MES Faulty Door?

[weathertom]

I finally got my new MES 20070411 outside today to do its pre-seasoning (hoping to make some pork butt this weekend). However, I just noticed during the pre-seasoning that smoke is escaping from the hinge side of the door near the top. I looked, and indeed there is a healthy sized gap there. Since it's on the hinge side, I can't imagine tightening the adjustment will do anything, and there is nothing escaping from the latch side and all looks nice and tight there. I looked at the top hinge and the pin which goes into the door looks to me like it has a slight outward angle to it, which likely explains why there is a gap. Indeed, if I push in on the corner there the gap does close up, but when I release pressure it relaxes back to the pin position and the gap is there again. Is this a defect? If so, should I try to fix it myself, or should I call Masterbuilt? I really don't want to try and ship the damn thing back, but am curious if they would just be able to send me that replacement hinge ping piece (it looks like it screws right into the top of the unit). I don't want to investigate anything further right now, since I want the pre-seasoning cycle to complete (another 2 hours or so). My first reaction is to call Masterbuilt, but I figured I'd see what you all think on here first. It's brand new, so I can't imagine them giving me a hassle, but I'd like to be prepared for that before calling if it is something I should expect (hence why I'm curious). Thanks.

 

[whittling chip]

Welcome to the site.

I've been looking for a thread I wrote about the adjustment of the door. I just can't find it.

One of the posts I did was about the lower hinge pin that was bent. Masterbuilt sent me a new door.

Here's the link to what I posted about the hinge:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/120290/mes-40-owners-please-help

Like I said above, it sounds like you may have an adjustment problem on the door. It's easy after you've done it once. If I could find the thread I would post it.

Maybe I'll find it later.

Good luck,

WC

 

[weathertom]

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I'll give them a call and see what they say. I'd just like to get a better look at the piece, which I can't do until it's done and cools down.

 

[weathertom]

By the way, the degree to which my top pin is bent is not as severe as what you posted with your bottom pin. Also, my bottom pin looks ok, and the seal is good down near the bottom of the door. The only gap I see is in the upper right corner where that top pin is. It is just slightly bent, but enough for me to see, and the angle is directly outward, which I think would certainly lead to a gap.

 

[weathertom]

Wow, that was easy. Since my experiences have been poor with so many customer service lines I wasn't too excited to call Masterbuilt (which is why I wrote here first). But, based on your response above I just gave them a call to see what they would say. Once I described things the customer service rep asked for the model and serial numbers, then said they could ship out a new door on Monday. I said that I'm not sure I need an entire door, since it appears to just be an issue with the hinge and pin. I guess she then checked some things, and responded that indeed she could just send me a new hinge/pin piece (I guess with some models it is incorporated into the door and can not be separated, which is why that was her first response). So, they will be shipping the piece out on Monday, and she said if it doesn't solve the problem to just give them a call back and they can ship an entire door. So, needless to say, I'm pretty pleased with Masterbuilt so far (of course, if I run into lots of problems that opinion might change, but so far this was a good experience). Thanks again for the reply, it helped me decide to call them.

 

[whittling chip]

No problem. I really want to find the link to the door replacement on the MES 40. If you adjust the doors of the unit it must be laying on it's back. If you try to make adjustments on the door in the upright position, you'll have a really hard time getting all  the hinge points aligned and sealed tight. If the unit is laying on it's back, laying horizontal, it's in the position that it was when it was on the assembly line. It makes it much easier to alighn the unit properly if it's in that position.

Hope this helps.

WC

 

[weathertom]

I just wanted to post back regarding this. I got the replacement hinge piece back within a week as promised, and it took care of the problem, so I had no need to mess with the door itself. Things are great now, with no leakage at all.

 

[smokinhusker]

Outstanding!!!!