# Masterbuilt smoker not producing smoke



## bbqbill

Hey Yall! I got a newbie smoking question. So, I've got a Masterbuilt model #: 20070210 but it seems like it wont produce any smoke at 220-230 degrees. I've only used it twice before and both times i didnt see any TBS while it was at 220-230 degrees. Just for fun I bought some cherry chips today and started testing different temps to see when i would get some smoke. I finally got smoke when it hit 250. I let it sit there for awhile then brought it back to 220-225 and the smoke disappeared. I let it sit there for about 4 hrs then checked the chips. Only about half of them were slightly charred. What am I doing wrong? Also, i didn't soak the chips.


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## pops6927

Do you have a separate, accurate thermometer to check your temps?


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## bbqbill

Yes I do. I have he MAV ET-732.


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## Bearcarver

You aren't doing anything wrong. That is a problem with a few MES models. They did have a FREE fix for that---A new chip burner. I'll see if I can find it & edit this post.

Meanwhile do yourself a favor & get an AMNPS, because even with the fix, the AMNPS will make your smoking go to the next level.

Bear

Edit:

Here is a mod that could help you.

That free chip burner upgrade appears to have expired.

If yours is one of the bad ones, it is because there is a piece of metal between the heating element & the bottom of the chip drawer. The link below shows how to fix that, by cutting that piece of  metal out, so the chip drawer will be directly over the element, causing more heat to get to your wood chips.

Link:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/98890/masterbuilt-upgrade-kit-inspired-mod-with-q-view


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## smokinhusker

What is the chamber temp on the Maverick? Bear gave you the solution - AMNPS - but MES either runs hotter or colder than the set temp.


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## bbqbill

There is nothing beneath the chip tray. Here is a picture of it.













Chip Tray.JPG



__ bbqbill
__ Mar 26, 2013


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## Bearcarver

Wow---That's a much different MES than the normal ones.

All I can do is guess:

I wouldn't put so many chips in the pan at once.

Is the pan against the heating element?

How thick is the pan---Too thick would keep the chips from getting hot enough.

Bear


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## chef willie

Good advice above...and some soak, many don't....wanting smoke not steam. I'm in the non-soaking camp now although I used to in the ECB. Try a batch of chips dry and a little less to see how it goes. It's all a learning curve...


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## geerock

That's a 30 inch analog with the 1500 watt element.  I would try a foil pan in place of the metal one or use sawdust instead of chips.  Pretty sure you may have trouble with the amazn stuff because the analogs have very little air intake, but maybe Todd has some input on this model.


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## bbqbill

Yea, it's an older one that has the legs and is analog which is why I bought the Maverik ET732. Didn't have much money and this one fit in my budget. The pan is very thin and there is a space between it and the heating element. I originally only put about a dozen chips in the pan and let it sit for about 30 minutes at 220, then I added more. I currently have a ham in it and the chips seem to be getting darker over the last 2.5 hrs. Im using JckDanls 07's Maple Bourbon glaze.













Ham.JPG



__ bbqbill
__ Mar 26, 2013


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## bbqbill

Geerock, do you think it would help if I drill a couple 1/2" holes in the bottom of the smoker directly underneath the chip tray to increase the air flow? Or should I just go straight to sawdust?


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## chef willie

BbqBill said:


> Geerock, do you think it would help if I drill a couple 1/2" holes in the bottom of the smoker directly underneath the chip tray to increase the air flow? Or should I just go straight to sawdust?


Some have done that...usually with Smokin Tex units and Smokin It's. Seemed to help with air flow. I use the AMNS dust burner in my Smokin It and so far so good with the burn. Here's a thread that got kicked around pretty good with the 'drillers' or 'no drill' members out there. With your model being much older and no warranty I would risk it, just use wise judgment with size of hole and how many. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/133283/smokintex-1400-owners-out-there-help-me-get-tbs


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## bbqbill

Thanks a ton! I think im going to drill a few holes under the chip pan and see if that works. If it still doesn't then I will go to sawdust. If I use sawdust, how much should I use?


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## jp61

geerock said:


> That's a 30 inch analog with the 1500 watt element.* I would try a foil pan in place of the metal *one or use sawdust instead of chips. Pretty sure you may have trouble with the amazn stuff because the analogs have very little air intake, but maybe Todd has some input on this model.


I also recommend to try a foil pan first, before you start drilling holes. The pan you're using now, is that a MES item? Another thing you may try is to crank the heat as high as it goes until you get the smoke going, then set the temp on the smoker that you'd like to maintain. When you open the door to put your food item(s) in, the temp will drop anyways. If you can just start the chips to smoke, the on-off cycle from the heating element should keep it going at your set point temp. Won't hurt to try?


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## rambler

On the first models if the chip tray wasn't in direct contact with the element it would not smoke.  The chip tray had "sandwich" the element with the bottom of the slide in chip tray and the chip holder itself.


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## bbqbill

Im trying putting the chip tray directly on the heating element. Also, here is a picture of the done ham. It was delicious!!!!













Mmmm Ham.JPG



__ bbqbill
__ Mar 26, 2013


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## Bearcarver

Like I was eluding to earlier, and a few others mentioned----Try to get your chip pan in contact with the element.

