MES 40 Temp Problem...

chef jimmyj · May 12, 2012

I have a 2011 model MES 40 that I received for Christmas. I have been getting great results with no issues. Today I started a 6Lb Brisket and a 4Lb Pastrami at 7AM. The MES was set at 230*F and both the MES and my MAV 732 read 230* after 30 minutes. Outside temp was 66*F with a light breeze. A large Roasting Pan with Veg for Au Jus was placed on the 3rd shelf down with the Brisket on 1 and Pastrami on 2. I figured the Pan may block some heat so I bent in the sides for more circulation...

10AM Brisky at 136* IT

            Strami at 119* IT

Set Pt at 230* MES reads 235*

MAV reads 217*F This is ok because I try to stay <225*F for Brisky.

2PM Brisky at 154* IT

         Strami at 148* IT

Set Pt at 230* MES reads 225*n Element is on.

MAV reads 210 Temps a little low but in a heat cycle. Still normal.

7PM Brisky at 176* IT This was rising slowly after 4hour stall. Removed Au Jus pan for better heat circulation.

         Strami at 170* IT

Set Pt at 230* MES reads 235* Element is off.

MAV reads 230*

Here is where it gets weird... MAV Temp drops to 210* over about 15 mins and Brisky IT starts to drop and the MES Meat probe in the Strami reads " - - -" !?!

15 more mins and MAV is reading 200* but Set Pt at 230*and MES reads 235*, the Element is off!!!! What is happening?

I cycle the Power with the Remote, and reset time and the Set Pt to 230* but now the MES reads 205* and the Element comes ON!!!

The temps rise on the MES and the MAV to 230* and Brisky IT rises to 178* All seems back to normal.

15 minutes later THE SAME CRAP STARTS AGAIN!!! MAV temp drops to 208*, Brisky drops 2* and MES Meat probe reads, " - - - " then 170* IT.

The Set Pt is 230* the MES says it is 234* The Element is OFF.

The temp on the MAV keeps dropping...I pull the meat, shut down the MES and all goes in a 350*F Oven to finish.

7:52 PM The Brisky is at 200*F...

I have no clue what happened. Suggestions???...JJ

diggingdogfarm · May 12, 2012

Bizaare!
Maybe something is interfering with the remotes.

~Martin :33:

bustintires · May 12, 2012

maybe the steam from the au jus. never had a problem like that before.

whistlepig · May 12, 2012

Chef JimmyJ said:
I have a 2011 model MES 40 that I received for Christmas. I have been getting great results with no issues. Today I started a 6Lb Brisket and a 4Lb Pastrami at 7AM. The MES was set at 230*F and both the MES and my MAV 732 read 230* after 30 minutes. Outside temp was 66*F with a light breeze. A large Roasting Pan with Veg for Au Jus was placed on the 3rd shelf down with the Brisket on 1 and Pastrami on 2. I figured the Pan may block some heat so I bent in the sides for more circulation...

10AM Brisky at 136* IT

            Strami at 119* IT

Set Pt at 230* MES reads 235*

MAV reads 217*F This is ok because I try to stay <225*F for Brisky.

2PM Brisky at 154* IT

         Strami at 148* IT

Set Pt at 230* MES reads 225*n Element is on.

MAV reads 210 Temps a little low but in a heat cycle. Still normal.

7PM Brisky at 176* IT This was rising slowly after 4hour stall. Removed Au Jus pan for better heat circulation.

         Strami at 170* IT

Set Pt at 230* MES reads 235* Element is off.

MAV reads 230*

Here is where it gets weird... MAV Temp drops to 210* over about 15 mins and Brisky IT starts to drop and the MES Meat probe in the Strami reads " - - -" !?!

15 more mins and MAV is reading 200* but Set Pt at 230*and MES reads 235*, the Element is off!!!! What is happening?

I cycle the Power with the Remote, and reset time and the Set Pt to 230* but now the MES reads 205* and the Element comes ON!!!

The temps rise on the MES and the MAV to 230* and Brisky IT rises to 178* All seems back to normal.

15 minutes later THE SAME CRAP STARTS AGAIN!!! MAV temp drops to 208*, Brisky drops 2* and MES Meat probe reads, " - - - " then 170* IT.

The Set Pt is 230* the MES says it is 234* The Element is OFF.

The temp on the MAV keeps dropping...I pull the meat, shut down the MES and all goes in a 350*F Oven to finish.

7:52 PM The Brisky is at 200*F...

I have no clue what happened. Suggestions???...JJ

I have a MES30 that I got for Christmas in 2011. It has kicked off on me only once for no reason. This was about three months ago and hasn't done it since. And you removed the Au Jus pan?!!!. My goodness where are your priority's? I would have pitched the meat, kept the Au Jus, and just sopped some bread in the Au Jus.

chef jimmyj · May 13, 2012

Bustin, It could not have been the Au Jus because I didn't have the Stock to go in the pan so it was only veg the whole time, no added moisture.

Whistlepig, I learned something new, DO NOT smoke the Veggies for Au Jus more than 1 hour...Mine ended up smoking for the 12 hours and although it was edible it was WAY too Smokey!

