MES 30 Issues

[Trefilov22]

Has anyone run into an issue where the control unit will state a temperature, in my instance, 275, but the until will only heat up to about 230? This is putting a huge damper on my smoking... Masterbuilt already sent me a new control unit, but that didn't fix the issue. It is plugged directly into an outlet, so extension cable isn't an issue. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Brian

 

[Central PA Cowboy]

How did you take internal temp of unit?

 

[fivetricks]

Yes, this is a well known issue with the MES. 230 is a bit low though. There are tips and tricks to cover the internal thermostat to "fool" the unit

 

[Trefilov22]

I used a therm pro to check, I also used a weber probe thru the vent.

 

[mosparky]

I had a similar issue once. I replaced the terminals at the element with high temp stainless steel ones and problem solved.

 

[saltysandman]

I had a similar issue once. I replaced the terminals at the element with high temp stainless steel ones and problem solved.

i'm having a similar problem. my mes won't go over 205. can you repost your solution? something about replacing the terminals?

 

[fivetricks]

He replaced the terminals at the back of his heating element.

If that's your problem they will be corroded or burned up. Take the cover off your mes. You may have to drill out rivets. They can be replaced with screws when youre done. Expose the heating element connection at the rear of the unit. Terminals will be located there.

Replace with suggested High Heat parts listed above. There are much better guides here in this site if you do a forum search for MES issues or some such. There's even a dedicated MES sub-forum on the home page. Those will be MUCH better resources :-)

 

[saltysandman]

***UPDATE*** PROBLEM SOLVED. this also solved my MES from tripping of GFCI outlet.

i did check the terminals and it wasn't the cause of my problem. these were clean. I looked up on youtube to see about another solution. found that it may be caused by a dirty heating element. I took off the three screws on side that holds the wood chip tube (dont ever use since i've started using AMNPS). Then removed one small screw towards rear of unit that holds the cover plate in place. From here you can remove the entire cover plate and expose the heating element. from the youtube video, it said to use a torch (same torch i use to start my wood pellets) to burn any residue off the heating element. here's youtube link.



i went back and forth with the torch for a couple minutes including torching the small peg which i think is the temperature sensor on the rear of the unit. I put everything back together and VOILA, the temperature now goes to the 275 max and it's no longer tripping my GFCI.