Blowing Fuse

[mihatsu]

I have a couple of years old model 1# series 4 which started to blow a 15AMP fuse. I have always used the same outlet and I have not added any other electric device in the same fuse so obviously something is failing inside the smoker.  I measured heating element resistance straight from the element connectors and it was 37 ohm. Same from power cable as well. All cables were in good shape and had no indication about overheating. The fuse blows a ~1 second after turning the smoker on so I get the red light before it blows. Is this the heating element problem or something else?

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[sabireley]

Where is the fuse? Do you mean a breaker or a GFI tripping? 

[mihatsu]

Where is the fuse? Do you mean a breaker or a GFI tripping?

The breaker in the panel

[mihatsu]

I tried it again after it has been sitting by itself a while and then it lasted 5sec before breaker failed. After it I tried again then it failed right away. So looks that it is related to the heating element temperature. It gets pretty hot in 5s.

[mihatsu]

I got it work. I did heating/cooling cycles and in every cycle it was able to run longer until it finally did not breaker did not trip anymore. Maybe it was moisture inside the heating element.

[old sarge]

I think you nailed it: accumulated moisture.  Next time, wipe down the interior with paper towels to soak up any condensation and then use a hair dryer to dry out the interior around the element and nooks and crannies. You can also let the smoker run for a while after using.  Just remove any water pan if you use one and remove the foil if heavily greased/oiled.