Masterbuilt not standing by warranty?

[dr k]

I try to keep the back wall above the element legs dry from grease so the non heating legs of the element don't get wet and short.

 

[smokininidaho]

Have been looking to get an electric smoker, I guess I'll cross Masterbuilt off the list.

 

[Murray]

Have been looking to get an electric smoker, I guess I'll cross Masterbuilt off the list.

For the money (especially on sale) they aren’t a bad unit. Some seems to have more problems than others. My son-in-laws sits covered on his deck and fires up without fail every time. It’s about 4 years old and has ran flawlessly.

 

[erik rose]

Have been looking to get an electric smoker, I guess I'll cross Masterbuilt off the list.

I mean it smoked great food and generally works as advertised. Built quality is not great, but pretty good value. I think burnt out heating elements and bad electrical controls are common, but customer service was good up until it was an expensive problem. I would still recommend the smokers when they are on sale, even with my issue.

 

[chopsaw]

I bought mine in 2013 . Fixed a few connections , and added the Auber PID . It's awesome .

 

[Central PA Cowboy]

I mean it smoked great food and generally works as advertised. Built quality is not great, but pretty good value. I think burnt out heating elements and bad electrical controls are common, but customer service was good up until it was an expensive problem. I would still recommend the smokers when they are on sale, even with my issue.

Same here.

But Green Mountain Grills? Hell no.

 

[UGAsmokin]

Had an MES and heat element burned out after about 10 smokes. CS was horrible. Took the damn thing to the dump and relished throwing it away. Since than I've also had horrible service from Charbroil/OKJ. They are very nice on the phone and will promise the world. After I called back about 10 times nothing ever happened and I gave up. Who knows where these call centers are. I think they all let a third party handle CS and most use the same one. I bet the ceramic smoker's CS is better.

 

[Bearcarver]

I must be Lucky on MES units:
I got an MES30 10 years ago, never had a problem, but sold it after one year & bought a bigger MES40. I used that one for 4 years, and only problem I ever had was I had to replace a 20 cent connector for the heating element. Then I got another MES40 about 6 years ago, and it's been perfect. As far as I know all 3 of them are still in working condition.
I don't use mine as often or as hard as I used to, but I think that's still some pretty good service.

Bear

 

[dave17a]

Have been looking to get an electric smoker, I guess I'll cross Masterbuilt off the list.

Ya know, I read and read on electric smokers before I splurged and heating elements were all the main issue. Some only 90 day warranties. Smokin-it just kept haunting me. Three year warranty. Christmas bonus and....

 

[erik rose]

UPDATE: So I bothered them quite a bit on Twitter and they are sending me a new body kit warranty part. Victory?

 

[lovethemeats]

I must be extremely lucky with my MES30. Unit 5 - 6 years old maybe more and still no issues with it. Still going strong. Gets used several times a year.
Now my MES40 was a bum unit right from the start. Had to watch it closely. Heater element would turn on and never turn off. Found out the hard way the first time. You would have to unplug it and plug it back in to get it to work right again. Instead of fighting with CS. I just took what I had and rewired it with a New Pid unit in play. Loving it ever since. No issues at all and now I have memory for different heat profiles. Something most units/manufacturers don't offer.

 

[chopsaw]

I just took what I had and rewired it with a New Pid unit in play. Loving it ever since. No issues at all and now I have memory for different heat profiles. Something most units/manufacturers don't offer.

I'm with you on this . No regrets at all .

 

[ItsMeAgain]

I got my MES40 unit in 2019 just before Christmas. The first one had some pretty good damage on a corner as FedEx brought it from SamsClub.com.

The replacement unit was rec'd after not much of a hassle. I started using the new one around Christmas and it worked well but the first element burned open by May. This unit is on my screen porch up near the house and is not exposed to weather/moisture. I found the listing for parts on the Masterbuilt website and the price of two replacement elements plus shipping was around $30. This seemed fair as at least one seller on Amazon was at $30 for one element shipped. It took over a week to show up in PA from GA (covid delays?). Replacing the element was fairly easy and I did a few more cooks with it and it worked for a couple weeks.

I had promised to bring lunch to some friends and had my chicken trimmed and brined. I lit my smoke tube and saw the element glowing as it heated up. I came back to check the progress and it had only reached 120 with the set temp at 225. Since I had just swapped the element I checked that first but the element still measured 12.2 ohms and the connections were good. I hooked my volt meter leads direct to the wires that feed the element and when you set up a cook and the unit showed it was heating, it only puts out 1.65vac and I'd expect 120vac on the element. I was able to cook the meat in the oven so it didn't go to waste but my Masterbuilt has failed me twice in 7 months. I believe I read another thread here on SMF where negative opinions were shared on the quality of MES units sourced through Sam's Club.

