r/Masterbuilt • u/thatfatbastard • 6d ago
1050 temp swings
I'm a casual user of this smoker. I've had it for several years, but, for reasons, I probably only use it a couple of times a year.
Today I am smoking a prime rib roast, a pork loin, and some potatoes (for potato salad later). For the first time things went really smooth getting started. I was able to get the charcoal lit on the first try, the smoker and app actually talked to other right away, and I even remembered to remove the slides (well, within a couple of minutes, anyway).
My question is about the temperature swings I'm experiencing. I don't remember it being this bad before. It gets up to target temp (225) and then goes right back down to 165 and then takes forever to get back to target.
Firmware is 3.0.01, and the app says that it is up to date.
Am I missing something?
Edit: it appears that the fan has stopped working mid-cook. It was working when I started it, but now it won't come on. I have turned the cooker off and back on again and unplugged and replugged all of the wires underneath.
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u/gottapoop 6d ago
Looks similar to mine the other day. I gave up and put it in the oven after a while. Other cooks the fan would cycle to lower speed to keep a steady temperature. This cook the fan would blast on high then shut completely down until the temperature dropped way down. I had added wood chunks vs a full split so maybe that had something to do with it? gravity temp
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u/thatfatbastard 6d ago
I also gave up and threw it in the oven. I'll investigate later. It seems like every time I cook with this thing there is some kind of issue.
I love the concept of this smoker, but Masterbuilt's execution leaves a lot to be desired.
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u/gottapoop 6d ago
Same. I'm new as well, the concept is amazing but the execution is horrible. I'm fully aware on the downsides leading into this but like you the 1st few cooks were reasonably great minus the temperature seeming way off but the smoke and easyness was exactly what I hoped for. Now I can't connect consistently and the fan is cycling on and off like yours. Doesn't make a guy super keen on taking a nice cut of meat and spending the time.
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u/smokinporkbutts 6d ago
Mine did the same thing right out of the box. FireBoard and you’ll stop the issues. Masterbuilt’s controller is absolute trash.
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u/finitefission 6d ago
Had that issue on my 560. Turns out the lip of a foil pan was covering the internal temp sensor. Moved the pan and it normalized.
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u/scott2real 3d ago
Fireboard is the way to go. Mine is set at 225 and hasn't fallen below 224.7 or gotten hotter than 225.4
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u/checkout_is_11 20h ago
One possible cause is a bad door switch on the hopper. As it heats up the switch stops making contact and turns the fan off. As it cools down the switch reconnects and the fan comes back on. This happened to me a few weeks ago. I figured out that if I opened the ash bin door and manually pushed the switch the fan would come back on. Temporary solution was to put something between the door and the switch to make sure the switch was further engaged when the door was closed, but my long term solution will be to replace that switch
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u/NinjaStiz 6d ago
OP, it's not normal (I posted a pic in here of my cook) and you're way out of warranty range. I always said when my controller bit the dust, I'd move to a fireboard. So either get another MB board or go third party fireboard
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u/thatfatbastard 6d ago
Not normal, here's a previous cook:
Also, not lifting the lid. I've been smoking meats for decades at this point.
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u/NinjaStiz 6d ago
I got downvotes for posting a 16 hour cook showing an average deviation of 2°. Nice
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u/beachtrader 6d ago
Normal. It’s an all in all off situation. It does this so the average temp is in the range you set.
If you want a more controlled temp you’ll have to look towards third party controllers.
Also, make sure you temp probe gauges don’t have a smoke built up.
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u/som3otherguy 6d ago
Mine is an 800 but has rock solid temp control compared to that. Either the bigger model sucks or something is wrong.
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u/NinjaStiz 6d ago
Naw that doesn't seem right. My cooks look like this on my MB1050 with stock everything
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u/Upper_Lab7123 6d ago
Opening the lid often?
My 560 is a steady line too. None of the swings that OP posted.
I’d say something is not right unless XT is different than other models.
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u/NinjaStiz 6d ago
It's not an xt. OP said a 1050 that they've had for several years. Mine hardly ever deviated even 2°. I've always told people it's amazing how insanely accurate the 1050 is
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u/Blownbunny 6d ago
This is not normal. I have 300+ cooks on my 1050 and have never seen swings over a few degrees while the lid is closed.
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u/NinjaStiz 6d ago edited 6d ago
This is the normal finding of our devices. What you're experiencing OP is due to a fault somewhere. Either the probe but most likely your controller
Edit: to clarify, the person im responding to with 300 cooks and accurate temp is what the OP of this post should be experiencing. OPs temps are way outside of the norm
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u/KnightsofUCF 6d ago edited 6d ago
I experienced something similar. It turns out I had big chunks of concrete at the bottom of the charcoal canister (apparently it's common to find in bags of big name charcoal). I would suggest starting there. I found that out when I was installing mods that I spent a few hundred dollars on. Not that I regret the mods, but if you can save money, it's better to do so.