masterbuilt blames A-MAZE-N for dead unit.

[tallbm]

I finally heard back from masterbuilt. They will not support repairs on my unit because of the use of the pellets. Just an FYI!

That sucks. Looks like it is time to take matters into your own hands :)
Borrow or buy Multimeter

With the Multimeter (MM) you can test if the heating element is busted or not.
Also you can check for continuity along a wire. You just inplug both ends of the wire, put the MM on the continuity setting and if it beeps then there are no breaks or between both ends of the wire.
If it does not peep then you either have some breaks somewhere between the ends of the wire OR the two ends you are testing aren't actually part of the same wire. Continuity checking is super easy and very helpful when figuring out where something is going wrong.

Finally once you find the issue (busted connector, disconnected wire, ground wire issues, frayed wire touching something it shouldn't be touching, etc. etc.) you can then fix it.
If the wiring all checks out (continuity says so, and grounding is good) the issue is Masterbuilt components. In that case I suggest you rewire and go with an Auber PID controller and make your MES better performing than what Masterbuilt does :)

Yup. I cut out a square area on the back with a dremel cut off wheel to access the roll out switch when it fails so I can bypass it with a wire nut while waiting for a new one arrive. Everything looks perfect connection wise so I'll wait till something happens before changing to high heat lugs on that switch. The foil tape works great. I feel better now that I can quickly access componets in the Gen 1 40 that can fail without finishing in my kitchen oven.

I did the same with my dremel and covered the hole with a piece of like 5mm thick scrap aluminum a buddy of mine had lying around. I used self tapping sheet metal screwed to fasten the scrap aluminum square over the hole and made my own panel. I then just foil taped over the edges to seal it from any potential liquid getting in.
I've had to open it at least 2 times as I learned that I was causing my replacement rollout limit switches to burn up since I was handling them too roughly and causing the tabs to loosen and wiggle which = electrical resistance = heat = melding my switches hahaha.

 

[dward51]

I finally heard back from masterbuilt. They will not support repairs on my unit because of the use of the pellets. Just an FYI!

Once that stance on denying warranties where pellets are used gets out to more people, it will hurt their sales. Nearly everyone I know who has a MES runs a pellet tube or tray instead of the original chip system and knew they were buying the tray/tube when they bought the MES.

I think they took it you were putting pellets in their chip system. Just curious but does it say "DO NOT USE PELLETS" in their manual? If not, they may not have much of a leg to stand on if you push the issue.

 

[Jonok]

Unfortunately, it does:
See pp 3 and 24
https://s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/...77679362163/MB20072918-Instruction-Manual.pdf

 

[Bearcarver]

Additionally to clarify, I am not bashing the a-maze-n product. I just thought it odd that MES is blaming the use of it, when there is no shortage of complaints for the same issue that I have experience two times now.

This is a bad sign:
Back about 9 years ago, Masterbuilt was a Terrible company for Customer Service.
Then a couple years later they became a Good CS company, and then a Great CS company.
I sure hope they aren't going to get back to the way they were 9 years ago, because they really sucked back then!!!
And it is absurd for them to blame anybody else for their problems, especially "Amazing Smokers".

Bear

 

[dr k]

That sucks. Looks like it is time to take matters into your own hands :)
Borrow or buy Multimeter

With the Multimeter (MM) you can test if the heating element is busted or not.
Also you can check for continuity along a wire. You just inplug both ends of the wire, put the MM on the continuity setting and if it beeps then there are no breaks or between both ends of the wire.
If it does not peep then you either have some breaks somewhere between the ends of the wire OR the two ends you are testing aren't actually part of the same wire. Continuity checking is super easy and very helpful when figuring out where something is going wrong.

Finally once you find the issue (busted connector, disconnected wire, ground wire issues, frayed wire touching something it shouldn't be touching, etc. etc.) you can then fix it.
If the wiring all checks out (continuity says so, and grounding is good) the issue is Masterbuilt components. In that case I suggest you rewire and go with an Auber PID controller and make your MES better performing than what Masterbuilt does :)


I did the same with my dremel and covered the hole with a piece of like 5mm thick scrap aluminum a buddy of mine had lying around. I used self tapping sheet metal screwed to fasten the scrap aluminum square over the hole and made my own panel. I then just foil taped over the edges to seal it from any potential liquid getting in.
I've had to open it at least 2 times as I learned that I was causing my replacement rollout limit switches to burn up since I was handling them too roughly and causing the tabs to loosen and wiggle which = electrical resistance = heat = melding my switches hahaha.