A proper working chip burner should start smoking before the smoker hits 100 degrees. This is if the chips are in when you start the smoker.

Bear

Edit---I started this comment before you posted #16.

Also--That ham looks great!!!


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## bbqbill

Ok, so I put the chip tray on the heating element. Initially the wood chips started smoking but then the smoking quickly stopped. Its been sitting at about 220 for an hour and it hasn't been smoking. Im really not sure what to do now.


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## Bearcarver

BbqBill said:


> Ok, so I put the chip tray on the heating element. Initially the wood chips started smoking but then the smoking quickly stopped. Its been sitting at about 220 for an hour and it hasn't been smoking. Im really not sure what to do now.


Then the only thing I can see is that pan is too thick.

Could you try putting a very small handful of chips in a foil pan or a piece of foil?

Bear


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## smokntime

I am having the exact same problem with the exact same smoker.  BbqBill, did you try drilling holes under the chip tray yet? If so has it solved the problem?  I tried to smoke some beef jerky but i may as well have done it in the oven for how much smoke was produced in this smoker....


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## bbqbill

Instead of drilling holes I just bought the A-MAZ-N Pellet SMOKER. It produces the perfect amount of smoke and everything that comes out of my smoker now is excellent!


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## smokntime

so the [color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]A-MAZ-N Pellet SMOKER just replaces the woodchip pan in this model?  Cause i did try using tin foil as a chip pan and it seemed to work...just had to turn the unit on medium then reduce it back to low once the smoke started coming out.  Everyone on here seems to recommend the [/color][color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]A-MAZ-N Pellet SMOKER so i may just have to order 1...  just so im sure is this what you bought? :[/color]


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## bbqbill

Yep, thats the one i bought. I bought it straight from the original website cause it came with 1lb of pellets for free.


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## smokntime

thanks brother....guess thats what im going to do as well...otherwise this smoker is just an oversized oven...and  thanks for the tip about buying it from their site as well..


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## flipman77

I have the same exact smoker, and am also a newbie to smoking.  Only smoked a few things so far, and smoked at 220 each time and I've had  good smoke each time.  The picture you have of the dish looks like mine, however my chip tray has a lid on it.  I'm not sure if the lid on it makes the temp rise enough to cause the smoke, but It is on during the smoking.  My chip tray is not directly on the heating element either.  I do soak the chips for about a half hour and (following the manual) only put in a cup at a time.  

Flip


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## gilg

Thanks guys for your chat,1st time smoking & I have this smoker, directions it came with were sparse. I'm smoking baby backs now they been on for 30 min. I'm going to take the lid off

the chip box, no smoke yet, I'll see if that works.


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## aldy116

Just bought the same smoker and am haveing the same issues.  I would like to buy the pellet smoker (we had a treager so plenty of left over pellets) can you post a pic of what it looks like in the unit


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## Bearcarver

Aldy116 said:


> Just bought the same smoker and am haveing the same issues.  I would like to buy the pellet smoker (we had a treager so plenty of left over pellets) can you post a pic of what it looks like in the unit


Here's what my AMNPS looks like in my MES 40 (Bottom left on the bars):

Picture removed, because somehow the wrong pic got there around the time of the SMF Platform change.

Bear


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## daricksta

My AMNPS works well in my MES 30 Gen 1. In fact, just used it yesterday when I smoked 3 racks of St. Louis ribs. When I first got the AMNPS I used to tent it with foil. Then I realized that the water pan is so big it easily protects just about the entire tray. But remember that I have a 30-inch smoker, not the 40-inch.


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## daricksta

Bearcarver said:


> Here's what my AMNPS looks like in my MES 40 (Bottom left on the bars):
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> __ smokin monkey
> __ Feb 12, 2016


Ribeye. Why did it have to be...ribeye?


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## nanook1

I'm a newbie to smoking and was having the same problem. My fix was to put the chip right on the element. Works fine now.


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## Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezie

Huge Thank you to the person who recommended using a couple of lumps of charcoal in the chip tray!!!
I bought a propane torch and borrowed a couple of lumps of charcoal from my neighbor.  Grabbed the charcoal with a pair of metal tongs and put the torch to them for about a minute each and then dropped them into the chip tray.  The smoker was already preheated and set to 250 degrees.
I opened the vent all the way.
Added a 1/2 cup of dry wood chips and within 5 minutes had smoke blowing out the vent 4 feet high!  I choked it down to 1/2 open and it still smoked like a chimney!
The two lumps of charcoal lasted for the whole 4 hours I was smoking.
------  A couple of notes. ----------
You have to add news chips every 15 - 30 minutes depending on how you have the vents set.
After one hour,  I lowered the temp to 220 and the smoke continued to pump out the vent.
During the final smoke,  I discovered a new trick that worked awesome.
I opened the shoot where you add chips pulling it out about an inch and turned it up side down to allow oxygen to get into the chip tray,  then I closed the vent on top down all the way.  The smoke continued to billow out!
Flavors were fantastic.
There was no loss in how the smoker performed.
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezie fix to make the Masterbuilt Electric Smoker Smoke like Cheech and Chong!


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