Anyone know how to jump around mes controller

[drtheo]

I'm in the middle of a smoke and my smoker will not go past 200 degrees all of a sudden it doesn't mes 40 electric and I think the controller may be crapping out because it reads that the smoker is at 275 however my ready check reads it is at 198.

 

[Winterrider]

Are you cranked all the way ? Do you trust your ready check?

 

[fivetricks]

Try cleaning the smokers temp probe in the chamber with a paper towel

 

[drtheo]

Checked the smoker temp with my redi check and my Pyrex digital, I wiped down the temp probe with a vinager paper towel and still the same issue.

Yes I have it set to 275 which is the max on these.

The refi check and Pyrex have both been checked in boiling water and are good

 

[tallbm]

I'm in the middle of a smoke and my smoker will not go past 200 degrees all of a sudden it doesn't mes 40 electric and I think the controller may be crapping out because it reads that the smoker is at 275 however my ready check reads it is at 198.

As winter mentions you might want to test your ready check in boiling water to see if hit hits 212F. That is the simplest thing you can do. Also move the meat to the hottest rack in your MES and to the hot side so it gets more heat.

If you are are having issues with the controller there are ways to bypass it BUT you need a seperate controller like an Auber PID controller and this is not something u can do while u have meat in the smoker.

One final thing to check is if the safety rollout limit switch is burning up. IF your MES40 has a panel on the back midway up and likely to the right side, u can unplug the MES and then pull that panel off and inspect the connections there. If they are corroding or the switch is burning up/melting u can snip the 2 wires and wire nut them together. The issue in this case is that the safety switch is failing and overheating thereby shutting down the power to the element. This bypass fixes that IF THIS IS THE ISSUE.

If your issue is with the heating element wire connectors then u have to have 14-16 AWG female spade wire connectors to replace them. This is not really something u can do in a pinch either as the smoker needs to cool down AND working in that panel usually means lifting or laying the MES on it's face/door side to work that area.

Worse case scenario get a cold smoke effect going and after about 2hours transfer to the oven to finish your cook. Not idea but it will allow u to get a little smoke and not lose any meat.

I hope this info helps and when this smoke is done the real troubleshooting and fixing can start :)

 

[chopsaw]

Do you have a pan or something under the meat that's causing more heat to flow past the therm and cycle the unit early ?

 

[fivetricks]

Accidental double post

 

[drtheo]

Well I ended up pulling the controller and jumping the heating element so now it is on full blast and up to 260 so I will have to keep and eye on it.

 

[drtheo]

Do you have a pan or something under the meat that's causing more heat to flow past the therm and cycle the unit early ?

Hmm this may be it. I will modify my set up and let you know.....

 

[cmayna]

As tallbm mentioned, if you do need to bypass the MES's controller, look into an Auber PID. My MES is so spoiled with it's auber setup.

 

[drtheo]

Which one did you use from them?

 

[cmayna]

Auber's WS-1500ELPM

 

[tallbm]

Well I ended up pulling the controller and jumping the heating element so now it is on full blast and up to 260 so I will have to keep and eye on it.

Understand that if u leave it like this the thing will just heat up forever until something fails or burns down, but hopefully it indicates if there is a problem with the control or with the wiring minus the controller :)

 

[drtheo]

It is the temp probe giving a false reading

And yes, I have to be careful with it so nothing burns out.