# Masterbuilt rewiring problem- flipping the breaker



## anbbna (Sep 21, 2012)

Ok so my dads masterbuilt died on the 4th so he rushed out and got a new one. I googled and was lead here when he gave me his old one. 

Today I rewired it using 14 ga wiring (store only had high temp 14 but its better than 16). When I set it and it started the heating element the breaker in the outdoor socket flipped. I rechecked the wiring per the thread on here and everything is the same. 

The only things I can think of:

The heating element is not screwed back into the smoker because I was trying to test it first. 

There is a short somewhere. 

Something in the circuit board isn't working. 

I'm in class for the next few hours so hopefully someone will see this and point me in the right direction before I get out!

Btw I'm brand new to this forum so hi :)


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## deltadude (Sep 21, 2012)

Welcome to SMF Anbbna!

Check this thread on rewiring mod.

GL

PS don't use an extension cord unless 12 ga.  You can get away with a 14 ga for short distance maybe.


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## scarbelly (Sep 21, 2012)

deltadude said:


> Welcome to SMF Anbbna!
> 
> Check this thread on rewiring mod.
> 
> ...


X2 on the extension cord.


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## daveomak (Sep 21, 2012)

Can you post what thread you used for rewiring.... that would help diagnose the problem....  Check the ohms resistance of the element....  My 800 watt element had 21 ohms resistance.... Could be there is another problem in the smoker....   Dave


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## anbbna (Sep 27, 2012)

sorry for not getting back to this earlier. its been a long week of grad school so far.

anyway this thing is toast. there must have been a short somewhere because the capacitors popped and the electronics look fried.

ooh well off to Sams for a new one soon


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## dward51 (Sep 27, 2012)

Did you get the Sam's warranty when he bought the first one?  If so, they will replace it.  If not and you are buying another one, a lot of the people on here recommend it as the price it pretty low and if it frys in 3 years or less they usually just give you a new one off the shelf.


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## linguica (Sep 27, 2012)

You might check the current rating on the breaker, then add up everything plugged into that circuit. With wire guage, the smaller the number the larger the wire. Most modern homes are wired with 14-3 AWG. Also the larger the size of the wire the less the voltage drop per given length. Lastly breakers occasionally fail.


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## deltadude (Sep 28, 2012)

Anbbna said:


> sorry for not getting back to this earlier. its been a long week of grad school so far.
> 
> anyway this thing is toast. there must have been a short somewhere because the capacitors popped and the electronics look fried.
> 
> ooh well off to Sams for a new one soon


If your capable of rewiring, then you might want to hold up on buying a new MES.  Find out how much the controller is, and other parts, you can even go 3rd party.  Bottom line the best thing about the MES is it's insulated cabinet, you have that, you can buy new elements, controllers, from 3rd party sources, and be out about the same amount you pay for a new MES.  However once you have sourced the parts, and you installed them, you have a smoker that will give you 20+ years with only the replacement of a couple of parts, and if one part fails you know where to get it and be up and running again.


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## anbbna (Nov 1, 2012)

deltadude said:


> If your capable of rewiring, then you might want to hold up on buying a new MES.  Find out how much the controller is, and other parts, you can even go 3rd party.  Bottom line the best thing about the MES is it's insulated cabinet, you have that, you can buy new elements, controllers, from 3rd party sources, and be out about the same amount you pay for a new MES.  However once you have sourced the parts, and you installed them, you have a smoker that will give you 20+ years with only the replacement of a couple of parts, and if one part fails you know where to get it and be up and running again.


I'm definetly not going to throw it away and will do as recommended above. That being said it looks like Xmas came early this year and I just threw an 8 lb butt (2 racks of ribs to come at noon) onto my new one. This will be its first smoke after a very long season but I really like the 1200 watt element over the older ones. Up to temp with a quickness. The remote is also a nice feature for when I'm being lazy... errr. I mean studying.

Any advice on where to begin sourcing some replacement parts? I'm very new to fixing electronics as I've only modded an xbox 360, replaced 2 capacitors on my tv (taught myself to solder), replaced a board on a $2100 plasma that was broken and given to me for free, and now this.


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## jkc64 (Nov 1, 2012)

The parts from masterbuilt are not expensive, I bought a new element(on backorder) and controler which shipped right away for something around 40-45 dollars. If you are in a hurry look elsewhere but I still have my 30" that works great, I am just trying to fix up a 40" that I bought cheap.

John


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## dward51 (Nov 1, 2012)

Or replace the element and then ditch the Masterbuilt controller and go with a PID modifiation with a solid state relay.  Should last forever (just do a search of the forum on PID builds and you get the idea).


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## eddy 2 (Jan 18, 2013)

DaveOmak said:


> Can you post what thread you used for rewiring.... that would help diagnose the problem....  Check the ohms resistance of the element....  My 800 watt element had 21 ohms resistance.... Could be there is another problem in the smoker....   Dave


How do I check the ohms?  I have a great meter  just not sure what settings.  - What range is good?   I have checked all my wires and they looked fine (i pulled the back and all)  I keep throwing a GFI circuit.....


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## daveomak (Jan 19, 2013)

Ohms.....  it is a symbol that looks like an upside down U with little feet on it...   That measures the resistance in the circuit....   Dave


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