Thanks for the responses all...JJ

whistlepig · May 13, 2012

So what do 12 hr smoked veggies look like? I would think they would be crispy critters. Or at best severely puckered. Sorry to hear that you had a bad day smoking. I thought I was the only one.

chef jimmyj · May 13, 2012

whistlepig said:
So what do 12 hr smoked veggies look like? I would think they would be crispy critters. Or at best severely puckered. Sorry to hear that you had a bad day smoking. I thought I was the only one.

Very dark Brown, like a pile of not quite charred Leaves. I added some fresh veggies and the rest then deglazed with the Wine and Broth. The Color was a fabulous, deep rich brown! The flavor was good just Hardcore Smokey...I love Smoke and this stuff was just too much...It will be in my next batch of BBQ aka Sloppy Joes, it's a NE PA thing apparently, my Grandma taught me to make it...Growing up if asked, " You want Barbecue for Supper? " Sloppy Joe sammies was what you got...JJ

deltadude · May 14, 2012

C Jimmy J, sorry to hear about the problems. You know we all assume the Maverick is dead on, I just bought my mav 732, and have used it twice on BB ribs (using both probes to monitor inside cabinet temp) and both times they have been over cooked, yet the temp was never above 230º. The first cook was definitely too long, I was busy preparing other stuff and let the first stage go too long, thus the amount of meat pull back was too advanced.

I think for me, I will do a long time period test and see if the Mav maintains temp, I have several other temp devices I can cross check with, but need to make sure they are calibrated and reading correctly first.

smokinhusker · May 14, 2012

Chef Jimmy, I feel your pain. The day I smoked the kielbasa, I fired up the MES 40 (bought in Jan 2010) and it has worked beautifully since then, until a couple weeks ago. I turned it on to warm up and all was well. Put the kielbasa in and let it go for 1 1/2 hrs, no problems with temp. Bumped the temp up with the remote and shortly thereafter I noticed it was "heating" but the temp was dropping. I shut it off and unplugged it for 2-3 minutes to reset, also replaced the batteries in the remote, turned it back on and set time and temp and still "heating" but temp wouldn't budge and then finally started dropping again. I ended up doing the reset 3 times and finally it heated up and held the temp. The final time I turned it off and unplugged for the reset, I left it for about 10-15 minutes.

Knowing the problem with the wires in the back, when BF got home for the weekend, I had him take a look at the wires but there were no problems with them. We left it on for several hours and kept changing the temp periodically and never experienced the problems again that day. I haven't smoked anything since then, but plan to this week and if it does it again, I'll let you know.

Did you figure out why yours did it?

skygreenbud · May 16, 2012

I recently bought an MES 40.Yerterday i smoked a couple of rings of kielbassi.The side witth the heating element runs hotter than the other side.Quite a bit.My question is,when you put your kielbassi in how long did you let the casings dry before you put smoke to it?I waited about 1/2 hr. but the casings did not take smoke evenly.I have seen this happen before in smokers that don,t have a good vent to theoutside.Thanks.

bluefrog · May 17, 2012

Did you have the timer set? If the time runs out the heat will shut off. I always set the time for longer than I expect it to take.

chef jimmyj · May 18, 2012

SmokinHusker said:
Chef Jimmy, I feel your pain. The day I smoked the kielbasa, I fired up the MES 40 (bought in Jan 2010) and it has worked beautifully since then, until a couple weeks ago. I turned it on to warm up and all was well. Put the kielbasa in and let it go for 1 1/2 hrs, no problems with temp. Bumped the temp up with the remote and shortly thereafter I noticed it was "heating" but the temp was dropping. I shut it off and unplugged it for 2-3 minutes to reset, also replaced the batteries in the remote, turned it back on and set time and temp and still "heating" but temp wouldn't budge and then finally started dropping again. I ended up doing the reset 3 times and finally it heated up and held the temp. The final time I turned it off and unplugged for the reset, I left it for about 10-15 minutes.

Knowing the problem with the wires in the back, when BF got home for the weekend, I had him take a look at the wires but there were no problems with them. We left it on for several hours and kept changing the temp periodically and never experienced the problems again that day. I haven't smoked anything since then, but plan to this week and if it does it again, I'll let you know.

Did you figure out why yours did it?

I am glad I am not the only one to see this happen. I called Masterbuilt and explained what happened and that I usually have to set the MES temp 20*F higher then the desired temp...Without hesitation the Service Rep said, " Sounds like a controller issue. I'll have a new one shipped today. " I give these guys credit, their Service has always been outstanding for me. I hope all MES owners have the same great experience...JJ

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MES 40 Temp Problem...

chef jimmyj

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

diggingdogfarm

Master of the Pit

bustintires

Smoke Blower

whistlepig

Smoking Fanatic

chef jimmyj

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

whistlepig

Smoking Fanatic

chef jimmyj

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

deltadude

Master of the Pit

smokinhusker

Legendary Pitmaster

skygreenbud

Newbie

bluefrog

Smoking Fanatic

chef jimmyj

Gone but not forgotten. RIP

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