MES135s troubleshooting (controller?)

[fxsales1959]

hey Y'all,
been doinga l ot of reading..thank you. My "latest MES" is/was the MES135s digital electric job. My first was the 30 Pro. both bought at home depot. Th first I was smart enough to get the 2 year warranty. the conroller (I assume) took a Shh#t about 13 months in. Mastrbuilt told HD to cut me a check for amount paid...keep the smoker that doesn't work. Fast forward six months. did a sh#$load of research on reliability and felt comfortable ordering the MES135s from HD. They did not offer the two year warrantty. t Iworked well for about 6 months of very regular use. .Don't know exact dates as there was a stroke involved in the middle somewhere. Now have a charol economy smoker which provides good rsults but is a pain in the A$%. Istill like/hate my MES smoker for small jobs. I've read alot about controller rpair and so o.n. Just saw that I acn buy a new digital control pad for around $50 delivered. Is there any way to test or troubleshoot to see if the pad is actually faulty or if it's the controller board. Not in the mood to throw up a fiddy for a non-returnable device. it sprodically shut off at it's on will. I have tried a coupl eof test rounds since ith warying rsesults. Set it at 225 for three hours with a slep timetr (for me) to check on it every hour. that didn'tg work and when I finally woke it was off. Anothe time tried 265 for three houra nd got an error about an hour in for overheating.+300 degrees.
if I could resuscitate this one for $50 I would take a chance. beyond that don't want to mess with it. ny thoughts?
thanks in advance

 

[Brokenhandle]

It's more than $ 50, but you could get an auber pid controller for it. tallbm has a thread on how to rewire them cutting out mes controls and have a very reliable smoker. I just bought one on cyber Monday...was on sale for $ 140 I think. I have an analog mes 30 and can now control temps within a few degrees instead of 30 degree temp swings.

Ryan

 

[fxsales1959]

I've been reading his posts on MES. but $140 is a a stretch for a smoker I'm pissed off at.
thanks tho'. guess I'Il have to interface with "customer service" (per se') at Masterbuilt.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

A fifty spot toward something that may or may not work and is non returnable/non refundable...
if it were me, I'd put the $50 toward the Auber PID and never look back.

 

[Nastynotchback1]

I can 99 percent bet you the digital control is your problem.

 

[chopsaw]

I've been reading his posts on MES. but $140 is a a stretch for a smoker I'm pissed off at.

If the controller is the trouble , adding an Auber controller makes that into an awesome smoker . You won't be mad at it any more .

 

[Brokenhandle]

Fx, I've been in your shoes before... spent money on something only to be disappointed and upset when it didn't work right or for as long as it should have. You can talk to customer service, mes c.s. treated me very well in the past. But in your first post you said they told hd to issue a check and you could keep the smoker, if you kept it you now have two smokers that would be very dependable using an auber controller. Just trying to be helpful

Ryan

 

[Murray]

Take the power control board out of the first MES and try it in the newer MES

 

[fxsales1959]

I

Fx, I've been in your shoes before... spent money on something only to be disappointed and upset when it didn't work right or for as long as it should have. You can talk to customer service, mes c.s. treated me very well in the past. But in your first post you said they told hd to issue a check and you could keep the smoker, if you kept it you now have two smokers that would be very dependable using an auber controller. Just trying to be helpful

Ryan

thanks Ryan.

 

[tallbm]

hey Y'all,
been doinga l ot of reading..thank you. My "latest MES" is/was the MES135s digital electric job. My first was the 30 Pro. both bought at home depot. Th first I was smart enough to get the 2 year warranty. the conroller (I assume) took a Shh#t about 13 months in. Mastrbuilt told HD to cut me a check for amount paid...keep the smoker that doesn't work. Fast forward six months. did a sh#$load of research on reliability and felt comfortable ordering the MES135s from HD. They did not offer the two year warrantty. t Iworked well for about 6 months of very regular use. .Don't know exact dates as there was a stroke involved in the middle somewhere. Now have a charol economy smoker which provides good rsults but is a pain in the A$%. Istill like/hate my MES smoker for small jobs. I've read alot about controller rpair and so o.n. Just saw that I acn buy a new digital control pad for around $50 delivered. Is there any way to test or troubleshoot to see if the pad is actually faulty or if it's the controller board. Not in the mood to throw up a fiddy for a non-returnable device. it sprodically shut off at it's on will. I have tried a coupl eof test rounds since ith warying rsesults. Set it at 225 for three hours with a slep timetr (for me) to check on it every hour. that didn'tg work and when I finally woke it was off. Anothe time tried 265 for three houra nd got an error about an hour in for overheating.+300 degrees.
if I could resuscitate this one for $50 I would take a chance. beyond that don't want to mess with it. ny thoughts?
thanks in advance

Hi there and welcome!

If your MES is overheating and shutting off I would first check the connectors at the safety rollout limit switch wiring.
Yours probably has a panel on the back to access it (higher on the back) that is NOT the heating element panel (low towards the bottom of the back).