I filled out a service request on their website as the phone number has a recording saying that the online/email support is the only option during covid. So far at 7 business days as of Friday I have an email that they rec'd my request for help but nothing further.

I'd really like to get my MES back in running shape and didn't expect that the quality would be lacking so much. I understand the option to convert to a PID should yield a much more consistent experience but for the short time I've owned this unit I feel like Masterbuilt should be supplying the parts and support necessary to repair or replace this unit.

Other friends bought their own Masterbuilt propane smoker after having dinner I provided for them a couple times. It's easy to get addicted to smoking meat like other smoking I guess. Not sure if Masterbuilt watches these forums or not but I'll jump over on Twitter or Facebook next and see if I can get some help from Masterbuilt via those channels.

I had held off doing any further disassembly/troubleshooting so as not to void my warranty...

 

[Bearcarver]

I got my MES40 unit in 2019 just before Christmas. The first one had some pretty good damage on a corner as FedEx brought it from SamsClub.com.

The replacement unit was rec'd after not much of a hassle. I started using the new one around Christmas and it worked well but the first element burned open by May. This unit is on my screen porch up near the house and is not exposed to weather/moisture. I found the listing for parts on the Masterbuilt website and the price of two replacement elements plus shipping was around $30. This seemed fair as at least one seller on Amazon was at $30 for one element shipped. It took over a week to show up in PA from GA (covid delays?). Replacing the element was fairly easy and I did a few more cooks with it and it worked for a couple weeks.

I had promised to bring lunch to some friends and had my chicken trimmed and brined. I lit my smoke tube and saw the element glowing as it heated up. I came back to check the progress and it had only reached 120 with the set temp at 225. Since I had just swapped the element I checked that first but the element still measured 12.2 ohms and the connections were good. I hooked my volt meter leads direct to the wires that feed the element and when you set up a cook and the unit showed it was heating, it only puts out 1.65vac and I'd expect 120vac on the element. I was able to cook the meat in the oven so it didn't go to waste but my Masterbuilt has failed me twice in 7 months. I believe I read another thread here on SMF where negative opinions were shared on the quality of MES units sourced through Sam's Club.

I filled out a service request on their website as the phone number has a recording saying that the online/email support is the only option during covid. So far at 7 business days as of Friday I have an email that they rec'd my request for help but nothing further.

I'd really like to get my MES back in running shape and didn't expect that the quality would be lacking so much. I understand the option to convert to a PID should yield a much more consistent experience but for the short time I've owned this unit I feel like Masterbuilt should be supplying the parts and support necessary to repair or replace this unit.

Other friends bought their own Masterbuilt propane smoker after having dinner I provided for them a couple times. It's easy to get addicted to smoking meat like other smoking I guess. Not sure if Masterbuilt watches these forums or not but I'll jump over on Twitter or Facebook next and see if I can get some help from Masterbuilt via those channels.

I had held off doing any further disassembly/troubleshooting so as not to void my warranty...

It has always been a hit or miss thing with Masterbuilt.
They used to be terrible with customers.
Then for awhile they were Great.
The last few years it's been the luck of the draw.

Back when it was going Good, there was a Masterbuilt guy here pretty often.
I haven't seen him for a long time.

Do you know which Generation you have?
Can you post pics---Inside & outside?

My Go-to guy here for fixing MES is tallbm ---Hopefully he'll show up & give you a hand.

Bear

 

[dr k]

I got my MES40 unit in 2019 just before Christmas. The first one had some pretty good damage on a corner as FedEx brought it from SamsClub.com.

The replacement unit was rec'd after not much of a hassle. I started using the new one around Christmas and it worked well but the first element burned open by May. This unit is on my screen porch up near the house and is not exposed to weather/moisture. I found the listing for parts on the Masterbuilt website and the price of two replacement elements plus shipping was around $30. This seemed fair as at least one seller on Amazon was at $30 for one element shipped. It took over a week to show up in PA from GA (covid delays?). Replacing the element was fairly easy and I did a few more cooks with it and it worked for a couple weeks.

