Must Do Mods for Materbuilt Electric Bullet Smoker

[plister]

Hello all! Have been smoking on my new smoker for about a month and loving it. I want to get the best out of it and I know that there are things that aren't the best with this smoker. So my question is:
WHAT ARE THE MUST DO MODS FOR THIS PUPPY?
Appreciate all the help I can get.

 

[SmokinAl]

I'm not familiar with your smoker.

Do you have a model # & a photo of it?

Al

 

[plister]

Sure Al! Hope this helps.

Screenshot_20170121-055916.png

• plister
• Jan 21, 2017

Model: 20078516

It is from Home Depot. Thanks for help everyone!

Pat

 

[SmokinAl]

I'm not aware of any mods that you can do to that smoker, but I am unfamiliar with it.

Are you having any problems with it that you think need to be addressed?

Maybe someone will be along who has one & can give you better answers.

But it sounds to me like your doing quite well with it just the way it is.

Al

 

[plister]

In general I am making it work. The main issue I'm having is I can't get it to burn any lower than 240. With it all the way down and the vent fully it just won't get lower than 240.
Any suggestions anyone??

Pat

 

[sigmo]

I have never seen one if these smokers, but I looked it up on Masterbuilt's site and watched the video for it.

It looks like it ought to work pretty well. I like the large ring shaped heating element because it seems like it would give fairly even heat.

Reading some reviews on Amazon, it sounds like the temperature reading of the thermometer in the top of the lid tends to read higher than what people see with a separate probe placed lower in the smoker.

It is a common problem with smokers that the heat is not well mixed, and temperatures vary considerably from place to place in the chamber.

You might want to get one of those oven thermometers that have a probe on a wire that goes in the oven, and a display box that sits outside the oven so you can read the temperature in the middle of the unit just to verify that the built in thermometer is giving you an accurate picture of what's happening. The little thermometer might also just be way off. Often, you can recalibrate those with a simple mechanical adjustment.

If it really can't be set low enough, maybe the controller is defective. One of the reviews I saw complained of needing to insulate the unit to get it hot enough in cold weather. So that's the opposite of what you're seeing.

I have a charcoal smoker similar in shape to yours, and I modified it by drilling additional holes at the bottom to get more airflow. But that was to get more combustion air at our higher elevation here to get it to run hotter.

I think the control on yours shoud let you set a lower temp but maybe not. Still, the sensor on yours is likely right down on the controller itself. So maybe it doesn't see the higher temperatures that actually happen up where the hot air from the heating element goes.

There might be some sneaky way to use a piece of aluminum to capture a better sample of the temperature higher up and conduct it down to the sensor, effectively moving the sensing point higher up. Or you could even use a similar method to "thermally short circuit" some heat directly from the heating element over to the sensor tip. But you could easily go too far and end up with too little heat and no smoke.

The unit looks simple, but quite good, actually. It ought to make some great food!

 

[plister]

Sigmo, thanks for the response! 

And yes, overall it does work pretty well. I have made both brisket and pork shoulder that came out pretty good. Now, just trying to optimize it. Got frustrated with both of my long smokes that I couldn't get it under 240..

So, I did replace the thermometer with a good one from amazon and I am getting alot better reading. It is still at the lid however. I get what your saying. Should I get another Therm and put it somewhere mid-chamber? I thought about doing that..

Now, the controller does let me control it. When I have it maxed it will get all the way to like 300 and at lowest 240-245. 

Upon first uses of the smoker I couldn't get it past 200 but I found out that it was due to inaccurate temp reading. The therm they give is crap and reads 200 no matter what. So I'm good with high temp now..

That is an interesting thought with the sensor but I don't feel comfortable messing with that. I like the idea about drilling holes. I was thinking that putting a vent at the bottom somehow would lower the temp but I would like to be able to open and close it. You think that would be a good idea? 

Thanks so much! I truly LOVE this forum. Super helpfull!!!

Pat

 

[heavy hauler]

About 10 or 15 years ago I had received some kind of bullet smoker with a heating element In the bottom. Problem was it was either on plugged In or off unplugged. So I tore apart an old hot plate and wired in the dial to control the heat. It worked well for what I was smoking but still a PITA since some parts were missing. The switch acts like a dimmer switch for lights in your house but was able to handle the amperage needed most dimmers are 15 amp. If I recall 25- 30 amp was required. Don't quote me on any of this I'm trying to go by memory.

 

[plister]

Thanks all! I'm gonna start with the addition of an additional thermometer @ mid chamber to  get a more accurate overall temp. 

If I were to add an additional vent, where would I put it? At the very bottom??

