R.I.P.

[bertman]

It with heavy heart that I share that my Masterbuilt 30-inch electric smoker (model 20070312) officially passed on this weekend. I've read many posts cursing the MES for a variety of reasons, and always felt like I was on borrowed time. In the past few years, I learned I could not rely on the thermometer, but otherwise she just kept chugging along. When I went to start smoking a couple of pork butts, however, there was no gain in temperature.

I have had that smoker since Christmas of '14 or '15, and it isn't the years that impressed me, but the amount of hours I've smoked with it.

The funny addition to this story is that Dad lives across the street, and has one he never uses, so I borrowed his. But his digital numbers on his control panel only showed four or five of the horizontal and vertical bars for numbers. I could tell if the temperature was set in double digits, or 100s, or 200s, but that was it. So I counted by five every time I pushed the heat button, and used my Inkbird to get an accurate reading on the ambient temp. It made me work!

And that brings me to a question that I'm sure I can get answered here: Do smokers usually go on sale for Memorial Day and/or Father's Day? I'll be replacing this, but I can wait for a good deal and get by with my WSM for the time being.

 

[JckDanls 07]

You do know that they can be revived fairly easy... Coming back better than ever...

 

[Elf@shore]

Rec Tec has a sale on now. Pellet
A bit pricey, But I hear they are worth it ?
The Deckboss 800 looks nice. Its a midsize with a 2nd shelf.
Mostly Stainless Steel : Barrel and Grates.
$849 , $100 off with free shipping.
They have a smaller 400, lacks the 2nd shelf.
Also a larger 1100 which replaced the 700 .
Maybe if I hit the lottery? LOL.
Hope that helps.
Google it. there are a few Utube videoson them.
ELF...

 

[tallbm]

It with heavy heart that I share that my Masterbuilt 30-inch electric smoker (model 20070312) officially passed on this weekend. I've read many posts cursing the MES for a variety of reasons, and always felt like I was on borrowed time. In the past few years, I learned I could not rely on the thermometer, but otherwise she just kept chugging along. When I went to start smoking a couple of pork butts, however, there was no gain in temperature.

I have had that smoker since Christmas of '14 or '15, and it isn't the years that impressed me, but the amount of hours I've smoked with it.

The funny addition to this story is that Dad lives across the street, and has one he never uses, so I borrowed his. But his digital numbers on his control panel only showed four or five of the horizontal and vertical bars for numbers. I could tell if the temperature was set in double digits, or 100s, or 200s, but that was it. So I counted by five every time I pushed the heat button, and used my Inkbird to get an accurate reading on the ambient temp. It made me work!

And that brings me to a question that I'm sure I can get answered here: Do smokers usually go on sale for Memorial Day and/or Father's Day? I'll be replacing this, but I can wait for a good deal and get by with my WSM for the time being.

Hi there and welcome!

I feel like Memorial day is a good day. However, as JckDanls 07 stated, you can get your MES up and running easily. It is likely that the connectors at the heating element corroded away or the connectors at the safety limit switch (or the switch it self) corroded and wore out. These are the super super super common failures with an MES.
Fix that and you are up and running.

Also is there a chance you can swap your buddies MES controller with yours? if they look the same you just put yours on his MES and boom working controller on a working MES.
Finally, there is always the simple rewire and buying an Auber PID controller to have an MES that performs better than $1,000 smokers at the price of less than a new MES by far.

It really is simple to get your MES up and going again :D

 

[chopsaw]

I suggest fixing the MES , and getting a new smoker .

 

[JckDanls 07]

I suggest fixing the MES , and getting a new smoker .

"I LIKE IT"

 

[bertman]

Chopsaw speaks some good sense.

I hadn't really considered trying to repair it. The feed tube doesn't fit in all the way any more, or rotate easily to dump chips. The water pan and the chip tray have pinholes in them from rust and corrosion, and the plastic surrounding the door has more cracks than D.C. has liars. When I say that I'm in awe of the amount of hours I've gotten out of it, I'm not kidding. It is showing its age.

However, I could buy a new one, then convince the boss that I just couldn't stand the thought of contributing to our landfill problems...

I thought of buying another MES, but Dad's is a little newer than mine, and I was more than disappointed with the amount of smoke it produced. It was really no better than my oven. After doing some research, the most common complaint was that the chip tray was too far from the element, and I couldn't agree more.