Smoker shopping - help and ideas welcome

[irb75]

just ordered the 40 MES from Amazon:

Thanks everyone for helping in the selection process! Can't wait to get started - hope to be good and ready for Thanksgiving.

 

[HalfSmoked]

irb75 Thanks for the like it is greatly appreciated.

Warren

 

[AP514]

I am really liking mine..MES 40. I cooked 2 full racks of ribs on it the 1 try. They were Good...still trying to figure out the heat a bit.
1 rack was on the second lvl (same as the temp probe) but the 2nd rib rack was on the 3rd lvl and my TP-20 said it was 30F hotter than the LvL below. I know heat rises but how can I do multi racks of Ribs with such a big temp range from 1 lvl to the other.

This weekend I think beer can Chicken..got the Amnps in and want to try that out on them

 

[irb75]

I am really liking mine..MES 40. I cooked 2 full racks of ribs on it the 1 try. They were Good...still trying to figure out the heat a bit.
1 rack was on the second lvl (same as the temp probe) but the 2nd rib rack was on the 3rd lvl and my TP-20 said it was 30F hotter than the LvL below. I know heat rises but how can I do multi racks of Ribs with such a big temp range from 1 lvl to the other.

This weekend I think beer can Chicken..got the Amnps in and want to try that out on them

I will try some out this weekend and see how it goes with my unit.

 

[Bearcarver]

I am really liking mine..MES 40. I cooked 2 full racks of ribs on it the 1 try. They were Good...still trying to figure out the heat a bit.
1 rack was on the second lvl (same as the temp probe) but the 2nd rib rack was on the 3rd lvl and my TP-20 said it was 30F hotter than the LvL below. I know heat rises but how can I do multi racks of Ribs with such a big temp range from 1 lvl to the other.

This weekend I think beer can Chicken..got the Amnps in and want to try that out on them

Glad to see you got the Good Model !!

If I'm using one rack, it is the second level.
If I'm using 2, it's #1 & #2.
If 3, #1, #2, #3.

I never use the bottom rack---Too close to the heating element.

Put your Therm probe where the largest amount of meat is.

Bear

 

[AP514]

Bearcarver said........
"If I'm using one rack, it is the second level.
If I'm using 2, it's #1 & #2.
If 3, #1, #2, #3.
I never use the bottom rack---Too close to the heating element."


Is not the #1 rack the bottom rack ?

 

[TomKnollRFV]

just ordered the 40 MES from Amazon:

Thanks everyone for helping in the selection process! Can't wait to get started - hope to be good and ready for Thanksgiving.

You won't be disappointed!

 

[AP514]

Test

 

[irb75]

You won't be disappointed!

I think its important to let everyone know that if you are worried about ordering from Amazon (shipping damage)...this unit was delivered in good condition. It was packaged fairly well with styrofoam inserts with reinforced rubber corners (to address non-team lift situations....being polite). No apparent shipping damage - even though the outer cardboard box had taken some rough treatment.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I think its important to let everyone know that if you are worried about ordering from Amazon (shipping damage)...this unit was delivered in good condition. It was packaged fairly well with styrofoam inserts with reinforced rubber corners (to address non-team lift situations....being polite). No apparent shipping damage - even though the outer cardboard box had taken some rough treatment.

Thats the standard packaging for MES. Which says alot about their current level of professionalism.

 

[Bearcarver]

Bearcarver said........
"If I'm using one rack, it is the second level.
If I'm using 2, it's #1 & #2.
If 3, #1, #2, #3.
I never use the bottom rack---Too close to the heating element."

Is not the #1 rack the bottom rack ?

LOL---I start at the top, like I read. Top is first.
If you have meat that drips, #1 drips onto #2, #2 drips onto #3, etc, etc.

Bear

 

[AP514]

LOL , I build from the bottom up #1 then #2 stacks on #1 ,#3 on #2 ect...Good thing we cleared that up ;)


So my 2 racks of ribs would have been on your LvL #2 and #3 (#3 is where the MES cabinet temp sensor is)

 

[Bearcarver]

LOL , I build from the bottom up #1 then #2 stacks on #1 ,#3 on #2 ect...Good thing we cleared that up ;)


So my 2 racks of ribs would have been on your LvL #2 and #3 (#3 is where the MES cabinet temp sensor is)

Any time you see a comment from me that mentions which rack I'm talking about it will be from top to bottom. I think just about everybody on here uses that order.

However the first thing you should do is forget about what the MES Temp sensor (near #3 of a 4 rack MES) says.
Put your "TP-20" probe about 3" from the main portion of the meat you're smoking, and go by that. Adjust your MES controls to get that Therm to read the temp you want the meat to be in.

Bear

 

[Ben58]

Does anyone have a waterproof cover they can recommend for the 40 MES? The Masterbuilt version of the cover is specified for "indoor use only" which is totally absurd. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/R3QSWP3XAF/?tag=smokingmeatforums-20

I highly recommend this.

 

[irb75]

I highly recommend this.

not seeing the product

 

[Bearcarver]

I highly recommend this.

That one Says "water resistant".
My MES cover is water resistant too, but I would never set in out without a roof over it, in the rain or snow.

You need a "Water Proof" for that.

Bear

 

[Ben58]

That one Says "water resistant".
My MES cover is water resistant too, but I would never set in out without a roof over it, in the rain or snow.

You need a "Water Proof" for that.

Bear

Straight from the description : UNICOOK Heavy Duty Waterproof Electric Smoker Cover. I bought the same one and it definitely is water proof.

 

[Bearcarver]

Straight from the description : UNICOOK Heavy Duty Waterproof Electric Smoker Cover. I bought the same one and it definitely is water proof.

OK--My Fault---I looked at the pictures on the left.
If you open the one Thumbnail up, it shows a picture of it & it says "Water Resistant".
I guess it can be both Water Resistant & Waterproof, which would make it Good to go.

Bear

 

[irb75]

Straight from the description : UNICOOK Heavy Duty Waterproof Electric Smoker Cover. I bought the same one and it definitely is water proof.

awesome just ordered one - thanks

 

[Jonok]

I’ve had several MES 40 iterations, and have been generally happy. There are a lot of people on this board who have spent a lot of time ironing out the kinks that Masterbuilt designed in to the smoker, (including me), but out of the box, they can certainly produce a fine product. With a few mods, an even better one.
I haven’t worn one out in a while, and I’ve noticed that there are a bunch of gripes from guys on the board about current customer service, but up until I started heavily modifying mine, I went through one about every 2 years. (Kept them covered outside as a general rule)
I always got excellent service from the company during the initial year and, since I sprung for the $30 or so for the Sams Club extended warranty, when I finally managed to use one to death, I got a check back for my purchase price (and went out and bought another)
I went through 3 of them for a grand expenditure of $90, plus the initial purchase price of around $300 and I still have the 4th in the original series. That one doesn’t get used much anymore (because Ibuilt a great big electric,)but it still works great when I need to do a little cook.