MES 40 Snack Stick Capacity

[mbernard83]

What is the normal amount of snack sticks you guys are getting to fit in your smoker at one time? What is the absolute most you have ever fit while still producing great results?

 

[uncle eddie]

I don't know the answer to your question but this example is one of the featured items in the carousel. Here is the link:

http://smokingmeatforums.com/index....s-ac-legg-116-base-with-modifications.269120/

Scroll down a bit to see the money shot in his MES smoker.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Don't know the answer myself... but let me say ... Don't overcrowd the 40 as everything will need to be turn around (swap racks around) throughtout the cook ..

 

[dward51]

I don't know the answer to your question but this example is one of the featured items in the carousel. Here is the link:

http://smokingmeatforums.com/index....s-ac-legg-116-base-with-modifications.269120/

Scroll down a bit to see the money shot in his MES smoker.

That is my MES 30 analog and it is highly modified. It originally was a MES Analog Elite model sold at Bass Pro, Cabelas, and Gander Mountain (I bought mine at Gander at a heavy discount when they closed their stores). It originally came with 3 meat racks. I modified it to hold up the extra racks and insulated the body (the analog models are not insulated from the factory). I made this to be a snack stick, jerky and sausage smoking cabinet. I would imagine you can change out the rack mounts in the MES 40 to modify the capacity as well.

Oh, I got 7 pounds of sticks on 2 3/4 racks in that AC Legg smoke linked above. Just keep in mind that more meat on more racks means you will be switching the racks around more throughout the smoke as the lower racks are sucking heat out of the air column (the bottom racks heat faster than the upper). It's easy to compensate for just by rotating racks throughout the smoke/cook.

In "theory" I could get approximately 20 pounds of sticks in my modified MES 30". The most I have run is 10 pounds of sliced jerky at one time and it came out great. The 40" has larger racks so if it was modified to hold extra racks the capacity would be even greater. 8 racks in mine will mean a good bit of rack rotations (bottom to top mainly, but it does smoke a little cooler on the left side due to the coil shape - less heating coil on the very left).