MES with Window (heads up)

[Bearcarver]

Not a big deal, but I thought I should mention this, in case it happens to somebody else:

If you have your MES facing South in the Winter, Spring, or Fall, and you have a window in the door, you could get a false temperature reading at lower temps.

I noticed it when I had the heat set at 110˚, and my MES 40 element shut off while the actual heat in the smoker was about 88˚. I looked around wondering what the heck caused that. It turns out that because the sun is much lower in the sky during the Winter, the sun shines through the glass door, and warms the heat sensor on the lower right side of the back wall of the smoker. Then that tells the smoker it's hotter than it really is.

Easy solutions:

#1 Turn your smoker to face away from the sun.

#2 Put a curtain on your smoker window, or just lean a piece of plywood against it to block the sun (see below).

Bear

Gotta keep that Sun from shining through the window & warming the MES Heat Sensor up:

 

[eman]

Glad you said that i need to go spin mine around

 

[rp ribking]

Dang it Bear, you sure are Smart, good info for that type of smoker......  

 

[beer-b-q]

Thanks Bear...

Third Option, Move to Kansas Where The Sun Never Shines...

 

[mudduck]

no one but bear LOL

thanks

 

[Bearcarver]

C'mon guys  

I just get lucky sometimes!

Bear

 

[texacajun]

Bear

Thanks for the information.

Maybe you could get a pair of sunglasses for you smoker or put some window tent on the outside of your window on your smoker.

I know Miss Bear wouldn't let you bring it back inside so it was out of the sun to smoke.

You know that old saying that ''even the sun sines on a dogs butt some days" The same could be said about Bears MES.  

  

 

[Bearcarver]

Bear

Thanks for the information.

Maybe you could get a pair of sunglasses for you smoker or put some window tent on the outside of your window on your smoker.

I know Miss Bear wouldn't let you bring it back inside so it was out of the sun to smoke.

You know that old saying that ''even the sun sines on a dogs butt some days" The same could be said about Bears MES.  

The woman is confused.

She says my smoker "Stinks like Smoke".

I keep correcting her, "No honey, My Smoker Smells Great, like Smoke!"

I should have started smoking meat a long time ago. Monday we'll be married 42 years, and I still don't have her straightened out yet on this smoke smell issue!  

Bear

 

[mudduck]

keep up the good work bear you will love it when it does come together

jan 5th miss duck and i will be married 39yr

and yes it did snow here jan the 5th 1972 LOL

 

[mtbken]

ah Man, is that why it said not to remove the picture sticker on the window?  Opps, already in the trash!

Ken

 

[fpnmf]

Geez I only have 29 years of marriage. Between 3 different wives.

 

[Bearcarver]

I figured I should bump this up, because there are a lot of MES owners who weren't here in 2010.

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

Important to ALL MES owners with Windows. This is a MUST READ !!

This happened to me again today, but it didn't take long for me to wake up to the problem, because it happened to me years ago:

I had my MES set at 210°, and everything was going good.

Then my Maverick started dropping. I went out to look into it, and I saw the MES read 247°, and the Maverick was down to 192°.

I noticed the Bright sun we had today was shining on the back wall of my MES & right on the temp sensor.

The Sun was warming the Sensor up, causing it to think the temp in the MES was 247°. This kept the Heating element from coming on, and that's why the Maverick was dropping, because the heat in the Smoker was Dropping.

So I grabbed the piece of plywood I had behind the Smoker for just that problem, and leaned it against the Door, blocking the sun from shining through the glass onto the sensor.

By this time the MES was up to 255°, and the Maverick was down to 186°.

Within minutes, the MES readout dropped to 242°, 236°, 223°, until it got to 208°. Then the Heating element came on & the Maverick began going up. Before long both the MES and the Maverick were cycling within 6° of each other.

Everything had returned to normal.

So Everybody should be aware of what the Sun can do if it shines through the window onto the sensor.

Note: This generally doesn't happen in the Summer when the Sun is high, because it can't hit the sensor.

Bear

 

[dogwalker]

Bear, this makes so much sense, and I'd encourage anyone who has a smoker with a window to be mindful of it.  I have a friend who has the same unit I do, but he doesn't have any thermometers to measure the real temps, so he wouldn't even know it was happening.  I just told him to be sure the sun isn't ever hitting the sensor, and now I know to do the same.

Thanks, awesome work, Bear!

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Bear, this makes so much sense, and I'd encourage anyone who has a smoker with a window to be mindful of it.  I have a friend who has the same unit I do, but he doesn't have any thermometers to measure the real temps, so he wouldn't even know it was happening.  I just told him to be sure the sun isn't ever hitting the sensor, and now I know to do the same.

Thanks, awesome work, Bear!

Thank You Sir!!

I figured I'd put this out there, so people can put it in their memory banks, so when it happens to them, they won't be going nuts trying to figure out what's broken!!!

Now is the season it happens the most often, because the Sun is low in the sky, and easily hits the back wall inside the MES units.

And Thanks for the Points.

Bear

 

[mummel]

Thanks Bear.  But you know me, "No window, no problem!" :)

 

[dogwalker]

 
Thanks Bear.  But you know me, "No window, no problem!" :)

Hey, don't rub it in!  Besides, I love taking photos and making my friends jealous.  :-)

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Thanks Bear.  But you know me, "No window, no problem!" :)

LOL---Yup only those of us with windows have to worry about the Sun, and those of us who have cars or trucks only need Wipers if we have Windshields.

Bear

 

[mummel]

Just wanted to say that I am so glad to have stumbled upon SMF.  Really enjoying my new hobbies to the max.  Im crushing the sausage making.  Every weekend now.  Cranked out 6lbs of breakfast sausage last night.  I also found brisket at my Costco so I'm going to unpack the smoker for Christmas day!!

 

[daricksta]

 
Not a big deal, but I thought I should mention this, in case it happens to somebody else:

If you have your MES facing South in the Winter, Spring, or Fall, and you have a window in the door, you could get a false temperature reading at lower temps.

I noticed it when I had the heat set at 110˚, and my MES 40 element shut off while the actual heat in the smoker was about 88˚. I looked around wondering what the heck caused that. It turns out that because the sun is much lower in the sky during the Winter, the sun shines through the glass door, and warms the heat sensor on the lower right side of the back wall of the smoker. Then that tells the smoker it's hotter than it really is.

Easy solutions:

#1 Turn your smoker to face away from the sun.

#2 Put a curtain on your smoker window, or just lean a piece of plywood against it to block the sun (see below).

Bear

I usually pray to the rain and snow gods to make the sun stop.