Think I'm ready to talk about it finally

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Lwhkb

Fire Starter
Original poster
SMF Premier Member
Oct 6, 2017
43
57
So it was super bowl Sunday and I attempted my first smoke in the MES 30 I bought off marketplace. There were some issues that I had that day that I finally want to bounce off everyone. Out of the gate I didn't know about the error code when I went to fire it up in extreme cold, that set the mood for the day, but thanks to this site I found some good hacks. But I digress, so the major issue I had was that I was using an amazen pellet tray for my smoke and I left the water pan in the unit. But all the fat from the shoulder I was smoking went into the water pan which I had left dry so that I wouldn't create any humidity with the pellets, and that created it's own smoke that over powered everything. So here I am looking to all you fine people for ideas on how not to use water in the pan and not create any excess smoke from the fat burning. One of the issues may have been I had the smoker pinned as warm as it could go so it could maintain any heat because of the cold. Thanks in advance to all.
 
I run my water pan dry too but I’ve never had a problem with the fat burning up and causing bad smoke what makes you think that was the cause ??interested in the answers others may have
 
I could be horribly wrong, and maybe my pellets smoked way to fast. I was doing a shoulder, wings and a fresh kielbasa, it all was over smokey. When I opened it the fat in the water pan was smoking, again it could have been I had the unit at the highest heat.
 
you could look into the mailbox mod definitely helps with cleaner smoke (my opinion) i usually just cover my water pan with tin foil ( for easier clean up) never had a problem with drippings smoking, was your top vent wide open.
 
you could look into the mailbox mod definitely helps with cleaner smoke (my opinion) i usually just cover my water pan with tin foil ( for easier clean up) never had a problem with drippings smoking, was your top vent wide open.
the top vents were wide open, there's two. and that's a great idea with the foil. I've done that with other smokers in the past. the mes is just so new to me.
 
I think you would be much happier with doing a mailbox mod also. No problems with not getting enough air to pellets and keeping them lit ( alot of people with this issue), also cleaner smoke as smoker jim said. I don't even have water pan in my mes, or the rack that holds it and chip tray... replaced it with a flat one. I also always use disposable foil pans under meat to keep drippings from going down on element.

20210201_140735.jpg


My mailbox mod.

Ryan
 
Agree that the best smoke solution is the mailbox mode mentioned above. Now if what you are smoking yields a lot of fat drippings you might consider a simple solution such as adding some water to the pan so the fat doesn't burn. BUT... first foil the pan which makes clean up easier! :emoji_wink:
 

Using their numbers for lard at 370F your MES is running way too hot or your getting too much smoke for your liking. A third party remote digital thermometer will give you accurate cabinet temperatures. Id be interested in hearing the answer to post #8 and what temperature was the cabinet at from a third party thermometer?
 
I see you mentioned maybe the pellets burned too quickly. Was the tray full and how long did it take to burn them.
the tray was full, and they were done in about 2 hours. seemed too fast to me.
 

Using their numbers for lard at 370F your MES is running way too hot or your getting too much smoke for your liking. A third party remote digital thermometer will give you accurate cabinet temperatures. Id be interested in hearing the answer to post #8 and what temperature was the cabinet at from a third party thermometer?
I do have a remote thermometer that I will be using in the future. I completely spaced it when I did this first run.
 
Sounds like the pellets caught on fire and burned being consumed quickly. I get 8 plus hours out of a tray of pellets. Yes, make sure your MES controller is running temps correctly by installing a seperate wireless thermometer setup, such as a Thermoworks Smoke.

Also if you are concerned with the stock controller, you could take a OMG! step and install an Auber controller as shown by Brokenhandle. You'll never look back.
 
Sounds like the pellets caught on fire and burned being consumed quickly. I get 8 plus hours out of a tray of pellets. Yes, make sure your MES controller is running temps correctly by installing a seperate wireless thermometer setup, such as a Thermoworks Smoke.

Also if you are concerned with the stock controller, you could take a OMG! step and install an Auber controller as shown by Brokenhandle. You'll never look back.
I've been creeping that upgrade. That's on the next to do list.
 
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