3 yr old MES 40 is dead!!

ptcruiserguy said:

 
Okay so a lot of looks but no answers as of right now.

So I have a couple more questions.

1. Since I am not getting any power up to the controller unit, Is it possible to check to see if the 

heating element is still good.

2. If the Element is still good, can I buy a PID controller and use it for my heating of the smoker?

Also I used a multi-meter to check and see if I am getting power through my cord, and I am getting what read to be 122Vs.

Anything after that I have no clue how to check.

Thanks again for looking

Mike

Click to expand...

Masterbuilt customer service can help you troubleshoot and sell you replacement parts if necessary.  Another option is to private message MBTech Guy in this forum. He's exactly what his nickname says.

my controller to a crap on a 30... the wires were burnt on the element also... as y'all say about struggling with temps, mine did too.... my remedy ?? a 1500 watt burner and a PID controller ... no more problems ... temps recover QUICK and I can smoke/cook at 350` or higher if I want (I don't as I am afraid the cabinet will catch fire)... LOL

ok.. So I got a PM showing interest in my set up... I don't have pics of the "remodel" so this is why I didn't make a thread...


this is the 1500 W element I got


I drilled 3 holes in the metal and put stainless steel bolts (2 1/2" I think) in it, for legs... I put them on the burner side and turned the whole unit upside down (element on the bottom).. so now the metal acts as a difusser... you'll notice in the picture there is legs holding the element up.. I had to secure those to the diffuser to hold it in place when turning upside down...

you will also need a 25A SSR for this set up...

anymore questions let me know... sorry to hi jack the thread though ...

I actually bought this element for a smokehouse.. but the smokehouse is to big and wouldn't heat it up enough... so I repurposed it...

That should take care of the heating problem. With the diffuser on top of the element have you noticed or checked if there is a lot of heat trapped at the floor? But heat rises so maybe it is not an issue. Do you use the chip tray and loader or a AMNPS or how do you now get smoke?

no trapped heat and I use the 12" pellet tube for smoke....

speaking of the tube smoker... I also tweaked that a little too... I forget who posted it, but they put muffler clamps on each end of the tube smoker... so the bolts act as legs to keep it from rolling around... I just used stainless all-thread and made my own U bolts with a piece of stainless for the plate... made it so the "legs" are about 2" long.. this holds it up off the diffuser and the pellets don't burn up when smoking hotter....

That sounds like a heck of a mod. I use the 5x8 AMNPS.