Masterbuilt won't Smoke
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This is a great way to try out the GROUPS to see if it actually works. I’m in Blue and Masterbuilt. When it’s 80 degrees out trying to make Snack Stix my electric would not get the chips to burn. Using the tried and true smoke schedule, 120, 140, 150, 170 degrees the unit would not get the chips smoking so I had to use the add on unit smoker. Have you other guys with electric smokers run into this issue too or is it my unit. The added cold smoker worked fine, just looking for constructive comments and expert opinions. The Maple Bacon Snack Sticks turned out great. It’s fall tomorrow so this shouldn’t happen until next year.
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deweymeats That has been my experience with the Masterbuilt and all electric smokers. I bought the MB cold smoker attachment just for that reason. I’ve found you need at least 190-200 to see smoke
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Tex_77 Team Blue Power User Traeger Primo Grills PK Grills Canning Sous Vide Community Moderator Kansas
deweymeats to tag a group use the “@” sign then type the name of the group. @Masterbuilt
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deweymeats I have heard of people complaining about the lack of smoke in the @masterbuilt We just switched to larger chips and it worked really well. We got Zorestar chips from Amazon.
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cdavis Masterbuilt Canning Kamado Joes Regular Contributors Power User Sous Vide Oklahoma Team Camoreplied to deweymeats on last edited by
deweymeats I’ve had my masterbuilt for 8years now and have never had that happen. I smoked 10lbs of imitation bacon yesterday and had smoke from 130 degrees all the way to 175.
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I also have struggled with this on electrics. This year I added the Mailbox Mod, which completely solves the problem. It is simple, cheap and effective - turning the unit into a true cold-smoker, completely eliminating the temperature variable from the “how much smoke” question. Just google “Mailbox mod for Masterbuilt”. @Masterbuilt
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I have the cold smoker attachment for my master-bilt and it is all i use whether using heat or not
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Yeah you need the cold smoker attachment if you want to produce smoke below 200F. Reason being is the wood chip tray relies on the heating element to burn the chips, and at temps below 200F the element just doesnt stay on long enough get them lit, or keep them lit. Some tips using the cold smoker attachment:
Use pellets
And use only a small handful at a time every 15 minutes, or when you see the smoke start to slow down.
This is preference, i prefer a clean subtle smoke flavor. If you fill that thing up it will smoke like a house fire, and probably taste like it too. -
The mailbox mod is diffenatly the answer. You can smoke at any temp
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My problem with masterbuilt is I cant get it hot enough to finish anything. I now have an additional hot plate for heat. Tried calling masterbuilt, they are on covid crisis alert, no body answers the phone
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Thats a new one for me. I mean, they are set to 275F max, but ive never had an issue with it not reaching 275F unless we are talking dead of winter with heavy winds. Thats said, i have had an element burn out.
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The digital read out says 275 but the actual box temp is 245,that’s on a 80 degree day
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18handicapper said in Masterbuilt won't Smoke:
The digital read out says 275 but the actual box temp is 245,that’s on a 80 degree day
Try buying a bag of ceramic briquettes at home depot or lowes, they are fairly cheap. And instead of water, fill the water pan with the briquettes, annd cover with foil if you dont want to clean the briquettes when they get gunked up from drippings, or just put a pan above them to catch the drippings.
Anyway, the point is is the ceramic briquettes will act as a buffer and while it might take longer to reach 275F, it will help maintain that temp throughout the cook.
my 0.02c
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If it won’t hit 275 with nothing in it,I don’t think ceramic briquettes will bring it to 275
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mikemikemike thanks. Yeah we did the 15 mins of the chips. I haven’t been able to convince hubby on the cold box (yet) but Christmas is coming
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Its worth the $60 on amazon. I used to use my Masterbuilt electric for years before i upgraded to a vertical pellet smoker. Pellet smokers push air so much that bad smoke doesn’t have a chance to linger. But thats a whole other topic im not going to get into in this thread.
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I’m no expert, but if it won’t hit 275 in anything approaching normal weather, it is either a problem with the element, the control, or the integrity of the box.
Whatever it is, I can tell you that by spending a couple of hundred bucks on a PID device (Auber WSD-1500H-W), and bypassing the internal controls to give the PID direct control of the element, for the first time in many years of smoking with electric smokers I am comfortable it will do what I say without drama.
Not only that, the PID works with any AC controlled analog heat source - for instance controlling a roaster oven to hold a big batch of stock at precisely 185º for 24 hours unattended. A powerful, flexible and accurate tool.
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KillerNoms said in Masterbuilt won't Smoke:
I’m no expert, but if it won’t hit 275 in anything approaching normal weather, it is either a problem with the element, the control, or the integrity of the box.
Whatever it is, I can tell you that by spending a couple of hundred bucks on a PID device (Auber WSD-1500H-W), and bypassing the internal controls to give the PID direct control of the element, for the first time in many years of smoking with electric smokers I am comfortable it will do what I say without drama.
Not only that, the PID works with any AC controlled analog heat source - for instance controlling a roaster oven to hold a big batch of stock at precisely 185º for 24 hours unattended. A powerful, flexible and accurate tool.
Thats more then an average Joe would do. I have plenty of PID controllers i built over the years, but if i was starting from scratch, with the knowledge i know, I would tell some one to go Pellet smoker. Rec Tec having the best WiFi PID controller for Pellet smokers.
You are either not informed on new technology, or you work for Auber. But if you want to debate, i am more then willing to mention better/cheaper products then Auber.
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mikemikemike This average ‘Joe Hell’ has given Masterbuilt plenty of opportunities and I’ve been let down over and over again. I’m on my 5th smoker. When they work they work well…when the don’t the simply don’t. It took over a year to get my last issues resolved. The call center is nearly impossible to reach regardless of current pandemics. My current (replacement) smoker hasn’t had any issues but I’m not likely to invest in any products going forward. I didn’t contact warranty on the first 3 but the last 2 have been a nightmare.
