Problems with Circuit Breaker!

[Brisket Bob]

I woke up this morning at 3:30 to look over at my Maverick ET732 Meat Thermometer to see that the temperature of the smoker was at 100 degrees.  I went downstairs to investigate and noticed that the GFCI outlet had been tripped.  I unplugged the smoker and reset the outlet.  When I plugged it back in, I ran into the same problem.  I don't know much about electricity, any ideas what happened and how to remedy the situation?  The internal temp of the Pork Butt I am smoking is about 110 currently (and dropping).  Can that be salvaged too?

Background info:  I ran my smoker yesterday afternoon for about 5 hours to smoke some ribs.  After about 2 or 3 hours, I went back to the smoker and turned it on again (around 8pm) to smoke the Pork Butt.  I woke up and checked the temperature around 12:30 and everything seemed fine.  So something happened between 12:30am and 3:30 am.  The weather is perfect, so no rain or any other precipitation.  What gives?  Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[Brisket Bob]

...one follow up...

I tried a different outlet to see if that would work and that one was tripped too.  I moved it to a Slow Cooker/Crock Pot when the internal temperature was at 108.  I'm cooking it there currently.  Did the IT get too low (or unsafe)?  I thought I would throw it in the slow cooker and hope that it is okay...but obviously I will toss it if that IT was too low to try to cook the rest and save it.  Thanks again.

 

[DivotMaker]

Bob,  have you tried any other appliances in that outlet?  And, was the other outlet you tried on the same circuit?  I would try to make sure it's not the GFCI outlet (they can go bad), or the circuit breaker in your panel.

If you're sure your wiring is OK, then I'd recommend taking the back off the smoker and checking the wiring.  Make sure all connections are tight, and none of the wire is under the last layer of insulation (against the inside back wall of the smoker).  It may be that you have a loose connection that is either causing a short, or is getting hot enough to trip the GFCI plug.

Maybe some of our electrical experts will sound off, too!

 

[NDKoze]

I had this problem with my Big Chief a couple of years back.

The Luhr-Jenson tech support folks told me that the problem was most likely moisture in the heating element.

They recommended that I remove the element and place it in a 200 degree oven for 2-3 hours to try to dry the moisture out.

I tried this and it worked for a while, but eventually tripped the circuit again. I ended up having to buy a new element.

I would contact Steve at Smokin-It and see what he recommends.

 

[Brisket Bob]

Thank you Tony and Gregg for your feedback.

Tony, I wasn't too clear in my original post.  I did check the outlet with another appliance and I had no problem.  The other plug that I tried as well didn't work was on another circuit.  I am far from an electrician, but all signs point to something being wrong with my #1.

When you say “make sure the connections are tight,” are you talking about the wire nuts (they seemed fine when I checked)?  Any clarification would be appreciated (and just assume you’re writing a piece for “Electrical Systems for Idiots”…I won’t be offended).  When I opened up the back, I did notice a good deal of moisture on the "roof" of the rear compartment.  The parts of the yellow insulation that were on the top were also damp.  I assume there shouldn’t be condensation back there, right?

As for the pork butt, I put it in the slow cooker and got the IT up to 196.  Again, is there anything wrong with the meat due to the electrical conking out about 5 or 5 hours into the process?  It sure smells good and hope we can have it for dinner.

Thanks again for your thoughts…..it is greatly appreciated!

 

[Brisket Bob]

....I emailed Steve as well.  I will let you know what he has to say.  Thanks!

 

[DivotMaker]

Hmm...that's a bit of a head-scratcher, Bob!  No, there shouldn't be any moisture collecting in the back panel of the smoker.  That's probably what tripped the plug, if moisture got into any of the contacts.  I've used my smoker in all weather conditions, and have never experienced anything like this.  But, I've never done back-to-back smokes, either.  I wonder if you didn't let it cool long enough between smokes?  I don't know - just thinking out loud.  I'll be interested to see what Steve thinks.

 

[Brisket Bob]

Yeah...not sure why this is happening.  The reason I would think it wouldn't be I didn't wait for it to cool down is that the total amount of time it was running would still be less than the time many other items would take to smoke (about 12 hours).

My father came over last night (he's much more knowledgeable on these things than myself) and took a look at it.  We unconnected the temperature gauge from the rest of the #1 and you could tell there was moisture in there. After getting the excess water/moisture out, I plugged it in and it worked fine.  I haven't used it to smoke anything sense.  I don't know if this event was an anomaly or something that I am going to run into going forward.

In the photos I attached you can see that something was going on.  I don't know if the discoloration of the insulation is due to just the moisture or was there a little spark that created it.  I will definitely post what Steve has to say in case someone else runs into a similar problem in the future.  If anyone has experienced this as well, please let me know that too.  Thanks!

 

[Brisket Bob]

I spoke with Steve yesterday to troubleshoot the issue.  He told me that the only way moisture can get in the smoker is from water.  He asked if I cover the smoker when it is not in use (I do) and if I've smoked in the rain (which I haven't).  He said that he hasn't seen this issue in any other circumstance besides that.  So, I guess I still don't have an answer to the issue. 

I dried out the moisture and will try the smoker again here soon....but I am a bit reluctant to throw in a $50 piece of meat with the chance the smoker will have a similar issue.  Steve assured me that he thought I wouldn't have the same problem again.  I hope he is right....stay tuned.

 

[DivotMaker]

Bob, one thing you might try, if you still have the back off, is to pull all the insulation out of the back and use some hi-temp RTV sealant around all of the back seams (top and sides, where they're welded).  You might have a bad spot in a weld that is letting moisture/smoke into the back cavity.  Just a thought (probably what I would try, were it mine).

 

[Brisket Bob]

Tony, thank you for the suggestion.  I'm going to smoke something this weekend and open up the back when I am done to see if there is any moisture.  In the meantime, I will pick up some at Home Depot.  Thanks again for your help!

 

[DivotMaker]

Bob, they probably have it at HD, but there'll be a bigger selection at an auto parts store.  Permatex makes several hi-temp RTV sealants that will work fine - it doesn't get super hot, like in most automotive applications.