MES Modification

[pignit]

I am really enjoying my Sam's Club MES. The one thing I don't like is the constant adding wood. I've found that if I add more than what will burn up in 30 or 40 minutes, I get a bitterness to my smoke. I already have the smoke daddy installed on my Natural Gas Masterbuilt so I just added the hardware with the union and now I can put the smoke daddy on either as needed. I'm smoking some stuffed mushrooms, ATBz and some mildly cured pork chops as I type and the smoke daddy has been running for 2 hours without touching it. Actually I have to mess with it some or it wouldn't be as much fun. I could have filled it up with pellets and it would smoke about 4 hours without any needed assistance. I'll post supper later.

 

[mossymo]

PignIt
I like the way you set the Smoke Daddy up with your MES. Recently I ordered the Big Kahuna Smoke Daddy and it arrived. I have only used it once and had it hooked up to my Holland Grill for a test run with some Ribeyes. I was very happy with how it worked, but not with how access to the Smoke Daddy was. You have donea great job here of addressing access to it by relocating it. I intend on using this with my Holland Traditional grill , homemade SS vertical smoker and 30" and 40" MES's, so I will set each one up for it. One thing I did not like was the clean up of the Smoke Daddy.

Points to you, for the Smoke Daddy modification and also the MES cart !!!

 

[pignit]

One thing that is important if your gonna elbow the pipe out like I did, use the lockwashers with the little teeth. If not, it will not stay in place. I've started using the pellets without adding chips and I'm getting more smoke than I need at times. I'm thinking of Ting off the line with a valve to reduce the amount of smoke when I want to. I'm kind of a control fanatic. I like to have room on either side.

I've also found that plain old rubbing alchohol works great for a quick cleanup of the smoke daddy. It also works on the glass on the MES. I have a tub that the smoke daddy fits into and I put a little greased lightning in with water to cover it and it cleans up like new. I let it soak all night... or whenever I get back around to it. Brush it a little and it's a done deal.

Here is a link to the cart information.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/showthread.php?t=73761

Thanks for the points.

 

[werdwolf]

Wow!!! Your mods are really tempting me. I'm gonna have to make more room in the garage first so I can fit that cart in. Right now I carry my MES over and wedge it in a little space when it's not in use.

 

[smokeguy]

Nice Mod!

Is it supported by the elbow or is there something else there too I can't see. If the elbow only, did the side of the MES bow out or do anything funky with the added weight it's supporting?

The teeth tip was a nice timesaver too- learning from someone else's experiences is always nice!

 

[pignit]

The weight is no problem as far as the strength of the MES to handle it. No bowing. I'm afraid over time it is going to try and turn down because of the leverage. The inside of the MES is a foam insulation so it contracts when you tighten it up. I'm thinking of adding a T just outside the unit with 1/4 inch pipe and run it into the unit and cap it off. That would keep it from ever turning. While I'm at it I think I will add a valve so that if I'm getting too much smoke on low I can bypass the MES.

 

[flatbroke]

Nice Job Looks great

 

[gruelurks]

I'm looking in to the smoke daddy mod too. You got any more pics you care to share?

 

[marknb]

Ordered my Smoke Daddy on Tues, thanks for the mounting ideas. Since you have a nice stand for your smoker I guess you have no problems mounting the CSG lower than the bottom of your smoke cabinet. That's something I should consider anyway, I usually put mine at the top of the stairs on the deck and sit a step or two down when loading/fussing.

One other question Pignit, um, are you cleaning the inside of your MES? I mean, yeah, I wrap the water bowl and drip pan in foil, and scrub them and the grills every time I use them, and generally I wipe out any spattering or smearing, but the inside of your unit looks spotless...

 

[pignit]

Let me know what you want to see and I'll take pics for you.

 

[pignit]

I hadn't used it yet when I took the pictures. It doesn't look like that now.

 

[gruelurks]

Just more detailed pics of the attachment, and maybe any work in progress pics you might have. I'm no mechanical engineer so knowing and seeing what I need to do/buy will help greatly. Thanks!

 

[marknb]

Lol thank goodness, I thought I was the only sooty one here...can you post the cart info again? I just tried the link and it comes up as a blank page for me.

Thanks again!

Mark B

 

[grandpajohn]

Pignit, In the last post on this thread you posted a link for information about your MES cart, Here is a link to the cart information.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/showthread.php?t=73761
I know that it is around 6 months since the link was posted but as of today the link will not work.I would like the info; Help ...... John

 

[kevin13]

Sorry for the late reply, but to address Grandpajohn's question, the link to Piginit's cart is here:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=73761