New Style MES Shocking!!!

[markk]

Went out this morning to warm up smoker for some jerky and when I got the time and temperature programmed I noticed the display was blank and the GFI in my garage was tripped. Took the element cover off and took a look, everything looked OK, so I plugged it back in and same thing. So I figured I would plug it in to a non-GFI outlet and  away it went, no problem. As it was warming up I decided to put the back cover on and when I touched the cart that I have it mounted on got a pretty good shock. I got a meter and checked there is 43 VAC to ground. Luckily my brother in law has the same smoker, so I got the jerky going, now for a call to Masterbuilt to see what they will do about it.

Mark

 

[mdboatbum]

This seems to be a fairly common issue with these smokers. Scary.

 

[daveomak]

This seems to be a fairly common issue with these smokers. Scary.

MD, morning....  First I heard of it...  Of course I don't see all the threads....   

Has anyone figured out where the bad connection is ??

 

[mdboatbum]

I saw a thread either here or on another forum where a little kid was shocked my the same smoker. There were a couple responses where people said it had happened to them as well apparently Masterbuilt is aware of the problem because they offered a replacement no questions asked. I have no firsthand experience, just relaying what I've read.

 

[markk]

I will do some investigating later this afternoon and post what I find and also the response from MB.

 

[daveomak]

At 43 volts, I am guessing the "short" is on the neutral side of the element....    I wouldn't think the electric components in all the other electronics operate on more than 24v DC.....

            

MESwiringschematic.jpg

• daveomak
• Jul 30, 2013

 

[markk]

Dave,

Agreed. I checked the ohmed the element to the case and got 33K ohms, pretty high resistance but I would have expected infinite. I took both of the covers off the back, one is the element connections and the other is either the high limit or the thermostat. Nothing out of the ordinary. So I plugged it back into a non-GFI outlet and checked for voltage with it turned on and the burner off, no issue. I went ahead and turned the burner on and still no issue, so I plugged it back into a GFI outlet and it is fine. Intermittent problem, I hate that. Anyway before I checked it out this afternoon I called Masterbuilt, after waiting on hold for a few minutes, I guy came on and took a report, said to box it up and they would pick it up and after they received it they would send me a new one. I told him I didn't have a box it would fit in, so he said he would "try" and find me a box and send it ( I doubt that very much). I got a case number and a RA number and I guess I am going to go out and find a box. Not the best customer service for someone that just got electrocuted with their product but oh well. I will update the thread as things progress.

PS: Nick from Masterbuilt just called and is sending me a box. I am sorry for my comment above..

Mark

 

[daveomak]

Maybe the problems is with one of the covers touching a 110v line ???? 

 

[markk]

Dave,

Good point, it looks like the wires to the burner come up from below in about the center and if I remember right there is a cover plate screw in the center bottom. I am lucky my brother in law lives close by and was willing to bring it over on his way to work. Other than that I am pretty happy with the new style smoker, though I think I still like the old style just a little better. 

Mark

 

[moses]

Mind did the same MES 40. Shocked my 3 yr old son and also shocked me. Called masterbuilt and they had me cut off the cord and identification plates off the unit and mail them in. They are sending me a new unit.

 

[markk]

Update;

So after 4 weeks and 3 phone calls, including two of which the customer service rep was surprised I was asked to ship the entire smoker back, I received a new smoker via UPS. The box was somewhat beat up including two holes. I unpacked, inspected, assembled and started the initial burn in while cutting up the box it came in. After about an hour and cycling the burner at 275 F the ground fault tripped, moved to a different outlet , same issue. I moved it into the garage and plugged the smoker into the outlet direct to verify the 25' 12 gauge cord was not the issue. Still tripping the ground fault.  I am now beginning to believe  that maybe these are in fact a big POS. My older MES 40, with the exception of burned off terminals has been a good smoker. I will again cal MES in the morning and see what they have to say.

 

[moses]

Please post what they say. My new unit is doing the same after already getting one replaced for the same reason.

 

[cmayna]

Wow

 

[moses]

Exactly. My last one gave my 3 year old a shock. Not bad but he's scared to help me cook now which was really good father n son time.

 

[radio]

Which model, or models are doing this?  Digital or analog model(s)?

 

[markk]

40" Digital Model: 2072612

 

[dockman]

Mine was shocking me once when I was barefooted on concrete. I simply grabbed a piece of metal leaned it against back of smoker and no more shock.

 

[daveomak]

Mine was shocking me once when I was barefooted on concrete. I simply grabbed a piece of metal leaned it against back of smoker and no more shock.

Dockman......  morning....... That is not a fix....   Bad things could happen, but you knew that......  one of the workers at the factory, that gets paid about 32 cents/day, slipped up when wiring the smoker...  

You'd think they would be more conscientious....  LOL...  but it ain't funny....

Dave

 

[markk]

All,

Sorry for the delay in updating this thread, I was on vacation. I called Masterbuilt on Monday 9/16/2013 and explained my problem with the replacement smoker tripping the ground fault after it was at 275 F during the initial burn in. He started a new case number, asked no questions as to if I may have a bad GFCI (I don't), make me wonder how big of a problem they are having with these units. He is sending me a box to send the entire smoker back, hasn't showed up yet, the last one arrived in two days. A couple of interesting things I noticed was my first claim number on 7/30/2013 was 133517 and the one from 9/16/2013 is 137611 that is 4094 different, could there really be that many claims in less than two months?. The other item is the serial number of the initial smoker that had problems was purchased before Christmas 2012 at Sam's Club in Omaha Ne. was 11041240, the serial number of the replacement from Masterbuilt is 11041244. What are the odds? I will keep updating as I work through this.

Mark

 

[markk]

Update;

Received the box in 7 days, packed up smoke and called MB to have them arrange shipping, was told things had changed and they only wanted the cord and data tag from the back. Sent that in and received a replacement smoker box. Swapped door over and the racks, started and burned off. So far so good.