tropics]

You can not compare MES temps to a Fireboard
MES temps are not even worth mentioning,you have a good one only 20°F off
Mine is 35 or more off
Richie
Do yourself a favor and test the fireboard with boiling water

 

[motocrash]

Pete,a PID would solve your temp swing problems and they can be had relatively cheap.There are many threads on here about installing them.Search is your friend.

 

[tallbm]

Hi Pete. Like the other guys are mentioning, the MES simply swings. That is how it works and is not always so conducive to doing sausage or bacon and such. Mine was a 35F+ swing which I found unacceptable for my plans to do sausage and bacon. I did a simple rewire to switch to using a PID controller that keeps me within 3 degrees of my set temp. No swings :)
You can get a ton of details on the simple rewire for using a PID here:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/mes-rewire-simple-guide-no-back-removal-needed.267069/

Auber Plug and Play PID controllers are good options.
The idea is that you rewire a smoker so that when plugged in it bypasses all the electronics and just pumps juice to the heating element.
So now you plug the rewired electric smoke rinto the Auber PID controller and you then plug the Auber PID controller into the wall.
You put the PID temp probe inside the smoker and set the desired set temp (like 225F).
The PID controller will now control the electricity that goes to the electric smoker. It will then tightly control the power to the electric smoker when it gets to the 225F set temp and will keep it around 225F rather then doing big temp swings like the MES does.

I hope all this info helps :)

 

[cmayna]

Yes for the Auber PID. This is what I use on my MES40.

 

[torp3t3d0]

You can not compare MES temps to a Fireboard
MES temps are not even worth mentioning,you have a good one only 20°F off
Mine is 35 or more off
Richie
Do yourself a favor and test the fireboard with boiling water

You mis understand....the swing only was notices when using the firebird.....I was not testing....thge issue was with the MRS 40

 

[torp3t3d0]

Hi Pete. Like the other guys are mentioning, the MES simply swings. That is how it works and is not always so conducive to doing sausage or bacon and such. Mine was a 35F+ swing which I found unacceptable for my plans to do sausage and bacon. I did a simple rewire to switch to using a PID controller that keeps me within 3 degrees of my set temp. No swings :)
You can get a ton of details on the simple rewire for using a PID here:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/mes-rewire-simple-guide-no-back-removal-needed.267069/

Auber Plug and Play PID controllers are good options.
The idea is that you rewire a smoker so that when plugged in it bypasses all the electronics and just pumps juice to the heating element.
So now you plug the rewired electric smoke rinto the Auber PID controller and you then plug the Auber PID controller into the wall.
You put the PID temp probe inside the smoker and set the desired set temp (like 225F).
The PID controller will now control the electricity that goes to the electric smoker. It will then tightly control the power to the electric smoker when it gets to the 225F set temp and will keep it around 225F rather then doing big temp swings like the MES does.

I hope all this info helps :)

Thanks for the information
Pete

 

[SonnyE]

Pete,
The Fireboard appears to be a monitor, like many thermometers.
I do not believe it is a controller.
You stated you cleaned the MES probe. That leads me to believe you are using the MES as the control,
and your Fireboard is simply a monitoring device tracking what is going on.
A very nice monitoring device, but not a control device.

What the guys are saying about the Auber as an accurate control device would give you the tight range you'd like to see.
It does require modifying the MES 40 control. Virtually eliminating it and relying solely on the Auber, or a bypass of the MES control relay, which was my choice.