open up an MES Gen 2.5

[mosparky]

I think the temp sensor on my Gen 2.5 is shot. Maxes out at about 230. I can set to 275 but the heat light never goes out and remote therm as well as MES say about 236 at the highest. As a test I set it to 225 after I limped thru a smoke and it's been holding right at 219 to 228.
Any ideas how to take the back off one of these ? I see no rivets or screws, except maybe in the upper corners under the handle. I hate to cut unnecessary holes in it.

 

[uncle eddie]

Drop a thermometer into the vent to see if it is reading whacky. If it is holding the set temp with the vent thermometer, you might need a new control panel. Either way, I have had great service with their tech support

 

[mosparky]

That was the first thing I did when the remote kept showing a temp of 236. I did notice a little moisture on the top when I removed the storage cover. Gonna try it again this afternoon. maybe moisture got in it and will dry out by then. Nothing to loose, CS won't open til Monday morning anyway.

 

[campfire218]

That was the first thing I did when the remote kept showing a temp of 236. I did notice a little moisture on the top when I removed the storage cover. Gonna try it again this afternoon. maybe moisture got in it and will dry out by then. Nothing to loose, CS won't open til Monday morning anyway.

You may have better luck contacting customer service through their Facebook page. I've heard you get a much faster response

 

[dr k]

If the controller calls for heat and maxing at 230*f and you have no access panel to the flat snap disc sensor switch it may be faulth and opening the circuit to the element. I have a gen 1 with no access so I'd cut an access with a dremel on the back where the sensor is on the inside and splice the wires together and bypass the switch to see if that is the problem.
- Kurt

 

[dr k]

If the mes 40 heating element reads 12 ohms when the wires are disconnected to the element and 18 ohms on the mes 30, then the element is good. If the controller is calling for heat above 230*f, then the toggle switch looking controller sensor appears to be working so then I'd be looking at the snap disc sensor.
-Kurt

 

[mosparky]

My mistake. Apparently I do have an access panel for the snap disk. The temp probe is another matter. I thought the disc was dead center but daylight showed me different. Low and left. thats it. Any specs on these ? I really would like to have it fixed for Turkey Day. I doubt Masterbuilt CS will get it here that fast. Local appliance shop should have them if I know what to ask for.

 

[dr k]

If the snap disc is the problem then you can use your smoker without it. Just wire nut the two wires together to bypass the sensor. My sensor has 150*C on the face of it which is 302*F and its 120 volts ac.
-Kurt

 

[tallbm]

If the MES 2.5 is like the MES 2.0 then the back is actually inserted into a groove in the back and has no rivets. To pull the back off in this case you will need to flip the MES onto it's face (preferably on a table not on the ground) and you will remove the wheels from the bottom and maybe some screws or rivets down there (can't remember how much stuff is fastened down there).

Once the wheels and other screws/rivets are removed then the back can be pulled off up to the handle. Just an FYI, that ridge of the back panel that goes into the groove of the back of the MES will get bent and kinked. Putting it back in place will involve some needle nose pliers and a hammer and finally some sheet metal screws to ensure it all stays together.

You can read some details about the back panel of my MES 2.0 along with the rewire job and usage of the Auber PID :)

Best of luck!

 

[mosparky]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a similar assy as mine. And the info on disc is about what I expected. Been a few years since I worked in electronics and seldom did I have to mess with snap disc. I talked to CS today, but with the long hold time I ran out of time. He was thinking either corroded contacts or power board malfunction. I mentioned that I never noticed the coil stop glowing and the remote always said heating. This is not conducive with snap disc failure. I'm suspecting corroded contacts as that can reduce voltage and limit current to coil. The power control board is little more than a Relay of sorts and will either be on or off. The only other option is maybe the element itself. He said 18 ohms and 6.5 amps. I'll have to drag it indoors and check it out. My only time to do it is after dark and drop a screw on the deck, it's gone for good.

 

[tallbm]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a similar assy as mine. And the info on disc is about what I expected. Been a few years since I worked in electronics and seldom did I have to mess with snap disc. I talked to CS today, but with the long hold time I ran out of time. He was thinking either corroded contacts or power board malfunction. I mentioned that I never noticed the coil stop glowing and the remote always said heating. This is not conducive with snap disc failure. I'm suspecting corroded contacts as that can reduce voltage and limit current to coil. The power control board is little more than a Relay of sorts and will either be on or off. The only other option is maybe the element itself. He said 18 ohms and 6.5 amps. I'll have to drag it indoors and check it out. My only time to do it is after dark and drop a screw on the deck, it's gone for good.

