# Masterbuilt electric smoker



## Gadgetmann133 (Dec 8, 2021)

I have a model MB20074719 40" smoker.
It is brand new but I bought it from a person on Facebook Marketplace.

Plugged it in, got a Err1.   I disconnected the 3 plugs for the digital display and plugged them back in and it worked.......well for about 45 mins and then Err1 again.
I contacted Masterbuilt and they said it was the PCB board and they actually sent me a new one.  Installed it, no joy, still Err1.
Contacted them again and since I did not buy it from a authorized dealer, they said it is not covered under warranty.
They want me to buy a 
*9907180022 - Body Kit 1.75, Black (Assembled & Fully Wired)*
for almost $200 dollars.  They say this indicates an internal wiring issue......What?   
They said it is not the digital display nor the meat temp sensor.
Any ideas?  What are my options?  Is there a re wiring or internal wiring issue?  On a brand new smoker?  Do they not test it before shipping or is there no quality control?


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## SmokinEdge (Dec 8, 2021)

Lots of guys here that have rewired MB smokers. Hang in there they will chime in. 
Is it the control panel?


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## DougE (Dec 8, 2021)

tallbm
  can help you either figure out what is wrong with it or just guide you through replacing the stock controller with an Auber  PID controller.


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## tallbm (Dec 8, 2021)

Gadgetmann133 said:


> I have a model MB20074719 40" smoker.
> It is brand new but I bought it from a person on Facebook Marketplace.
> 
> Plugged it in, got a Err1.   I disconnected the 3 plugs for the digital display and plugged them back in and it worked.......well for about 45 mins and then Err1 again.
> ...



Hi there and welcome!

My understanding from a google search is that your temp sensor mounted in the back of the wall may be too cold.
Where are you located and what temps are they out there?

Some people have run into things like this and they just simply take a lighter to the sensor (not a torch) and warm the thing up and it starts going.

Now there is another rewire option you can do and buy a different controller (PID Controller) and turn your MES into a beast! Like going turning a golf cart into a Ferrari but that will run you another $150 or so.

If you can warm up that sensor without damaging it and give it a shot let us know.  But in any case there is always a rewire and a PID controller which would make it better than anything Masterbuilt sells new if you like amazing BBQ with tight temperature control :)
If you can warm that sensor up a little without damaging it


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## Gadgetmann133 (Dec 9, 2021)

In my research I also saw that it said that about the temp sensor and I thought it was referring to the meat probe sensor?  I also saw it was located under a panel in the back.  I used a heat gun and put it inside the unit and got the unit up to about 90 and it still has that Err1 message.  I am located in Michigan and it has been in the 30's here but on a couple of warmer days in the 50's I still get the error message.  I am out of town for a few days so I cannot go take a look at the smoker and don't recall where that panel is of where that other sensor is located.


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## tallbm (Dec 9, 2021)

Gadgetmann133 said:


> In my research I also saw that it said that about the temp sensor and I thought it was referring to the meat probe sensor?  I also saw it was located under a panel in the back.  I used a heat gun and put it inside the unit and got the unit up to about 90 and it still has that Err1 message.  I am located in Michigan and it has been in the 30's here but on a couple of warmer days in the 50's I still get the error message.  I am out of town for a few days so I cannot go take a look at the smoker and don't recall where that panel is of where that other sensor is located.



If you tried the heat up then it sounds like a bad sensor to me.

Your options are to try and find a replacement cabinet probe/sensor from some place like appliancefactoryparts.com

Or you do a rewire and use a PID controller.  This option makes for a far superior smoker in the end and resolves all issues with crappy Masterbuilt probes and electronics.


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## ItsMeAgain (Dec 9, 2021)

Gadgetmann133 said:


> In my research I also saw that it said that about the temp sensor and I thought it was referring to the meat probe sensor?  I also saw it was located under a panel in the back.  I used a heat gun and put it inside the unit and got the unit up to about 90 and it still has that Err1 message.  I am located in Michigan and it has been in the 30's here but on a couple of warmer days in the 50's I still get the error message.  I am out of town for a few days so I cannot go take a look at the smoker and don't recall where that panel is of where that other sensor is located.



I had a similar fail a while back but my MES simply would not heat- it gave no error message but your unit may be more sophisticated...  Here's a link to what i bought bought.   Mine uses 150 Celcius rated part; yours may or may not be the same but you should be able to discern what you need from removing the current part.  With mine it was OPEN and did not allow current flow.  I think they are a safety in that they cut out at a specific temp but at any rate it is a common fail in my book for a MES

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t...anding-by-warranty.293546/page-4#post-2116506


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## Gadgetmann133 (Dec 10, 2021)

tallbm said:


> If you tried the heat up then it sounds like a bad sensor to me.
> 
> Your options are to try and find a replacement cabinet probe/sensor from some place like appliancefactoryparts.com
> 
> Or you do a rewire and use a PID controller.  This option makes for a far superior smoker in the end and resolves all issues with crappy Masterbuilt probes and electronics.


 So you think it is a bad cabinet probe/sensor?  That is the silver meat sensor thing that plugs into the digital display?


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## tallbm (Dec 10, 2021)

Gadgetmann133 said:


> So you think it is a bad cabinet probe/sensor?  That is the silver meat sensor thing that plugs into the digital display?


I would imagine its the cabinet sensor.
Its a little probe that protrudes out of the back of the smoker.  Most I've seen are mid right side just between the lowest and 2nd lowest rack.

Do not confuse this with the round safety sensor that is like the size of a quarter.

I don't think it is the meat probe because the meat probe does not control temperature adjustments it just reports meat temp.


