Dead MES. What to do?

[lifechosen]

I have an MES which the control panel and heating element went out, so I just ordered a WSM which should be here in a week or so. So my question is if there'd be any reason to keep the non working MES. Any kewl MODS that could be done with it or just trash it?

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

I have an MES which the control panel and heating element went out, so I just ordered a WSM which should be here in a week or so. So my question is if there'd be any reason to keep the non working MES. Any kewl MODS that could be done with it or just trash it?

You could keep it and use it a cold smoking cabinet. Just a thought...

 

[jcam222]

How old is it? Masterbuilt Csr told me they setttled a court claim and although it’s not publicized they will replace controllers BEYOND the warranty term. I was out of warranty by 3 months and they send me new parts.

 

[tallbm]

I have an MES which the control panel and heating element went out, so I just ordered a WSM which should be here in a week or so. So my question is if there'd be any reason to keep the non working MES. Any kewl MODS that could be done with it or just trash it?

Hi there and welcome!

If you are positive the controller is out (which is like top 1 or 2 reason an MES dies) then you could do a very simple rewire job on the MES and hook a PID controller to it!!!
You will end up with a better smoker that you can keep running through anything short of it being hit by lightning lol.
With an Auber PID controller you will likely be able to keep within 2 degrees of your set temp. No more big temp swings or inability to hit a true max of 275F in the MES.
One tiny tiny "con" is that you must now use an A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (AMNPS) to generate smoke but that really isn't a con since pretty much every MES owner uses one anyhow
If you have the AMNPS you can cold smoke with your unit whether you put a PID controller on it or not. I always recommend a mailbox mod with the AMNPS for greater smoke control and flexibility but some guys roll without it and cold smoke anyhow.

Here is my post on how to do an MES rewire to add a PID controller:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/mes-rewire-simple-guide-no-back-removal-needed.267069/

I hope this gives you some ideas on what you can do with that MES unit and as you can tell I'm a big fan of doing the simple rewire and hooking a PID controller to them to have an ever better smoker than what masterbuilt puts out brand new :)

 

[Braz]

You can completely bypass the control unit and use a PID controller instead. Not sure what model you have but on a Gen. 1 it is a pretty simple re-wire. Tallbm has posted an excellent how-to on it.

Edit: I see I was just a little late on this reply.:)

 

[lifechosen]

How old is it? Masterbuilt Csr told me they setttled a court claim and although it’s not publicized they will replace controllers BEYOND the warranty term. I was out of warranty by 3 months and they send me new parts.

No, it’s like 6 years old.

 

[lifechosen]

Hi there and welcome!

If you are positive the controller is out (which is like top 1 or 2 reason an MES dies) then you could do a very simple rewire job on the MES and hook a PID controller to it!!!
You will end up with a better smoker that you can keep running through anything short of it being hit by lightning lol.
With an Auber PID controller you will likely be able to keep within 2 degrees of your set temp. No more big temp swings or inability to hit a true max of 275F in the MES.
One tiny tiny "con" is that you must now use an A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (AMNPS) to generate smoke but that really isn't a con since pretty much every MES owner uses one anyhow
If you have the AMNPS you can cold smoke with your unit whether you put a PID controller on it or not. I always recommend a mailbox mod with the AMNPS for greater smoke control and flexibility but some guys roll without it and cold smoke anyhow.

Here is my post on how to do an MES rewire to add a PID controller:
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/mes-rewire-simple-guide-no-back-removal-needed.267069/

I hope this gives you some ideas on what you can do with that MES unit and as you can tell I'm a big fan of doing the simple rewire and hooking a PID controller to them to have an ever better smoker than what masterbuilt puts out brand new :)

So with the AMNPS, would I need a new heating element as well? With the mailbox mod, would you still have a heating element inside the mês? Sorry, kind of a newbie, lol! Digging the idea though, just trying to wrap my head around it.

 

[tallbm]

So with the AMNPS, would I need a new heating element as well? With the mailbox mod, would you still have a heating element inside the mês? Sorry, kind of a newbie, lol! Digging the idea though, just trying to wrap my head around it.

The AMNPS just produces smoke. You load it with pellets or wood dust light for 10 minutes and blow out the flame. It then burns and produces smoke for 12 hours or a little more. It does not produce enough heat to smoke meat just enough to keep smoldering the wood and producing smoke.

The Mailbox Modification is simply a container that hooks to the MES chip feed hole. You put an AMNPS inside the Mailbox Mod and the smoke from the AMNPS will travel into the MES smoker. This is a way to more tightly and often more easily control your smoke generate independently from the smoker. You don't even need the smoker to be on to generate smoke and you never have to open the smoker door for any reason until the meat is done.

Neither the AMNPS or the Mailbox Mod will fix an issue with a busted heating element since they really have nothing to do with it.


Are you 100% sure your heating element is broken?

The heating element wearing out does not seem to be nearly as common as the controller dying or wire connectors corroding off the element or safety rollout limit switch (a different part of the smoker).

Here are some pictures of my MES40 (40 inch) with the Mailbox Mod and the AMNPS so you have some visuals to go off of.

Old pic of my entire setup, MES40 + Mailbox mod:

2zflemo.jpg

• tallbm
• Jan 8, 2017

Mailbox Mod with the AMNPS next to it while the pellets burn with a flame for 10 minutes (per instructions)

33fbwvn.jpg

• tallbm
• Jan 8, 2017

A close up of my mailbox mod. I bucked the trend and used a wall hanging mailbox, it is an exact fit for the AMNPS and very compact

2j17cdd.jpg

• tallbm
• Jan 8, 2017

Here is someone elses mailbox mod I found a pic of. Often people put a long vent between the mailbox mod and the MES so the smoke cools down on the way into the MES and that causes the creosote and other bad stuff from the smoke to hang around in the vent rather than make it into the smoker. I don't have a pic of that though but you can easily find one if you search for mailbox mods:

image.jpg

• tallbm
• Jan 5, 2017