I had promised to bring lunch to some friends and had my chicken trimmed and brined. I lit my smoke tube and saw the element glowing as it heated up. I came back to check the progress and it had only reached 120 with the set temp at 225. Since I had just swapped the element I checked that first but the element still measured 12.2 ohms and the connections were good. I hooked my volt meter leads direct to the wires that feed the element and when you set up a cook and the unit showed it was heating, it only puts out 1.65vac and I'd expect 120vac on the element. I was able to cook the meat in the oven so it didn't go to waste but my Masterbuilt has failed me twice in 7 months. I believe I read another thread here on SMF where negative opinions were shared on the quality of MES units sourced through Sam's Club.

I filled out a service request on their website as the phone number has a recording saying that the online/email support is the only option during covid. So far at 7 business days as of Friday I have an email that they rec'd my request for help but nothing further.

I'd really like to get my MES back in running shape and didn't expect that the quality would be lacking so much. I understand the option to convert to a PID should yield a much more consistent experience but for the short time I've owned this unit I feel like Masterbuilt should be supplying the parts and support necessary to repair or replace this unit.

Other friends bought their own Masterbuilt propane smoker after having dinner I provided for them a couple times. It's easy to get addicted to smoking meat like other smoking I guess. Not sure if Masterbuilt watches these forums or not but I'll jump over on Twitter or Facebook next and see if I can get some help from Masterbuilt via those channels.

I had held off doing any further disassembly/troubleshooting so as not to void my warranty...

Go to the MB page on FB and messenger them. That's the fastest.

 

[ItsMeAgain]

It has always been a hit or miss thing with Masterbuilt.
They used to be terrible with customers.
Then for awhile they were Great.
The last few years it's been the luck of the draw.

Back when it was going Good, there was a Masterbuilt guy here pretty often.
I haven't seen him for a long time.

Do you know which Generation you have?
Can you post pics---Inside & outside?

My Go-to guy here for fixing MES is tallbm ---Hopefully he'll show up & give you a hand.

Bear

Thanks for the responses guys
It’s a model 20075315

I have always kept the two foil pans on the bottom rack to catch drips and it keeps things cleaner and dry that way

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks for the responses guys
It’s a model 20075315

I have always kept the two foil pans on the bottom rack to catch drips and it keeps things cleaner and dry that way

Looks like the dreaded Generation #2.
That's the one I always recommend people stay away from.

It's bad to cover the whole width & depth with Foil pans or anything else, like that. It blocks the air flow through the smoker.
If you have to do that, at least put one on one rack & the other one above or below it.

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

After thinking about that 2 pans being together, that could be what killed your element.
Those pans stopped the heat from rising past them, and the sensor is on the back wall, above those pans. So the Heating element kept putting out more heat, and the temp never got hot enough at the sensor to stop the element. So it just kept getting hotter & hotter & hotter.
Might be Lucky it didn't start on fire.
Note: The Safety Switch is also above those pans, so it couldn't do an Emergency Shut-Down!

Bear

 

[Boslaw]

I too am having terrible luck getting MasterBuilt to reply to my warranty request via their contact form. It's been 15 days with only an acknowledgment that my message was received. I will try the Facebook message option next. If a company can't respond to a warranty request promptly, it makes me wonder if they are going to be around very long. That's a sign of understaffing due to financial issues. For whatever it's worth, my MES140G has been used twice. The controller registers 20+ degrees higher than what the temperature in the smoker actually is, so my maximum temperature seems to be 255 rather than the advertised 275.

 

[Bearcarver]

I too am having terrible luck getting MasterBuilt to reply to my warranty request via their contact form. It's been 15 days with only an acknowledgment that my message was received. I will try the Facebook message option next. If a company can't respond to a warranty request promptly, it makes me wonder if they are going to be around very long. That's a sign of understaffing due to financial issues. For whatever it's worth, my MES140G has been used twice. The controller registers 20+ degrees higher than what the temperature in the smoker actually is, so my maximum temperature seems to be 255 rather than the advertised 275.

I can only tell you what I read in my old owner's manual.
It said it's guaranteed to be within 25° accurate.

So in my opinion:
We paid for a Smoker that can go from 100° to 275°.
And if yours only gets to an actual 255°, that tells me you aren't getting what you paid for.
However if they only guaranteed 25° accuracy, that means they only guarantee 250°.
However I would stick to my guns & demand that I get the 275° actual Temp that I paid for.

I have always told guys that if their MES runs actually 30° hotter than the digital readout says, keep it & enjoy it, but don't run it over 300° for long periods.
But if their MES runs actually 30° below what the readout says, Tell them you want it fixed or replaced, because you paid for 275° Max.

Hope this helps,
Bear