Pat

 

[daveomak]

In general I am making it work. The main issue I'm having is I can't get it to burn any lower than 240. With it all the way down and the vent fully it just won't get lower than 240.
Any suggestions anyone??

Pat

Pat, morning...   I recently purchased a SCR...   It controls the heat output of my 1500 watt frying pan...  and it will control fan speed...   I tried it....  

So, for ~16$ you can control the heat output of your smoker....    It's like controlling the heat output of a gas burner on your stove...     or controlling lights with a dimmer switch...

I bought a heavy short appliance cord...   cut it and hooked it up to the SCR...  That way, I had a unit I could move from appliance to appliance....

SCR TEST 005.JPG

• daveomak
• Jan 5, 2017

SCR TEST 002.JPG

• daveomak
• Jan 5, 2017

SCR TEST 003.JPG

• daveomak
• Jan 5, 2017

 

[Chris Verdoorn]

Pat, morning... I recently purchased a SCR... It controls the heat output of my 1500 watt frying pan... and it will control fan speed... I tried it....

So, for ~16$ you can control the heat output of your smoker.... It's like controlling the heat output of a gas burner on your stove... or controlling lights with a dimmer switch...

I bought a heavy short appliance cord... cut it and hooked it up to the SCR... That way, I had a unit I could move from appliance to appliance....

SCR TEST 005.JPG

• daveomak
• Jan 5, 2017

SCR TEST 002.JPG

• daveomak
• Jan 5, 2017

SCR TEST 003.JPG

• daveomak
• Jan 5, 2017

Hi Dave:

Posting for the first time here, but I have read a lot of your own and Bear's posts regarding the MES 30. I have the model number 20071117, which I believe is a Generation 1 with the 2.5 guts; I'm planning on putting in the tunnel mod you designed inside the top right back corner of the unit as the vent on the back right corner causes all my heat to go straight up on the top and out so my left side is colder.

My question is in regards to the SCR unit you have, I smoke a lot of beef snack sticks in my unit and have issues with the temp fluctuations early on, causing my casings to harder too quickly. So for that SCR unit you have wired up, I see you indicated that you got a heavy appliance cord and cut it, I assume that means you cut it in half, wired the male end to the "In" ports and wired the female end to the "Out" ports. If that is the case, where did you wire the ground (green) wire, directly to the unit chassis with a screw for both ends?

Also, once this is wired up, when you turn the MES on, do you set the temp higher than you would need and then just adjust the heating element temp using the SCR unit? Or by turning on the unit does it immediately turn the heating element on with the SCR unit plugged in?

 

[tallbm]

Thanks all! I'm gonna start with the addition of an additional thermometer @ mid chamber to get a more accurate overall temp.

If I were to add an additional vent, where would I put it? At the very bottom??

Pat

Hi there and welcome!

Yep first place to start is a wireless thermometer with 2 or more probes. I like to recommend the ThermoPro TP20 for a great dual probe wireless thermometer. There are other options as well with more probes if you like but I recommend you have at least 2 probes. 1 probe will take a proper smoker temp and the other probe will be stabbed into the meat to get the meats Internal Temp (IT).

This should be a great first start :)

 

[daveomak]

Chris, Afternoon... I wired the ground wires together.... not to the SCR chassis.... That way, appliancs that have a 3 wire cord, will have a path to ground....
When using the SCR... you can turn the appliance to full heat and control the temperature with the SCR... The appliance element will never turn off and the heat will be controlled by you by adjusting voltage.... Or run the appliance with reduced voltage so the element does not get as hot and reacts slower...
you will need to hook it directly to the heating element input on the MES so as to not mess with the electronics input.... You will have to determine which wire is "HOT" going to the element in the MES.. My MES, the black wire coming in from the right, was the hot wire....

...Dr. K's photo.....




I know... that looks totally wrong...
Imagine the r&b wires as an extension cord...
Clip the r&b wires and insert the SCR...
Now what do you think ??? looks good to me...

 

[Chris Verdoorn]

Chris, Afternoon... I wired the ground wires together.... not to the SCR chassis.... That way, appliancs that have a 3 wire cord, will have a path to ground....
When using the SCR... you can turn the appliance to full heat and control the temperature with the SCR... The appliance element will never turn off and the heat will be controlled by you by adjusting voltage.... Or run the appliance with reduced voltage so the element does not get as hot and reacts slower...
you will need to hook it directly to the heating element input on the MES so as to not mess with the electronics input.... You will have to determine which wire is "HOT" going to the element in the MES.. My MES, the black wire coming in from the right, was the hot wire....

