Avoid Temp Swings in MES (By Bear)

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From your experience, what would be the best spots for placing the temp sensor and the hi temp limit switch?
LOL---I'd put the temp sensor where they have it now on the Gen #2.5, and I'd put the Hi Temp Safety Sensor right next to it, because if you have the Hi Temp Safety Sensor up higher, like in my Gen #1, if you did a dumb move & blocked the rack above the Temp Sensor, but below the Hi Temp Safety Sensor, you could have a problem. If the Temp sensor went wacky, the heat wouldn't get to the Safety sensor to shut it off.

However No matter where you put it, if you block the air flow below the Temp Sensor, the Temp Sensor will cause the controls to keep calling for heat, and the heat would never shut off.

Soooooo---The Moral of the Story is------Never block air flow anywhere in your MES----Ever!!!

Bear
 
 
The hi limit cutoff switch is designed to shut down the heating element if the smoker gets up to between 325-350°. I've never had it kick in so personally I don't know if it opens up after the temp goes lower than 325° or if you have to manually push the On button again and reset your set point and smoking time. The highest temp my smoker has reached is 302°.
No, there is no manual reset on the safety switch at least not on mine. I just didn't want to sound overconfident 
biggrin.gif
 Again, I'm not positive but temperature rise should be opening a normally closed switch in case of abnormal operating conditions and after cooling off-time and below non-adjustable set point temperature it will close again allowing current flow to the heating element if the controller is calling for heat. I think... lol.
 
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Thanks---Interesting!!!

I remember a couple years ago there were a few guys who had to warm their MES smokers up with hat water or some kind of heat to get it to start in below Zero Winter Days.

If I remember correctly the problem was with that little safety switch.

Bear
I too remember those issues with some smokers. I never ran into that problem with mine. I'm sure there are many different designs, manufacturers and quality of bimetal limit switches with some made as cheap as possible. Who knows, a cheap version if that is what's being used, in too cold of a temperature could somehow contract the bimetal to a point where it'll open in reverse direction also, which should not happen on a high limit switch. A little heat from wet rag, lighter, etc. and in no time it's back in its normal closed position and the smoker works. Just a wild guess, I don't know what that was all about. 
 
Here's one example of a bimetalic limit switch in operation.

Wired in series with heating element....... in its normal position the switch is closed (ON= continuity), temperature rise opens it and temperature fall will closes it.

Edit: switch is in its normal position when the video starts..

 
 
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OK.... didn't know that, assumed both size smokers had a meat probe. I guess one has to spend the big $$$ to get an extra bell/whistle. You should consider yourself fortunate they gave you a chip-loader with your 30".
Hey--I consider myself fortunate I've never had any major problems with it. The chip loader came standard with what I call my "basic black" model. No window, remote, meat probe, just the basics for smoking food. It was just what I wanted.

You didn't get a chip loader with yours or were you making a joke? And hey again--some guys get 6 racks but I only got 4. Only thing is I do have to strike to flint rocks together to get a spark to ignite the heating element...
 
 
Hey--I consider myself fortunate I've never had any major problems with it. The chip loader came standard with what I call my "basic black" model. No window, remote, meat probe, just the basics for smoking food. It was just what I wanted.

You didn't get a chip loader with yours or were you making a joke? And hey again--some guys get 6 racks but I only got 4. Only thing is I do have to strike to flint rocks together to get a spark to ignite the heating element...
lol.... yes, I was joking... sorry.

I'm gonna shut-up now because I kind of hijacked Bear's thread.
 
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I am so embarrassed! I took all the racks out of my smoker this evening to clean it for my next smoke. As I took rack #3 out --- there is was. The toggle shaped sensor that Bear told me was there. If only I'd had moved that grate even an inch, I'd have seen it. My apologies to Bear and the rest of the readers.
 
biggrin.gif
 Don't sweat it Steve!

It's no big deal, even I made a mistake once!
 
 
LOL---I'd put the temp sensor where they have it now on the Gen #2.5, and I'd put the Hi Temp Safety Sensor right next to it, because if you have the Hi Temp Safety Sensor up higher, like in my Gen #1, if you did a dumb move & blocked the rack above the Temp Sensor, but below the Hi Temp Safety Sensor, you could have a problem. If the Temp sensor went wacky, the heat wouldn't get to the Safety sensor to shut it off.

However No matter where you put it, if you block the air flow below the Temp Sensor, the Temp Sensor will cause the controls to keep calling for heat, and the heat would never shut off.

Soooooo---The Moral of the Story is------Never block air flow anywhere in your MES----Ever!!!

Bear
I've been told the hi temp limit switch is designed to shut down the heating element (or controller--one and the same?) when interior temp hits between 325-350°. So even if the blocked temp sensor kept calling for heat the limit switch would shut it all down--theoretically.

I can't visualize, though, how the rack above the temp sensor but below the hi temp switch could be blocked. Without seeing the inside of my MES I can't picture where the sensors are in relation to the racks. I will be able to see it tomorrow and perhaps get the idea.
 
 
No, there is no manual reset on the safety switch at least not on mine. I just didn't want to sound overconfident 
biggrin.gif
 Again, I'm not positive but temperature rise should be opening a normally closed switch in case of abnormal operating conditions and after cooling off-time and below non-adjustable set point temperature it will close again allowing current flow to the heating element if the controller is calling for heat. I think... lol.
No manual reset with mine either. When my smoker gets up into the 290s to 300s I open the door to let all the heat out. It's happened twice in 3 years. Tomorrow I find out if it happens again. If it does, I'll have to figure out what needs to be replaced and order it from MB. I've got the smoking stuff down but not the electrical part.
 
 
lol.... yes, I was joking... sorry.

