Yoder Smokers Community Forum

Ok, wrote Byron 6 days ago and nor reply. So I post it here.

RE: 14615 10/21/13
My Yoder is driving me Crazy!
Thanksgiving smoke was a success! Two turkeys & three racks of ribs. 7 Hours. Cool enough... but the getting there is another story.

The leaking lid. See the picture. It always leaked a little, it just seems to be getting worse. I have cleaned the edges so it is not creosote build up. Any suggestions? I have gone to laying a wet towel over it during a cook. What bugs me is seeing smoke come out here and not the chimney.

Now the part thats driving me nuts is the temperature. We did at one point, some years ago, change out the temp prob and the mother board. The thing is I don't know what to believe. I have your digital, your door mount analog (Alway reads so low as to be useless!), a Redi-chek digital, and a couple of analog stove gauges (checked against the Red-chek & appear to be right on)
Cool windless day in the sun. Damper in about 6 inches
The Yoder set at 230° runs for an hour warm up. Center of the chamber Redi reads 180°.
The Yoder temperature temp reads 30° to 50° different all the time. What to do? At 180° it will take tell Christmas to cook the meal.
At one point a couple of hours into the cook the Redi read 300°. The Yoder reads 240. Holy crap that's a 70° swing and an over all 120°+ swing! What to do?

I have in past cooks set the Redi right next to yours in the back of the chamber.. temp readings not even in the same ball park.

My next project is to try bread baking. I will need to hold a reasonably tight 450°. Is it even possible?
Lost all confidence.
Please advise. Bill

Byron has not been with the company for over 2 years. All inquiries should be send to customerservice@yodersmokers.com

Smoke from the lid is inconsequential because of the positive air pressure inside the cooker.

The only way an external temperature probe will approximate the display is if it is positioned at exactly the center from front to back, and at 11" from the hopper wall, with nothing within 6" of the probe.

Here are some articles that may help you:

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=787

download/Best%20Practice%20and%20how%20to/Temperature%20Issues%20Check%20List.pdf

download/Best%20Practice%20and%20how%20to/Yoder%20Pellet%20Temperature%20Test.pdf

and for the lid, you may use the following to adjust the hinges if needed: download/Install%20and%20Repair/Adjusting%20The%20Hinges%20on%20a%20Yoder%20Smoker%20Pellet%20Grill.pdf

I had a leak too. PM me for a fix. It's just a simple gasket you need for the smoke leak. I researched i before I bought it and bought a simple fix before the smoker arrived on the truck... You can fix it.

Had my smoker for 3 years been great.

Ever invested in a Maverick 732 probe setup? Maybe you have. Maybe you need too. That outside thermometer pic, what is that for?????

Maybe wait on the bread baking.... Temps for that really need t be controlled. Let make sure when you set the temp at 350 you get close to 350 on a electronic probe like I mentioned.

BTW, door gauges on EVERY SMOKER world wide don't show grate temps. EVEN CHAMP Smokers winning BBQ championships. You adjust and learn the Pit. Like the YS640 you have.