# I Have To Ask



## 1Burntfingers (Dec 27, 2021)

So yeah I am a newb here. But I've been smoking on my kettle for a few years and someone gives me this Masterbuilt Model 20072612 Electric Smoker. I clean it up because it looked like it never had been cleaned at all. Then plugged it in and tried to get it going. Well that was a hard no. NO heat at all. So I ordered a new heat element and got that attached. Still no heat. The assumption is that the control panel is shot. It shows that it is on. But it does not shoe that it is heating. Yes, I can set the temp and lock that it. But it does not heat. So I go to the recommended places to purchase a control panel. Yeah sorry Steve, those are not available anywhere. Now I am here looking for some support. I would like to retrofit some type of control to this thing so I can use it. I am sure that it will be far better than the kettle has been. But I am not sure where to start. I am pretty good with DIY stuff. So if any of you fine folks can give me some direction I will be eternally grateful and happy to provide you with some amazing smoked whateveryoumaywant. But I gotta get this sucker working somehow. Thanks in advance to whomever provides the magical information that gets me over the hump.


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## Winterrider (Dec 27, 2021)

Welcome aboard from ND. 


 tallbm
  is the wizard that can get you going and make it one of the best smokers out there. I'm sure he will see this or you can PM him if no response. He has helped many of us on this forum.


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## GaryHibbert (Dec 27, 2021)

Beat me to it by a couple of hours.  Yep   

 tallbm
 is the man to help you.  He'll be along soon.
Gary


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## indaswamp (Dec 27, 2021)

Yep...paging 

 tallbm
 he is your man and can get you going. if you use the search function and tallbm's name, you can find other threads where he has helped people rewire their units and get them up and running....


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## tallbm (Dec 27, 2021)

1Burntfingers said:


> So yeah I am a newb here. But I've been smoking on my kettle for a few years and someone gives me this Masterbuilt Model 20072612 Electric Smoker. I clean it up because it looked like it never had been cleaned at all. Then plugged it in and tried to get it going. Well that was a hard no. NO heat at all. So I ordered a new heat element and got that attached. Still no heat. The assumption is that the control panel is shot. It shows that it is on. But it does not shoe that it is heating. Yes, I can set the temp and lock that it. But it does not heat. So I go to the recommended places to purchase a control panel. Yeah sorry Steve, those are not available anywhere. Now I am here looking for some support. I would like to retrofit some type of control to this thing so I can use it. I am sure that it will be far better than the kettle has been. But I am not sure where to start. I am pretty good with DIY stuff. So if any of you fine folks can give me some direction I will be eternally grateful and happy to provide you with some amazing smoked whateveryoumaywant. But I gotta get this sucker working somehow. Thanks in advance to whomever provides the magical information that gets me over the hump.


Hi there and welcome!

I'm positive we can get you up and running.

The 2 biggest failure points on the MES will be:


The electrical connectors at the safety rollout limit switch & heating element
The controller

You posted that the controller comes on and works so that tells me the controller is good.
You switched the heating element (hope you kept the old one it probably still works) so that means the electrical connectors at the heating element are good or you replaced them with good ones while switching the element.

Sooooo, it is likely that the safety rollout limit switch connectors trash or the switch itself is burned up and either case will keep power from going to the heating element.

Halfway up the back of the smoker, on the right hand side, there might be a panel if you are lucky and looks like this (image i pulled off the web is flipped):











If there is no panel then you cut a hole in the back (my suggestion), or you pull the back off and you will see it like this.  See the safety rollout limit switch in the upper right corner:






Notice how the safety switch (upper right hand corner) is in the circuit going to the heating element.  If the switch or it's connectors are trash then guess what, no power to the heating element.

If the switch is trash then you can cut the connectors off the wires and wirenut them together and you will be back in business without the switch.

You can replace the switch and connectors if you like to ensure you have the safety switch in the mix but know that the switch is a piece that is cheap and fails... often haha.
If the connectors are bad you just switch the connectors .

No matter what, if you don't have a panel to this area on the back of your smoker then you will definitely want to cut one so u can easily access the area.


