Masterbuilt smoker trouble

[dbjeff]

Came across this forum when troubleshooting on my masterbuilt smoker that is only a year old. Started it up for a test run before thanksgiving and the breaker kept kicking off. I took the circuit board cover off to discover some melted plastic and burnt wires. Having trouble finding the correct replacement for the model 20070924. Any help appreciated!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Maybe tallbm can help. He knows a bit about those smokers.

 

[normanaj]

This would be an ideal time to convert over to a PID controller. Makes the MES a much better smoker.

Nothing more than a fairly simple rewire.

MES Rewire Simple Guide - No Back Removal Needed!!!

Lately I've seen a number of posts about guys wanting to rewire their MES. I had wanted to post a quick and simple guide for those out there that are curious or those that simply need to rewire but need a little assistance. Well here goes. Disclaimer: When messing with electrical equipment...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

MES Rewire Simple Guide - No Back Removal Needed!!!

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Gonna Smoke]

I'm no help other than a bump...

 

[chopsaw]

Any help appreciated!

Looks like it was left out in the rain .
I'm with normanaj , time to bypass all that sin and do a Auber controller .
The rest of it looks beyond repair to me , I wouldn't try replacing factory parts .

 

[dsk]

Both my electric smokers are controlled by PID, even though the original controls can still work. If I were in your shoes, there is no way I would spend any money on replacing the less than optimal original control system when that money is far better spent upgrading to a PID controller.

 

[tallbm]

Came across this forum when troubleshooting on my masterbuilt smoker that is only a year old. Started it up for a test run before thanksgiving and the breaker kept kicking off. I took the circuit board cover off to discover some melted plastic and burnt wires. Having trouble finding the correct replacement for the model 20070924. Any help appreciated!

Hi there and welcome!

There are some 3rd party circuit boards for sale on Amazon these days that will likely do the trick:

Amazon.com : masterbuilt circuit board "20070924"

The top 5 results in that amazon search link just above look like they will do the job but again I didn't see your exact model number in there.

That should get close to your original request, but as others have stated. This would be the time to ditch that major weak point and failure point of the MES and do the simple rewire and go with an Auber PID controller to turn your smoker into an absolute beast of an electric smoker. Doing so would allow you to smoke where you will hit a set temp and hold dead on versus have temp swings like the normal MES heating behavior.

This is the minimal Auber PID unit that handles both MES 40 and MES 30 machines should you decide to go up to an MES 40 some say (find a free or used one that is failing someone and just needs a simple rewire and PID to work again):

Multi Purpose Controller [WS-1510ELPM] - $159.95 : Auber Instruments, Inc., Temperature control solutions for home and industry

Auber Instruments, Inc. Multi Purpose Controller [WS-1510ELPM] - The WS-1510ELPM is a versatile temperature controller to have in your home. It can be used for various applications such as Sous Vide cooking, controlling an electric smoker, making yogurt, dough proofing, controlling the...

www.auberins.com

Yeah $160 seems like a bunch of money and the idea crosses everyone's mind of "heck I could almost buy another new MES on sale for that amount..." BUT a rewired MES with a PID controller stomps the crap out of any electric smoker in the $1,000 or less range. Yep your used smoker will outperform almost any $1k electric smoker if you rewire and use an Auber PID!

Additionally if you decide to upgrade to an MES 40 you can just rewire the MES 40 and slap on this same PID and you are good to go.

You can read up on all the details of doing the simple MES rewire for use with a PID controller here:

MES Rewire Simple Guide - No Back Removal Needed!!!

Lately I've seen a number of posts about guys wanting to rewire their MES. I had wanted to post a quick and simple guide for those out there that are curious or those that simply need to rewire but need a little assistance. Well here goes. Disclaimer: When messing with electrical equipment...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

In short, the rewire is just cutting the ends off 4 wires (your exposed ones already) and wire nutting ends to make 2 whole wires. Rewire done!

When rewired the MES plug will plug into the Auber PID controller. The Auber PID controller plugs in to the wall and you drop it's temp probe down into the smoker and clip on the underside of the lowest rack all to measures smoker temp.
You enter your set temp into the Auber PID and boom it takes electricity from the wall and feeds it to the MES heading element until it hits and holds at your set temp.

Ask all the questions you have and you will basically get unanimous feedback of how you aren't repairing an old smoker but instead, you are making a new smoker! A new smoker that works 50x better than a new MES ever could.

I hope this info helps, ask all the questions you have :D