Need help with MasterBuilt electric smoker

[and201]

Hi, my MB electric smoker does not heat up.
It turns on, I can enter temp and time and green power light is on and red heating light is on, but no heat at all.
I took heating element out and contacts on it have no traces of corrosion and if I apply 120V to them it heats up fine.
What else can it be?
Model #20070312.

Please help.

Tnx.

 

[DougE]

tallbm should be along to assist you. He will be able to get you up and running one way or another.

 

[smokerjim]

Did you check the connections on the back of smoker, should be a little plate you can remove they're usually riveted or screwed on.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

You might find this helpful.

Masterbuilt 20070312

Hello all, A newbie to this forum. I have been trying to troubleshoot my Masterbuilt electric smoker.I replaced the heating element because it wouldnt get hot. After replacing the element no change.I am now trying to find a control panel( which online I cant find) Any ideas or suggestions...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[and201]

Did you check the connections on the back of smoker, should be a little plate you can remove they're usually riveted or screwed on.

The power cord connection?
Yes, I took the plate out and checked it.
The power goes to panel and panel works.

I also just found sticky thread about 40-incher MES that talks about overheat switch.
I will have to find it and check.

 

[and201]

You might find this helpful.

Masterbuilt 20070312

Hello all, A newbie to this forum. I have been trying to troubleshoot my Masterbuilt electric smoker.I replaced the heating element because it wouldnt get hot. After replacing the element no change.I am now trying to find a control panel( which online I cant find) Any ideas or suggestions...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Yes, thanks a lot.
Probably the switch.
If controller and heater work, not much else out there to break.
The pain is that there is no cover for switch, I will have to cut thru metal.

 

[dr k]

Yes, thanks a lot.
Probably the switch.
If controller and heater work, not much else out there to break.
The pain is that there is no cover for switch, I will have to cut thru metal.

That's what I did. I could hear the relay click closed when the red heating light came on but no heat. A power cord hooked directly to the element was heating the element so a dremel cut off wheel to access the thermal safety switch revealed the disintegrated lug. I bypassed my two smoke switches mes 30 and 40 with a wire nut and always use my independent pit probe therm set to a range like 145-290 so I get an alert vs randomly walking out to a cold smoker or a fire. Every one should have a range alarm set to the pit probe.

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Yes, thanks a lot.
Probably the switch.
If controller and heater work, not much else out there to break.
The pain is that there is no cover for switch, I will have to cut thru metal.

You're welcome.
After you said you hooked up the element to 120V and it worked, that only left the roll out switch. Might as well make the cut out and have easy access for the next time the switch fails.

 

[tallbm]

Yes, thanks a lot.
Probably the switch.
If controller and heater work, not much else out there to break.
The pain is that there is no cover for switch, I will have to cut thru metal.

Hi there and welcome!

Yep, I think you are going to find that switch is the problem. I'm 99% sure of it as the connectors and the switch are cheap trash that wear out easily.

If you want to replace the switch here is a hard to find ceramic version that is an exact replacement:

Now you may look and see other ones that look like they work for less money BUT there are 2 different designs that look the same but are not. The other design will not work. The link I posted is the proper design so I would not deviate if you want to replace the switch with better (ceramic) version that operates at the same switch temp.

Now you seem to know your way around some electrical so you can feel free to just wire nut around you existing failing connectors/switch, but understand you would be cutting out a safety device which up to your discretion, so be safe.

Making a panel to get to the switch is a good idea as it fails. I've replaced a number of them.
If you ever decide you want to rewire and move to a PID controller let us know too. It turns the smoker into a whole different, highly performant animal :)

 

[and201]

That's what I did. I could hear the relay click closed when the red heating light came on but no heat. A power cord hooked directly to the element was heating the element so a dremel cut off wheel to access the thermal safety switch revealed the disintegrated lug. I bypassed my two smoke switches mes 30 and 40 with a wire nut and always use my independent pit probe therm set to a range like 145-290 so I get an alert vs randomly walking out to a cold smoker or a fire. Every one should have a range alarm set to the pit probe.
View attachment 634025

 

[and201]

I am not having any luck so far.
I found switch (pic1).
It looked fine , no corrosion on contacts.
I connected heater, put back control panel, bypassed switch (pic2).
When I put power on, it beeps.
When I try to turn it on it beeps repeatedly and shows ErrF on the screen (pic3).
Not sure what is wrong.
I tried to disconnect heater , switch and result is the same.
If I disconnect also meat probe and light it is still the same.

Did I mess up something?

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

According Masterbuilt, that error code indicates the thermostat probe is bad or shorted out.

 

[and201]

According Masterbuilt, that error code indicates the thermostat probe is bad or shorted out.

You are talking about "main" probe, not the meat probe, right?
The 1/2 inch "thing" sticking out in the center on smoker (pic1)?
I wonder how it got shortened.
Do I need to cut another hole in the back to get to it?
Or is there a way to get it from controls end (pic2)?

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

You are talking about "main" probe, not the meat probe, right?
The 1/2 inch "thing" sticking out in the center on smoker (pic1)?
I wonder how it got shortened.
Do I need to cut another hole in the back to get to it?
Or is there a way to get it from controls end (pic2)?

Yes, the main temperature probe which is in pic #1.
To get to the probe, I believe the back needs to be removed.
However, tallbm might have another method.

 

[tallbm]

Yes, the main temperature probe which is in pic #1.
To get to the probe, I believe the back needs to be removed.
However, tallbm might have another method.

Back removal or cut a whole are the options.
A and201 Before doing all of that cutting and back removal stuff, it is best to check if the temp probe part is even available. A lot of parts are not available therefore not worth going through the hassle if not available.
If the part is no longer available then your option is to do the simple rewire (cut ends off 4 wires, wire nut to make 2 whole wires) and use a different controller. I and others always lean towards a PID controller. Auber PID's are good and reliable.

They run about $160, BUT... your smoker will be 100x better performing than any new electric smoker you could buy at $800 or less.
It really makes it a completely different and totally better smoker for that $160.

 

[and201]

What I really like about this model is that it has remote.
I also have cold smoke attachment for it.
It looks like they do not make RF models anymore...
I wonder if I can just disable main sensor and use just a meat probe as one.

Do not know what PID is.
Can it work with remote control?

 

[DougE]

Do not know what PID is.
Can it work with remote control?

It replaces your stock controller with a much better one, and yes, Auber makes controllers that you can set from an app on your phone. It has its own temp probe and all that; the only remaining parts of the MES you will be using are the cabinet and heating element. The PID will replace all the factory electronics except the heating element.

 

[and201]

Is there a way to remove whole bacck panel without crushing things?

 

[tallbm]

What I really like about this model is that it has remote.
I also have cold smoke attachment for it.
It looks like they do not make RF models anymore...
I wonder if I can just disable main sensor and use just a meat probe as one.

Do not know what PID is.
Can it work with remote control?

It is not possible to disable the main temp sensor and just use the meat probe as is.

It is theoretically possible to cut the wiring on the main sensor and splice in a meat probe sensor or another wall sensor to make it work BUT you have to know exactly what type of sensor they are using to begin with and hope it all works out. There are a few different types of sensors out there. This trial and error experiment would involve removing the back of your smoker and/or cutting a hole to get to the sensor and having about 3 different types of sensors on hand to play with, maybe more. I can only think of like 3 different types off the top of my head.
Think of it like changing out a part on a car like water pump or something. The "type" would be like a Nissan water pump, Ford water pump, GMC water pump, BMW water pump, etc. and you don't know what type of car you have so you have to try all the water pumps to figure out which one fits and works.

DougE gave you a great explanation of a PID controller. As he said it just replaces the existing controller but only uses the box and heating element from the MES.

Auber makes a Wifi PID that allows you to do everything from your phone as long as your smoker is close enough to connect to your home wifi network.
Via this method you can access your smoker from anywhere anytime you want... as long as the PID is on and connected to the Wifi (may have to get a wifi extender to allow smoker to reach home wifi).

It runs a little bit more but everyone who gets it seems to love it, especially how much easier it is to deal with from the phone versus tweaking settings from the controller itself:

WIFI Electric Smoker Controller, 1800 Watts [AW-1520H] - $234.99 : Auber Instruments, Inc., Temperature control solutions for home and industry

Auber Instruments, Inc. WIFI Electric Smoker Controller, 1800 Watts [AW-1520H] - This plug-and-play PID controller regulates the temperature of electric smokers, such as Smokin-it®, Smokin Tex, and Masterbuilt Smoker. This controller uses a PID algorithm to automatically adjust the power output...

www.auberins.com

Again, the cost of these controllers can make someone think "I can almost buy a new MES for that much". Which is not wrong BUT... when you put a controller like this on simply rewired MES, you are turning your golf cart of an MES into a Ferrari of a smoker that can do anything! So it really becomes apples to oranges to compare.

 

[tallbm]

Is there a way to remove whole bacck panel without crushing things?

Looking at your pictues, you have the MOST annoying MES back that they make. Some models are riveted where you just drill out the rivets and it comes out easily and you screw back with sheet metal screws.

Yours has a lip that the sheet metal fits into. I've removed and re-added the back of one like yours and there is no way in the world to get it back in cleanly.
You will spend an hour trying to bend the metal back to fit the lip and hammering the back into the lip and it still wont fit properly. I then had to sheet metal screw in a few spots so it would be back in place but I did not enjoy the experience.

If I had to do over again, I would never remove the back of an MES if it is like the one you have if I didn't have to. I would just cut into it and patch over the cuts.

Why did I remove the back on the one I messed with??? I wanted to learn and confirm all the wiring and components in order to learn how to properly and safely perform the rewire for using PID controllers :)

If you cut a hole in the back to get to your main temp sensor you will also have to dig out a bunch of insulation too. The main temp probe and wiring is performed before they spray in the foam insulation therefore it is right up against the interior wall of the smoker for you to get to.