Just got delivered.
The MES model #: 20070312 came packaged very well and in my opinion, so well that if you see a dented box from shipping, the unit is most likely fine. Took me about 45 minutes from unpackaging to finishing the assembly.
Outside
All the parts lined up well and almost all the screw holes were threaded nutserts which is great. The only holes that did not have nutserts were for the bottom left and right plastic trim pieces which is not a problem because if they fall off, some double sided tape to affix them would do very well (read that masterbuilt). No dents or dings on the unit and it was pretty clean for rolling down a metal fabrication assembly line in the far east. The buttons on the dash control give great tactile feedback when pressed so you can be assured you pressed the button. The wheels are medium duty which surprised me as I thought they would be cheap light duty wheels. The pull bar is held on with 4 screws and while the instructions warn against using it to pick the unit up, I feel confident using it as a lifting aid because of the 4 threaded nutserts used. There is an external drip tray in the center bottom of the unit that slides out for easy cleanup. The door is held firmly closed with an adjustable latch which is nice as you can adjust it to pull the door closed tighter when the door gasket compresses from wear. The air vent is on the left side wall about 1-2" from the top.
Nice blue LED display for the dash control.
Very bright LED light that shines down the door so at night when you open it, you will easily be able to handle your smoked food.
Inside
4 chromed steel racks seemingly of good quality chrome
the water bowl is kind of oval and about 4 inches deep
the chip tray is about 6"x8"
internal meat thermometer probe with long enough cord to reach any part of the 4 racks
drip shelf which also catches drippings and sends them to the water bowl.
drip pan that is angle bent so the drippings go to the center of it where there is a hole that allows the drippings to go into the external drip tray. This drip pan is the full width/length of the interior of the unit but I would still put something underneath the unit just in case it should leak anywhere or if the external drip tray overfills.
Overall
overall quality on a scale of 1 to 10 and taking my expectations into account, I give this unit a 8 but would have given a 9 if the racks were stainless and the side trim pieces had a better fastening system. I will add an extra point if the temps on this unit are accurate +/- 5-8 degrees
Now I may have given my grade a little to early since it is raining out and I cannot even season the unit but I did turn it on (in the house) just to make sure at least it does that. Once I season it tomorrow I will post back as to how well the dash thermostat does against my laser temp gauge and my highly accurate ;D oven temp gauge.
Can't wait for the weekend when I break it in and FWIW, it will be the first time I am using a real smoker so wish me luck!
~ T.T. Smoke
The MES model #: 20070312 came packaged very well and in my opinion, so well that if you see a dented box from shipping, the unit is most likely fine. Took me about 45 minutes from unpackaging to finishing the assembly.
Outside
All the parts lined up well and almost all the screw holes were threaded nutserts which is great. The only holes that did not have nutserts were for the bottom left and right plastic trim pieces which is not a problem because if they fall off, some double sided tape to affix them would do very well (read that masterbuilt). No dents or dings on the unit and it was pretty clean for rolling down a metal fabrication assembly line in the far east. The buttons on the dash control give great tactile feedback when pressed so you can be assured you pressed the button. The wheels are medium duty which surprised me as I thought they would be cheap light duty wheels. The pull bar is held on with 4 screws and while the instructions warn against using it to pick the unit up, I feel confident using it as a lifting aid because of the 4 threaded nutserts used. There is an external drip tray in the center bottom of the unit that slides out for easy cleanup. The door is held firmly closed with an adjustable latch which is nice as you can adjust it to pull the door closed tighter when the door gasket compresses from wear. The air vent is on the left side wall about 1-2" from the top.
Nice blue LED display for the dash control.
Very bright LED light that shines down the door so at night when you open it, you will easily be able to handle your smoked food.
Inside
4 chromed steel racks seemingly of good quality chrome
the water bowl is kind of oval and about 4 inches deep
the chip tray is about 6"x8"
internal meat thermometer probe with long enough cord to reach any part of the 4 racks
drip shelf which also catches drippings and sends them to the water bowl.
drip pan that is angle bent so the drippings go to the center of it where there is a hole that allows the drippings to go into the external drip tray. This drip pan is the full width/length of the interior of the unit but I would still put something underneath the unit just in case it should leak anywhere or if the external drip tray overfills.
Overall
overall quality on a scale of 1 to 10 and taking my expectations into account, I give this unit a 8 but would have given a 9 if the racks were stainless and the side trim pieces had a better fastening system. I will add an extra point if the temps on this unit are accurate +/- 5-8 degrees
Now I may have given my grade a little to early since it is raining out and I cannot even season the unit but I did turn it on (in the house) just to make sure at least it does that. Once I season it tomorrow I will post back as to how well the dash thermostat does against my laser temp gauge and my highly accurate ;D oven temp gauge.
Can't wait for the weekend when I break it in and FWIW, it will be the first time I am using a real smoker so wish me luck!
~ T.T. Smoke
