MES 30" Lost Power

[jims38305]

I have a 3 year old MES 30" Generation 1 and the control head stops working.  You set the Time and Temp and in 45 seconds the thing shuts off.

I think I need a new control head...right?

Need some help please.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[daveomak]

What is the outside temperature....  they will shut off it it's too cold outside....     preheat the temp sensor with a hair dryer to fool it....

 

[mikedaub]

Sorry to hijack, but what is "too cold" for it to shut off?    I plan on doing a butt tonight while I sleep, and the temps are expected to get down to about 21..

 

[daveomak]

 
Sorry to hijack, but what is "too cold" for it to shut off?    I plan on doing a butt tonight while I sleep, and the temps are expected to get down to about 21..

Once the MES is "generally" above 30, it will start...  once it is warm, it will continue to operate, forever... 

 

[mikedaub]

 
Once the MES is "generally" above 30, it will start...  once it is warm, it will continue to operate, forever... 

Thanks for that info.  That will help me out tonight..

 

[daveomak]

I have NO IDEA WHY they put a "cold start" lock out on the controls....   STUPID !!!!!

 

[jims38305]

Thanks guys, but the temperature outside was in the 50s. I will try it again this afternoon. it is in the 30s now. 

 

[mikedaub]

For what it's worth, I ran my MES 30 for 12+ hours last night with the temp set to 225 and the temps were below 25 the entire night.

Looking at the pork butt, I'd say everything came out alright.

IMG_20170105_072120_457.jpg

• mikedaub
• Jan 5, 2017

 

[jims38305]

Bad Controller.  Ordered a new and problem solved.

Thanks

 

[sigmo]

I have NO IDEA WHY they put a "cold start" lock out on the controls....   STUPID !!!!!

My guess would be that they're doing a "sanity check" on the temperature sensor system, and if the reported temperature is too low, they are afraid that the sensor or the wires to it are "open". And, if the sensor or its wiring are bad, they don't want to power the heater up since it would just stay on solid, trying to get to an unlimited temperature, and potentially causing a fire hazard. My understanding is that the sensors are negative temperature coefficient thermistors.

But for people in places that get cold, it really could be sort of a pain.

I like the workaround of using a hair dryer to get things "jump started"! Once the heating element comes on, then you should be good to go for the remainder of the session.

I've used my old gen 1 at temperatures below zero, and it always fires up. But this safety thing may not exist in the older models.