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

[mr_whipple]

"All worked well and was heating for about 7 minutes and then the heater element started arcing turned red and is now open."
Everything was working, PID was set at 225 F and controlling the heater. When the temp reached about 105 F ( approx 7 minutes ) I heard a loud buzz and through the front window I could see arcing at the heater end where it exits the smoker box. Now an ohm meter placed across the heater contacts shows infinite ohms ( open circuit ).

"For whatever it's worth I disconnected the wires from the heater and connected them to a volt meter."
Just to see if the voltage from the PID controller was correct I disconnected the wires that go to the heater and attached them to a volt meter. I started the PID controller and turned on the original control box, the voltage across the heater wires was a steady 118 VAC.

I hindsight I wish that I would have tested the new PID setup without running the old controller at the same time but I guess I blew that opportunity.

Gotcha, just wanted to be sure we were on the same plane as far as the lingo goes.

First thing, I would ditch the notion of using the controller for anything and not power that at all, but that's an opinion...

As to the heating element opening, that was more than likely caused by a bad connection at one of the element terminals, which at that level of current flow need to be well done, corrosion free and secure. Any looseness will cause arcs and sparks like you experienced. Not sure how you fabricated to cord that goes from the PID to the element. Sounds like the PID is still putting out good voltage, so you're element is open, and can easily be replaced. Now, the other scenario I see in my head is somewhere in the element /corded connection circuit may have shorted to the case of the smoker somehow, or internal to your plug...but that's unlikely since you saw the arcing at the element. Without seeing firsthand, I'm guessing in order of most to least likely. We love pictures here. Anyhow, hope this helps. Keep us posted!

 

[tallbm]

"All worked well and was heating for about 7 minutes and then the heater element started arcing turned red and is now open."
Everything was working, PID was set at 225 F and controlling the heater. When the temp reached about 105 F ( approx 7 minutes ) I heard a loud buzz and through the front window I could see arcing at the heater end where it exits the smoker box. Now an ohm meter placed across the heater contacts shows infinite ohms ( open circuit ).

"For whatever it's worth I disconnected the wires from the heater and connected them to a volt meter."
Just to see if the voltage from the PID controller was correct I disconnected the wires that go to the heater and attached them to a volt meter. I started the PID controller and turned on the original control box, the voltage across the heater wires was a steady 118 VAC.

I hindsight I wish that I would have tested the new PID setup without running the old controller at the same time but I guess I blew that opportunity.

Hi there and welcome!

It sounds like troubleshooting time.

Have you simply plugged into the wall, by itself (nothing else plugged in) the new cord that goes directly to the heating element?
This would eliminate everything else and the element should just heat up on it's own uncontrolled.

If you see arching with just this one thing plugged in then you can narrow down the areas of potential issue like bad connections, things touching that shouldn't, bad element insulation or element as a whole, etc.

This will be a simple check and hopefully give some more narrowed insight :D

 

[RLM]

Gotcha, just wanted to be sure we were on the same plane as far as the lingo goes.

First thing, I would ditch the notion of using the controller for anything and not power that at all, but that's an opinion...

As to the heating element opening, that was more than likely caused by a bad connection at one of the element terminals, which at that level of current flow need to be well done, corrosion free and secure. Any looseness will cause arcs and sparks like you experienced. Not sure how you fabricated to cord that goes from the PID to the element. Sounds like the PID is still putting out good voltage, so you're element is open, and can easily be replaced. Now, the other scenario I see in my head is somewhere in the element /corded connection circuit may have shorted to the case of the smoker somehow, or internal to your plug...but that's unlikely since you saw the arcing at the element. Without seeing firsthand, I'm guessing in order of most to least likely. We love pictures here. Anyhow, hope this helps. Keep us posted!

Looks like a high resistance connection is responsible for the burned out element. I took MrWhipple's suggestion and checked the terminals that connect to the heater coil.
They are in terrible shape. Complete corrosion on the inside of the terminals and very loose fitting. These will need to be replaced.
Turns out the arcing wasn't where the heater exits the box but was in the back right of the box ( see bluish colored area in picture ). The arcing burned 2 holes into the heater element. The heater had a lot of rust in this area so I suspect that it was compromised. I attached a few pics for your amusement. I am going to order a new heater and new terminals and try this again. Thank you all for help !

 

[mr_whipple]

Looks like a high resistance connection is responsible for the burned out element. I took MrWhipple's suggestion and checked the terminals that connect to the heater coil.
They are in terrible shape. Complete corrosion on the inside of the terminals and very loose fitting. These will need to be replaced.
Turns out the arcing wasn't where the heater exits the box but was in the back right of the box ( see bluish colored area in picture ). The arcing burned 2 holes into the heater element. The heater had a lot of rust in this area so I suspect that it was compromised. I attached a few pics for your amusement. I am going to order a new heater and new terminals and try this again. Thank you all for help !

Wow, the close up of the element is wild! I bet that was a neat light show. Just be sure to purchase quality terminals, not some harbor freight / temu junk so you can avoid another high impedance air gap in the future. Now get that smoker up and running and post some cooks!