I am considering the purchase of a YS640. I cure/smoke allot of sausage, so maintaining low smoke temps is very important to me. I need to start the smoke at about 130F and increase it gradually to 165F. But never exceeding 170 because the fat in the sausage would melt. Is anyone using their Yoder to cure/smoke sausage? How much variance can I expect in temperature range after the temp is set? I had purchased a Smokin' Tex cabinet smoker, but I am very disappointed in the 40 degree temp swings from setting.
The temperature range on the YS640 is 150 to 600 degrees. Pellets are made of wood saw dust, so it is a wood fire, and as such, can, and will, fluctuate temperature because of the quality and sizing of the pellet fuel. There isn't a specific standard for pellet length or diameter, so differing brands/flavors of pellets will be different sizes. For example, reach into a bag of pellets and grab a handful. Now try and figure out what pellets will fall with every quarter turn of the auger, i.e., will 2 long and 12 short and 2 medium length pellets fall, or will 12 medium and 8 short length pellets fall, etc.. This is why you cook by the average temperature when burning wood.
Herb, Thanks so much for the response. Your explanation makes allot of sense. Considering the variables in pellet size, in your experience, if you set the YS 640 at 150 F, what has been the +/- deviation from that 150 set point?
I haven't ran mine that low but at 235* I get +- 5-7 degrees max. Variables like wind/rain/extreme cold make that variation much more. Easily 15deg +-.
Hope that helps!
New to pellet grilling/smoking
YS-640 ON ORANGE COMP CART
There is a 35 +/- degree change threshold built into the controller before the mode changes from maintenance mode to either heat up mode (-35 degrees from set point) to cool down mode (+35 degrees from set point). This change can take up to 5 minutes once the threshold has been met.
With proper maintenance and cleaning, and using premium pellets, a 5 to 15 degree swing would be considered normal. I will tell you that to maintain the extremes of the temperature range of the cooker, the cooker must absolutely be maintained and cleaned, the pellets must be of very high quality, and the lid must stay shut.
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