...Dr. K's photo.....
View attachment 368088

View attachment 368096

I know... that looks totally wrong...
Imagine the r&b wires as an extension cord...
Clip the r&b wires and insert the SCR...
Now what do you think ??? looks good to me...

Thanks for the information Dave as well as the diagram. Forgive me, I will need a bit more detailed assistance, since this involves electricals, and that's not exactly my forte. :)

I just took the back panel off my unit and this is what it looks like, I have a black wire coming in from the right; also a red and yellow wire coming in from the bottom.



When I test the wires with the unit plugged in and on, the red wire is what appears to be the "HOT" wire coming into the unit, I'm guesing that means the blank wire goes to my heating element and the yellow wire is simply a ground (which I don't need to worry about). First picture is testing the black wire, 2nd is the red wire, 3rd is the yellow wire.


Since this is the case, my plan is to cut the red wire and hook the incoming from the bottom hole to Port 1 on the SCR input & 3 on the output to the end connected to my MES 30, then cut the black wire and hook that up to Port 2 on the SCR input & 4 on the output in the same manner.


Does that seem correct on my plan for the wiring job? Just want to make sure what I'm assuming is correct, based off the other information you provided. I'm also thinking about extending the wiring similar to how you ended up with your permanent solution with your dimmer, I have 14 G wire, for that which I believe is correct, I know I'm not going smaller that's for sure.

What do you think?

 

[tallbm]

Dave can answer in more detail but yes the read and black will be your hot and neutral the yellow will be the ground.
If you want to keep the over temp safety rollout limit switch in the mix let us know, it's not a bad idea. If not then keep going with what you are doing and Dave should get you all sorted out :)

 

[Chris Verdoorn]

Dave can answer in more detail but yes the read and black will be your hot and neutral the yellow will be the ground.
If you want to keep the over temp safety rollout limit switch in the mix let us know, it's not a bad idea. If not then keep going with what you are doing and Dave should get you all sorted out :)

Thanks Tall! I'll await Dave's response before I do anything just for confirmation.

One last thing, I picked up some male connectors as I plan on replacing the factory ones since I've read they oxidize quickly; they are rated up to 257 degrees F, do you think that is good enough or would I be better served ordering some high temperature connectors?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[daveomak]

Test the wires with the unit plugged in and controls off... No heating to the element... check with controller on and heat off..... then with heat on.... I think you will find the black wire is the power wire.... red wire is neutral.... yellow wire is ground....
Check with a multi meter... those "inductance" meters can be confusing at times... at least I find that to be the case....
i would like to see a schematic for the new smokers...
Yellow is ground in "some new" wiring codes.....
Strip the plastic from the "normal" connectors.. Slip heat shrink over and shrink to fit...
There is no heat generated at the ends of a heating element... It is generated in the resistance part of the element...

 

[Rings Я Us]

Sigmo, thanks for the response!

And yes, overall it does work pretty well. I have made both brisket and pork shoulder that came out pretty good. Now, just trying to optimize it. Got frustrated with both of my long smokes that I couldn't get it under 240..

So, I did replace the thermometer with a good one from amazon and I am getting alot better reading. It is still at the lid however. I get what your saying. Should I get another Therm and put it somewhere mid-chamber? I thought about doing that..

Now, the controller does let me control it. When I have it maxed it will get all the way to like 300 and at lowest 240-245.

Upon first uses of the smoker I couldn't get it past 200 but I found out that it was due to inaccurate temp reading. The therm they give is crap and reads 200 no matter what. So I'm good with high temp now..

That is an interesting thought with the sensor but I don't feel comfortable messing with that. I like the idea about drilling holes. I was thinking that putting a vent at the bottom somehow would lower the temp but I would like to be able to open and close it. You think that would be a good idea?

Thanks so much! I truly LOVE this forum. Super helpfull!!!

Pat

Getting back to the actual thread subject:

The bottom of the smoker has a gap all the way around it. No need for vents. I have the same smoker and mine goes well below 150 when set at its lowest cycle. My temp gauge is accurate. The temps should be read next to the food however. At the food grate.
If keeping a covered full water bowl below the top rack with the setting just barely on doesn't keep temps on the food grate below 220° , your just out of luck. I bought my smoker for $29.99 or less and I can do jerky below 170° and crisp chicken skin on highest setting.

250 is a good temp to smoke about anything. I find the temp adjusts up and down with a 5-10 degree swing as normal. As your food get warm temps go up. You have to occasionally adjust for hotter food or windy times.

Good luck.. get the digital probe thermometer for your grate temps.

 

[daveomak]

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