Masterbuilt 30" Smoker no longer heating.

[lawson23]

I have what I believe is a gen 1 mes 30. I have had it a little over a year and all of a sudden was smoking one day and some smoke came from the back of the unit. After this the unit would never heat up again.

First I contacted Masterbuilt with no luck except they suggested buying a new heating element. This did not fix the issue so looking at this forum I found a few helpful articles.

So I read the article on the rewire for a 40" and then found an article very similar where the users also took the entire back off.

So after looking at the control board and not seeing any issues I thought I need to remove the back and after doing this I found this:


Where do I even begin??? I don't even know what is behind that melted tin box.

I really do not want to buy a new smoker nor spend a great deal on repairing something that barely lasted a year.

Thoughts?

 

[kilo charlie]

Send those pictures to Masterbuilt

 

[Winterrider]

Don't have a 30 but do have a 40. Just guessing before the more knowledgeable chime in but that is probably where your wire connectors for heating element is at. They are a weak point in the Master built.
tallbm will get you squared away

Welcome to the forum from ND

 

[lawson23]

Kilo Charlie: May I ask why you would send this to Masterbuilt?

Winterrider: This is half way down the back of the smoker. I don't believe it is the heating element wires but obviously whatever it is works with it somehow.

 

[Jersey Jimbo]

give thanks that your house didn't burn down that could of caught on fire

 

[Winterrider]

Is the smoker laying on its side so that the bottom is actually left side of picture ?
Inside unit on the back wall about the upper center is that where the little stub temp probe and a dime size overheat disc is located at? That is where the 40's are at. Just throwing out some troubleshooting questions.

 

[tallbm]

I have what I believe is a gen 1 mes 30. I have had it a little over a year and all of a sudden was smoking one day and some smoke came from the back of the unit. After this the unit would never heat up again.

First I contacted Masterbuilt with no luck except they suggested buying a new heating element. This did not fix the issue so looking at this forum I found a few helpful articles.

So I read the article on the rewire for a 40" and then found an article very similar where the users also took the entire back off.

So after looking at the control board and not seeing any issues I thought I need to remove the back and after doing this I found this:
View attachment 495807View attachment 495808

Where do I even begin??? I don't even know what is behind that melted tin box.

I really do not want to buy a new smoker nor spend a great deal on repairing something that barely lasted a year.

Thoughts?

Hi there and welcome!

That tin metal box is where the safety rollout limit switch is. My guess is that it melted down and burned up on you.
The connectors that Masterbuilt uses are trash you should get some high temp ones like the following:

Replace them at the heating element and usually you replace them at that switch but your switch has probably burned up.

Open that tin box and you can cut the wires there and wire nut them together and your smoker should start working again but you won't have the overheat safety switch in the mix since it looks to have burned up. If you want to replace the switch here is the EXACT part:
Do NOT try and go with a different listing because it seems cheaper. There are 2 different designs for these things and this is the EXACT design that works where the other design doesn't work but they look very similar.

I would suggest for now you wire nut around the burned up switch to get going.
Definitely get those connectors I posted and replace the connectors at the heating element.
If you want to replace the safety switch then buy the ones I posted and yes you want a 5 pack because as you can tell they are cheap and will melt down on you. A ceramic version is better but lets face it. Being cheap Chinese quality switches they are not made to last so having 5 on hand is basically mandatory for repairs.

This info should get you back up and running since MB will likely not get back to you.

Let me know if this makes any sense :)

 

[lawson23]

Winterrider - yes the smoker in the pictures are of it laying down on it's side.
tallbm - The links you sent for Amazon in this article do not appear to be working.
Also do you recommend actually replacing the wire maybe with some better gauge wire?

Also thank you everyone for all your support here as I hope to get back to smoking someday!

 

[lawson23]

kilo charlie - Just to provide MasterBuilt's response
"Thank you for contacting Customer Support. Based on the pictures that is not a fire, that is the insulation as this is normal and will happen over time. This will not cause any harm to the unit or you. As previously stated with your original issue, some smokers the Power Circuit Board is replaceable and in others it is not and would be a replacement Body Kit. If this part is available anywhere else it would be appliancefactoryparts.com "

LOL that is not a fire!!! True that it is not but it WAS!

