wood chips in MES 30 - How quick do you use a tray

[cstallings]

Smoking sausage in my MES 30 right now.  I put in a tray of Hickory chips over an hour ago and I have not used much of it at all.  How quickly can you expect to burn through it at 150 -160 degrees?  I seasoned it last night and they didn't last over 30 minutes, but that was at 275 degrees.



Thanks

 

[big casino]

I would say this is probably a factor on how cold it is out side the colder the temps the more the element will kick on, which would create more heat at the chip tray

on an average I would say at the temps you are running it should last more than an hour, possibly two, which tray does your MES have? and how may chips did you add?

 

[cstallings]

I only added one cup of chips.  I'm not sure what tray I have as I just bought the MES 30, but it is the older one without the window.  I believe it has a second shield on the tray.  I thought it was strange last night when I looked at it.  Seems like it has more to heat up.  

It's also in the low 80's here so I think that is messing with the smoker.  It was probably 90 in there before I even turned the darn thing on...

 

[big casino]

if you can smell smoke it's probably doing its job, I'm sure you know you don't want a thick white smoke, what your lookin for is a nice thin blue smoke, the tray that came with the MES30 I bought had a tray that was only about 4 or 5 inches wide, I called them and requested the older style that is about 8 or so, and they sent it to me at no charge I believe it produces better smoke at lower temperatures, Masterbuilt customer service is very easy to work with

 

[mikelikessmoke]

My MES30 won't consistently burn chips at that low of a temperature. Mine will barely keep chips smoking at 180. The speed with which the chips are consumed is relative to the temp that you are running the smoker. The over all average is about 30 to 45 minutes for a half a cup of chips. Like I said in the first line...... my MES30. I would strongly recommend buying an AMNPS from Todd. s great at low temps as well as higher temps!

 

[rabbithutch]

Sounds to me like you need and AMNPS 5x8.

I had trouble with chips in my MES40 when I first used it last year. It wasn't long before I followed all the advice here and placed an order with Todd.

 

[cstallings]

Thanks for the input.  I'll look into the AMNPS.

 

[orlandosmoking]

If you have the small tray (appx. 4 inches wide) and it has the shield attached beneath it you should get your model and serial number and contact masterbuilt via email or phone and ask for the retro-fit kit for your smoker. They will send it for free,and it is very easy to install. The new wood tray is the full width of the burner and has eliminated the metal shield. You will also need to carefully remove the divider that closes off half of the chip loader. I believe there is a "how to" thread here at SMF among the many that discuss this retro-fit kit.

I struggled to get consistent smoke for years with mine until I installed the kit early this year. The difference is like night and day. You will need to soak the chips after the install or they will burn too fast. At 225 degrees I load a pretty large handful of soaked chips about every 40 to 45 minutes (or when the smoke stops). When loading chips into the loader place more near the outside so they will get more oxygen through the tiny vent holes in the end of the loader. Keep your top vent wide open unless it is quite windy out, then only close to about 3/4.

 On a side note, I also have the AMPS which is great if you need to leave your smoker unattended or for overnight and still produce consistent smoke. It's also great to do cold smokes for cheeses and such. I recommend you do both!

Don