Newbie with an unused gift Masterbuilt Sportsman Elite 30"

[Bearcarver]

Thank You Bear.
I finally got out of the outhouse. LOL!

I quelled my fears, too.
I never buy into extended warranties. Never say never.... :oops:
I decided to make me happy, I bought a two year, one time only, exchange for a new smoker warranty.
For $24.97, if the worst happens, I can get a new one for free.

Now, I got kind of peeved at them. They don't have covers in stock. And I wasn't going to get some kettle cover to make do.
But otherwise, dog-gone, I'm happy.
Still truckin along out there at 300-310*. Gonna go see if it's time for some chips.

Can you use pellets in it safely?:confused:

I would watch it doesn't go too much over 300°, even with the warranty.
Spikes to 320° and 330° should be OK, but I wouldn't want it to hold there.
Best to try to keep it under 300°. IMO

Somebody else can help with using pellets in it. I only use them in my AMNPS.
I think I heard pellets can light up in the MES chip burner.

Bear

 

[SonnyE]

I would watch it doesn't go too much over 300°, even with the warranty.
Spikes to 320° and 330° should be OK, but I wouldn't want it to hold there.
Best to try to keep it under 300°. IMO

Somebody else can help with using pellets in it. I only use them in my AMNPS.
I think I heard pellets can light up in the MES chip burner.

Bear

Thanks Bear.
Yeah I was out checking and read where in the WARNINGS page, it sez "Do NOT use wood pellets."
OK, fine. The SIL can mix them in his Traeger.
Glad I grabbed a bag of Apple wood chips. :D

Oh, I discovered my old digital thermometer, and the MES readout are running close. The cheap one is... well cheap. And inaccurate. Maybe I need to return to the outhouse and 'lose' it. LOL!

 

[tallbm]

Congrats on the buy!

I have a feeling you will be using an AMNPS tray like most MES users do. It is just too convenient to fill the tray to your desired amount of smoke time, light it, and then come back when your thermometer alarm tells you to go pull the food out or probe the meat for doneness. No babysitting with wood chips and the chip loader :)

 

[GaryHibbert]

Well, congratulations Sonny. You're gonna love that MES.
300-310* is pretty hot for a MES. Is that according to the stock MES therm? If it is, don't trust it--they generally lie. Boil test your remote for accuracy and check the temp by that.
Pellets?? Yeah they'll burn, but not at low temps. If you want to burn pellets, get an AMNPS tray and you're good to go.
Gary

 

[SonnyE]

LOL! That 300-310 was with a cheapo digital, dual probe. Although it did test well with ice water and boiling water when I tested it.
I had 6 different thermometers on that poor smoker this afternoon.
A good old Weston Industrial analog was the winner along with the MES screen.
On at 273* dropped to 270-269 and then turned around and climbed.
Off at 275* and coasted up to 287-290. Then began to drop slowly.
This was the last 45 minutes. The chips began to smoke well 10-15 minutes after adding them. And smoked well up to shut off. Last check, the smoker was still showing 104* on the panel, and felt warm inside.

I sure can't complain about a 2 degree switch window. On at 273, and off at 275, consistently. (Setting 275, per break in instructions.)
The coasting is really not surprising to me. Particularly the up coast. You kick the wood in the tail, it's apt to carry the heat up. And running dry, then is no meat and steam to level the field. IMO.
Nothing scientific going on here, just any thermometer I could grab poked in the vent hole, and two down at the #2 rack.
So it works great so far. I think I got a good one. I'm happy with the burn in, and what I've seen so far.
And it's a heck of a lot nicer than any home grown (groan) smoker I've had before.

Now for something in the realm of the real world. I have some Salmon out for a test run, and might do some chicken for a test. Start small and have fun.

