MES40 2012 Model GFCI Problems

[sshepherd]

First post here, stumbled across this great forum while researching the MES 40" (20070512) while Cabela's had it on sale. I have found so much helpful information on this forum regarding the MB units and thought I would ask you all a question.

I just finished assembling the MES40 and now am beginning the seasoning process.

After about an hour of running (30 minutes with door open) the unit tripped my GFCI circuit. All of my garage outlets and outdoor outlets are wired off of one GFCI outlet in my basement. Nothing is is running of of this circuit, just the MES.

Has anyone else had this problem?

I don't want to run an extension cord into my house to a non-GFCI outlet.

My math shows the unit @ 1200 watt should only draw ~10AMP without losses. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance...

 

[linguica]

Here we go again.........Several postings have tried to deal with this problem in the past. I'm not aware that the problem has ever been solved despite the fact we have electricians on this forum. Hold tight, others will follow. Below are two threads that have tried to deal with it.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/130662/soldering-irons-are-blowing-my-fuses

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/63004/gfci-plug-in

 

[sshepherd]

Quote

Thanks for the response, I figured I would get a response like that "here we go again..."

, I have read a few of the articles within this forum that you are mentioning. I am still researching but, was hoping someone had discovered a common reason for this problem.

It shocks me that a brand new unit would be the problem, the heating element seems to be working correctly.

I just replaced this GFCI receptacle and it still will trip every so often, the new receptacle didn't seem to help.

My biggest questions at the moment is where to start the appliance (MES) or the circuit since I am defiantly not an electrician.

 

[sshepherd]

Thanks for the response, I figured I would get a response like that "here we go again..."

, I have read a few of the articles within this forum that you are mentioning. I am still researching but, was hoping someone had discovered a common reason for this problem.

It shocks me that a brand new unit would be the problem, the heating element seems to be working correctly.

I just replaced this GFCI receptacle and it still will trip every so often, the new receptacle didn't seem to help.

My biggest questions at the moment is where to start the appliance (MES) or the circuit since I am defiantly not an electrician.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Do you live in a damp or dry climate? If you could update your location that might help us all answer better.

When I lived on the Oregon coast, anything that was plugged in long term to GFCI outlets outdoors would eventually trip. The only solution was to remove the GFCI and replace with a standard plug. I know this is not code, but there's just to much moisture in the air!

Here in the high desert of Oregon they work okay, but one that was just installed back in February has decided not to work or reset, It worked great all summer. Went to plug the x-mass lights in and it is now shot.

My cousin who lives in Portland Oregon can't use his MES plugged into any of his, So he wired a plug in his garage that is not GFCI and runsa short extension cord to the smoker.

 

[sshepherd]

dirtsailor2003 - I live in Northeast Missouri. The humidity is ~60% currently with a dew point of 35 F it is currently ~50 F outside. So nothing real humid or real dry.

It seems that after the unit is up to temperature (275 F) that it quits tripping the receptacle. Maybe this is just because the run time of the heating element lowers? I didn't think the run time would have much to do with it tripping since it just looks for a small amp differential across neutral vs hot.

My cousin who lives in Portland Oregon can't use his MES plugged into any of his, So he wired a plug in his garage that is not GFCI and runs a short extension cord to the smoker.

I have considered this but, I am in a rental house and would prefer not to get into a "non-code electrical modification" pissing match with the property management company.

I hope to find the answer is something simple. I am wondering if it could be losses in the wiring of the MES or a bad connection?

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Have you tried running an extension cord (shortest one you can)  from a non GFCI outlet? If it trips the breaker in the panel, then there may be something wrong with the unit itself.

 

[linguica]

One way to diagnose the problem (the electricians here are going to kick my butt for suggesting it) is to plug the MES into an outlet with a 3 prong to 2 prong adapter (link #1). BEFORE you do that connect a neon voltage tester (link #2) from the tab on the adapter or a clean metal part of the smoker and the other end to a good ground ( conduit or cold water pipe) You may have to add wire to the tester to get the leads to reach. Power up the smoker and watch the voltage tester. If at any time the tester lights up, there is a ground fault. Immediately unplug the smoker touching only the plastic on the smoker cord. This would be a fault in the smoker that the manufacturer should be made aware of. If your not comfortable working with electricity, please disregard this posting.


http://www.walmart.com/ip/Gardner-B..._sku=21192876&sourceid=1500000000000003260430

 

[linguica]

Calling all Sparkies....MES40--GFCI problem

 

[rabbithutch]

I'm not an electrician but I've experienced problems with GFCIs. They are not all created equal. Maybe a sparkie will show up and tell us what we need to know. FWIW, I run the older model MES40 on an outside plug protected by a GFCI circuit breaker and have no problems. Humidity varies a great deal in central Texas but I've not had a problem using it during any kind of weather.

 

[tjohnson]

No problems with my GFCI and any of my MES 40's

Try plugging into a #10 or #12 extension cord

TJ

 

[daveomak]

you might check all outlets on the circuit to make sure there is only 1 GFCI on the circuit....  Then try a new GFCI and replace the old one in the wall outlet...  They will go bad.....

 

[hoity toit]

GFI'S do fail, and they also nuisance trip., Now, generally speaking, if it pops off , it is doing exactly what it was designed to do, detecting a ground fault. As for myself, being a master electrician for 30 yrs...I would not be too concerned about it. Moisture can cause the issue and the problem can be intermittent. Once again. don't e too concerned. The newer GFCI's are weather resistant noted by the WR on the outlet itself. Older GFCI's won't have that rating. expect to pay 18-20 bucks for a WR rated gfci. It is the new code in effect now.

