converting MES to a pid

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hank2000

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Jan 10, 2015
482
42
Louisville, ms
My brother in law bought a brand new Gen. 1 Mes with a window from QVC.when he got it only worked twice before it started cutting off after a few minutes of use.well Masterbuilt made him cut the cord and take the info plate off the back and sent him a new Gen 2.  a long story short i ended up with the Gen. 1.  my plain is to disable the wiring it has now and rewire it with a new PID   i will not use any of the wire or controls that masterbuilt put on it.  this should safe and i wont have to worry about anything shorting out because everything i install will be to code and be where if there is ever a problem i can fix it.   i will post pics and what i did as i go. it may be a little bit because i have to get over christmas before i start ordering parts.  if any one thinks this is a bad idia or has any idieas please jump in.
 
here is a pic of what i have    i did get this from the internet

300x300px-LS-82fef5fa_electricsmoker.jpeg
 
sounds like a plan.. many have done it...

word of note... make sure you use high temp solder-less (crimped) connectors when connecting to the heat element... can be gotten at appliance parts stores
 
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yeah im trying to plain ahead so when i get started i will have everything i need  i over kill everything   14g wire should carry it just fine thats why im using 12g wire with a 12g s.o. cord    
 
Not real sure what's wrong with it. I was just gong to get a good pid I could program to ramp up at certain time I make a lot of sausage bacon and snake sticks this would help so I would not have to baby set as much. I own a lot of land there always some thing to do while the smoker is doing its thing.
 
A few other mods for you to ponder....  The MES 30 has a hot spot in the back right corner.... I found the "tunnel" pretty much moves the heat to the center of the smoker and solves that problem.....   In the picture on the left, you will see a bump where wire comes through and reconnects to the exhaust damper...

...click on pics to enlarge....

        

While doing the mods for the mailbox and AMNPS, I removed the chip chute and "house" stuff...  I kept the chip pan for thermal mass... added a section of "duct" to help move the heat to the center of the smoker.....  The water pan is always empty or can have gravel in it for thermal mass.....  


The mailbox mod is a great addition for hot or cold smoking...   I recommend attaching the duct to the back of the MB for "once thru" air flow...

......
 
All good mods I have a master built cold smoke kit I use on my mes30. And I just picked up another one at a discount store go $15. I'm going to try that one my mes 40. To start with. But I like what u did may be able to use some of it one both of mine
 
When you wire up your heater it would be a good idea to reuse the safety thermostat.

If will cut off the heater if your control gets stuck on and the smoker temp gets over 300° before it starts a fire.

Walta
 
Tonight, I finished converting my newly acquired MES40 over to PID and cannot believe how stable the temps are now.  Best thing I ever did to this beast.  I also did a make shift of DaveOmak's tunnel as well as installed a deflector right above the heating element to draw the heat towards the center of the box instead of shooting straight up the right side. 
 
Tonight, I finished converting my newly acquired MES40 over to PID and cannot believe how stable the temps are now.  Best thing I ever did to this beast.  I also did a make shift of DaveOmak's tunnel as well as installed a deflector right above the heating element to draw the heat towards the center of the box instead of shooting straight up the right side. 
can you post pics of your mods please
 
Both of my tunnel and deflector mod's are both make shift quality for I was only testing a few "what if's".   Now that they seem to be working for me, I'll incorporate permanent pieces and will take pics then.  Stay tuned.
 
do you have pics of how to do this i was thinking the same thing but i really want to make sure im doing everything right  i hope to use this smoker for years to come
 
Hank,

For the permanent tunnel,  I will be going out to my local hardware store to see what I can find.  I can take a pic later today of the heat deflector but again it's not the permanent one.  Also there are lots of pics posted by others who have done it already.

The conversion to the PID is the best mod.  You will find lots of pics.  Will take a couple pics probably tomorrow, while I'm out in the shop smoking doing more mods while smoking some wings in one of my other smokers.

Craig
 
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It's been a while since I've posted to this but have been trying to get everything to gather and its turns cold so I can't work on anything right now no heat in he shop. I did get my pid from Arbers last week and now I'm looking for Heat resistant connectors and wire to wire up my power cord to my element. No pic of the pid but I will get one. It's a single pone pid that can be programmed with up to 6 different heat settings and can save different profiles so u don't have to program it every time So I can program it to cook say a Boston butt for pulled pork and save it the next time I want to cook one all I heave to do is call it up. More to come as the weather worms up.
 
? For those who have used a pid do u have to run auto tune and what temp do u set it to in order to do it right. I will be doing everything from smoking bacon and sausage to cooking pulled pork and every thing in between. I want the cc temps as close to my set temp as possible for every thing I cook. I want to do it right the first time Thanks
 
Hank,

I never used the auto tune for my Auber 1200 series.  Just plugged it in and programmed it to my needs.  I use mine for fish  so my temps are low and slow starting with 130, then 145, then 160+.

For wiring it up, I modified a heavy duty extension cord, cut it to a good length and then attached connectors with heat shrink tubing to the end of the cord and that's it! 
 
? For those who have used a pid do u have to run auto tune and what temp do u set it to in order to do it right. I will be doing everything from smoking bacon and sausage to cooking pulled pork and every thing in between. I want the cc temps as close to my set temp as possible for every thing I cook. I want to do it right the first time Thanks
Hank I like Cmaya have never auto tuned the PID. I tried it out of the box with the default settings and it was  + or - 3 degrees That was better than my wifes oven so I was happy. I am going to include a link on my PID rewire. I decdied I wanted to include the Thermal overload switch. In the pellet stove industry it is called a snap switch. I wanted a little more safety when smoking overnight.  I hope it gives you some info or ideas. 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/171352/mes-30-pid-rewire   Jted
 
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