Come on PAS, fire that mother up, Man!
I'd recommend you get some BBQ gloves or welders gloves. (Pay no attention to the brand marks on my hand...) :eek:

 

[tallbm]

Just a tip with the chicken, you might wanna to skinless because there is a strong possibility you will get leathery skin unless you can really ride that top level temp hard on the chicken.
I find you can edible chicken skin around 325F or so but others have reported some success at the top range of the MES... mine couldn't hit top temp so I rewired it and use a PID to do 325F on short chicken smokes :)

Best of luck! :)

 

[SonnyE]

Just a tip with the chicken, you might wanna to skinless because there is a strong possibility you will get leathery skin unless you can really ride that top level temp hard on the chicken.
I find you can edible chicken skin around 325F or so but others have reported some success at the top range of the MES... mine couldn't hit top temp so I rewired it and use a PID to do 325F on short chicken smokes :)

Best of luck! :)

Thanks, yeah skinless/boneless chicken thighs. We buy 6 pound frozen bags of them from Sam's Club. So most likely I'll try some of that.
It's actually dog food. I have an old dog with no teeth. So I boil him a thigh and cut it up fine. He loves it.
But it is really people food to begin with.
And actually, he likes smoked meat, too. :confused: He's not pampered or anything.... And he's way nicer than some people are.

Chicken with the skin on we put in the Air Fryer and it makes great crispy skin. The wife just brought some home this afternoon and I repackaged it into bags for the freezer. And after that, and I cleaned up, I broke down 6 pounds of lean ground beef into 1 pound bags.
But one of those Air Fryers makes great chicken, if you ever get the chance to try one. Even I can do it. :D
But always start with the skin side UP. Otherwise it sticks to the pan and there goes that crispy skin.

Not long ago, I smoked 4 pieces, then Air Fried them to finish. My wife isn't so crazy for smoked anything. So hers was straight up, Pollo Seasoning, Air Fryer chicken. (2 separate batches)
Mine was smoked, then seasoned and Air Fryer finished. It was delicioso! Smoky and Crispy. ;)

 

[Bearcarver]

LOL! That 300-310 was with a cheapo digital, dual probe. Although it did test well with ice water and boiling water when I tested it.
I had 6 different thermometers on that poor smoker this afternoon.
A good old Weston Industrial analog was the winner along with the MES screen.
On at 273* dropped to 270-269 and then turned around and climbed.
Off at 275* and coasted up to 287-290. Then began to drop slowly.
This was the last 45 minutes. The chips began to smoke well 10-15 minutes after adding them. And smoked well up to shut off. Last check, the smoker was still showing 104* on the panel, and felt warm inside.

I sure can't complain about a 2 degree switch window. On at 273, and off at 275, consistently. (Setting 275, per break in instructions.)
The coasting is really not surprising to me. Particularly the up coast. You kick the wood in the tail, it's apt to carry the heat up. And running dry, then is no meat and steam to level the field. IMO.
Nothing scientific going on here, just any thermometer I could grab poked in the vent hole, and two down at the #2 rack.
So it works great so far. I think I got a good one. I'm happy with the burn in, and what I've seen so far.
And it's a heck of a lot nicer than any home grown (groan) smoker I've had before.

Now for something in the realm of the real world. I have some Salmon out for a test run, and might do some chicken for a test. Start small and have fun.

Come on PAS, fire that mother up, Man!
I'd recommend you get some BBQ gloves or welders gloves. (Pay no attention to the brand marks on my hand...) :eek:

Those Temps are Pretty good Sonny!!
On & Off right on track!
Coasting?? Well Coasting isn't a sign of something wrong.

Good to go!

Bear

 

[PAS]

Come on PAS, fire that mother up, Man!
I'd recommend you get some BBQ gloves or welders gloves. (Pay no attention to the brand marks on my hand...) :eek:

This Ohio sub freezing weather has me down and out the past week and still not up to par. My daughter is coming to town in a week or so to give Dad a Birthday Smoking Lesson. Looking forward to it! Glad you are up and running! How hot do you think the bottom of the unit gets? Safe to put on a wooden stand?

 

[Bearcarver]

This Ohio sub freezing weather has me down and out the past week and still not up to par. My daughter is coming to town in a week or so to give Dad a Birthday Smoking Lesson. Looking forward to it! Glad you are up and running! How hot do you think the bottom of the unit gets? Safe to put on a wooden stand?

