My MES 30 modified over to Auber - WS

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

cmayna

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
★ Lifetime Premier ★
Jun 23, 2012
3,971
1,697
SF Bay Area, CA
Thanks mainly to Wolfman1955 who inspired me to look further into modifying my MES30 so it would be controlled by my Auber WS PID controller. Very simple modification. Basically you get an extension cord and convert it into the new power supply cable by hard wiring it directly to the MES30 heating element. You then plug the MES power cord to the backside of the Auber controller and go for it. What I like about this PID controller is that you have 6 settings you can create. Temp 1 at xxxdegree temp, then Temp 2 at xxx degree temp etc. Thus as you can see further down, I set the first temp to stabilize at 100 for 24 minutes, then let it bump to 130* for 24 minutes, then let it bump to 150* for another 24 minutes.

Here is what you see when you pull the rear panel off the MES 1st generation.
1958c3dc5293311167700cc7310c1524.jpg


Pulling the stock wires off the heating element and pushing them aside, you then wire your new power cord to the element. Can anyone spot the blunder I did when wiring it up? :biggrin: After fixing the oops, sealed it all up and plugged it into the back of the Auber controller.
189d9c7e29b255b72ce79b3ba0efb7b9.jpg


The only modification I did which I can't erase it putting a hole in the back plate. Otherwise, I can always put the smoker back to it's factory setting, if I chose so.
3f210294415d3393a22053949c1a6fa5.jpg


Per the following pics, look how close the Auber's controller temp reads to my Maverick 732. All I can say is WOW!

Setting of 100*
77c00c752164822333b7dce15d0fdd32.jpg


Setting of 130*
6c80fb022d0a230eb72df8b5b9ab88fc.jpg


Setting of 150*
8bbd7d9ae0007c7c54e1cccffd016671.jpg



Again, thanks to Wolfman 1955 for showing me the way.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
great idea.. but have some confusion ... are my eyes seeing your new wiring to the element correctly... you have the black wire (usually hot) connected to the the box as a ground ?? and you have the green wire (usually ground) connected to one side of element.. ?? and the white wire (usually common/ ground) to the other side of the element.. ?? and it's working ?? you don't get shocked when touching the cabinet ??
 
As long as you wire the other end the same.... green and white are power and black ground.... the electricity doesn't know the color of the insulation.... BUT... I would change the wiring to code for 2-3 years down the road... or wrap colored elec. tape around the wires to simulate "code"....

Looks really controllable... nice to have....

Dave
 
Last edited:
As long as you wire the other end the same.... green and white are power and black ground.... the electricity doesn't know the color of the insulation.... BUT... I would change the wiring to code for 2-3 years down the road... or wrap colored elec. tape around the wires to simulate "code"....

Looks really controllable... nice to have....

Dave

correct Dave.. i was just assuming the other end has a prewired 3 prong plug on it since the controller is a plug and play ...
 
great idea.. but have some confusion ... are my eyes seeing your new wiring to the element correctly... you have the black wire (usually hot) connected to the the box as a ground ?? and you have the green wire (usually ground) connected to one side of element.. ?? and the white wire (usually common/ ground) to the other side of the element.. ?? and it's working ?? you don't get shocked when touching the cabinet ??
As I said earlier lets see who can spot the blunder I did. Yes green should have been ground with black going to the of the ends of the element. Plugged it in and no worky. So swapped the green with the black and then it worked. LOL



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I will say that if I didn't have that Auber sitting around not earning it's keep,  would I have gone out and spend the money on one?  Hmmmmm, they're not too cheap.    I  have used it as well on my Big Chiefs by turning it's stat to full heat then plugging it into the Auber.    Very easy to control.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the post. I did exactly what you did and now i'm having trouble getting the temps to lock in where I set them. Did you run the autotune or did everything work out of the box? Also if you did run the autotune did you set it at a certain temp first how did you do yours? Thanks, any help would be appreciated.
 
As I said earlier lets see who can spot the blunder I did. Yes green should have been ground with black going to the of the ends of the element. Plugged it in and no worky. So swapped the green with the black and then it worked. LOL



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
correct Dave.. i was just assuming the other end has a prewired 3 prong plug on it since the controller is a plug and play ...
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky