Need help with a Masterbuilt 30" smoker, doesn't work!

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~~~I received my new Auber PID controller. I went with the WS 1200 since I have several temp. gauges with probes and did not want to invest 180.00. I may be sorry later but right now I am very happy. We had a break in the weather last week and I cut my old cord(16/3) and removed my data plate for Masterbuilt. I found some high temp push on connectors at a local hardware store that sells a lot of heating elements. I happened to have a 1/2 " strain relief That is a conduit fitting that supports SO cord. I had a piece of 14/3 SO cord. I screwed the inspection plate to a scrap piece of wood to support it while I used a hole saw to cut the hole for the strain relief I used a existing interior screw to attach the ground and hooked up the hot and neutral wires(Black and white) I had run out of time and had to finish up quickly. Then the cold and snow returned so that cost me another week but yesterday It was 40+ so I hooked it up and it ran great. I think we will have another break in several days after the next cold spell in the 20's and lows in the low teens. That is about as cold as it gets in central VA. I will be smoking soon. I got to thinking that a little more information might be good to have. A good place to find amperage values of your wire and wire adaptors can be found at this link http://www.stayonline.com/nema-straight-15-amp-adapters.aspx Their prices look good but I don"t know about there shipping rates. The connectors and fittings can also be found at a electrical supply house. You will find a counter man that is willing to work with you. Jted
 
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MES 30”, Falling smoker Temp after 2hours of smoking!!!

  Last used MES April 2015, used again on May 25, Memorial Day!

Started smoking Chicken breasts and BB Ribs, about 1hr into the smoke the MES started loosing temp.

It was steadily dropping temp. Had to finish the food on the Gas Grill!

  Next day I started doing all of the standard MES problem checking, Checked Input Volts and Amps to unit all good.

Element checked out good!

    Took the back cover off the unit and I found one of the Female wiring connectors going to Temp. Limit Switch (KSD301) had major rust on it.

Upon closer inspection I found one of the Female wiring connectors had major rust on it, about 1.5mm of metal left connecting to Temp. Limit switch.

Yes, this was original MES wiring which also had a none conductive sleeve on the female connector.

  I cleaned the Temp. Limit Switch and temporarily replaced the Female wire connector and was back up smoking again.

   At this point I decided it was time to use the "Texacajun’s"  MES rewiring write up.

I ordered the 12gauge High Temp. wire and the 90deg High Temp Female Flag connectors.

When all items arrived I cleaned all contacts and new wiring, I then crimped the wire connectors and used High Temp. "No Lead" solder to make the connections to the 

Temp. Limit Switch and the Heating Element. Both of these connection points are now solidly connected together.

     After all was done I Fired up the unit and set it to 275deg. it came up to temp. and held with no problem.

For the next several days I tested the unit to 275deg. and had it hold temp. for a couple of hours, Still No problems.

    It may be my imagination but the unit seemed to reach and hold the set Temp. quicker then before wiring upgrade and soldered connections.

     All of the contacts on the bottom side of the unit have been cleaned, some were replaced, I then applied "Spark Plug High Temp. Boot Grease", 100% Silicone grease, to all connectors.

I am trying to prevent corrosion on any of the connectors since I live in a high humidity area.

I have also build a 2’L x 2’D x 1.5’H wooden stand that the MES 30” now sits on, yes I do have a cover on it also.

My MES does stay outside on a covered porch area.

I have used the unit several time since the Wiring Upgrade and all is good!!

I hope this write up helps fellow MES or other Electric Smoker users!

Later,

John
 
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MES 30”, Falling smoker Temp after 2hours of smoking!!!

  Last used MES April 2015, used again on May 25, Memorial Day!

Started smoking Chicken breasts and BB Ribs, about 1hr into the smoke the MES started loosing temp.

It was steadily dropping temp. Had to finish the food on the Gas Grill!

  Next day I started doing all of the standard MES problem checking, Checked Input Volts and Amps to unit all good.

Element checked out good!

    Took the back cover off the unit and I found one of the Female wiring connectors going to Temp. Limit Switch (KSD301) had major rust on it.

Upon closer inspection I found one of the Female wiring connectors had major rust on it, about 1.5mm of metal left connecting to Temp. Limit switch.

Yes, this was original MES wiring which also had a none conductive sleeve on the female connector.

  I cleaned the Temp. Limit Switch and temporarily replaced the Female wire connector and was back up smoking again.

   At this point I decided it was time to use the "Texacajun’s"  MES rewiring write up.

I ordered the 12gauge High Temp. wire and the 90deg High Temp Female Flag connectors.

When all items arrived I cleaned all contacts and new wiring, I then crimped the wire connectors and used High Temp. "No Lead" solder to make the connections to the 

Temp. Limit Switch and the Heating Element. Both of these connection points are now solidly connected together.

     After all was done I Fired up the unit and set it to 275deg. it came up to temp. and held with no problem.

For the next several days I tested the unit to 275deg. and had it hold temp. for a couple of hours, Still No problems.

    It may be my imagination but the unit seemed to reach and hold the set Temp. quicker then before wiring upgrade and soldered connections.

     All of the contacts on the bottom side of the unit have been cleaned, some were replaced, I then applied "Spark Plug High Temp. Boot Grease", 100% Silicone grease, to all connectors.

I am trying to prevent corrosion on any of the connectors since I live in a high humidity area.

I have also build a 2’L x 2’D x 1.5’H wooden stand that the MES 30” now sits on, yes I do have a cover on it also.

My MES does stay outside on a covered porch area.

I have used the unit several time since the Wiring Upgrade and all is good!!

I hope this write up helps fellow MES or other Electric Smoker users!

Later,

John
Great post. John. I may need to re-read this if my MES controller is starting to have problems.
 
I just got off the phone with Masterbuilt. Great people. They originally told me my smoker needed a new element, even though I thought it had to be something else. When I put the new element in and it still didn't work I did more digging and found the main relay board in a panel on the bottom of the smoker was what had failed. They said, we should have looked deeper and we're sending you a new one at no charge.
Great customer service!
 
Hey New Orleanian,
I ran into the same issue awhile back and it turned out to be the thermal override switch called, KSD301, it will cut the power to your heating element if it senses the internal temp of your unit is above about 300deg.
To find out if your thermal override device is the problem you will need to remove the back of your smoker to get access to the sensor.
The sensor can be seen from the inside of your unit, it is mounted on the upper left side, it is a dime sized disk that senses the internal temp. of your unit.
To test your sensor you will need to disconnect the sensor and check the sensor with a multimeter.
The sensor should always read as On, it is a one use device.
I purchased a package of 5 replacement KSD301s from Amazon for under $10.00

Good Luck on your repairs,

Texas Coast
 
Thanks, Texascoast. I had already checked the KSD301 switch and it was fine. When I powered it up both sides of the switch and both sides of the heating element were at 120V, so I knew there had to be a problem somewhere else. When I flipped it on its face and opened the controller compartment on the bottom I found one of the pins for the heating element connector was discolored, and there was some brown schmoo and a burnt insulation smell. After unplugging and reconnecting the plug it worked, but obviously the electronics were not happy.

It's got to do 2 turkeys for Thanksgiving in 2 days, so we'll be watching it and if it goes awol again we are ready for plan B to finish the cooking.
 
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