 

[Winterrider]

The link tallbm sent opened for me, cause I need to order the thermostat.
I just replaced the element spade connector when he walked me through the rewire.

 

[lawson23]

Winterrider - Interesting I even tried opening the post in multiple browsers to see if that was the issue.

I found the spades in his rewire document but can't find the exact link for the safety rollout limit switch. I believe the part number is KSD301 which I can find but as tallbm states there are multiple versions of these and only one of them actually work. I believe it is but not 100%:
KSD301

I just don't know if it is normally open or normally closed but believe this is what I need.

 

[Winterrider]

Does this work?

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Whoops did not, sorry.

amazon.com/dp/B088YHN4Y7/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=&linkCode=w00&linkId=&creativeASIN=B088YHN4Y7

 

[lawson23]

Winterrider
Thank you for the link!

 

[tallbm]

Hi L lawson23 looks like Winter has you sorted out.
The switches are NC (normally closed) you want the 150C one at a minimum.

I would not replace the wire with heavier gauge if you don't have to. The rest of the wiring is 16AWG so if you go thicker in 1 spot it really doesnt buy you anything hahaha.

Now the wiring very likely didnt burn up on you, the switch did... I've gone through a few of them.
They are super delicate and are n different than any of the crappy stuff that is made to melt down from China.
If you wiggle or bend the tabs at the back of the switch in any way what so ever, the switch will fail on you. I always recommend you put the connectors on the switch tab and then with a hammer tap the connectors onto both tabs. This avoids wiggling the tabs where they are connected to the plastic back of the switch.

THEN connect the wires to the spades. Finally, fasten the switch back into the hole where it belongs on the smoker. I've learned this through trial and error and burning up a number of crappy switches hahaha.

While you are doing this make sure and change the connectors at your heating element as they will fail if they arent already coroding.

See what likely happened is that your existing connectors corroded because Masterbuilt uses horrible ones. Then as they corroded and loosened that caused resistance which causes heat until the switch melts down or a mini fire happens and melts everything down.

So now you can eliminate the connectors as the problem but the switches are still super cheap and will melt down on you after a while. But having a 5 pack helps and then you can always just bypass the switch with a wirenut if in a pinch. This stuff only fails when you are using it so keep a wirenut handy hahaha :)

 

[lawson23]

tallbm - I replaced the connectors at the heating element when replacing it. The part I used was from appliancefactoryparts.
I'm guessing these are not high temp connectors and should also be replaced as soon as I'm ready to light it up.

 

[tallbm]

tallbm - I replaced the connectors at the heating element when replacing it. The part I used was from appliancefactoryparts.
I'm guessing these are not high temp connectors and should also be replaced as soon as I'm ready to light it up.

Check Supco T1111 connectors on amazon and get a 20 pack for like $6.50 those are high temp ones.

 

[lawson23]

So how do you open the tin box? It moves but I have been unable to figure out how to get it to release/come off

I found the two screws inside the smoker that releases the tin box. I have hooked everything back up and tested the heating element successfully. Thank you everyone for all your help!

 

[tallbm]

So how do you open the tin box? It moves but I have been unable to figure out how to get it to release/come off

I found the two screws inside the smoker that releases the tin box. I have hooked everything back up and tested the heating element successfully. Thank you everyone for all your help!

Glad to see you are back in business!!!

Now I would highly recommend you cut a panel so you can easily access that area for the next time the safety rollout limit switch melts down on you and needs repair/replacing.

You can use any means to cut a big square out and then cover with a later square of aluminum of stainless steal using self tapping sheet metal screws and some good heat resistant tape or hell even a rubber gasket will keep water from getting into the panel.

I hope all this info helps :)

 

[Steve H]

If you are planning to bypass the high limit switch until the new one(s) arrive. Do not leave the smoker unattended. There could have been another reason why the switch burned out.

 

[lawson23]

Steve H I have installed the new high limit switch I never bypassed it.
tallbm First I'm going to go get a can of expanding foam and spray all the foam that is now missing. I think the entire side of the smoker basically no longer has any foam and it was all burnt up. Then yes I will look into creating an access door for that section of the smoker.