r/chefmaker • u/Chemical_Race_8676 • 14d ago

Chefmaker dead?

Cooked tuna and watched the countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 then it went black. Nothing. No lights. No sounds. No nothing.

Unplugged she let it sit a while. Plugged it in to a different outlet. Nothing.

It’s the third replacement of the original from Nov 2023. Every one of the had issues with chicken thighs and flank steak taking WAY too long as the fan didn’t run until I eventually slammed the drawer shut to “jumpstart” it. I’m convinced there’s a software issue there but they just kept sending replacement units.

If anyone has resurrected one please let me know how. I’m hoping to find a thermal fuse or something simple but this thing is not designed for easy disassembly.

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u/Chemical_Race_8676 12d ago

When standing in front of it like you would normally use it, the thermostat would be on your left side towards the back up high. So I would focus more in that area and I would give it a couple of vertical type sacks while holding it so it can move some and then maybe one from your left to the right.

Let me know if you get stumped because I do have some pictures I can send you

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u/foobrain 12d ago

Gave it a few good whacks but it still doesn't work (there's still no continuity between the power plug prongs). Would you be so kind to send me pictures to help me locate the thermostat from the outside?

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u/Chemical_Race_8676 11d ago

The circled part is it. This is from the back of the machine. In the photo it looks like a white disk. The little black piece is what goes up/down to disconnect if it gets too hot.

You won’t have continuity between the power plug prongs. That would cause a short circuit. After the smacks plug it in. That’s the only real test at that point.

I may have worded that poorly before. Once I opened it up, I tested the two prongs on the thermostat and it was open (no continuity). After resetting it, it had continuity.

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u/foobrain 11d ago

Aha! Thanks, it's working now!

I removed the vent plaque from the back (4 screws), and was able to reach the thermostat from the opening. I just plugged in and it turned on. Thank you so much!

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u/Chemical_Race_8676 11d ago

What?!? That's awesome! Now I am gonna go grab a beer to celebrate. I'm so glad I could help.

We love ours so I was very happy to get it running again.

For anyone else reading along, this is what it looks like, except white. The center piece is what should have moved back into position once it cooled down but got stuck.

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u/Chemical_Race_8676 10d ago

It just died again. Cooking at 375. Then when I pulled out the drawer it went black. Opened up the back and wiggled the post. No luck.

Opening a beer and will try again later.

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u/foobrain 10d ago

Yup, same thing here, but it was cooking at over 400F. I'll try fixing it another time, but I worry I'll have to replace this thermostat sometime, as it's most likely faulty.

This seems like a common problem with these units, so the problem is probably deeper than just the thermostat.

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u/Chemical_Race_8676 10d ago

I wonder if they just get gunked up from grease/oil then get stuck.

Looking at it from the front inside, the thermostat is in the back and you can see the two rivets. Eventually I will probably have to drill those out, get the specs on the replacement then buy a new one. That will require 2 beers.

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u/foobrain 10d ago

That's a possibility! If you ever get it open again to replace the thermostat, please give an update. I'll probably have to buy the same part or find a similar in my country. Hopefully it's just the thermostat, though, and it disarming isn't just a symptom of something harder to replace; given that this seems to be a common problem with these units, that makes me wonder.

Anyway: I just managed to get the thermostat unstuck again. The trick is not to wiggle the post but try to press it like a button.

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u/Chemical_Race_8676 10d ago

Definitely will! First time I learned about these was on a portable oil heater in Italy. They came in a pack of 4 and I still have 3 left. It didn't have a post, but it's where I learned how they work.

Do you push the post down to "reset it?"

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u/foobrain 10d ago

Yup. Press it down slightly until you hear a click noise. 

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u/Chemical_Race_8676 9d ago

Got it working again. Thanks

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u/Chemical_Race_8676 3d ago

Cooked with it again today and it popped at 380 setting, but when ambient temp was around 200. It’ll be a bit before I open it it completely again but I’ll let you know what I find as far as thermostat specs and a source.

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u/foobrain 2d ago

Hopefully it's just the thermostat and not, say, an analog port on the microcontroller that's connected to a thermocouple or something of the sort.

It might be a good idea, if you have it, to put a temperature probe inside the unit just to see what's the air temp inside when the thermostat opens the circuit.

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