Mes w pellet pro or comparable conversion

[masonbone]

Hey guys,
Been smoking with my mes 40 for a year now w the amazen pellet tray. Works good most of the time. In fact, just did a butt last night in chicagos sub zero temps. Held 220 pretty consistently.

Anyways, I am by nature, a tinkerer and never satisfied. I though it'd be cool to try and mount one of those pellet pro augers on my mes or some kind of comparable pellet smoke generator. Anyone try that or have any thoughts?

Thx!
Tim

 

[daveomak]

My pellet smoke generator burns about 1.6 ounces of pellets per hour.... for me that's the right amount of smoke in my MES.... a larger smokehouse would benefit from more smoke ie. more pellets....
Are you thinking of using it for smoke or heat..... smoke = no flame..... heat = flame required... like a pellet stove... and faster combustion/consumption of the pellets...

Very interesting project... :popcorn ....

Dave

 

[masonbone]

I'd just need it for smoke. I wonder if those things are meant to provide enough heat to cook though. I like the electric aspect of the mes. Maybe it would be a mix of electric heat and wood generated heat. The amazen thing does a good job, but it's a bit of a hassle to setup when it's freezing outside. And I'm always worried that it will go out in the middle of the night. It burns for me around 9 hours, which is probably enough, but I like the smoke the whole time, which could be 16-18 hrs in the cold.

Just wondering if some type of pellet smoke generator would be better for my situation. I saw the pellet pro ugly drum conversion kit and wondered if anyone had tried to put one on a mes.

What kind if generator do you use?

 

[daveomak]

I use the AMNPS and it burns just fine in cold weather if the pellets are dried and there is good air flow... I have used it at 20 deg F no problem...... used the MES electric element to keep the smoker about 50 degrees....

 

[masonbone]

The amazen is good, no question. I ought to be satisfied with that I suppose. I don't know why I always want to try something else. If anyone has an experience, I'm all ears

 

[geerock]

Can't imagine putting a pellet pro for just smoke. Like most pellet augurs it doesn't produce a ton anyway. Plus can't see spending 350 and putting into a unit that's about 350 new. How about a smoke daddy? That's what I use for my mes now most of the time.

 

[masonbone]

The smoke daddy looks good. 125 for the big one isn't bad. Which one do you use and how long will it produce smoke?

I didn't see a lot on the site about how it actually works. Can you explain the setup process for each time you use it? Is there any maintenance/upkeep? Do you have it mounted on a mes?

 

[geerock]

It mounts on the outside of the unit and you fill from the top. I use a small bit of lump on the bottom followed by small chunks. Bottom cap comes off and you light with a propane torch and you're off and running. Adjustable air pump regulates the amount of smoke entering the smoker. You can reload at any time from the top. I use it on an mes, a traeger, a caja china roasting box, and a homemade smokehouse. I simply use four pipes and cap them when not using the smoke daddy. And for cold smoking it adds negligible heat to the smoke chamber. Great for cheese, bacon, ..... really anything. No problem keeping it lit or having to open the lid or door to reload or check to see if its gone out like internal smoke generators. No maintenance with lump and chunks. Pellets and chips may cause some residue that needs a cleaning every now and then, but since I've got mine I love it and its been trouble free.

 

[masonbone]

Thanks for all the details, that's just what I needed. Think I may give it a try