Every couple days, I check a few different sites to see if anyone is having a sale on smokers. Right now, Cabela's has a sale running on the MES 40 for $299. I called the local store and asked if there were any in stock and was told no, but the floor model was there and I could buy that if I wanted to. I inquired about a floor-model discount and the woman told me she was sure they could do something for me because it was, in her words, well loved.
I took a drive out there today and took a look at the unit. The woman on the phone was being kind, it seemed to be in tough shape. The interior door gasket was a bit ripped, there were a bunch of dings on the sides, the wood loader seemed bent, the digital controls were missing, but they were sure they could find them. I inquired about the price because it was a floor model and was told $299, they don't do deals on floor equipment. A conversation ensued and it ended with me asking "Okay, well, when are you going to get more?" The guy behind the counter told me that the Cabelas MES 40" was discontinued, so they wouldn't be getting any more. I asked if he could check if another model was coming instead and he said "There are no more MES 40" coming to Cabelas, Masterbuilt has discontinued the unit."
Now I don't know if the gentleman was new, if I somehow upset him and he wanted me away from his counter, I misunderstood him, or something else, but I thought it was a very interesting statement. Everything I know about MES I learned from this forum so I don't know anything outside what I was told by one employee. I guess what I'm saying is "take it for what it is"
I know I could have gotten one off Amazon for a bit more, and may have been able to order one off the Cabelas website, but I was worried about what shipping would do to one of these units and what would happen if I had to return it. I have read horror stories about boxes being delivered that looked great on the outside but when they are opened looked as if they have been attacked with a sledge hammer. I didn't want to go through that if I could avoid it, so I started looking in the store at an MES 30 and decided that, since I was there and with shipping from somewhere else and blah blah blah, I should buy it. So after I talked myself into it (wasn't that hard!!!) I walked out with my first smoker.
I tried looking for DaveOmak's mods and found two (cookie sheet and aluminum pan at the top) but that was it. Is there a roll-up post I'm missing somewhere? I wanted to see what mods I can do before I go and season it. I know after that I'm going to try to smoke EVERYTHING. I have some ideas for the first things I want to make and I have a few ideas that I haven't seen on the forums yet, so I want to try them and see what happens so stopping to mod it won't happen for a bit. I'm also interested in getting an Amazen product for cold smoking (I'm a sucker for good cheese) so I was hoping to get feedback on what is best for the MES 30.
I know this was a bit long winded (I tend to do that) but I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone for the information that is so generously shared every day on these forums. I got a pretty warm welcome in the Beer & Ale forum (I got a full brewing setup for $5 through pure luck, look in that forum for details) which is cool for a smoking meat forum. I look forward to trying all your recipes and hopefully contributing a few of my own. Thanks for reading!!!
I took a drive out there today and took a look at the unit. The woman on the phone was being kind, it seemed to be in tough shape. The interior door gasket was a bit ripped, there were a bunch of dings on the sides, the wood loader seemed bent, the digital controls were missing, but they were sure they could find them. I inquired about the price because it was a floor model and was told $299, they don't do deals on floor equipment. A conversation ensued and it ended with me asking "Okay, well, when are you going to get more?" The guy behind the counter told me that the Cabelas MES 40" was discontinued, so they wouldn't be getting any more. I asked if he could check if another model was coming instead and he said "There are no more MES 40" coming to Cabelas, Masterbuilt has discontinued the unit."
Now I don't know if the gentleman was new, if I somehow upset him and he wanted me away from his counter, I misunderstood him, or something else, but I thought it was a very interesting statement. Everything I know about MES I learned from this forum so I don't know anything outside what I was told by one employee. I guess what I'm saying is "take it for what it is"
I know I could have gotten one off Amazon for a bit more, and may have been able to order one off the Cabelas website, but I was worried about what shipping would do to one of these units and what would happen if I had to return it. I have read horror stories about boxes being delivered that looked great on the outside but when they are opened looked as if they have been attacked with a sledge hammer. I didn't want to go through that if I could avoid it, so I started looking in the store at an MES 30 and decided that, since I was there and with shipping from somewhere else and blah blah blah, I should buy it. So after I talked myself into it (wasn't that hard!!!) I walked out with my first smoker.
I tried looking for DaveOmak's mods and found two (cookie sheet and aluminum pan at the top) but that was it. Is there a roll-up post I'm missing somewhere? I wanted to see what mods I can do before I go and season it. I know after that I'm going to try to smoke EVERYTHING. I have some ideas for the first things I want to make and I have a few ideas that I haven't seen on the forums yet, so I want to try them and see what happens so stopping to mod it won't happen for a bit. I'm also interested in getting an Amazen product for cold smoking (I'm a sucker for good cheese) so I was hoping to get feedback on what is best for the MES 30.
I know this was a bit long winded (I tend to do that) but I just wanted to take a second to thank everyone for the information that is so generously shared every day on these forums. I got a pretty warm welcome in the Beer & Ale forum (I got a full brewing setup for $5 through pure luck, look in that forum for details) which is cool for a smoking meat forum. I look forward to trying all your recipes and hopefully contributing a few of my own. Thanks for reading!!!
