My Master Built Electric smoker appears to be dead

[Wakulla]

The controller comes with a wiring diagram. What i did was drill out the pop rivits holding the back on and removed it. Took out all the original wiring. Where the power chord comes in i removed all that wiring and control board. Turned that into a junction box. With appliance wire, i used 12 gauge for overkill, i wired the hot and neutral to the power chord and ran it to the controller, then the hot from the controller to the relay, then from the relay to the element. Wired a neutral from the element to the neutral on the power chord connection.

I removed the original temp sensor and replaced it with a air sensor thermister from my thermoworks smoke kit.

Put the back back on with sheet metal screws. All wiring is concealed just like the original.

 

[Wakulla]

From the Amazon seller"the cable of the sensor can handle up to 215F." How did you work around this?

Well i wanted one i could trust anyway. One i had tested and was built for the punishment. Remember this controller uses a thermister not a thermocouple. I use the thermoworks smoke. I took the air sensor in that kit and installed it in the same hole as the original sensor. I used high temp silicone caulk to glue it in. Wired it up and the smoke sensor and the pid track right along together.

 

[Atl1530]

That's Great
Thanks for posting

 

[cmayna]

image.jpeg

• cmayna
• Mar 19, 2016

My Masterbuilt with a Auber controller.

 

[dtsobel]

How did you wire it in? it looks like it needs a power supply. Does it come with one? Do you have any photos of your wiring

From the Amazon seller"the cable of the sensor can handle up to 215F." How did you work around this?

I have a 40" gen 2 masterbuilt. would this work?

 

[Wakulla]

I have a 40" gen 2 masterbuilt. would this work?

I don't see why not. Never looked at one of those. You might have to be a little creative deciding where to put your controller

 

[rexster314]

does anyone know anything about the Bradley electric pellet smokers?

Yes, I've had 3 of them at different times. A 4 rack original, a 4 rack stainless and a 6 rack digital. They're advertised as slow and low, but keeping a nice cook temp is hit or miss. Where they really shine is with an extra cooking element and PID. However, the hinges are a weak spot, often breaking with in a year or two of ownership, and the bisquette feeder is temperamental at times. The only thing I didn't really like was the small cooking chamber. Won't hold a full packer brisket unless you bend it to fit or trim it to fit two separate racks. Won't hold a full rack of ribs either.

 

[dmbennett46]

Several options...
1. Appliance Factory Parts (appliancefactoryparts.com) has the original controllers for $44.99 plus shipping. Replacement is easy.
2. See new post from rexster314 today (July 4) titled "Masterbuilt 40"." He bought a new MES 40 on eBay that was listed as "for parts only" but worked perfectly, he says. 30" models are available in the same condition for even less. You can refurbish your 30" and have a cabinet left over for cold smoking. Or you could get lucky, as rexster340 did. Search eBay for "masterbuilt electric smoker 30 parts."
3. You could convert your leftover cabinet into a cold smoker for about $150 in parts. As a fan of cold smoking, I bought a Bradley smoke generator and Bradley cold smoke attachment, which I then mounted to my Masterbuilt cabinet, bolting the plate over the hole for the wood chip tray using self-tapping hardware. My "Frankensmoker" (see photo) gives me separate control over heat and smoke. I now use it for all my smoking, but you could keep it as a cold smoker and then buy a new MES 40 for heat smoking. (But don't get one with Bluetooth or you'll be very unhappy.)



(P.S. I have an Auber PID controller but have had problems with the RTDs; they always give out at the connector. After replacing the detector several times, I've relegated the controller to the junk drawer.)