MES Trouble Shooting

[corky]

It appears the 'good' deal I got on the MES might not have been quite as good as I had hoped.

When I attempted to season the unit the heating element never came on. The dispaly panel worked and seemed to function correctly for setting the time and temperature but no heat.

The confusing part is that while the time counted down on the display what I assumed was the inside temperature alternated with the time display and counted up, like the temps in the unit were increasing. During the three hours the final displayed temp rose to over 200F, but when the door was opened it was stone cold.

Has anyone else experienced a similar problem? This unit came assembled so I will take apart what I can to see if the electrics were connected properly. Any suggestions?

Corky

 

[kookie]

Wa the element stone cold or was it some what warm? The element might not be hooked up.....If thats not it maybe the element is bad or damaged....If thats the case I would contact Masterbuilt and see if they will send you a new element or whatever part is bad............Hope you get it going.........Keep us posted......

 

[illini]

Corky
Your assumption about the alternating display is correct...have no idea why the displayed temp would rise to 200*....Even though it was a clearance smoker from cabelas I would not mess with it....go directly to Masterbuilt and let them replace the entire smoker

 

[zzerru]

I wholeheartedly agree with Illini...send it back to MB.

 

[corky]

Things are looking a little better on the 'seasoning front'. I disassembled the control unit and made sure it was connected properly and removed the heating element to make sure it was connected properly. When reassembled everything seems to be working correctly. The three hour seasoning process came off reasonably well. Plenty of heat that built to 275F and maintained in that range. The unit is obviously creating heat now and appears to be OK.

I used mesquite chips for smoke the last 45 minutes of the process without much success creating smoke. I am currently recycling for an additional 45 min to try to generate more smoke. I didn't soak the chips so it may be a flaw in my process rather than a fault with unit.

Things are looking up for some que in the near future!

Corky

 

[lawdog]

corky,
just because you aren't seeing the smoke doesn't mean its not "kissing" the meat, are you smelling the mesquite? If so then all is good.
Keep in mind that if you have future problems with your MES, they are reputed to have an outstanding customer service dept.

Lawdog