Just got off the phone with Masterbuilt

linguica · Feb 26, 2013

Give them what they want as requested. The cord on the smoker can replaced and then you can work out the issues it will take to make it work while you wait for the new one to arrive..Two for the price of one, not such a bad deal.

old sarge · Feb 26, 2013

buggerritt - Not to sound crass or anything but you paid for one and I am sure they want to ensure, with all the reported problems, that they are not getting ripped off and you are getting a second for free while the first one still works. I am sure that they have been scammed in the past by folks taking advantage of their honesty.

I would not be too upset. You will be getting a new smoker, and you can always attach another electrical cord to the existing one and put it back into service. I don't think that Masterbuilt meant any harm to your reputation.

smokingrk · Feb 26, 2013

Linguica said:
Give them what they want as requested. The cord on the smoker can replaced and then you can work out the issues it will take to make it work while you wait for the new one to arrive..Two for the price of one, not such a bad deal.

old sarge said:
buggerritt - Not to sound crass or anything but you paid for one and I am sure they want to ensure, with all the reported problems, that they are not getting ripped off and you are getting a second for free while the first one still works. I am sure that they have been scammed in the past by folks taking advantage of their honesty.

I would not be too upset. You will be getting a new smoker, and you can always attach another electrical cord to the existing one and put it back into service. I don't think that Masterbuilt meant any harm to your reputation.

buggerritt being down your path already with a cut cord and a long wait (~4weeks), I agree there is a level of frustration, but have some patience, and as Linguica and old sarge point out no disrespect to you is meant by MB, IMO they are trying to avoid a potentially dangerous situation. As a previous post stated they should have already recalled units. This cannot be an inexpensive problem for them short term, never mind the long term Brand name destruction that they accomplished by putting out such poor quality product.

Imagine if we are having these conversations there must be MANY more people nationally that bought these units and are having issues that are probably calling MB relentlessly. Worse some may not even know.

Hoping they recover from this and move on with better products. I enjoyed what I made in my MB smoker when it worked, food was good.

Bottom line is do as MB requests, get what you can to work (plenty of info on this Forum) and try to make the best with what you have left over at the end.

buggerritt · Feb 27, 2013

I guess you're right. I just think it's really wasteful and a pain. I mean, I like the idea of having 2 smokers for the price of one. But, I feel like I'm forced into taking advantage and this is the sort of thing that makes the prices of products go up. If they would just make it so that I can replace the meat probe, it saves everyone money in the long run. I mean, it's crazy to replace the entire unit just because of the meat probe not working. I have 2 other wireless meat probes, that only cost $14 each from Meijer. They are spot on with my dial thermometers, too. My other thought was I could just return this one to Cabelas and buy the older model for about $200 less than I paid for this one. If everyone is having problems with this model and the old one is better, why keep the problematic one?

chiefwej · Feb 27, 2013

I was a bit disappointed when I first bought my MES 40 at Sam's only to see it replaced by a new model only a couple weeks later. Now, that I see all the problems people are having with the newest generation, I'm thrilled that I was able to get one of the last of the old generation smokers. Mine just works. Temps always very close to my readings on the Maverick 732, and now with the AMNPS It's damn near perfect! If you can find an older model MES 40, i would go for it.

I hope Masterbuilt can get the problems worked out so that everyone else's MES works as good as mine. Good luck fellows.

geerock · Feb 27, 2013

Old sarge
Keep in mind that mb only sends the cabinet without anything else...... no door, racks, tray, controller. Nothing. So its pretty hard to make two working units.

Masterbuilt is the one right now with a reputation problem and customers who feel ripped off.... not vice versa.

eman · Feb 27, 2013

Get the new one they are sending you and use the old cabinet for cold smoking w/ an amazen pellet smoker.

buggerritt · Feb 28, 2013

geerock said:
Old sarge
Keep in mind that mb only sends the cabinet without anything else...... no door, racks, tray, controller. Nothing. So its pretty hard to make two working units.

Masterbuilt is the one right now with a reputation problem and customers who feel ripped off.... not vice versa.

Another member mentioned that they shipped a door assembly along with the body. Plus a controller and a cover to make him happy. I can't guarantee that they will do the same with me but, how hard would it be to get a door, I wonder? I'm sure that the racks can't be that hard to come by.

chiefwej said:
I was a bit disappointed when I first bought my MES 40 at Sam's only to see it replaced by a new model only a couple weeks later. Now, that I see all the problems people are having with the newest generation, I'm thrilled that I was able to get one of the last of the old generation smokers. Mine just works. Temps always very close to my readings on the Maverick 732, and now with the AMNPS It's damn near perfect! If you can find an older model MES 40, i would go for it.

I hope Masterbuilt can get the problems worked out so that everyone else's MES works as good as mine. Good luck fellows.

Well, I thought I was able to find the old generation one just days ago. I can't seem to find it, now. I bought mine from Cabelas 10 days ago for $449. Now, they have it on sale for $379. I've emailed them with my predicament and asked for a refund of the difference.

eman said:
Get the new one they are sending you and use the old cabinet for cold smoking w/ an amazen pellet smoker.

