Low temp in new masterbuilt smoker

[otis857]

Jbvorvrnut, I found some felt tape on ebay that worked great with mine. Its cheap and seals it up well. Look in the Masterbuilt XL mods thread and you'll find the link I posted for the felt tape. It was around 5 bucks if I remember right. Some use stove gasket, but this is as cheap a fix as you can get for the door leaks. But door leaks wont cause that much of a temp problem. IMHO, you likely have other issues, like the sticking regulator valve or a stuck float valve inside the LP bottle.

 

[jborvrnut]

OK, so I did another set of ribs this past weekend and was having the same problem with the heat until I tried yet another propane tank ( I had already switched 2 times) and to my amazement apparently the fourth times a charm. And I'm just starting to realize that smokers all have different  "personalities", that they all cook and react differently to weather, etc. Thanks for the suggestions. The meat came out great and I ended up doing a shoulder roast this past Monday. Thanks again.

 

[eman]

Just a thought and maybe Darryl can confirm or debunk.

 i have a MB oiless fryer that operates on propane.

If you do not follow the lighting procedure exactly there is a built in safety device that cuts the propane flow down to less than half.

 You have to make sure that the knob on the unit is in the off posistion then hook up the tank.

 Turn the tank to full on, then the regulator to full on then open the knob on the unit to the desired position.

 If any of these steps are not followed in the right order the safety device kicks in and the unit will only partially heat.

 I bet the MES has the same safety device built in?

 

[hobbes58]

Hi, new member, and obviously late to this thread.  I just bought the 20050106 gas model, put it together, and gave it a dry run (without meat) last night.  I'm having the opposite problem.  At the lowest setting (which emits an annoying, high-pitched squeal), I'm still getting close to 300 degrees, with an ambient temp of about 80 outside.  I'm also at 5000 feet elevation.  Do I need to replace something with a high-altitude part?  Is there any relation between high heat and altitude?  Thanks.

 

[ercgold13]

Looks like I am about a month late to this thread but experienced the same problem as hobess 58. I used my smoker for the first time today and even with the setting on low I couldnt keep the temeprature below 300.  Ribs turned out ok but being a newbie to the whole smoking meat game(my first time ever) would feel more comfortable if I could maintain heat in the recomended 200-225 range. 

Any suggestions would be great.   

 

[6inwinder]

I have run into the same problem! Just bought a MB 30 gas and CANNOT get temp over 250. I specifically bought the gas for the higher temp. Dissapointed at best......any ideas to get the temp up?

 

[iceracer]

Guys I have the answer for your problem.  I have the same Master built propane smoker.  The problem is in the operation of the gas valve.  You must make sure the valve on the smoker is in the off position before you open the propane tank valve.  The regulator has a safety mechanism to only allow a small flow if the tank valve is opened and the valve on the smoker is open before the tank valve.  Just make sure the control valve on the smoker is off before you open the tank valve and you will find your problem is gone.

 

[6inwinder]

Worked like a champ!! That did it....thanks!

 

[lostleader]

 
Hi, new member, and obviously late to this thread.  I just bought the 20050106 gas model, put it together, and gave it a dry run (without meat) last night.  I'm having the opposite problem.  At the lowest setting (which emits an annoying, high-pitched squeal), I'm still getting close to 300 degrees, with an ambient temp of about 80 outside.  I'm also at 5000 feet elevation.  Do I need to replace something with a high-altitude part?  Is there any relation between high heat and altitude?  Thanks.

 

[garrapy2]

my masterbuilt smoker is running 325 degrees on low have sent email to company will go buy a new reg. today hope for the best

 

[ridinghog]

I also am having the opposite problem. I have the Masterbuilt 30" propane. During the seasoning process I couldn't get it under 400 degrees without water in the pan, Later after it cooled I tried it again with water in the pan and used a over thermo inside to verify the temp and at the lowest setting on the valve its at 375.  Way to hot for low and slow.... Any suggestions?

 

[yummyinmytummy]

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and joined after I was having problems with my brand new masterbuilt 44 Xl glass window propane smoker (model 20050614). Initially I tried maxing the temp for curing/seasoning and had no problem hitting 300-350 F in 30 minutes. I then went to smoke spare ribs the next day and couldn't drop under 250-260 (granted it held steady like a champ under the scrutiny of my frustrated stare). I turned the unit over as during assembly and vent to adjust the Venturi valves thinking my flame might be off. Reset and made even more incorrect flame. So I went back to the original settings. I realized the control panel valve wasn't adjusting the flame intensity much (noticeable but always too intense). I've contacted masterbuilt customer service and they've already said I need a new valve. I'm guessing this one is just flooding the unit with too much gas. That being said several needle valves are offered on Amazon. That will be my next go to. Hopefully they'll deliver out here to Japan where I'm stationed via amazonprime (there's restrictions on these types of items occasionally).

 

[dogman60]

Not sure this is the correct place to post this but every time i want a slow colder smoke with a MES 30 i have no issues when i start at 130 getting a rolling smoke out of this unit . I restored this smoker from the boneyard
And MES cust. Service replaced the panel at no charge due to the "upgraded" board. The only thing i did probably that others do not is making sure all the connections are not corrupted by heat and smoke . The wiring is cheap and the bayonet connections need replacing with marine grade heat shrink butt connectors .Again this is a older unit and in rough shape before restoration .
Every connection needs a bit of dialectric grease and the female plugs
Tightened with a pair of dykes to secure connection ...the bottom control
Panel gets smoke past the flat rubber gasket just look at the red orange colored residue on the inside of the
Black rubber gasket . This is just my experience with the older mes 30 ...
Also when smoking at lower temps i use the bradley pucks ... they fit nicely in the wood box and burn clean .

 

[joesargent]

Did you get situation resolved?  I have purchased the same unit and having the same problem where the burners adjust very little between high and low.  This is causing my lowest setting with 2 burners to be well above 240 most of the time.  With one burner I cannot get above 215.  So, there are temps I cannot even cook at.  Masterbuilt has reviewed my emails and videos and their engineers have said it is operating as designed.  Obviously, I do not think they are correct.  Your issue sounds exactly like mine.  They did send me a new control panel with knobs and regulator and this did not resolve the problem.

 

[r2 builders]

IMG_20170122_073016.jpg

• r2 builders
• Jan 22, 2017

I have the MB 30" single burner propane smoker.
I was having trouble maintaing temps around 225 degrees.
I put the issue out to the forum and got back the suggestion to use a regulator (see pic)
I am working with it right now and it looks like it is working I am holding temps at 230 degrees and slightly less.
One issue you will have using the regulator is blow out.
The lower your flame is the more likely it will blow out when the wind blows into your smoker from below.
I fabricated skirts out of cement board to put around the bottom to block the wind and that is working (see pic)
The other thing I did today was to temperature map the smoke chamber.
I put one probe in the top of the chamber at the highest rack setting and one at the bottom of the chamber at the lowest rack position.
I have about a 30 degree swing in the temp from top to bottom with lower temps in the top portion.
That is where I can hold temps to around 230 degrees while at the bottom of the chamber I am running around 260 degrees.

I hope this helps somewhat.

r2

IMG_20170122_071704.jpg

• r2 builders
• Jan 22, 2017