Yes I remember the flexible tabs compared to the heating element you mentioned so thats why I'm waiting for a failure then replace both lugs and roll out switch outside the access area to not damage the new component if needed. Auber's fix was to get a power cord and put lugs on the hot and neutral and a circle lug on the ground and terminate ground to the chassis with one of the six screws that hold on the element access plate. I like the safety roll out sensor so the kb301 Amazon or whatever I can find you put up is what I'll replace. If those tabs are a pita then bypassed is how I'll leave it. Or down the road if the rollout fails buying one from someone that bought a bag of five maybe the solution. The twenty T3111 or whatever $8 bag of Supco high heat element lugs I have I've been giving/mailing them in a soldered pigtail form to solder/wire nut to whomever wants them. I bought a Mes back up element because that's the only thing I need other than the box and door from MB. I am sooo happy i have all SS inside and out origianal Gen 1 40 with support rails compared to newer hybrids with paint/corrosion on the box where the the door seal hits it. If you flip the element get a longer ground bolt with two nuts so you can terminate the ground wire like you see it when taking it apart and the other nut to secure the element in the access area. I shrink tubed the excess bolt thread to keep the securing nut from backing off as well as insulating it.

 

[tallbm]

Yes I remember the flexible tabs compared to the heating element you mentioned so thats why I'm waiting for a failure then replace both lugs and roll out switch outside the access area to not damage the new component if needed. Auber's fix was to get a power cord and put lugs on the hot and neutral and a circle lug on the ground and terminate ground to the chassis with one of the six screws that hold on the element access plate. I like the safety roll out sensor so the kb301 Amazon or whatever I can find you put up is what I'll replace. If those tabs are a pita then bypassed is how I'll leave it. Or down the road if the rollout fails buying one from someone that bought a bag of five maybe the solution. The twenty T3111 or whatever $8 bag of Supco high heat element lugs I have I've been giving/mailing them in a soldered pigtail form to solder/wire nut to whomever wants them. I bought a Mes back up element because that's the only thing I need other than the box and door from MB. I am sooo happy i have all SS inside and out origianal Gen 1 40 with support rails compared to newer hybrids with paint/corrosion on the box where the the door seal hits it. If you flip the element get a longer ground bolt with two nuts so you can terminate the ground wire like you see it when taking it apart and the other nut to secure the element in the access area. I shrink tubed the excess bolt thread to keep the securing nut from backing off as well as insulating it.

I'm with you. If the safety switch aint broke then don't fix it lol. All your mods sound like the same ones I have implemented as well. I think if I mod anything next I may remove the light housing, RTV over the holes and in the screw aluminum angle into the sides at the top so I can slide an MES rack up there and hang things from it for smoking things like sausage, hams, bagged turkey/chicken, and maybe get some bacon hooks to be able to do more bacon at once :)

 

[chopsaw]

I think they took it you were putting pellets in their chip system.

I'm thinking the same thing .

 

[$mok!ng]

No I sent pictures of what I use and was very clear that the pellets don’t sit on the heating element.

 

[dward51]

yep, they deliberately used that as an excuse to deny customer service. That is not good at all. If it keeps up, they deserve what they will get (customers will move elsewhere - at least the ones who have done any level on internet research once word starts to get out).

Either that or the CS rep and the supervisor you ended up with are both idiots (which is entirely possible).

 

[daveomak]

From the MB manual...

Wood chip loader and wood chip tray MUST be in place when using smoker. This minimizes the chance of wood flare ups.• Wood chips must be used in order to produce smoke and create the smoke flavor.• Before starting smoker, place ½ cup of wood chips in chip loader. Never use more than ½ cup of wood chips at a time. Never use wood chunks or wood pellets.• Insert wood chip loader into smoker. Wood chips should be level with top rim of wood chip loader.• Turn handle clockwise in direction of arrow mark on smoker to unload wood chips. Wood chips will drop into wood chip tray. Turn handle counterclockwise to upright position and leave wood chip loader in place.• If wood chips do not smoke on low setting, increase temperature to 275°. After 8 to 10 minutes, or when wood chips begin to smolder, reduce temperature to desired low setting.• You may use dry or pre-soaked wood chips in your smoker. Dry chips will burn faster and produce more intense smoke. Chips pre-soaked in water (for approximately 30 minutes) will burn slower and produce a less intense smoke.• Check wood chip tray periodically to see if wood has burned down. Add more chips as needed.• Do not leave old ashes in the wood chip tray. Once ashes are cold, empty tray. Tray should be cleaned out prior to, and after each use to prevent ash buildup.