Already got the AMNPS in a mailbox mod. That thing really smokes :)

geerock · Feb 28, 2013

Theres no doubt you can make it work for a few bucks. As for cabelas they are one of the best for customer service.

buggerritt · Feb 28, 2013

Yeah. I got a reply saying that they don't reimburse for past purchases. So, I said "in that case I will be returning it, for a full refund. Please send me an RMA number and a shipping label. Thank you for your time." The next reply offered me a gift card for the difference. That was good enough for me. It might as well be cash. Cabelas rules. :) The only thing I'm thinking now is that the Smokin-it #3 is only $499 w/free shipping and looks like a much more solid product with a 1200 watt heating element and is all 18 gauge stainless with casters. I paid more than that, after shipping, for this one.

beernuts · Mar 1, 2013

Well I received my replacement controller today and installed it in my MES 40. I thought I was going to get a replacement remote also since the remote I originally had didn't work with the second controller I got. No remote in the box. Oh we'll. I unpacked the new controller and the first thing I noticed was that it was sealed along all of the edges where the plastic parts meet with heavy doses of silicone sealant. I'm not sure what its supposed to do but it looks waterproof. I installed it and fired up the remote and smoker to see what was going to happen. It took a few minutes but I finally got the remote to work and I ran the box for a hour or so. Unfortunately I wasn't able to check the temps since my ET-732 was monitoring the GMG DB where there were two racks of BB ribs going. I'll try to get out tomorrow to do the temp test and let you know how it goes.

geerock · Mar 1, 2013

Got mine today, too, along with a new door kit. Didn't bother trying it out as I wasn't in the mood for getting pissed off if it didn't work. Plus, like beernuts, the Mav is watching over 2 butts and 2 racks of St. Louie's on the Traeger.

old sarge · Mar 1, 2013

You are correct. I mis-read and thought you were getting basically a new smoker. My apologies.

old sarge · Mar 1, 2013

buggerritt said:
Yeah. I got a reply saying that they don't reimburse for past purchases. So, I said "in that case I will be returning it, for a full refund. Please send me an RMA number and a shipping label. Thank you for your time." The next reply offered me a gift card for the difference. That was good enough for me. It might as well be cash. Cabelas rules. :) The only thing I'm thinking now is that the Smokin-it #3 is only $499 w/free shipping and looks like a much more solid product with a 1200 watt heating element and is all 18 gauge stainless with casters. I paid more than that, after shipping, for this one.

Where are you able to find the Model 3 Smokin-it with free shipping?

geerock · Mar 1, 2013

old sarge said:
Where are you able to find the Model 3 Smokin-it with free shipping?

Was thinking the same thing.... shipping for even basic ground is usually over $100.

buggerritt · Mar 2, 2013

old sarge said:
buggerritt said:

Yeah. I got a reply saying that they don't reimburse for past purchases. So, I said "in that case I will be returning it, for a full refund. Please send me an RMA number and a shipping label. Thank you for your time." The next reply offered me a gift card for the difference. That was good enough for me. It might as well be cash. Cabelas rules. :) The only thing I'm thinking now is that the Smokin-it #3 is only $499 w/free shipping and looks like a much more solid product with a 1200 watt heating element and is all 18 gauge stainless with casters. I paid more than that, after shipping, for this one.

Click to expand...

Where are you able to find the Model 3 Smokin-it with free shipping?

Right straight from the smokin-it website.

geerock said:
old sarge said:

Where are you able to find the Model 3 Smokin-it with free shipping?

Click to expand...

Was thinking the same thing.... shipping for even basic ground is usually over $100.

http://www.smokin-it.com/Smoker_p/smkmdl3.htm

click on add to cart and then check shipping rates. It was $0 when I checked.

smokingrk · Mar 2, 2013

geerock said:
Got mine today, too, along with a new door kit. Didn't bother trying it out as I wasn't in the mood for getting pissed off if it didn't work. Plus, like beernuts, the Mav is watching over 2 butts and 2 racks of St. Louie's on the Traeger.

Interested to hear if the new controllers correct the issue of temp control and over shoot to above 300F.

Beernuts said:
Well I received my replacement controller today and installed it in my MES 40. I thought I was going to get a replacement remote also since the remote I originally had didn't work with the second controller I got. No remote in the box. Oh we'll. I unpacked the new controller and the first thing I noticed was that it was sealed along all of the edges where the plastic parts meet with heavy doses of silicone sealant. I'm not sure what its supposed to do but it looks waterproof. I installed it and fired up the remote and smoker to see what was going to happen. It took a few minutes but I finally got the remote to work and I ran the box for a hour or so. Unfortunately I wasn't able to check the temps since my ET-732 was monitoring the GMG DB where there were two racks of BB ribs going. I'll try to get out tomorrow to do the temp test and let you know how it goes.

Interesting to hear the sealer around the edges.

This may be what is affecting the boxes that are left outside with low temps and moisture issues, assuming the old one did not have the sealer.

I have not taken my old controller out yet, when I do I'll post.

Thanks for pointing that out you may have provided a fix for those with the moisture issues.

geerock · Mar 2, 2013

buggerritt said:
Right straight from the smokin-it website.
http://www.smokin-it.com/Smoker_p/smkmdl3.htm

click on add to cart and then check shipping rates. It was $0 when I checked.

Thats because you didn't put in the state and zipcode that they ask for but you can't complete the transaction without that info.

old sarge · Mar 2, 2013

Definitely need an address!

geerock · Mar 2, 2013

I wish I knew that mb actually 'reworked' these controllers by doing more than simply siliconing the seams. All controllers produce a certain amount of heat and sealing the innards, along with the position of the controller at the top front of the smoker is concerning. Put it in the summertime sun and ..... well I guess we'll find out.

Just got off the phone with Masterbuilt

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