Which Racks to smoke on? MES 40

[kcredzone]

So, after reading through a ton of posts, I decided on the MES 40. (I have no prior smoking experience, but I grill 2-3 times a week)..

I did the 1st step of the smoker seasoning yesterday. My MES got up to 275 in about 22 mins., and held consistent through out the 2 hour burn off.

I just sprayed all the interior walls/ceiling/door with PAM, and fired up the smoker for the 2nd seasoning step.

I am planning on smoking 2 racks of pork spare ribs this afternoon, and a batch of Dutch's baked beans.

So!  My question is: 4 racks in the MES 40. Should I smoke the ribs on the top (2) racks, and the beans on the 3rd rack, leaving the bottom rack open? (My thinking is heat/smoke rise, so the top racks get the best heat/smoke?)

Thanks in advance for input!

 

[s2k9k]

Sounds like a good plan, just remember the Q-view!

 

[glocksrock]

If I'm only using one rack, I always use the 2nd one from the top.

 

[scarbelly]

I always use the top racks in my smoker 

 

[smokinhusker]

If I'm only using one rack, I always use the 2nd one from the top.

X2 - If I have more than that going, then I use the top 3 racks.

 

[hkeiner]

If I need only one or two racks for the meat, I place the AMNPS in the center of the bottom rack and put a 8" x 16" sheet of aluminum foil on the center of the second from bottom rack. The AMNPS gets plenty of air flow there, the foil shields the AMNPS from drippings, and I think the foil more evenly distributes the heat coming up from the heating element. I may or may not use a water pan on the second shelf. With this arrangement I can easily see everything that is going on through the window and the foil catches a lot of the dripping mess if the edges are folded up a bit. As far as smoker performance goes, I think you might find a hot spot on the bottom rack towards the back right corner, so I avoid that as a place to put meat if possible. Just my experiences...

 

[deltadude]

If I only need one rack for what ever I am smoking I use the 2nd from the top.  If I need two racks I use the 2nd and 3rd.  If I need three racks I used 1,2,3. 

One big difference between my MES and many newer MES, mine is only 800 watts, and theirs is 1200 whats if a MES 40.  I have moved temperature probes around monitoring temps, and there can be as much as 30º+ difference from spot to spot and rack to rack.  Aluminum foil on a rack may work, but instead I have decided to rotate what I'm cooking during the cooking process.  So if I'm using 3 racks I divide the cooking time by 3 and rotate each rack so they evenly spend time in each location.