First Time smoking with a Meco

Scratch the thermometer. I bought one from home depot and drilled it in. But if you have any cooking tips for this smoker please let me know. thanks

I can't help you with the Meco smoker, however, with regards to the internal temp. use a ball of aluminum foil and insert a remote probe like a Taylor or Polder. Put this inside the smoker to get an idea of what is going on.

hi ribhead and welcome!!!!
ok as an old weber bullet guy who just never got around to installing some fancy dan thermo in a 30 buck smoker here is what worked ok for me for about 20 years (and as a matter of fact i will be doing some spares this sunday just to stay home since the big taxicab race is this weekend and man what a mess that is)
waterpan- 1/2 full
temp- just a little over the 1st ideal line
start time- 8am
cook until noon and then take them off, wrap in foil to which i am adding an orange juice, pineapple juice and navy molasses rum and put them back on
2pm- unwrap and put back on the smoker
3pm- off and let rest till the beans are done
4pm-eat like a hog
hope this helps or gives you and idea and again welcome!!!!!
jack
ps. sure won't meet competition standards but my neighbors like them lol
pps. i dont refill the waterpan

RibHead,

Before I got my Cookshack 50 I had an electric Charbroil water smoker. The Meco looks similar. Not sure whether you have charcoal or electric. Anyway, I read in several forums that water pans do not really add moisture to the meat. I found mine difficult to refill and the heat loss of opening the smoker increased cook times. If the water evaporates all the way then the dripping grease produces a nasty burned smoke. Also you have to clean a greasy water pan every smoke.

One of the functions of the water is to act as a heat sink, but as it evaporates it loses this function. Following the advice of several forums I filled my water pan 75% with steralized playground sand and covered it with foil to catch the drippings. Acts as a good heat sink to help maintain temps and cleanup is a breeze. You want the steralized sand so you don't have dust or chemicals in the cooking environment. Usually sold in bags at your local hardware.

Thanks for the replys everyone. I smoked the ribs today. Though it was raining a little the ribs cam out really really good. They were very moist and were falling off the bone! A little too tender to my taste but my girlfiend loved them. The rub was a little too spicey too. Gotta look for a good rub that leaves a sweet taste. I cooked them around 210-215 for 5 hours. The last 2.5 hours I wrapped them in foil with some apple sauce. Next time I will cook a little less time. Agin thanks for all who replied and happy cooking. Rib Head