# converting MES to a pid



## hank2000 (Dec 29, 2015)

My brother in law bought a brand new Gen. 1 Mes with a window from QVC.when he got it only worked twice before it started cutting off after a few minutes of use.well Masterbuilt made him cut the cord and take the info plate off the back and sent him a new Gen 2.  a long story short i ended up with the Gen. 1.  my plain is to disable the wiring it has now and rewire it with a new PID   i will not use any of the wire or controls that masterbuilt put on it.  this should safe and i wont have to worry about anything shorting out because everything i install will be to code and be where if there is ever a problem i can fix it.   i will post pics and what i did as i go. it may be a little bit because i have to get over christmas before i start ordering parts.  if any one thinks this is a bad idia or has any idieas please jump in.


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## hank2000 (Dec 29, 2015)

here is a pic of what i have    i did get this from the internet


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## JckDanls 07 (Dec 29, 2015)

sounds like a plan..  many have done it...

word of note...  make sure you use high temp solder-less (crimped) connectors when connecting to the heat element...  can be gotten at appliance parts stores


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## hank2000 (Dec 29, 2015)

yeah im trying to plain ahead so when i get started i will have everything i need  i over kill everything   14g wire should carry it just fine thats why im using 12g wire with a 12g s.o. cord


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## walta (Dec 29, 2015)

If you think the problem is the control board or the temp sensor then the way I installed my PID would work for you.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...-no-high-voltage-wiring-required#post_1486573

Walta


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## hank2000 (Dec 29, 2015)

Not real sure what's wrong with it. I was just gong to get a good pid I could program to ramp up at certain time  I make a lot of sausage bacon and snake sticks  this would help so I would not have to baby set as much. I own a lot of land there always some thing to do while the smoker is doing its thing.


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## daveomak (Dec 29, 2015)

A few other mods for you to ponder....  The MES 30 has a hot spot in the back right corner.... I found the "tunnel" pretty much moves the heat to the center of the smoker and solves that problem.....   In the picture on the left, you will see a bump where wire comes through and reconnects to the exhaust damper...

...click on pics to enlarge....













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While doing the mods for the mailbox and AMNPS, I removed the chip chute and "house" stuff...  I kept the chip pan for thermal mass... added a section of "duct" to help move the heat to the center of the smoker.....  The water pan is always empty or can have gravel in it for thermal mass.....  













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The mailbox mod is a great addition for hot or cold smoking...   I recommend attaching the duct to the back of the MB for "once thru" air flow...













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PelletsinMB mod.jpg



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## hank2000 (Dec 29, 2015)

All good mods  I have a master built cold smoke kit I use on my mes30. And I just picked up another one at a discount store go $15.  I'm going to try that one my mes 40. To start with. But I like what u did may be able to use some of it one both of mine


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## walta (Dec 29, 2015)

When you wire up your heater it would be a good idea to reuse the safety thermostat.

If will cut off the heater if your control gets stuck on and the smoker temp gets over 300° before it starts a fire.

Walta


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## hank2000 (Dec 29, 2015)

Good idea will keep that in mind. I want to do it right.  Keep them coming write all this down


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## JckDanls 07 (Dec 29, 2015)

This is the PID I have with the ramp/soak feature...   http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=4

I got model SYL-2352P (SSR output) for the SSR control.... 

 It works great after you learn it...


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## cmayna (Dec 29, 2015)

Tonight, I finished converting my newly acquired MES40 over to PID and cannot believe how stable the temps are now.  Best thing I ever did to this beast.  I also did a make shift of DaveOmak's tunnel as well as installed a deflector right above the heating element to draw the heat towards the center of the box instead of shooting straight up the right side.


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## hank2000 (Dec 30, 2015)

cmayna said:


> Tonight, I finished converting my newly acquired MES40 over to PID and cannot believe how stable the temps are now.  Best thing I ever did to this beast.  I also did a make shift of DaveOmak's tunnel as well as installed a deflector right above the heating element to draw the heat towards the center of the box instead of shooting straight up the right side.


can you post pics of your mods please


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## cmayna (Dec 30, 2015)

Both of my tunnel and deflector mod's are both make shift quality for I was only testing a few "what if's".   Now that they seem to be working for me, I'll incorporate permanent pieces and will take pics then.  Stay tuned.


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## hank2000 (Dec 30, 2015)

do you have pics of how to do this i was thinking the same thing but i really want to make sure im doing everything right  i hope to use this smoker for years to come


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## cmayna (Dec 30, 2015)

Hank,

For the permanent tunnel,  I will be going out to my local hardware store to see what I can find.  I can take a pic later today of the heat deflector but again it's not the permanent one.  Also there are lots of pics posted by others who have done it already.

The conversion to the PID is the best mod.  You will find lots of pics.  Will take a couple pics probably tomorrow, while I'm out in the shop smoking doing more mods while smoking some wings in one of my other smokers.

Craig


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## hank2000 (Jan 20, 2016)

It's been a while since I've posted to this but have been trying to get everything to gather and its turns cold so I can't work on anything right now no heat in he shop. I did get my pid from Arbers last week and now I'm looking for Heat resistant connectors and wire to wire up my power cord to my element.  No pic of the pid but I will get one. It's a single pone pid that can be programmed with up to 6 different heat settings and can save different profiles so u don't have to program it every time   So I can program it to cook say a Boston butt for pulled pork and save it the next time I want to cook one all I heave to do is call it up.   More to come as the weather worms up.


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## hank2000 (Jan 20, 2016)

? For those who have used a pid do u have to run auto tune and what temp do u set it to in order to do it right.   I will be doing everything from smoking bacon and sausage to cooking pulled pork and every thing in between.  I want the cc temps as close to my set temp as possible for every thing I cook.  I want to do it right the first time   Thanks


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## cmayna (Jan 20, 2016)

Hank,

I never used the auto tune for my Auber 1200 series.  Just plugged it in and programmed it to my needs.  I use mine for fish  so my temps are low and slow starting with 130, then 145, then 160+.

For wiring it up, I modified a heavy duty extension cord, cut it to a good length and then attached connectors with heat shrink tubing to the end of the cord and that's it!


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## jted (Jan 21, 2016)

hank2000 said:


> ? For those who have used a pid do u have to run auto tune and what temp do u set it to in order to do it right. I will be doing everything from smoking bacon and sausage to cooking pulled pork and every thing in between. I want the cc temps as close to my set temp as possible for every thing I cook. I want to do it right the first time Thanks


Hank I like Cmaya have never auto tuned the PID. I tried it out of the box with the default settings and it was  + or - 3 degrees That was better than my wifes oven so I was happy. I am going to include a link on my PID rewire. I decdied I wanted to include the Thermal overload switch. In the pellet stove industry it is called a snap switch. I wanted a little more safety when smoking overnight.  I hope it gives you some info or ideas. 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/171352/mes-30-pid-rewire   Jted


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## cmayna (Jan 21, 2016)

hank,

Be sure to do a couple test runs before you introduce any meats.  Hopefully you have a Maverick 732 or similar thermometer set up, that you trust. My Auber and Maverick readouts are dead on.

Craig


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## hank2000 (Jan 21, 2016)

I will how is the best way to semalate a load in the smoker.  I have an Igrill that is dead on.  Thanks for ur help


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## jted (Jan 24, 2016)

hank2000 said:


> I will how is the best way to simulate a load in the smoker. I have an Igrill that is dead on. Thanks for ur help


Hi Hank. I have read that you can simulate the load with a couple of bricks.Like I said before I have never Auto-tuned mine.   Jted


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## hank2000 (Jan 24, 2016)

got my pid on my mes it worked good for a while thenthe temps started  droping  went fron 230 to 175 never got it to heat up again   pid is hooked stright to the heating element  pid says it heating but its not    this mes one that masterbuilt replaced because it workedsome timesit didnt so i dont know if i can get parts or not but dont know what could be wrong ith it any way i would have bet money a pid would have fixed it   oh well ill try again


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## hank2000 (Jan 26, 2016)

ok did a tem hook upon my mes with the pid. just wanted to see if it was going to work. well it got hot for about an hour then it stopped heating  i by passed all of the masterbuilt wiring and controls so i checked to see if i was getting power to the element and i was  checked the heating element it tested bad   i was not sure if master built would would sell me a new element because this unit never worked out of the box hadto cut the power cord and take off all the ID tags and send in pics showing all this has been done   when i called them all they ask for was the modal no. it was no problem to order it it cost 19.99   its on the way it will be in 3 to 5 days witch will work out because its going to be in the 70's next week so i will be able to work on it  sould have everything rewired the right way and buttoned up by super boil weekend   i just wanted to post so if anyone was watching this thread they woulnt think i forgot about them   cant wait to get it up and going  ive been wanting a bigger smoker as i am using a 30 inch MES right now


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