I've been using a Bradley with an Auber PID and a double burner for a several years. That cabinet was on it's last legs so I decided to build a new smoker. Well, two actually, but this post is about the Masterbuilt.
Sam's club had a sale on the 340G and I picked one up for 250. I was impressed with the cabinet and it's MASSIVE compared to a Bradley. I really had no intent to use the Masterbuilt for anything other than the basic cabinet.
I found the electronics very easy to modify. I turned the whole thing upside down and the electronics are behind poorly weather sealed access panels held with philips screws. The PCB in the base has the relay and transformer for the electronics on the top panel. I rewired the main cord directly to the heater. I added a second power cord and connected to the PCB so I could retain the LED lights, temp and temp probe. I only really wanted the lights. I color coded the cords so I didn't get them mixed up.
I added the Auber recirculating fan and off-set it slightly from the side and back of cabinet. This was mainly to help ensure airflow when through the wire racks and not aimed at the edge of the rack. I'm using an adjustable power supply for the fan that gives me control from 2v to 24v so i can adjust the fan speed.
I added the Bradley smoke injector and removed the rack and pan from the burner meant for the Masterbuilt smoke generator. I left the chip drawer/caddy, but may replace it with a vent cover.
For the PID I'm using an Auber WSD-1200GPH with the cabinet mount sensor. I mounted the sensor below the top rack to the right of center. I didn't want to risk center and drilling through wires. I wanted to stay out of the path of the fan and off-set from the right side where it looks like I'll probably get heat from the burner rising up the wall.
To help balance the heat and mix the smoke as well as direct drippings I added a Bradley head deflector rigged from the Masterbuilt shelf supports. I had to remove one shelf to make room for the smoke generator so I clipped and bent the support to hold the deflector.
I think it looks great. I may need to work on the heat deflection, but test results hopefully will show the mix of fan and deflector help enough to balance the heat.
Sam's club had a sale on the 340G and I picked one up for 250. I was impressed with the cabinet and it's MASSIVE compared to a Bradley. I really had no intent to use the Masterbuilt for anything other than the basic cabinet.
I found the electronics very easy to modify. I turned the whole thing upside down and the electronics are behind poorly weather sealed access panels held with philips screws. The PCB in the base has the relay and transformer for the electronics on the top panel. I rewired the main cord directly to the heater. I added a second power cord and connected to the PCB so I could retain the LED lights, temp and temp probe. I only really wanted the lights. I color coded the cords so I didn't get them mixed up.
I added the Auber recirculating fan and off-set it slightly from the side and back of cabinet. This was mainly to help ensure airflow when through the wire racks and not aimed at the edge of the rack. I'm using an adjustable power supply for the fan that gives me control from 2v to 24v so i can adjust the fan speed.
I added the Bradley smoke injector and removed the rack and pan from the burner meant for the Masterbuilt smoke generator. I left the chip drawer/caddy, but may replace it with a vent cover.
For the PID I'm using an Auber WSD-1200GPH with the cabinet mount sensor. I mounted the sensor below the top rack to the right of center. I didn't want to risk center and drilling through wires. I wanted to stay out of the path of the fan and off-set from the right side where it looks like I'll probably get heat from the burner rising up the wall.
To help balance the heat and mix the smoke as well as direct drippings I added a Bradley head deflector rigged from the Masterbuilt shelf supports. I had to remove one shelf to make room for the smoke generator so I clipped and bent the support to hold the deflector.
I think it looks great. I may need to work on the heat deflection, but test results hopefully will show the mix of fan and deflector help enough to balance the heat.