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## Gadgetmann133 (Mar 30, 2022)

I am still researching this and looked on appliancefactoryparts.com and it does not list a cabinet sensor.
The suggested part from MB  #*9907180022 Body kit is $311. * That is more than I paid for the smoker.
Can someone point me in the right direction for a part # and any pics/location of this cabinet sensor?


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## tallbm (Mar 31, 2022)

Gadgetmann133 said:


> I am still researching this and looked on appliancefactoryparts.com and it does not list a cabinet sensor.
> The suggested part from MB  #*9907180022 Body kit is $311. * That is more than I paid for the smoker.
> Can someone point me in the right direction for a part # and any pics/location of this cabinet sensor?


I wouldn't bet money on this being the correct part but it is the closest I could find:





						Part 9907180093 - Appliance Factory Parts
					






					www.appliancefactoryparts.com
				




At this point I would rather pay a $150 Auber PID controller and do the simple rewire to your MES (cut ends off 4 wires and splice to make 2 wires) and then never look back. This would make a far far superior smoker out of what you have. All of us PID controller MES guys wish we did it sooner than we did :D





						Multi Purpose Controller [WS-1510ELPM] - $159.95 : Auber Instruments, Inc., Temperature control solutions for home and industry
					

Auber Instruments, Inc. Multi Purpose Controller [WS-1510ELPM] - The WS-1510ELPM is a versatile temperature controller to have in your home. It can be used for various applications such as Sous Vide cooking, controlling an electric smoker, making yogurt, dough proofing, controlling the...



					www.auberins.com
				




It really turns your MES into a smoker that is 25X better than anything Masterbuilt makes that is brand new :)

Ask all the questions you have :)


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## Gadgetmann133 (Apr 1, 2022)

tallbm said:


> I wouldn't bet money on this being the correct part but it is the closest I could find:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Ok and the part you list is out of stock right now anyway  lol

So the Auber PID controller is a plug and play kinda thing by just doing the simple rewire?  That is it?  lol


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## tallbm (Apr 1, 2022)

Gadgetmann133 said:


> Ok and the part you list is out of stock right now anyway  lol
> 
> So the Auber PID controller is a plug and play kinda thing by just doing the simple rewire?  That is it?  lol



Pretty much plug and play.

1. Do the simple rewire (cut ends of 4 wires, use 2 wire nuts to splice proper ends together to make 2 whole wires) - very simple. This means power feeds to the heating element from the MES plug.

2. Plug MES into PID controller and plug PID controller into wall (PID now feeds power from wall to MES heating element

3. Clip PID temp probe to the bottom of the lowest smoker rack and enter the set smoker temp you want into the PID. DONE! The PID now feeds power on/off to the MES to hit and hold the set temp you entered.

PID controllers will hold within 1-3 degrees of the set temp you enter. Provided you clip the temp probe to the bottom of the lowest smoker rack for it to read the temps fast.

No more temp swings, no more failing to hit the max 275F temp, no more erratic temp behavior!
You can get true consistency out of your smoker temp and you never have to fear melting out fat from sausage or bacon, or over cooking jerky when you want to dehydrate it! :)

You will still have to fiddle with everything until you understand your smoker's new performance but this is true with any kind of smoker no matter what.

I have run a 4 probe wireless thermometer and I put a probe on the far back left of lower rack and upfront right side of lower rack. I put the PID probe dead center under lowest rack and now I get temp readings accross the whole rack to interperate any weird temps across the rack. When you have all 3 temps you know hottest to coldest and can adjust your smoker temp as needed to average them out should the PID probe be getting dripped on or touching cold meat or pans, etc. Pretty simple.


I hope this info helps out :)


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## Gadgetmann133 (Apr 1, 2022)

tallbm said:


> Pretty much plug and play.
> 
> 1. Do the simple rewire (cut ends of 4 wires, use 2 wire nuts to splice proper ends together to make 2 whole wires) - very simple. This means power feeds to the heating element from the MES plug.
> 
> ...


So the PID controller comes with a temp probe or do I use the one that came with my smoker?  I am going to do this as I don't want to spend any more money and it does not currently work right now with the Err1 error.  Do you have any pics of your setup?  thanks for your help on this.


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## tallbm (Apr 1, 2022)

Gadgetmann133 said:


> So the PID controller comes with a temp probe or do I use the one that came with my smoker?  I am going to do this as I don't want to spend any more money and it does not currently work right now with the Err1 error.  Do you have any pics of your setup?  thanks for your help on this.



I don't have a good picture to show but here is one I pulled from the internet showing the Auber PID on top of an MES30:







Most of us just drop the temp probe down the vent and clip it where we want it (under the bottom smoker rack in the center).
Some guys will just drill and install a fixed one but I like being able to move mine around as needed. Flexibilty is king! :D

Here is a unit I put together for my mother:






After the rewire, it's literally as simple as plugging everything up as I described and dropping the temp probe down the vent.

I hope this info helps.  Keep asking any questions you have :)


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## jcam222 (Apr 1, 2022)

Gadgetmann133 said:


> I have a model MB20074719 40" smoker.
> It is brand new but I bought it from a person on Facebook Marketplace.
> 
> Plugged it in, got a Err1.   I disconnected the 3 plugs for the digital display and plugged them back in and it worked.......well for about 45 mins and then Err1 again.
> ...


Call back and get someone else, tel them you bought it a Lowe’s or Walmart. No one saves receipts forever. You have a 50/50 chance they will give you the part. You may need to use a friends name and address.


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## old sarge (Apr 2, 2022)

Sad situation.


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