No problem on wood.
I've had 3 different MES Units standing on a wood platform on my front porch for a combined total of 8 1/2 years.

Bear

 

[SonnyE]

I would say its safe.
While I did run my hands around on mine, and found places warmer (but not hot) than other places, I did not run a hand under it.
However, to dis-spell any fears, the front feet are made of plastic. So the bottom can't get hot of the feet would soften or melt.
I set mine on 4 bricks to raise it a little bit. But for no other reason than to jack it up a bit.
If you would be more comfortable, you could put a brick under each corner for the feet to stand on.

 

[dr k]

I would say its safe.
While I did run my hands around on mine, and found places warmer (but not hot) than other places, I did not run a hand under it.
However, to dis-spell any fears, the front feet are made of plastic. So the bottom can't get hot of the feet would soften or melt.
I set mine on 4 bricks to raise it a little bit. But for no other reason than to jack it up a bit.
If you would be more comfortable, you could put a brick under each corner for the feet to stand on.

The Mes Gen 1 with rear bottom grease drain has an elevated bottom grease pan to slope the grease to the drain hole so that will help insulate the bottom of the smoker. The bottom electronics access is on the opposite side of the heating element so this design seems to be good.

 

[SonnyE]

The Mes Gen 1 with rear bottom grease drain has an elevated bottom grease pan to slope the grease to the drain hole so that will help insulate the bottom of the smoker. The bottom electronics access is on the opposite side of the heating element so this design seems to be good.

Still trying to figure mine out, Dr. Kurt. Kind of clueless here... :oops: :confused:
This model of mine is a Lowe's exclusive John Mclemore Signature Series (JMSS).
In the bottom is a full sized tray that slopes to the center rear with a hole, then there is a pipe to take any drippings out the back to an outside catch tray.
So nothing underneath like a slide out drawer or such. And although there is some sort of a plastic cover underneath, I didn't note it's location. Just that it was made out of plastic... :(

I'd go look, but mine is covered with the supplied cover (The Box), and a plastic bag for the moment.
I opened the box from the bottom, so it makes a very stylish custom cover with JM's smilin face with a plate of Dadgum Good Bar-B-Que! The over sized trash bag is a po man's raincoat for it. :D
I told the guy at Lowe's it was really poor to be selling smokers, but to not have any covers in stock.
(Piss poor I believe I said.)

 

[dr k]

Still trying to figure mine out, Dr. Kurt. Kind of clueless here... :oops: :confused:
This model of mine is a Lowe's exclusive John Mclemore Signature Series (JMSS).
In the bottom is a full sized tray that slopes to the center rear with a hole, then there is a pipe to take any drippings out the back to an outside catch tray.
So nothing underneath like a slide out drawer or such. And although there is some sort of a plastic cover underneath, I didn't note it's location. Just that it was made out of plastic... :(

I'd go look, but mine is covered with the supplied cover (The Box), and a plastic bag for the moment.
I opened the box from the bottom, so it makes a very stylish custom cover with JM's smilin face with a plate of Dadgum Good Bar-B-Que! The over sized trash bag is a po man's raincoat for it. :D
I told the guy at Lowe's it was really poor to be selling smokers, but to not have any covers in stock.
(Piss poor I believe I said.)

Your JMSS is a Gen 1 smoker (top rear controller, top right rear vent. The door is hinged right and latches left with bottom sloping drip pan to the rear grease trap.) The new clean looking rack supports look like they are formed into the side walls instead of mounted. Your chip housing assembly is the Gen 2.5 design and the two tiered oval water pan to fit with the chip housing design. I like the Gen 2.5 chip housing you have vs. the Gen 1 housing because the sides are open and you can see the heating element, allowing heat to escape more freely. I have the mailbox mod so in 30 seconds I removed the three screws and housing for a completely open design. People with your Gen 2.5 chip housing that do a mailbox mod may just leave the chip housing as is with the same results. I like the evolving Mes smokers that are hybrids so to speak but makes identifying the generation of the smoker more confusing for newcomers.