Help! MES quit working!

[Smkryng]

I’ve got an MES 30 that I haven’t used in a while and I passed it on to a co worker. During his first cook tonight it dropped temp from 275 to 250 and then started to slowly climb back up. He came back to check on it and it was powered off and had thrown a breaker. He unplugged it and reset the breaker and as soon as it’s plugged back in it throws the breaker. Any ideas of what could be wrong?

 

[smokerjim]

could be the outlet, can he try a different one, could also be a wire shorting out in the unit. i'm sure someone with more knowledge will be around.

 

[chopsaw]

Blowing a breaker , or tripping the GFCI ? That's where you start .

 

[Braz]

Is it plugged into a GFI circuit? Here's a thread that might be useful. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/masterbuilt-tripping-gfi-outlet.300407/

 

[Smkryng]

could be the outlet, can he try a different one, could also be a wire shorting out in the unit. i'm sure someone with more knowledge will be around.

I don’t think it’s an outlet issue, as soon as it’s plugged in even before turning the unit on the breaker blows. I’m thinking the short sounds more likely though

 

[Smkryng]

Blowing a breaker , or tripping the GFCI ? That's where you start .

No blowing a breaker in the panel.

 

[smokerjim]

there is a little panel in back of the mes, if you take that off and check the connections in there a lot of time the connections in there is where the problem is.

 

[chopsaw]

No blowing a breaker in the panel.

Then you , or he have a direct short . If it was working when you passed it on , think about what changed . Did he wash it out with water ? Drop it in the move ? Something like that can lead you to the problem .

Jim makes a good point . The wire might have been burned , but not causing trouble yet . The move may have made it fail all the way .

 

[Smkryng]

there is a little panel in back of the mes, if you take that off and check the connections in there a lot of time the connections in there is where the problem is.

That’s sounds like a good place to start. I just watched a YouTube video on testing heating elements. Hopefully that’s where the problem is.

 

[Smkryng]

Then you , or he have a direct short . If it was working when you passed it on , think about what changed . Did he wash it out with water ? Drop it in the move ? Something like that can lead you to the problem .

Jim makes a good point . The wire might have been burned , but not causing trouble yet . The move may have made it fail all the way .

Very good point. He lives a pretty good piece down a gravel road so all the bumps may have shook lose a burned connection.

 

[tanglefoot]

I'm seeing a vision of another happy AUBER owner......