My guess is that the connectors are loose or burning up and causing resistance and heating at the safety switch. While you are doing this check the connectors at the heating element as well.
Masterbuilt uses crappy connectors and you really want to replace them with high temp stainless steel ones like these:

If that isn't the problem then it is very likely that the controller on the top of your unit is the next area that is failing. You could try to replace it and hope but that is the best option u got. I would get Masterbuilt to allow u to send the part back for a refund if that is the case.

If the top controller and the wiring connectors are not the issue then the control board in the bottom of your smoker (under side bottom) is the next thing to fail but is not reported to fail very often.

So recap. Check the wiring connectors in the access panels on the back first and go from there.
If the safety rollout limit switch is burnt up u can replace it with this EXACT one, dont buy any different one:

If you see some that look the same for less u might end up getting the other style that does NOT work as they look similar but are not the same. U gotta get these.

Let us know what u find when u investigate those wiring connectors and we can go from there :)

 

[fxsales1959]

Thank you! It only over heated once. that was when I set it for a 4 hour smoke at 274 degrees. other than that it is random ()shut off). I'm calling MES today to see what run-around thry give me. its a shame both of my smokers don't use the same one.the older 30 Pro has no window, probe or light, so it is just a 4-pin hook up. The 135 has a 4-pin plus 2-pin.

 

[UGAsmokin]

DO yourself a favor and toss it. It's junk. None of the parts last very long.

 

[chopsaw]

Th first I was smart enough to get the 2 year warranty. the conroller (I assume) took a Shh#t about 13 months in.

Did you look to see if the wire terminal at the element is burnt . Good info in post 10 .

 

[fxsales1959]

Hi there and welcome!

If your MES is overheating and shutting off I would first check the connectors at the safety rollout limit switch wiring.
Yours probably has a panel on the back to access it (higher on the back) that is NOT the heating element panel (low towards the bottom of the back).

My guess is that the connectors are loose or burning up and causing resistance and heating at the safety switch. While you are doing this check the connectors at the heating element as well.
Masterbuilt uses crappy connectors and you really want to replace them with high temp stainless steel ones like these:

If that isn't the problem then it is very likely that the controller on the top of your unit is the next area that is failing. You could try to replace it and hope but that is the best option u got. I would get Masterbuilt to allow u to send the part back for a refund if that is the case.

If the top controller and the wiring connectors are not the issue then the control board in the bottom of your smoker (under side bottom) is the next thing to fail but is not reported to fail very often.

So recap. Check the wiring connectors in the access panels on the back first and go from there.
If the safety rollout limit switch is burnt up u can replace it with this EXACT one, dont buy any different one:

If you see some that look the same for less u might end up getting the other style that does NOT work as they look similar but are not the same. U gotta get these.

Let us know what u find when u investigate those wiring connectors and we can go from there :)

thank you, I will check

 

[chopsaw]

Un plug it first .
Here's a couple picks of the access opened up . Burnt wire , then fixed .

 

[Bearcarver]

DO yourself a favor and toss it. It's junk. None of the parts last very long.

Don't you ever tire of putting Electric Smokers Down?

Bear

 

[fxsales1959]

Un plug it first .
Here's a couple picks of the access opened up . Burnt wire , then fixed .
View attachment 425907View attachment 425908

thank you .I hope to get that deep in the next couple days. I ain't the first to be knocked off a ladder by forgtting to unplug. I still really like my elctrics for certain cooks. also like th charcoal results excpt the work.

 

[fxsales1959]

Don't you ever tire of putting Electric Smokers Down?

Bear

Bear, thanks for posting the step by setp. , . I think it was your writing that convinced meto give MES nother try with my MES135s from a coupl years ago. It was my first step in smokin (meat). I still miss my 135s when I need to knock out asmall job like a rack of ribs. I hope I can resuscitate it for more dependable use.

 

[chopsaw]

. I still really like my elctrics for certain cooks.

Mines 7 years old , gen 1 30 . In 7 years I fixed one burnt wire , and added the controller because I wanted a PID , and headed off a problem with the stock one .

When talking about buying the Auber plug and play people tend to see it as spending money on a old smoker .
In my eyes your spending money for a controller that you can use for other things , as well as control your mes , or what ever electric smoker you buy in the future .
Some guys use it to run a crock pot . They also have set up for refrigeration temps .

 

[fxsales1959]

Mines 7 years old , gen 1 30 . In 7 years I fixed one burnt wire , and added the controller because I wanted a PID , and headed off a problem with the stock one .

When talking about buying the Auber plug and play people tend to see it as spending money on a old smoker .
In my eyes your spending money for a controller that you can use for other things , as well as control your mes , or what ever electric smoker you buy in the future .
Some guys use it to run a crock pot . They also have set up for refrigeration temps .

you have piqued my interest in this controller, depending on how Masterbuilt replies. If it is truly "plug-n-play." Note that my 135s has a 4 and 2 pin connccetion (i assume for lghts and probe. The 135s is th one I will probabl y bring back to life, even tho the 30 Pro looks brnd new insid, dI like the winder on the 135s. I'm not against spending a little if its going to last. God knows I've got a $1200 Napolean piece of steel holding down the other side of the patio.