Check this section out as I would bet money this is your issue.
If it isn't the issue there is a very very very slim chance that the lower circuit board is failing you BUT if it is failing then you likely wouldn't be getting power to your controller.
If it is this rare failure at the circuit board then we will talk about rewiring to bypass all the electronics and running a PID controller.

Honestly, the rewire and a PID controller makes the smoker 100x better than it ever was new BUT will run you at least $150.  This is my personal preference but you can likely get your smoker going with what I suggest above AND you would have to do it anyway even if you wanted to do the rewire and use a PID.

Let me know if this info helps :)


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## 1Burntfingers (Dec 27, 2021)

tallbm said:


> Hi there and welcome!
> 
> I'm positive we can get you up and running.
> 
> ...


Thanks for this information. I will dive in this weekend and see if it gets me going. I like the idea of wiring in a PID but will give this a whirl first. Stay tuned.


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## mosparky (Dec 27, 2021)

A pic of the smoker would help a bit. The model number can be a bit deceptive. I'm going to assume this is a digital unit. Does the display show "heating" ? If so and there is no heat I would suspect the thermal limit switch has gone out.. If you can access it, check that it is closed with an ohm meter (power off). Should give a zero ohm reading. Inspect the wire connectors there as well. Avoid unplugging the wires if at all possible, unless you have determined it is bad. The tabs the wires go on are a bit fragile and if you have one come loose and start to turn, you're going to have to replace it. MAYBE not right away, but with a use or two at best. This is a cheap part, but multiples incase you screw up the new one putting it in.
I'll assume the wires at the heating element are good, as you just replaced the element. After that I would want to check the control board on the bottom. Not sure how to tell a novice how to go about this. Chances are if the limit switch and the associated wiring checks good, you can conclude the control board is bad. Now we are into the world of "part not available". Time to consider a PID controller. Kinda good news, With the main portion of the smoker being free, you can invest in a PID for Anywhere from about $50 to $250 (depending on what you want it to do) and have a smoker that will hold it's own against units that sell for many, many times what you have in this one.
 Perhaps Tallbm will have further comments and clearer directions when he finds his way here.


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## Smokin’ Hot (Dec 27, 2021)

Did you set the timer? Some electric smokers won’t start heating until you put the timer on.


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## 1Burntfingers (Dec 31, 2021)

tallbm said:


> Hi there and welcome!
> 
> I'm positive we can get you up and running.
> 
> ...




 tallbm
 total success sir. Thank you very much man. I’m going to get some experience with this rascal. Then I’ll hit you up for help with a PID. Thanks again.


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## Brokenhandle (Dec 31, 2021)

For mes no heating issues please call 800 

 tallbm
  ! I seriously think your info should be made into a sticky! Maybe 

 pineywoods
  could help take care of that. If nothing else maybe masterbuilt and or auber could start paying you royalties! You're always a good help with them.

Ryan


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## tallbm (Jan 2, 2022)

1Burntfingers said:


> tallbm
> total success sir. Thank you very much man. I’m going to get some experience with this rascal. Then I’ll hit you up for help with a PID. Thanks again.


Awesome!!! I'm guessing the rollout switch connectors or switch itself were trashed.



Brokenhandle said:


> For mes no heating issues please call 800
> 
> tallbm
> ! I seriously think your info should be made into a sticky! Maybe
> ...


Hahha thanks!  I'm just glad I can help folks out with these problems.  They are so solvable yet the information to do so always seems so far away.

I remember when I went on my own PID journey it was hard to find a bunch of cohesive info so that's why I'm so inclined to help :)

I'm just hoping good karma comes back to me some day :D


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## Brokenhandle (Jan 2, 2022)

tallbm said:


> Awesome!!! I'm guessing the rollout switch connectors or switch itself were trashed.
> 
> 
> Hahha thanks!  I'm just glad I can help folks out with these problems.  They are so solvable yet the information to do so always seems so far away.
> ...


You deserve it! You have definitely helped alot of people out with mes issues... me included!

Ryan


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