There have been reports in the past of this issues. The issues were reportedly fixed with a new controller. It seems that there may be some controllers that are not "calibrated" correctly to be able to hit the set temps. Couple that with the fact that the MES probes are notoriously off and you can often get missed set points.

My MES gen 1 could never get to 275F and had like 35F degree swings in temp. I finally rewired and went with a 3rd party PID controller and never looked back.

The connectors with the snap disk as well as the element are trash for the application. They are regular connectors rather than stainless steel Hi Temp connectors so they are the most common component to fail on the MES.

Physically the MES is built well. Electronically (wiring components and circuitry) is where the MES has it's weak points.

It wouldn't hurt to have them send you a free controller to switch out, they do this very often :)
Best of luck!

 

[mosparky]

Well, can't fix what ain't broke. I dragged it into the kitchen and got the covers off. Heating coil connectors wouldn't come off easily, so I decided to fire it up and do what ever voltage checks I could without disconnecting wires. Everything looked good. Now I wait for the failure. Dang thing went to 276 and shut the element off, then back on at 169. Watched it a few cycles and shut it down and put everything back like it should be. My possible explainations are that working the connectors while trying to remove them may have cleared any offending corrosion. Or I may have not had it plugged in well enough. Currently I use an outlet adaptor that goes between a light bulb and it's socket. It eliminates the ground and is very hard to plug into. I doubt seriously it was moisture in the controller. I would expect a little more erratic behavior from moisture.
I will be getting some hi-temp connectors to have ready for when these do finally give out.

 

[tallbm]

Hmmm hit 276F then cut off and back on at 169F? That isn't good and sounds like the rollout limit switch triggered, it has an auto reset.

When you buy the hi temp stainless steel connectors also get 3-4 of the roll out limit switches as they are delicate and the tabs bend/wiggle easily. Once the tabs wiggle at the connection with the switch they don't seem to last too long... I 've gone through 3 lol.

Here are some parts that should help you:
or
and


If you move up to a higher temp roll out limit switch you can push the temp higher for things like chicken/turkey smokes but I wouldn't recommend you go over 275F very often or for very long since the insulation isn't designed to really hold up at higher temps and may gas out or burn up. I chance it for chicken and turkey smokes but they go fast and I guess that makes me a gambler :) Here is what I use:


Best of luck! :)

 

[dr k]

Hmmm hit 276F then cut off and back on at 169F? That isn't good and sounds like the rollout limit switch triggered, it has an auto reset.

When you buy the hi temp stainless steel connectors also get 3-4 of the roll out limit switches as they are delicate and the tabs bend/wiggle easily. Once the tabs wiggle at the connection with the switch they don't seem to last too long... I 've gone through 3 lol.

Here are some parts that should help you:
or
and


If you move up to a higher temp roll out limit switch you can push the temp higher for things like chicken/turkey smokes but I wouldn't recommend you go over 275F very often or for very long since the insulation isn't designed to really hold up at higher temps and may gas out or burn up. I chance it for chicken and turkey smokes but they go fast and I guess that makes me a gambler :) Here is what I use:


Best of luck! :)

The T1113 lugs I ordered had the same pic on Amazon over a year ago but came with the 90* barrel instead of the fold tab. I'm surprised Supco still uses this pic. They are super tight on the heating element legs and the high heat nickle plated steel is tough to readjust once opened when fighting it on the heating element. So I pitched two that weren't tight enough. My first smoker was easy I gave my daughter/son in law. I did mine after 20 hours of smoking to make sure the electronics were ok. Just to get the inevitable out of the way.
- Kurt

 

[tallbm]

The T1113 lugs I ordered had the same pic on Amazon over a year ago but came with the 90* barrel instead of the fold tab. I'm surprised Supco still uses this pic. They are super tight on the heating element legs and the high heat nickle plated steel is tough to readjust once opened when fighting it on the heating element. So I pitched two that weren't tight enough. My first smoker was easy I gave my daughter/son in law. I did mine after 20 hours of smoking to make sure the electronics were ok. Just to get the inevitable out of the way.
- Kurt

Those connectors are tight. I learned the hard way to install the connectors first on my replacement roll out limit switch(es) before installing the roll out limit switch on the MES. Then I connected/super crimped the wires into the barrels of the connectors, and finally attached the roll out limit switch to the MES. Kind of backwards in the order you would think but it was the only way to get it all done properly without damaging the switch.

