Time to get a smoker...

[Jmetz]

This is my second one. I have a Traeger Jr. now and it's been great. I am hoping my wife wont make me sell the Jr. I think having 2 smokers would be pretty nice since you can have 2 smokes with two different types of wood going at the same time.

Makes sense to me! A lot of people love their Traegers and I came close but after a lot of research I'll most likely be going with a GMG.

[Gman]

Nice. You'll have fun with it. 6 bags of pellets would last me a little bit.

If they want guys to know about it, why would they put the shop in Pork Meadows Mall? Guys don't graze shop. We do some intelligence to find our quarry, we pull the trigger, and then head back to the house. Their limited market are guys trapped in the mall with their women looking for an oasis in the desert.

[BigDee]

Nice. You'll have fun with it. 6 bags of pellets would last me a little bit.

If they want guys to know about it, why would they put the shop in Pork Meadows Mall? Guys don't graze shop. We do some intelligence to find our quarry, we pull the trigger, and then head back to the house. Their limited market are guys trapped in the mall with their women looking for an oasis in the desert.

Park Meadows is one of the busiest malls in America so it's a pretty good location for them. The sales woman told me they sell several grills every day.

[theGinsue]

Thanks for the info (and pic, as I need all of the help I can get) Parf.

Yesterday I pulled the trigger & picked up the 40" MES from Sam's Club ($299..ouch, but it was $ my company paid me for per diem for the training class I attended - and the smoker was something my wife wanted me to get). Going to order a cover for it as well as an AMNPS. I need to learn this "trick to get the MES to kick on when the outside temps are below 32F".

Today, I stopped by Sportsman's Warehouse and picked up a 20lb bag of Traeger hickory pellets, a 5lb bag of another brand of Apple pellets, and a small bag of Maple chips. I always temper hickory with a fruit wood to prevent hte bitter flavor pure hickory would create.

I also picked up another rib rack. I'll be smoking ribs and a chicken for the 4th of July.

[Parf]

I need to learn this "trick to get the MES to kick on when the outside temps are below 32F".

Look for a smooth metal "stud" sticking out of the inside back wall of the smoker. That is the temperature probe. I don't know if they have updated the software since they made mine, but when the probe was registering 32 degrees or less, the control unit would error out with a divide by zero error. The easiest solution is to take a hot and wet washcloth, and hang it from the end of the probe. Then you turn the unit on and it will heat up. Just take the washcloth out after the unit hits 100 degrees or so.

People were doing stupid things to try and fix this, like removing the control unit and bringing it inside, or bringing the whole cabinet inside to warm it up. They all assumed that the cold weather was bad for the electronics, but that is just not the case.

[rondog]

How easy are those pellet smokers to clean? That's the one thing I don't like about my cabinet unit, I hate to clean that nasty motherhumper out.

[theGinsue]

According to the YouTube videos I watched, the chip bins are nothing more than pouring out the ash and the tray pulls out the front. The rest of the unit...well, like yours. Several videos recommended lining the drip deflector and tray, etc. with foil to simplify cleaning.

Rondog - I'm already using your cart in my head as a template for something to build for myself to protect from wind & to lift it up.

[BigDee]

How easy are those pellet smokers to clean? That's the one thing I don't like about my cabinet unit, I hate to clean that nasty motherhumper out.

A Traeger is as simple as pulling the drip tray and vacuuming out the ash. I cover the drip tray in foil and change the foil with each use. Cleanup takes less than 5 minutes.

[Gman]

A Traeger is as simple as pulling the drip tray and vacuuming out the ash. I cover the drip tray in foil and change the foil with each use. Cleanup takes less than 5 minutes.

I do something similar but I use heavy duty foil and only replace the foil as needed.

[theGinsue]

Anyone here with an electric MES ever have flare ups? I've had 2 so far and they scared the holy shot right out of me. They act like a propane flare up and come with a loud whooshing sound and flame throughout the inside of the MES. The first one even warped the door & pushed it out from around the window frame a bit.

I've got the drip deflector and everything else in place, but still, WHOOSH!

Ideas?