MES 30 Electrical Short

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chuckybrown

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 26, 2015
18
14
Sugar Land, Texas
Two weeks ago as I made a bunch of ABT's, I stepped out to warm up my MES 30. I came back in and grabbed an aluminum pan that I needed to mold to fit the bottom as my drip pan. I opened the door of the smoker, and noticed the heating element was bright cherry red. Strange....I'd never seen it do that before. Anyway, I grabbed the aluminum pan (to hold against the opening to mark the spot where I was going bend it) and lean down toward the door of the smoker.

Suddenly there was the recognizable sound of a big electrical short, followed by bright white fire for about three seconds coming from the bottom center of the unit where the element meets the body of the unit. Then...a big pop, and I'm showered by sparks as I was backpedaling to get away. Then my garage and breezeway went dark as the breaker tripped. It was downright frightening. I can only imagine what might have happened if I had been holding onto the door, etc.

So, with 64 ABT's on my counter I did what anyone else would do.....I immediately went to Academy and bought an MES 40. I seasoned the new smoker overnight, and smoked the peppers the next morning.

I emailed Masterbuilt what had happened to my 9 month old smoker. After emailing them my receipt and a picture of the old unit with the cord cut off....a new replacement was shipped to me and arrived two days later and will go to my ranch to be used there.

So, kudos to Masterbuilt. They never pushed back, and were helpful from the get-go.

Anyone else experience electrical issues with them?

Chuck
 
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Sounds like the controller died in the ON position.... You can bypass all the electrical stuff, in the unit, and hook a different controller up to the heating element... The element is probably still good.... Check it with and OHM meter.... My 800 watt element had 21 OHMs resistance and it was good....
 
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