I'm gonna shut-up now because I kind of hijacked Bear's thread.
Thought so. I shoulda added a smiley face after my comment. Besides, I'm all for hijacking Bear's thread. I always wanted to visit Cuba in the summertime...
 
I am so embarrassed! I took all the racks out of my smoker this evening to clean it for my next smoke. As I took rack #3 out --- there is was. The toggle shaped sensor that Bear told me was there. If only I'd had moved that grate even an inch, I'd have seen it. My apologies to Bear and the rest of the readers.
The shame, the shame...
 
I am so embarrassed! I took all the racks out of my smoker this evening to clean it for my next smoke. As I took rack #3 out --- there is was. The toggle shaped sensor that Bear told me was there. If only I'd had moved that grate even an inch, I'd have seen it. My apologies to Bear and the rest of the readers.
No problem Steve!!

You just had me going until Mummel posted the inside of his Gen #2.5. Then I saw how they changed position of the sensors, and I knew where to look closer at yours & I saw where your little Toggle looking sensor was. No Biggy.

Bear
 
I've been told the hi temp limit switch is designed to shut down the heating element (or controller--one and the same?) when interior temp hits between 325-350°. So even if the blocked temp sensor kept calling for heat the limit switch would shut it all down--theoretically.

I can't visualize, though, how the rack above the temp sensor but below the hi temp switch could be blocked. Without seeing the inside of my MES I can't picture where the sensors are in relation to the racks. I will be able to see it tomorrow and perhaps get the idea.
If the sensors were in the wrong position, this could happen. Below is a notation I made on my Chicken Thighs Step by Step that shows how the heat can be blocked from getting to another part of the smoker. If this blockage would have been below the Temp Sensor, but above the Safety Sensor, it could have gotten hot enough to shut down, because the Temp Sensor would have kept calling for the heat that couldn't get above the blockage:

**  I noticed during the smoke, my Maverick above the Thighs (left side) was averaging 160* to 210*, and the Maverick below the Thighs (right side) averaged 240*, then 260*, and then 290*. At first I thought it was either the upper probe being close to the cold meat, or the 2 Foil Pans on one rack was trapping the heat below them. Once the thighs got hot, I realized it was definitely the Pans trapping the heat. They take up nearly the whole depth & width of the Smoker. Normally the thighs would have been done by 5 PM, but they were only at about 142* IT at that time. When I removed the Taters, I moved one of the Foil Pans to the top position. This changed both of the Mavericks to the 270* to 285* range. The Thighs were all between 165* and 172* at 5:50 PM, and I removed them. They were still Awesome!!!

 
 
 
No problem Steve!!

You just had me going until Mummel posted the inside of his Gen #2.5. Then I saw how they changed position of the sensors, and I knew where to look closer at yours & I saw where your little Toggle looking sensor was. No Biggy.

Bear

If the sensors were in the wrong position, this could happen. Below is a notation I made on my Chicken Thighs Step by Step that shows how the heat can be blocked from getting to another part of the smoker. If this blockage would have been below the Temp Sensor, but above the Safety Sensor, it could have gotten hot enough to shut down, because the Temp Sensor would have kept calling for the heat that couldn't get above the blockage:

**  I noticed during the smoke, my Maverick above the Thighs (left side) was averaging 160* to 210*, and the Maverick below the Thighs (right side) averaged 240*, then 260*, and then 290*. At first I thought it was either the upper probe being close to the cold meat, or the 2 Foil Pans on one rack was trapping the heat below them. Once the thighs got hot, I realized it was definitely the Pans trapping the heat. They take up nearly the whole depth & width of the Smoker. Normally the thighs would have been done by 5 PM, but they were only at about 142* IT at that time. When I removed the Taters, I moved one of the Foil Pans to the top position. This changed both of the Mavericks to the 270* to 285* range. The Thighs were all between 165* and 172* at 5:50 PM, and I removed them. They were still Awesome!!!

 
Thanks, Bear. I can visualize it now. I'll be closely monitoring the heat inside my smoker today. That's the great thing about having the ET-733. Since I'll be smoking ribs, I've have the two probe on separate racks and on different sides of the smoker.
 
 
Are there any mods or upgrades we can make the new MES 40 BT to get better temp control in the first 1.5 hours?
I better "knock on wood" when I say this, but I have only used my  new BT 3 times so far, yet I have had no problem controlling the temp the first 1.5 hrs. Once mine reaches the set temp, it cycles as well as a person could ever ask for never varying more than 3-4 degrees over and under the set point. Maybe that will change with use, but is the case so far.
 
 
These thighs were kick ass by the way.  My wife made them.
Thank You!!

Bear
 
Are there any mods or upgrades we can make the new MES 40 BT to get better temp control in the first 1.5 hours?
I would just use the method I explained in Post #1 of this Thread.

If your temp has been taking 1.5 hours to settle in, my method should cut that way down.

Once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.

Bear
 
 
I better "knock on wood" when I say this, but I have only used my  new BT 3 times so far, yet I have had no problem controlling the temp the first 1.5 hrs. Once mine reaches the set temp, it cycles as well as a person could ever ask for never varying more than 3-4 degrees over and under the set point. Maybe that will change with use, but is the case so far.
I wonder if the new MES smokers have an improved controller? I sure would hope so. Hope yours continues to work problem free.
 
 
I better "knock on wood" when I say this, but I have only used my  new BT 3 times so far, yet I have had no problem controlling the temp the first 1.5 hrs. Once mine reaches the set temp, it cycles as well as a person could ever ask for never varying more than 3-4 degrees over and under the set point. Maybe that will change with use, but is the case so far.
Are you going but the temps on your Maverick or the smoker itself.  The smoker temps are way off in the beginning. 
 
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