Masterbuilt 560 Update/Success

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gadawg31

MemberGot rid of the matchlight.
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Hello everyone,

First post on here and I figured I would start with my new grill/smoker addition, the Masterbuilt 560. The assembly was really very simple and instructions were easy to understand. I had a small glitch in the beginning; I was constantly receiving the "OPEN" error and could not troubleshoot down to which sensor was the problem. Turns out it was the control board. Home Depot was outstanding and allowed me to return the board and they replaced with one from a new unit, and now it works perfect. My first cook was a small boston butt just to test out the temp control. I cooked it fast and hot; 325ish for about 4hrs and let it rest for a couple hrs in a cooler wrapped up. Turned out pretty good, so I moved onto some steaks. I had a couple of 1 1/2" rib-eyes that I cooked at 700 for 1min15secs each rotation(twice on one side) for grill marks, then flipped and did the same time for the other side. So basically, I cooked them for 2mins30secs each side and they turned out a good med/med rare. Nice sear and the grill ramped up to 700degrees in only minutes. I used hickory flavored lump charcoal, so it had a nice flavor. Going to try some ribs this weekend, but so far I really love this grill/smoker. I know some have talked about losing fuel when shutting down, but I can live with a little vs a lot on a traditional grill/smoker. So far so good. Thanks for the add and Happy Grilling/Smoking. /rJD
 
They seem to produce pretty good food when they work. The problem is its a crap shoot on when something will go wrong. Ive been waiting to find one on clearance so i can play around with one but until they work out some of the kinks ill avoid full retail. Good luck and Happy Grilling!
 
I got mine around fathers day and have been using the crap out of it. No issues just a lot of amazing food.
 
Welcome gadawg31. You jumped in with both feet for your first post, happy to hear you have success with the 560. What part of the state are you in?
 
Welcome to the Brethren! I am glad you have had success with your MB 560. It looks like an outstanding cooker. I was just scared away with all the problems I have seen others mentioned. There is no doubt in my mind that it makes great food. Keep smoking! Remember we love pics of the cooks too.
 
SweetHeatBBQnSC, it really is a nice cooker. I hear folks say all the time about it's too early or there are too many bugs, but everything will break eventually. I have a couple of buddies that have one and they have not had any issues at all. Other than Home Depot swapping out my control board shelf, I have not noticed any other potential issues. Going to try some chicken and other stuff this weekend. I'll try and get some pics this time. Thanks. JD
 
Glad to hear you are enjoying it! I've been cooking on my 560 since May, and knew going in that there may be some problems and it won't last forever. The issues I've had with it have so far been fairly minor and fixable, though I really wish the build quality was just slightly better for the price point (better gaskets on the firebox and coal hopper can't cost that much). We've never been displeased with any food off of it, though! Hopefully someone makes a higher quality version of this style of grill/smoker someday.
 
I've had my 560 for a few months now and have been using it a lot. Build quality is questionable, however the cooks are great. Trouble is, it's not dependable, as it has shut down on me a couple of times, so I don't use it for overnighters, which is a bummer.
If you're on the FB page, take everything there with a grain of salt. There are lots of inexperienced smokers giving advice there. I use the FB page for tech advice only.
Have fun with it for as long as it lasts.
 
Last edited:
darita said:
I've had my 560 for a few months now and have been using it a lot. Build quality is questionable, however the cooks are great. Trouble is, it's not dependable, as it has shut down on my a couple of times, so I don't use it for overnighters, which is a bummer.
If you're on the FB page, take everything there with a grain of salt. There are lots of inexperienced smokers giving advice there. I use the FB page for tech advice only.
Have fun with it for as long as it lasts.
Click to expand...

Have you figured out the cause, or causes of your shut down issues?
 
Whumpa said:
Have you figured out the cause, or causes of your shut down issues?
Click to expand...

The only thing I did differently on those 2 cooks was to use the vent mod in half-closed position, so right now, I'm attributing the shut downs to that. I stopped using the vent mod after that, as I've noticed no difference with it installed.
Others on the FB page say the shut downs are due to using the app, however I'm not convinced of that.
 
darita said:
The only thing I did differently on those 2 cooks was to use the vent mod in half-closed position, so right now, I'm attributing the shut downs to that. I stopped using the vent mod after that, as I've noticed no difference with it installed.
Others on the FB page say the shut downs are due to using the app, however I'm not convinced of that.
Click to expand...

Ya to me the app is the weakest part of the unit. I really don't use it too much out of frustration. Doesn't update meat temp. None of my other smokers have an app so no real biggy.
 
It goes beyond just a connection issue. I've got a solid connection with a wifi extender at full bars. It's an app issue from what I understand. Somehow, the app randomly shuts down the cooker, with no warning or notice that it's happened.
 
I assume you can use the cooker without using the app, correct? If you can cook without the app...if you have done so, did the cooker cut off on you?

My 1050 should be available for pick up in a week or two.... Really hoping y'all aren't meaning you're having problems when you're running w/o the app...
 
I have experienced no issues with shutting down. My app seems to cut out a lot and the meat temp does not update much of the time. That being said until the next update comes out I wont be using the app. I will continue using without the app for flawless cooks :razz:
 
Eckie said:
I assume you can use the cooker without using the app, correct? If you can cook without the app...if you have done so, did the cooker cut off on you?

My 1050 should be available for pick up in a week or two.... Really hoping y'all aren't meaning you're having problems when you're running w/o the app...
Click to expand...

Everyone isn't having problems, but many are. I just did my first cook without the app running and I didn't have a shut down over the 2 hour cook. I'll have to do a lot more non-app cooks to tell.
 
I'm not that big of an app person, so hopefully I'll be good. And wifi..what's that?? Ha
 
Yea, haven't really depended on the app too much. I just enjoy the way I don't have to refill fuel as often and I can do steaks in almost a blink of an eye. So far so good. Thanks for all the input. Take care and happy grilling/smoking.
 
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