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Message
Masterbuilt electric smoker tripping GFCI outlet
Posted on 6/28/20 at 4:30 pm
Posted on 6/28/20 at 4:30 pm
Turned on my smoker yesterday evening and as soon as the heating element kicked on, it tripped the breaker within 15-20 seconds, if not immediately. I did some google searching and apparently this is a common problem with these units although there doesn't seem to be 1 concrete solution.
I pulled the heating element out and all the connectors are still in good shape, no corrosion or creosote build up as I've read can happen. Ran the multimeter on the element which showed good continuity (18 ohms ). There was a little bit of grease between the element and the rubber gasket that sits against the smoker wall.. cleaned that up and reinstalled the element...tripped after about a minute.
A new element only runs about $22 so I'm thinking about swapping in a new one but I'm not entirely optimistic the element is my problem. Have any of y'all dealt with and solved this issue? TIA
I pulled the heating element out and all the connectors are still in good shape, no corrosion or creosote build up as I've read can happen. Ran the multimeter on the element which showed good continuity (18 ohms ). There was a little bit of grease between the element and the rubber gasket that sits against the smoker wall.. cleaned that up and reinstalled the element...tripped after about a minute.
A new element only runs about $22 so I'm thinking about swapping in a new one but I'm not entirely optimistic the element is my problem. Have any of y'all dealt with and solved this issue? TIA
This post was edited on 6/28/20 at 4:31 pm
6
Posted on 6/28/20 at 5:39 pm to Lsuhoohoo
Check to see if the outlet or plug were wet.
Posted on 6/28/20 at 5:57 pm to Lsuhoohoo
Hope it is under warranty, pretty sure the control board is gone, if under warranty they will send you a brand new smoker, if not shite out of luck
Mine did it with 2 weeks left in warranty, they sent me a new one, that one did the same thing about 6 months later, I chunked it and bought a smokin tex
Mine did it with 2 weeks left in warranty, they sent me a new one, that one did the same thing about 6 months later, I chunked it and bought a smokin tex
Posted on 6/28/20 at 6:06 pm to Tigerpaw123
quote:
Hope it is under warranty, pretty sure the control board is gone, if under warranty they will send you a brand new smoker, if not shite out of luck
Nope. Its about 5 years old now. I looked into the control panel but it appears Masterbuilt discontinued the part. The site where I found the heating element does have the control panel listed but they're not carrying it anymore either so I guess if the replacement element doesn't solve the problem, I'm left with a well insulated box.
Up until now I've had zero problems with this unit. It's worked well enough for my needs. This was my beginner smoker that got me into the hobby. I just wish it would have had the decency to hang on until after 4th of July
This post was edited on 6/28/20 at 6:07 pm
Posted on 6/28/20 at 6:46 pm to Lsuhoohoo
Not uncommon for a GCFI outlet to go bad. I’d replace it and go from there.
Posted on 6/28/20 at 8:07 pm to Lsuhoohoo
Issues with mine are that you can't use an extension cord. Has to be plugged into outlet.
Posted on 6/29/20 at 9:36 am to Lsuhoohoo
quote:
Masterbuilt electric smoker tripping GFCI outlet
take that GFI out an replace it with a regular outlet. GFI's are useless.
Posted on 6/29/20 at 10:21 am to thumperpait
quote:
Issues with mine are that you can't use an extension cord. Has to be plugged into outlet.
I use an extension cord every time I use mine, I do use one of those heavy duty outdoor extension cords. I don’t know if that makes a difference or not.
Posted on 6/29/20 at 12:43 pm to CP3LSU25
quote:while GFCI sucks they are not useless.
take that GFI out an replace it with a regular outlet. GFI's are useless.
Posted on 6/29/20 at 12:48 pm to thumperpait
quote:
you can't use an extension cord. Has to be plugged into outlet.
Posted on 6/29/20 at 1:09 pm to MorbidTheClown
quote:
I use an extension cord every time I use mine, I do use one of those heavy duty outdoor extension cords. I don’t know if that makes a difference or not.
This is the correct answer. Has to be a heavy gauge wire, ran into the same issue. A regular outdoor extension cord will not work.
Posted on 6/29/20 at 1:37 pm to Lsuhoohoo
It's the element. I have had to change my out 3 times now
Really easy to change out
Really easy to change out
This post was edited on 6/29/20 at 1:38 pm
Posted on 6/29/20 at 3:13 pm to mylsuhat
quote:
It's the element.
Fairly confident in that? I know it's not a bad outlet. I feel like I can narrow it down to a bad element or a control panel. I ordered a new element but it appears the control panel has been discontinued so I'm hoping the new element solves the problem.
Posted on 6/29/20 at 7:48 pm to Lsuhoohoo
I see a lot of praise for this brand, I bought one and it lasted a few months before the board went out. I'll never waste money on one again. Their support guy basically told me "tough sh*t".
Posted on 6/29/20 at 8:13 pm to andouille
quote:
I see a lot of praise for this brand, I bought one and it lasted a few months before the board went out. I'll never waste money on one again
I've had mine 5 years now and never had a problem until now.
quote:
Their support guy basically told me "tough sh*t".
I have heard their customer service is a nightmare.
Posted on 7/5/20 at 11:15 am to Lsuhoohoo
Any update?
In my experience it always has been. I would get the control panel to light up, set temp and time, then it would immediately trip the GFI
quote:
Fairly confident in that?
In my experience it always has been. I would get the control panel to light up, set temp and time, then it would immediately trip the GFI
Posted on 7/5/20 at 1:39 pm to mylsuhat
Sounds like the element internal resistance wire is expanding and touching the metallic sheath( ground) as it heats up. This causes a GFCI trip. This doesn't happen until you energize the element after setting temp and time. A new heater element should fix it.
Posted on 7/5/20 at 2:04 pm to CP3LSU25
quote:It's not the outlet it's the smoker. Mine does this shite all the time. It's like 50/50 if I can get it to work some days.
take that GFI out an replace it with a regular outlet. GFI's are useless.
Posted on 7/5/20 at 2:06 pm to mylsuhat
quote:Yep I find it happens more often after it rains or there is moisture in it and I even keep a cover on mine
In my experience it always has been. I would get the control panel to light up, set temp and time, then it would immediately trip the GFI
Posted on 7/5/20 at 3:49 pm to mylsuhat
quote:
Any update?
Not yet. Still waiting on the new element to ship.
quote:
In my experience it always has been. I would get the control panel to light up, set temp and time, then it would immediately trip the GFI
Yeah that's exactly what mine did so I'm encouraged that this new element should fix the problem.
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