Also I got smart with how I installed the connectors into the rollout limit switch. On a scrap piece of 2x4 block, I put one connector on each tab and then stand the switch up on one of the connectors that were on the tab. I then use a hammer and gently tap downwards on the top connector. Oddly this makes the bottom tab push on the tab. You then rotate and repeat until the connectors are snugly on and there is no damage or wiggle to the tabs. If the tabs begin to wiggle at any point then the roll out limit switch is going to burn up and fail you at some point.

Just keep all this in mind :)

 

[Bearcarver]

I think the temp sensor on my Gen 2.5 is shot. Maxes out at about 230. I can set to 275 but the heat light never goes out and remote therm as well as MES say about 236 at the highest. As a test I set it to 225 after I limped thru a smoke and it's been holding right at 219 to 228.
Any ideas how to take the back off one of these ? I see no rivets or screws, except maybe in the upper corners under the handle. I hate to cut unnecessary holes in it.

I'm confused:
If you set it for 275° and it maxes out at 236°, that's bad.
But it sounds like it was fine in your test. You set it at 225° and it was holding between 219° and 228°. That's Great !
Am I right that no matter where you set the temp, the Max is 236°, and everything below 236° is working fine?
If I'm right, I would call Masterbuilt & tell them exactly that, and see what they say.

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

Well, can't fix what ain't broke. I dragged it into the kitchen and got the covers off. Heating coil connectors wouldn't come off easily, so I decided to fire it up and do what ever voltage checks I could without disconnecting wires. Everything looked good. Now I wait for the failure. Dang thing went to 276 and shut the element off, then back on at 169. Watched it a few cycles and shut it down and put everything back like it should be. My possible explainations are that working the connectors while trying to remove them may have cleared any offending corrosion. Or I may have not had it plugged in well enough. Currently I use an outlet adaptor that goes between a light bulb and it's socket. It eliminates the ground and is very hard to plug into. I doubt seriously it was moisture in the controller. I would expect a little more erratic behavior from moisture.
I will be getting some hi-temp connectors to have ready for when these do finally give out.

Did you mean to say "Back on at 269° instead of 169°"??

Bear

 

[mosparky]

Just to clarify for Bear, when it initially failed, I reset the temp to 225 and it ran great (for that temp). Later I tried to troubleshoot it (set temp at 275)and after opening it and messing with the element leads it ran perfect. I said it shut off at 276, that is when the "heating" light went out. The temp did continue to rise to 284 or so as the residual heat from the element rose ( similar effect as carry-over in a cook) and began to fall. At 269 the "heating" light came back on.
I read lots on here before I bought it and knew the electrical was a weak point, so I bought it with the full intent of converting it to a ramping PID when the electronics do finally give up the ghost. The $ just isn't there yet.

 

[Bearcarver]

Just to clarify for Bear, when it initially failed, I reset the temp to 225 and it ran great (for that temp). Later I tried to troubleshoot it (set temp at 275)and after opening it and messing with the element leads it ran perfect. I said it shut off at 276, that is when the "heating" light went out. The temp did continue to rise to 284 or so as the residual heat from the element rose ( similar effect as carry-over in a cook) and began to fall. At 269 the "heating" light came back on.
I read lots on here before I bought it and knew the electrical was a weak point, so I bought it with the full intent of converting it to a ramping PID when the electronics do finally give up the ghost. The $ just isn't there yet.

OK,
The coasting to 284° is normal after shutting off at 275°.
The coming back on when it got to 269° is a little strange, because all of mine would come on at 274° when set at 275°.
Sounds like you're OK now, as least for awhile.
Now you can get back to smoking meat.

Later,
Bear

 

[macneilm]

Searching for answers. MES 40. 3-4 years old. Not sure Gen 1 or 2? Buddy got it from QVC and never used it. Controller located on top to the back. Back panel riveted on. Cover Plate over the element has screws and is only removable access. Old connectors completely fried couple weeks ago. Replaced with stainless Hi Temp. Things seemed great when I tried it out. Maverick down vent matched digital readout on controller. 2 pork butts going now and the dang thing won't heat over 190 according to Maverick. I've got it set for 275 and control reads that it is at 270-275. I've seen a variation in controller temp reading vs Maverick before but never this bad. Getting ready to pull from MES and put in oven to finish.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I should look at as the problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.