 

[sshepherd]

Thanks for all the replies, I am going to further investigate tomorrow. I am going to go pick up an extension cord if needed as suggested to try from a non GFCI.

To clarify my setup... standard breaker powering (1) GFCI receptacle in my basement, and this (1) GFCI receptacle then transfers power to (4) standard receptacles. I have my smoker plugged into 1 of the 4 standard receptacles.

I will report back any findings tomorrow and use the suggestions listed above.

The 3 prong to 2 prong adapter ground leak check is a great idea, thanks for the tip I may try this if needed.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[linguica]

Thanks for all the replies, I am going to further investigate tomorrow. I am going to go pick up an extension cord if needed as suggested to try from a non GFCI.
To clarify my setup... standard breaker powering (1) GFCI receptacle in my basement, and this (1) GFCI receptacle then transfers power to (4) standard receptacles. I have my smoker plugged into 1 of the 4 standard receptacles.
I will report back any findings tomorrow and use the suggestions listed above.
The 3 prong to 2 prong adapter ground leak check is a great idea, thanks for the tip I may try this if needed.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

The extension cord should be 12 GA and as short as possible.

 

[sshepherd]

So, I had an extension cord handy, a multi-meter, extra receptacles etc. ready to troubleshoot and hopefully fix the problem. I started out by swapping out the GFCI with a different one, I fired up the smoker to begin warming it up expecting a quick trip of the GFCI, after an hour of run time it never tripped.

I was hopeful last night that I would be able to smoke some meat today so I went ahead and started trimming and marinating a brisket. Since I had no idea what I was doing I looked up a couple threads on this forum and went from there. I cut most of the fat off of the fat cap and cooked fat cap side down. I never flipped the brisket during the cook or mopped it, but I did rotate the brisket 180 deg (halfway through cook) because the MES seems to get warmer on the vent side where the heat seems to take its path to the vent. I wanted to keep my 1st smoke pretty basic and not do much wrapping, mopping, flipping etc. so that I can determine a base line and when/why I need to perform the extra steps.

Turned out pretty well, a little dry in my opinion although at the same time it was not tough at all. Next time I will wrap in foil to finish the last 15 deg or so. It was 5lbs and it took about 6-1/2 hrs @ 225 deg F.

IMG_0269.jpg

• sshepherd
• Dec 8, 2012

Thanks for every ones help, I am going to use all of your tips to troubleshoot if the problem comes up again.

 

[linguica]

GFI'S do fail, and they also nuisance trip., Now, generally speaking, if it pops off , it is doing exactly what it was designed to do, detecting a ground fault. As for myself, being a master electrician for 30 yrs...I would not be too concerned about it. Moisture can cause the issue and the problem can be intermittent. Once again. don't e too concerned. The newer GFCI's are weather resistant noted by the WR on the outlet itself. Older GFCI's won't have that rating.  It is texpect to pay 18-20 bucks for a WR rated gfci.he new code in effect

The MES GFCI problem will most certainly arise again. So far this explanation is the one that makes the most sense.

 

[geraucht]

Picked up my "Gen 2" 40" Masterbuilt last night from Sams for $299.  Assembled it, and pre-seasoned as per instructions.  As soon as it reached approximately 250 degrees, it popped the GFCI.  I reset the GFCI, and tried again.  It took a few minutes for the unit to start climbing in temp again; once it got to approx. 250 it popped the GFCI a second time.  I tried moving to a different outlet (with a outlet-mounted GFCI vs. panel-mounted) and got the same results.  It's hard to believe that 2 different GFCI's would fail at approximately the same indicated temperature.  I'm willing to replace the panel-mounted GFCI; at 10amps (1200w) though it's not drawing more than my wife's hair dryer (which is also on a GFCI).  I called Masterbuilt and they said to either return the unit to Sam's or they could send me another shell.  

I'm going to replace the panel mounted GFCI tonight, attempt the pre-season again, and return the unit if it pops the GFCI again.  The real question is whether or not I exchange the bad one or just forget about the whole thing and save my pennies for a better smoker.  Stay tuned....

 

[daveomak]

geraucht, morning and welcome to the forum.....   When you get a moment, please stop into roll call and introduce yourself for a proper welcome from our members... Also, in your profile, would you fill in your location for us to better help you in the future......

About your GFCI.... I believe it is code, in most areas, that outdoor circuits be 20 amp....   You will need a 20 amp GFCI to replace the outdoor unit... They make units for high humidity/moisture areas also....   Dave

                                                                                   Roll Call

 

[geraucht]

Well folks- Here's the update as of this evening:

Had my wife plug the unit into a non-GFCI outlet and run it up to 275 degrees while I was at work today.  It ran 4 hours with no problem.  I bought a new GFCI on the way home and replaced the panel unit.  2 hours and counting at 275 with no issues!  Just put a 1/2 cup of dry cherry wood chips in there.  I had an interesting experience afterwards, though, so any comments would be really appreciated.  Within a minute or two of dumping the chips into the container, there were a few rather large puffs of smoke coming out the side of the smoker, followed by the wood bursting into flames.  I shut the power off and closed the vent down on the top to help choke the flames down.  The flames went out after a minute or two, and I've powered it back up.  Looks like the wood burned up as smoke is minimal now.  This whole thing reminds me of the "distillation of wood" experiment from high school.  Any thoughts on whether or not this is normal?  I'm also trying to understand if I should be leaving the vent choked down as well as how much smoke should be coming out of the vent.  Hate to be so needy on here, but the manual leaves a lot to be desired.