Also, there could be residual moisture around the element that just sits there between smokes. I suggest, as part of cleaning up, that you wipe down the element where it inters the cabinet and air it out after it cools. Over on another forum I am with, some folks have advised to use a hair dryer on the element because of a similar problem before powering up the smoker and it has apparently solved the issue. I may have mentioned that trick on an earlier post. Good luck.