Think my MES has gone done

[kryinggame]

I have the 30 inch MES. I bought it last December and I use it every single weekend. Yesterday I did a st. louis style rib and it came out perfect.

Today, about 2 hrs ago, I put a 9 lb butt in. I got it up to 275 as I traditionally do and then lower it to 225 when the meat goes in. I ran a few errands and now I'm looking at it. The temperature is set at 225; however, the display is reading 294; in addition, the ET-732 is reading 307 for the temperature of the oven. I don't know what is going on. 

I have a church function tomorrow afternoon where I bragged about bringing in some smoked pork. Since it's already cooking, I don't want to disturb anything but I don't understand why I'm getting such high readings, especially since the oven can only get as high as 275.

I'm sorry but I'm extremely irritated right now.

 

[smoke king]

Try to turn off the unit, unplug it for a minute or so, and reset to 225 and see what happens after 20 minutes.  If it is still high, try turning it lower until you get the right temp, so you can at least finish the smoke. 

 

[kryinggame]

I'm so pissed, I'm ready to introduce this dang smoker to my .357, Miss Liz

I did reset the smoker as well as the ET-732.  I dont know why this happened, especially since I used it yesterday for my ribs.

 

[smokinhusker]

I had a similar situation a few weeks ago with my MES40, only mine was dropping in temp. I ended up resetting it several times and ironically would only do this whenever I would adjust the set temp. Once I got it where I wanted it, I didn't touch the temp again. Haven't had any problems since.

 

[rabbithutch]

I'm no expert on this topic, for sure; but it sounds like you have a temp sensor problem. Maybe it needs cleaning or something.

Just my guess.

I have an MES40 and I've had trouble with it holding the temps I've set, but I marked it up to my inexperience and lack of knowledge. I've got to run some experiments with it cooking something I won't mind having to toss out.

 

[kryinggame]

okay. I had a whiskey and I'm now calm.  I reset the oven as well as the ET-732.

The MES is now burning at 226 degrees, Which is perfect.  I just pray that there's no damage to the meat. I know that a butt is a very forgiving meat but heck, I got folks looking for my smoked butt and I'm not keen on being embarassed nor letting folks down.

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to keep close watch on the rest of the smoking process. Why does something always go wrong when you're preparing for a party?

 

[deltadude]

Sorry for not checking the forum earlier.  If you got a few hours smoke on it, you should have pulled it and finish in the oven.

On my older MES40 I have had to reset several times when the temp wouldn't climb.  Now I just automatically do a reset when I put the meat in.

BTW a reset requires that you shut off the MES using the controller then unplug the MES power cord, wait a few seconds then plug back in and reset the controller.
 

 

[sigmo]

Maybe a neighbor has one and their remote is talking to your smoker. Now they're gonna be annoyed when theirs is running too low. :)

Really, though. It could be a crudded-up connection to the sensor. Try wiggling the connector at the controller. Better, use some Caig DeoxIT on those connections.

Sent from my phone (as if anyone cares).

 

[kryinggame]

13 hours, 4 minutes later, (many, many, many bottles of beer and shots of whiskey) 195 degrees...

I'm letting it go to 200 degrees. It's 1:15 AM...

Good grief, I'm tired...

 

[kryinggame]

Around 3:00 A.M., the butt was ready at 203 degrees. I wrapped it in towels and put it in a cooler. I got up at 8 and shredded it, then put two helpings of the SoFlaQue finishing sauce in to. Then put it in a dutch oven and into the fridge. I got home from church around 3:30 and warmed up the pork. In my opinion, the pork always taste better when it's reheated, maybe cause it marinated. But I reheated it with a cup of apple juice and two more servings of the finishing sauce.

Man, the folks at the party tore the pork up. 9 lbs was devoured in less than 30 minutes. I was really nervous because the dang MES and ET-732 were giving me false readings but thankfully, a boston butt is a forgiving meat.  So far, I've done about 7-8 butts, I don't know why but this one came out the best. I'm really pleased.

To address my problems, in the morning, I'm calling Masterbuilt to get an answer why the smoker was reading 294. It's impossible to get that smoker to that temperature range.  Nearly 2 weeks ago, I called Maverick and reported that the BBQ probe wasn't working properly. I still haven't received the replacement. I'm really disappointed in this thermometer. I just received it 3 weeks ago and the 2 times that I've used it, it has failed me.

 

[badbob]

I'm not familiar with the MES30 but with the MES40 you can "recalibrate" the controller by unplugging the unit from the wall AND unplugging the connection to the electronic unit on top of the smoker for 20 minutes. I got this info from Masterbuilt Customer Service. It worked for me. I hope this helps.  

 

[kryinggame]

I'm not familiar with the MES30 but with the MES40 you can "recalibrate" the controller by unplugging the unit from the wall AND unplugging the connection to the electronic unit on top of the smoker for 20 minutes. I got this info from Masterbuilt Customer Service. It worked for me. I hope this helps.  

Hi,

When you say "controller" are you referring to the electric unit on top where you punch in the temperature and time?

Thanks!

 

[eman]

Hi,

When you say "controller" are you referring to the electric unit on top where you punch in the temperature and time?

Thanks!

Yes that is the controller.

 

[kryinggame]

I called Masterbuilt and told them of my problem. The tech asked that I send her my receipt, serial number, model # and to cut the cord (weird). They're going to send me a replacement unit. She said the sensors are fried.

While I'm' not happy to hear this because it means I won't be smoking this weekend, I am happy that Masterbuilt stands by their products with excellent customer service.

 

[smokinhusker]

I have set my MES40 with the remote to 275* and it has registered 294* as the supposed actual temp, it's even registered 34* when I've had it set to 275* which tells me that's over 300*, I opened the door and within a few minutes the temp was showing in the 280s.

They are having you cut the cord and send it to them so you can't use it any longer since they are going to replace the unit.